Troy,

Here's my setup:
---105 AH Sears Diehard RV battery
---1315 Surepower separator
---30 amp Progressive Dynamics 110V smart charger
---8 AWG cable between the batteries

I put the $89 Diehard under the rear seat on the passenger side(better
weight distribution) and parallel to the sides of the van right up
against the seat cabinet wall---takes up very little room. The 1315
and the 30 amp charger live under their as well as an additional fuse
box that runs 8 fuses. I can send you a pic of the setup if you like.

The 1315 can be wired to include a switch that will combine both
batteries for starting. The 30 amp smart charger conditions the
batteries every few months or so and properly charges them. I plug in
the charger via a cord and plug that I routed to my license plate door.

I personally would stay away from AGM batteries. That are too
expensive and I've heard that they cannot be properly charged by your
alternator, but I have no first-hand experience with AGMs. My plan is
to have a Vitrifrigo replace my 3-way fridge in the next few months so
its good to hear some real-world experience and also to know that my
105AH battery choice was not overkill. Did you get your Vitrifrigo
from Karl Mullendore?

Jeff / San Anselmo
On May 22, 2008, at 9:00 PM, Automatic digest processor wrote:

> Date:    Thu, 22 May 2008 12:59:36 -0800
> From:    Troy <colorworks@GCI.NET>
> Subject: Battery Woes/Choice
>
> I've been spending a lot of time lately charging, testing and
> retesting reserve battery capacity of my odyssey 1200.  As one
> person mentioned last week, the best thing about odyssey batteries
> is their advertisement;)
>
> In terms of reserve capacity (AH) I"m told the better way of
> determining actual AH rating is to take the reserve time (in mins) x
> 25 amps and divide this figure by 60. In the case of the odyssey
> that's about 33 AH. It's rated at 44AH. That figure assumes you're
> going to run the battery all the way down to 11 volts or less, which
> from what I've learned is not a good thing to do-- at least if you
> want your battery to last any length of time.
>
> The figures I've heard are ideally 50% discharge, but as much as
> 65%. A resting voltage of no less than 12.2 or so. I just did a test
> last night running my  Vitrifrigo C51 for about 13 hours. The best I
> can figure, this refrigerator runs about three minutes out of every
> 10, so I rounded that off to 20 minutes out of an hour. That works
> out to about 11.2 AH.  In theory, the odyssey battery should be able
> to handle that, but my resting voltage this morning was at 11.8.
> This does not even include lights, stereo or my Atwood furnace that
> I need to run. I'm thinking I probably now need a 100AH or better
> auxiliary battery.
>
> So, looking for some options here:
>
> 1:) I can simply flip a switch that I have installed and link
> together my starting battery and reserve battery. The danger of
> courses is running the starting battery down too much and being
> stranded.
>
> 2:) install a second battery and link it to the odyssey under the
> rear bench seat
>
> 3:) Buy a whole new 100AH capacity battery and install it under the
> rear seat and eliminate the odyssey or use it as a starting battery.
>
> Since all my wiring is now behind the rear driver's seat, I'd like
> to do this as painless as possible.
>
> So, suggestions for a good battery to buy, whether it be a simple
> flooded style that would not be deeply discharged or go with one of
> the expensive optimas or other AGM's. I'm located in Alaska, so
> shipping is a consideration as well.
>
> I think I've heard more than one person using a standard flooded
> battery with good success, purchased at Sears or Wally world for
> quick exchange if needed.
>
> I need to get something done quickly here, so any help would be
> appreciated.
>
> While I love this new refrigerator, it has definitely caused share
> of problems with battery usage!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Troy