Help with Dual Battery setup Redarc1225D

[SnoRnR]

[MENTION=343163]SnoRnR[/MENTION] I would also recommend getting the 34-pc1500 vs the 34R if you are orienting the battery with the terminals facing inward like the oem battery, as the 34R would put the +terminal very close to the passenger fender wall. it it happened to move and touch there would be some fireworks.

I am actually just finishing up the wiring for my dual battery setup today using the shrockworks kit as well with a 34-pc1500

How did the install go? I have all the components just need the battery. I was thinking about going with the 34R-PC1500 and installing it in reverse with the terminals at the front. Do you think that would work? I really would like the option of moving it to the starter location if I got a catastrophic fail.

 

[jdm-v35]

How did the install go? I have all the components just need the battery. I was thinking about going with the 34R-PC1500 and installing it in reverse with the terminals at the front. Do you think that would work? I really would like the option of moving it to the starter location if I got a catastrophic fail.

It fits, but it is an extremely tight fit. you pretty much even need to shoehorn it a bit just to get it in place properly.

 

[benhalleniii]

Heres mine, C4Fab battery tray, used 8g cable for battery connections.Same size as Brown, Red, Yellow wires as the Redarc uses. Blue Sea 40a Circuit Breakers.
ARB refrigerator wiring harness run along passenger side to rear.
Blue sea 12v receptacle for my fridge. Its January in WI. so fridge is in the house. Dometic CFX50.
AGM Battery I bought from Batteries plus, Only one I could find that has the positive not on fender side. Same as starting battery.
Can swap if necessary.

Hey there. Thanks for this post. I'm working on a similar setup but using the Redarc BCDC1225D so I can run solar as well. Question: do you have a provision for connecting to shore power when you have access to it? If so, where do you put that connection in the system?

Thanks either way!

b
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n

 

[3xpert]

Hey there. Thanks for this post. I'm working on a similar setup but using the Redarc BCDC1225D so I can run solar as well. Question: do you have a provision for connecting to shore power when you have access to it? If so, where do you put that connection in the system?

Thanks either way!

b
e
n

This is a Redarc BCDC1225, The Solar input is the yellow wire. Not using at the moment and have it cable tied. You can see it in the pic. May get a solar panel in the future.
Shore Power? Do you mean 120vac? No. Redarc does not have an input for that.
If you are talking about 120vac, I do carry an extension cord and the 120vac power cord for the fridge and plug directly into the 120vac.
Hope this answers your questions,

 

[benhalleniii]

Heres mine, C4Fab battery tray, used 8g cable for battery connections.Same size as Brown, Red, Yellow wires as the Redarc uses. Blue Sea 40a Circuit Breakers.
ARB refrigerator wiring harness run along passenger side to rear.
Blue sea 12v receptacle for my fridge. Its January in WI. so fridge is in the house. Dometic CFX50.
AGM Battery I bought from Batteries plus, Only one I could find that has the positive not on fender side. Same as starting battery.
Can swap if necessary.

Hey there I'm working on a similar setup and I had a quick question. Why did you go with circuit breakers over fuses? Is there some functionality they offer that's better or safer than a fuse? I've got the fuse blocks ready to go but have now seen two different builds using the blue sea circuit breakers so I was curious. Thanks!

b
e
n

 

[3xpert]

Heres mine, C4Fab battery tray, used 8g cable for battery connections.Same size as Brown, Red, Yellow wires as the Redarc uses. Blue Sea 40a Circuit Breakers.
ARB refrigerator wiring harness run along passenger side to rear.
Blue sea 12v receptacle for my fridge. Its January in WI. so fridge is in the house. Dometic CFX50.
AGM Battery I bought from Batteries plus, Only one I could find that has the positive not on fender side. Same as starting battery.
Can swap if necessary.

Hey there I'm working on a similar setup and I had a quick question. Why did you go with circuit breakers over fuses? Is there some functionality they offer that's better or safer than a fuse? I've got the fuse blocks ready to go but have now seen two different builds using the blue sea circuit breakers so I was curious. Thanks!



b
e
n

You can electrically disconnect power to it with a button. Thats one reason.
If it does mange to trip it is resetable. Don't have to change a fuse, just move the lever to reset.
IMO

 

[kgp1603]

I’m looking to do a similar set up to the one in this thread. What do you estimate it will cost start to finish with self install? (Don’t have the electrical skills yet, only one way to learn...)

 

[SnoRnR]

I’m looking to do a similar set up to the one in this thread. What do you estimate it will cost start to finish with self install? (Don’t have the electrical skills yet, only one way to learn...)

I finished the install. With no previous experience. I am more than happy with it. However, due to the parts I used it cost considerably more than a dual battery kit from other suppliers. I used all marine grade cables and connectors.

 

[jdm-v35]

I’m looking to do a similar set up to the one in this thread. What do you estimate it will cost start to finish with self install? (Don’t have the electrical skills yet, only one way to learn...)

If done very properly with quality materials, and if you don't have the tools, I would estimate $800+battery of your choosing for the battery tray, minimal tools needed and the proper parts.

 

[pixjohn]

I am just using your thread instead of starting a new redarc topic. I am also installing the same redarc and removing my Nantional Luna dual battery system, that never worked right with the 4runner system. I am curious where did you run the blue wire? did you use a fuse tap? I will also be installing solar to my system. I linked a great youtube video where he used an older solenoid system similar to the National Luna to use as a jump starter. I would love to have my system to have that option. How is the heat with the unit? I built a tray, but now relize the aluminan tray holds the heat. I need to either cutout holes to vent more or add washers to raise it off the tray.

Redarc BCDC 1225D and SBI12 solenoid install in Prado 150 - YouTube
I saw a video start at 3:41

 

[ruff4runner]

First off I would avoid putting your BCDC in the engine bay. I know that people do it but Redarc does not recommend doing it as it will be prone to overheating and be much less efficient. Put it out in front of the radiator with a Prado 150 mount if you can. Out of Town 4X4 in Australia has one as well as Redarc Australia. BCDC Mounting Bracket to suit Toyota LandCruiser Prado 150 | REDARC Electronics The mounting is exactly the same as on the Prado, but you have to move the horn mount a bit, it will be a much cleaner install. I would also use the Blue Sea Systems MRBF Surface and Terminal Mount Fuse Blocks. They mount right onto the battery terminal so that all cabling is protected, also easier to install and cleaner.
Heres my set up. You can see the Redarc 1240d just to the right of the hood latch.

 

[gordonp]

I am in the process of purchasing the parts for my dual battery install next month. I have already installed the Shrockworks Dual battery kit.

Thanks for posting and updating this! I recently did a dual-battery setup, and found your journey helpful. I'll add a bit (which I hope may help others).

Odyssey PC34R-1500 68AH (34Ah usable for 50% SOC)
Redarc BCDC 1225D

I went cheaper (although I have used and like Odyssey), opting for a Costco Energizer AGM. Delivered to my door (thanks, COVID-delivery guys!).

Draw while camping

Helpful, and it's great that you figured out your loads. When you plan and prepare like this, it's almost just simple accounting. I say "almost" because many devices are sensitive to depth-of-discharge and may stop working. And some folks will use battery boosters to maintain voltage to the device even as the battery terminal-voltage drops. My own rule-of-thumb is to only figure on 1/2 the listed battery-capacity, both for life, and reliability.

In my case, I enjoy ham-radio operation, and wanted my AUX battery to carry me through evenings and weekends of radio-operation. I also have future dreams of a winch.

1) Redarc states 6AWG wire for our cable lengths. So, going with 8 AWG

For my Redarc hookups, I used 6AWG. I felt like it. It's more than what is necessary.

8) Is it ok to earth the AUX battery to the chassis/frame?

I did this. I actually chose to use TWO ground-cables, one attached to the inner-fenderwell up by the air-box and the other down lower behind the headlight (both were 6mmx1.0 bolts, where 5/16" ring-terminals work nicely). For my future dream winch, it will have it's NEG attached to the same bolt behind the headlight, and my ham-radio NEG will pick up from the bolt by the airbox. I changed both these bolts to stainless, and added nickel-anti-seize everywhere to guard against corrosion. I also neatly scraped paint off the horn so it's a reliable member of the conduction team.

Each Ground was made from 2/0 welding cable, with hydraulically-crimped ends, which were also soldered and heat-shrunk.

Trying to streamline the cable buying.

This was a weakness for me - I was slow and piece-meal. I kept asking myself, at each step: What is The Best? Then I would buy. I had no urgency, and this is more than half-hobby for me, so i enjoyed the journey.

Extras:
I am in Canada, and got the Comfort+ Complete package from Toyota. This includes an AC battery-maintainer which is pretty small. It would have made the Redarc turn on, draw too much, shutdown, turn-back-on, Redarc restart, shutdown, etc. So, I had to use a relay to only connect the Redarc to my Main Battery when the IGNition is RUNning.

Further, over the past decades, I've been in the boonies for a several days, and like the peace-of-mind of being able to jump-start my Main Battery. So I added a Cole-Hersee continuous-duty solenoid (200A cont, 600A intermittent) to let me "combine" the batteries in circumstances where I need to jump-start myself, or when I may wish to have the Main battery assist the Aux in prolonged winching.

 

[gordonp]

First off I would avoid putting your BCDC in the engine bay.
Heres my set up. You can see the Redarc 1240d just to the right of the hood latch.

I'll second this (keep the BCDC out of the heat). I looked at the Prado mount, but it was going to be costly and slow to get this (all the way from Australia; at the time I was looking, there were none in-stock elsewhere, so mine would be a special delivery :sad:

My choice was to go with Off-Grid Engineering, and their Redarc BCDC Mount/ Battery Tray. This has a vertical mounting surface for the BCDC, and an orthogonal plate which is captured beneath the stock battery - simple!

I think this behind-headlight location is relatively cool, but then cooling is enhanced by the "prop-wash" of the mechanical engine-fan.

 

[ttime4four]

First off I would avoid putting your BCDC in the engine bay. I know that people do it but Redarc does not recommend doing it as it will be prone to overheating and be much less efficient. Put it out in front of the radiator with a Prado 150 mount if you can. Out of Town 4X4 in Australia has one as well as Redarc Australia. BCDC Mounting Bracket to suit Toyota LandCruiser Prado 150 | REDARC Electronics The mounting is exactly the same as on the Prado, but you have to move the horn mount a bit, it will be a much cleaner install. I would also use the Blue Sea Systems MRBF Surface and Terminal Mount Fuse Blocks. They mount right onto the battery terminal so that all cabling is protected, also easier to install and cleaner.
Heres my set up. You can see the Redarc 1240d just to the right of the hood latch.

[MENTION=352797]ruff4runner[/MENTION] -- can you show how the Prado 150 mount attaches?

 

[Xtremluck]

I’m not going to argue that more cooling isnt better but I’ve had mine mounted deep in the engine bay for two years with no issues whatsoever. It’s been through extended 100+ F long trail days and never skipped a beat.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ruff4runner]

[MENTION=352797]ruff4runner[/MENTION] -- can you show how the Prado 150 mount attaches?

It mounts in front of the radiator on the left side right where the horns are, so you have to move the horns. The mount fits just as it does in the Prado 150. I cut out a hole in the radiator cover so I could see the LED readout.