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Old 09-16-2010, 09:39 PM   #19
dsafety
Olivenhain Bob
 
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Olivenhain, CA
Posts: 1,121
Quote:
Originally Posted by -scallywag- View Post
the only way to "over charge" a lead acid battery is to apply too much voltage...even the cheapest 12V chargers will not hurt your battery.

Bob. your system would work fine, only add a 7 or 10a fuse inline somewhere in the circuit for short circuit protection. What you described is essentially what we do with multiple larger batteries in parallel. Drive around/run the engine to charge the batteries then at camp disconnect the battery bank from the truck battery then run the inverter off the battery bank.
Where would be the best place to tie into the system? There are plenty of 12V wires in a car. Could you just clip on to one of those or would the current be too low?

Electrical stuff is black magic to me. I understand just enough to be dangerous. If I could create a perfect in-cabin charging port, I would have some place to just plug a cable in which would charge the battery. Could it be as simple as plugging in to a cigarette lighter port?

Assuming this would work, all that would need to be done is to create a pigtail with a cigarette lighter plug on one end, a fuse and a connector to the battery on the other end. Could it be as easy as that? If someone knows, please post.

Better than that, post some photos and instructions in the Innovations thread. This might be a big deal.

Bob
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