Ric Burney
EF3
Greetings all. First post to ST.
I have an issue concerning vehicle battery power that has me doing some head scratching.
This spring I will be chasing again for the first time in several years and doing so in a different vehicle (2001 mazda tribute). I am in the process of outfitting the vehicle with all of the necessary (and some not-so necessary) equipment.
Most of the 12 volt stuff (2m/444, GMRS, CB, scan and satellite radios) have already been installed.
I also have a 500 watt inverter for the 110 AC stuff (laptop, phone chargers, digital tv converter, etc.) but this has yet to be installed. The inverter will be mounted under one of the front seats with a fused 12AWG wire set to the vehicle battery teminals. A protected power strip will be included for all the 110v AC goodies to plug into.
Here is where I get a little fuzzy. I know that the vehicles alternator should have no trouble keeping the battery fully charged at highway speeds provided the current draw is normal (a/c, stereo, etc). My concern is if all the additional draw from the inverter and everything else may be pulling more than the charge being given to the battery.
I've been thinking of putting a 5 watt solar panel charger w/ controller in the mix by plugging it into an unused 12volt 'cigarette lighter' type power socket. It could stay in use indefinately. Someone else suggested just plugging in a regular trickle charger into the inverter, running a direct charge line back to the battery. This would charge the battery as long as the inverter was up and running.
All of my previous vehicles had only 12 volt equipment and a master switch between the equipment and the battery for down time.
I never had power issues with that setup before but now I'm worried that this vehicles charging system may not be enough with all the additional draw specifically the inverter.
I welcome any thoughts, ideas and suggestions anyone may have in this matter. Thanks in advance for your help.
I have an issue concerning vehicle battery power that has me doing some head scratching.
This spring I will be chasing again for the first time in several years and doing so in a different vehicle (2001 mazda tribute). I am in the process of outfitting the vehicle with all of the necessary (and some not-so necessary) equipment.
Most of the 12 volt stuff (2m/444, GMRS, CB, scan and satellite radios) have already been installed.
I also have a 500 watt inverter for the 110 AC stuff (laptop, phone chargers, digital tv converter, etc.) but this has yet to be installed. The inverter will be mounted under one of the front seats with a fused 12AWG wire set to the vehicle battery teminals. A protected power strip will be included for all the 110v AC goodies to plug into.
Here is where I get a little fuzzy. I know that the vehicles alternator should have no trouble keeping the battery fully charged at highway speeds provided the current draw is normal (a/c, stereo, etc). My concern is if all the additional draw from the inverter and everything else may be pulling more than the charge being given to the battery.
I've been thinking of putting a 5 watt solar panel charger w/ controller in the mix by plugging it into an unused 12volt 'cigarette lighter' type power socket. It could stay in use indefinately. Someone else suggested just plugging in a regular trickle charger into the inverter, running a direct charge line back to the battery. This would charge the battery as long as the inverter was up and running.
All of my previous vehicles had only 12 volt equipment and a master switch between the equipment and the battery for down time.
I never had power issues with that setup before but now I'm worried that this vehicles charging system may not be enough with all the additional draw specifically the inverter.
I welcome any thoughts, ideas and suggestions anyone may have in this matter. Thanks in advance for your help.