Don't put a deep cycle battery in the same charging circuit as a standard
battery.
Deep cycles discharge slower and charge slower and you're going to
confuse your regulator and smoke something.
Use two deep cycles if you do this thing. Otherwise match your existing
battery.

Stan Wilder

On Tue, 23 Apr 2002 22:37:29 -0400 Alan Pickersgill <alanpick@MAGMA.CA>
writes:
> I have a home made Westfalia, to which I 'd like to add a deep cycle
> battery (s) to run a Coleman Cooler I just bought and some other
> stuff including a laptop and some lights. Maybe even a v. small
> electric heater. I'm not planning to put the battery under the
> driver's seat but behind the passenger seat in a box which will have
> the cooler on top of it - box to be relatively open with ventilation
> to the interior of the van.
>
> I've seen a kit on Bus Depot for $19 US that includes a fused relay,
> wiring and instructions.
>
> Has anyone had any experience with this setup? Is the stuff good
> quality and does it work properly? Is this the best way to do a deep
> cycle solution? Could I get all the stuff in a Canadian auto parts
> store as cheaply with equal quality and not have to pay the
> shipping?
>
> Any practical advice/experience would be appreciated.
>
> I've also had people warn me about venting the battery (s) to the
> outside or perhaps run the risk of explosion after charging from
> production of hydrogen gas. But I understand that the deep cycle
> batteries were situated under the drivers seat for decades of
> Westfalia's without trouble. Anybody got any expert
> knowledge/experience about this safety issue?
>
> I don't know a lot about automotive electricity so please keep any
> advice simple..
>
> Alan Pickersgill
> Ottawa Canada
> 85 Transporter converted to Westfalia
>
>

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