Adding a second battery in a most unusual way

[Jim_R]

PDX, probably have to contact your Dealer for the exact cost, I recall paying less than $700 shipped. I can measure the exact depth this weekend, going by memory I am pretty sure it is less than 15 inches.

 

[Jim_R]

An update on the install. Found some time to wire up the Yandina Automatic Charging relay. The Yandina is pre-wired, but in my case I had to extend one of the leads. I wnet up from the 10 awg wire Yandina uses to 8 awg. Also, Yandina advises it is a good idea to fuse the wiring between batteries at both ends, and recommends sizing the fuse at 30 - 50% of the cold cranking amp capacity of the smaller battery. I went conservative at 150 amps, but it sure feels wrong installing a 150 amp fuse on a run of 10 and 8 awg wire.

I did not have space at both ends for fuse holders, so I did it like this:

While I was at it, I added a distribution block to reduce the amount of connections tied to the House Battery. There is a 100 Amp fuse in the balck fuse holder.

Here's the starting battery in it's new location. Note the blocks of wood to prevent shifting - this is a checklist item for those that want a safety certificate.

And here's the house battery installed in the original battery location.

Getting closer to installing the perimeter lights!

 

[Link]

JimR, you are a pretty handy guy, maybe next time you can find some time to fix the weather here in the northeast. Thanks, would appreciate it.