Quote: Originally Posted by breimann
I think I figured out how I am going to set up the electric of my car...
Use a battery isolator and connect a second battery (deep cycle) in the trunk, that will power the inverter, which in turn will power the PC. I'll build a carpeted box w/ exhaust fans and have the PC, inverter, fuse block, and battery inside.
This way it gives me an excellent power solution with a pretty easy hookup. However, Ive seen battery isolators range from $30 to $129 for almost the same rating! I've been told hellroaring.com makes some of the best units, but is there something a little cheaper that works as good? I've found a few on marine web sites... but they are generic brand. Any feed back is welcome! thanks!
i built a sproggy and cutdown the power load off the battery by half. that gave me enough power to run my other accessories in the car. my ac-dc inverter which i have used for years have finally came to rest together with all the headaches of noise, beep warning, surprise rebooting, etc. as i have experienced it, dc-dc is the best power solution.
my sproggy(mastero mk3.5) can survive 3 sec. crank and can run my carputer for 1 hour with engine off but i just want to take some load off my main batt. so i'm getting my deep cycle batt. next week as my "tank". for batt. isolator, i'll just use Ricky327's "relay based" tank circuit plus a bit of modification by myself. it is i to my conclusion, much better that using diodes(continues supply to backup batt. & decreased voltage). relay based tank circuit only deliver extra current to backup batt(tank) if there is 12v on the relay.
you're right, commercial products are so expensive. if you have some spare time, and a natural diy'er, the cheapest way is to built it yourself. help is just right at the corner.