Tom,
Great Post! Thanks for keeping us informed...
Now, could you please post us again in a year or so to let us know how that
isolator is holding UP?
Thanks,
Bill

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Moritz" <tmoritz@bmi.net>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, August 26, 2000 11:37 AM
Subject: Auxillary battery installation follow-up (long)

> A little over a month ago I posted some e-mail describing an auxillary
> battery system using Sure Power Industries' battery separator between the
> chassis or starter battery and the auxillary battery.  At that time I was
> seeking anybody else's experience with this product.  While I didn't get
> any response detailing past experience I did get several e-mails asking me
> to report back how my installation went.
>
> Sure Power Indust. manufacutures two models, the 1314 and 1315, which work
> with 12V negative ground charging systems of 100 amps or less.  These
> separators allow multiple batteries to be charged from one charging
source.
>  When the batteries are not being charged the batteries are isolated.
This
> prevents discharging the chassis battery when drawing power from the
> auxillary battery.  The battery separator also prioritizes charging.  This
> is where these two models differ.  The 1314 is for systems with a single
> charging source.  This describes most vehicles.  When the battery
connected
> directly to the charging source reaches approximatley 13.2V the separator
> will close its high amperage contact connecting the auxillary battery in
> parallel.  The 1315 is the same except charging sources can be connected
to
> either the chassis or axillary battery.  When would you want the 1315?  I
> purchased it in anticipation of adding flexible solar cells and/or an
> inverter/charger to our electrical system.  These charging sources would
be
> connected to the auxillary battery.  With the 1315, when the auxillary
> battery reaches 13.2V, the contact would close and the extra power would
be
> used to top off the chassis battery.  The 1315 was only $5 more.  Both
> models also have spade terminals for an auxillary battery status lamp and
> manual override switch.  The battery status lamp is illuminated when the
> auxillary battery has sufficient voltage to assist the chassis battery for
> starting the vehicle.  The manual override allows you to force the
> separator to close the contacts and connect the batteries.  (This turned
> out to be quite handy as I explain later.)
>
> Installation:
>
> The first step after acquiring all the parts was to remove the driver's
and
> passenger seat and captains chair swivels.  I probably didn't need to
> remove the passenger seat but it made lifting the chassis battery out
> easier.  The next step was to remove enough of the sheet metal from under
> the driver's seat to allow me to install the Optima deep cycle battery.  I
> was able to do this with a 3/4" hole saw to drill the corners and a small
> electric jig saw with a heavy duty metal blade.  A test fit of the Optima
> battery confirmed there was enough room to mount both the battery and the
> battery separator in the auxillary battery box.
>
> Next step was to drill holes in the bottom of each battery box.  This is
> the reason I had to remove the chassis battery.  I lined the holes with
> rubber gromets and ran a 5 foot length of 4Ga. battery cable from one
> battery box to the other.  I terminated both ends with a crimp on eye and
> soldered it.  I bolted the separator to the floor of the auxillary battery
> box using self-tapping hex head screws.  I then connected the chassis
> battery (positive) to the battery separator primary terminal and the
> auxillary battery (positive) to the battery separator secondary terminal.
> (The primary and secondary terminal designation is not really important
> with the 1315 model but very important with the 1314 model.)  I also
> installed a small normally open momentary pushbutton switch up on the
front
> of the seat pedestal where the driver can hold the button and turn the key
> at the same time.  This switch is connected to the start-signal and ground
> terminals on the battery separator to manually close the contact.  I also
> installed a ground connection to the negative terminal of the auxillary
> battery.  Make sure you remove any paint from where you attach the
> grounding lead to improve conductance.  At this time I also replace the
> chassis battery with a new one from the local NAPA auto parts store.
>
> With that all done I was ready to test the installation.  Turn the key
> and....nothing!  I checked my wiring and the voltage of the batteries.
The
> new chassis battery was at 11.2V.  Hmmm...must have been on the shelf for
a
> while.  Okay, let's test the manual override switch on the separator.
Push
> and hold, turn the key and the engine comes to life.  I would have taken
it
> for a drive at this point but the seats were still out so I kept the
engine
> at about 2000rpm with my volt meter hooked to the chassis battery.  When
> the voltage was up to 13V I shut the engine down and installed the seats.
> She started up right away and I went out for  a test drive.  Everything
> seemed fine so I went home and parked her.  Later that afternoon I went
out
> to start her and....nothing!  I checked all my wiring to make sure I
didn't
> have an unintentional ground.  Everything was good according to my meter.
> I figured the battery was severly discharged when I purchased it so I
> rented a charger and hooked it up for a slow charge.  Three hours later
> things looked fine so I returned the charger figuring the chassis battery
> just needed a full charge.  The next morning she started but with
> difficulty and I drove to work.  After work she wouldn't start without
> connecting the auxillary battery with the manual override.  Well, I drove
> right to the NAPA store, pulled the "new" chassis battery, and told them
> the battery was bad.  Well, the skeptically put the battery on their test
> stand.  First test - failed.  Test again - failed.  This time I asked them
> to test the replacement battery before I left the store.  Something to
keep
> in mind five years from now when it's time to replace the battery again.
> Fortunatly the bad battery wasn't too much of an inconvenience because I
> was able to start the engine using the auxillary battery and manual
> override on the battery separator.
>
> I also hooked the fridge and water pump leads directly to the auxilary
> battery instead of going through the relay which disconnected the DC when
> the engine wasn't running.  Now I can put the fridge on DC while we are
> traveling and if we stop during the day I don't have to change over to
> propane.  I don't like to drive with the propane valve open in case of an
> accident and I don't even know if our fridge will stay lit while driving.
>
> We've used this setup for about three weeks of camping this summer.  The
> system works very well.  Before the heat exchanger would defrost during
the
> day because I wouldn't take the time to change over to propane if we were
> only stopping for an hour or less.  Now that isn't a issue.  The fridge is
> doing a much better job keeping things consistantly cool.
>
> Next phase is installing a low battery cutoff switch to protect the
> auxillary battery.  I have bought a product from Mobiletronix called
> Voltminder.  It is a solid state 15A/12VDC low voltage relay.  This will
go
> between the auxillary battery and the camping equipment.  The cutoff
switch
> will disconnect the battery from the camping equipment if the battery
> voltage drops below 10.5V.  It will turn on again once the voltage reaches
> about 12.5V.  While I don't expect to discharge our auxillary battery this
> far intentionally I figured it was good protection in case the frige gets
> left on DC for an extended period of time ie. after a long return trip
home
> and we are all very tired.  I will let you know how this product works
> after we've been using it for a while.
>
> Parts list:
>
> Battery separator - Sure Power Industries, Inc.  1314 or 1315.  Web site:
> http://www.surepower.com
>
> Auxillary battery - Optima Battery  D900M. Web site:
> http://www.optimabatteries.com
>
> Low voltage cutoff - Mobiletronix PC15A1VM.  Web site:
> http://www.mobiletronix.com - make sure you specify the a shutoff voltage
> of 10.5 and reconnect voltage of 12.66V.  They have a newer model with a
> shutoff voltage of 11.5V.  This is for applications where the battery has
> to retain enough power to start the engine.
> ***********************************
> *                                       *
> *       From the computer of:   *
> *           Tom Moritz          *
> *                                       *
> ***********************************
>