flyfisher431

I am in the process of setting up a Featherlite 7 x 10 enclosed prow nose trailer for transporting planes to the flying field. I have been considering getting a couple of deep cycle batteries that would charge while I tow the trailer and then use them to provied power for charging, starting, etc while at the field. Is there a down side to this? Am I doing something that will fry my power panel or my starter? I'm not worried about the truck being able to charge the batteries it has dual batteries and alternators and is rigged to tow and charge a 40 foot fith wheel. I just don't want to get to the flyinf field and smell that whisp of ozone followed by a trip to the LHS because I fried all my RC charging stuff.

Thanks


Ben

Newc

Any particular reason that you feel the need for more than one? If you are going to use more than one, all will be fine as long as they are wired in parallel so that the output voltage is at the 12v level, not at 24 volts, for use with the typical chargers.

flyfisher431

Thanks for the input. As to why more than one It isn't that far to one of our flying fields and I wanted to make sure I didn't run out of power on some of our very long flying days. Here in AK from May 20 till July 20 we have enough daylight to fly from 5 AM until 11 PM. You think I'm going over kill with two?

Ben

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Two marine batteries is overkill.
I will recommend that you put in 18 amps of diode protection and a 10-15 amp fuse in line.
When the battery is deeply discharged, you can get initial charge current this high when you first plug up your trailer.
I have this setup with a single battery, 12 amp diode and 10 amp fuse to a solar panel.
From dead, it takes about 3 days of direct sunlight to get the battery charged.

The diode is to protect the battery from being fully discharged through the charge connector. (during the process of starting the truck)

flyfisher431

OK, Thanks for the information. Where do you have the solar panel mounted. How large a panel are you using? One of the things that catches people off guard here is how low an arc the sun cuts across the sky. Also lots of people ask why it looks like our Sat dishes are aimed at the ground. Direct TV is at 17 Degrees of elevation.