Engine bay secondary Battery or Jackery 1000 portable

[HoffmanMark]

Hi
I’m trying to decide whether to install a secondary battery in my 2004 4RnR or to buy a Jackery 1000 Li Ion portable battery with an included MPPT BMS and solar ready. It will be used for my auxiliary lights and powering the future Dometic. Would love to hear the opinions, pros and cons of each.

Thanks
Mark.

 

[MMc]

I would go with a second mounted batterie because of the easy of use. Can you charge a Jackery while driving? That would make a difference. Being able to move the Jackery might be nice.
If the lights and Frig. are hardwired and plug in, it doesn’t much matter other than storage space.
Cost will be more with a hard mount by the time you get done with it.
I went hard mount.

 

[RoarinRow]

I would go with second battery because it opens up a lot of possibilities for powering onboard electronics, communications, lights, winch, etc. I used my Jackery 500 to power my Dometic fridge for 3 days without having to charge the Jackery while driving or without having to plug to house power. So the money you'd save in going with a 500 instead of 1000 could go towards your dual battery setup. My .02.

 

[HoffmanMark]

What type of battery are you using for your secondary?

 

[MMc]

I have 2 kinds my primary is a X2 power because Odyssey doesn’t make one that fits you truck the secondary is a Odyssey. Both are AGM’s

 

[bgenlvtex]

Lithium battery
Lithium "generator"pack
Auxiliary underhood

I don't want the battery that I'm going to use while stationary connected to engine battery unless it is only for limited and/or low consumption devices

Using the engine to charge a remotely mounted battery or battery pack is easy enough. Similarly, I want to be able to choose what my solar is doing (charging engine or accessory battery)

And no matter how all of that works out, a jump pack that is used exclusively for jumping

 

[RoarinRow]

Because I have space in my rig, my second battery in the engine bay is an Optima Yellow Top (I know people don't like them) and my 3rd battery is a solar Renogy 100amp battery in the camper shell powered by 100w solar panel on top of the cab.

 

[M Rose]

This very question came up on our conference call last Sunday. The option you don’t mention is a diy LiFePO4 100ah solar generator. The Jackery 1000 is only a 50ah battery pack, while for the same cost you can build a 100ah generator with 100w solar panels. And then by doing a DIY solution, you can use the solar generator to power your vehicle electronics (lights, radios, fridge, etc) and still pull it out of the rig to power stuff around camp.

 

[bgenlvtex]

This very question came up on our conference call last Sunday. The option you don’t mention is a diy LiFePO4 100ah solar generator. The Jackery 1000 is only a 50ah battery pack, while for the same cost you can build a 100ah generator with 100w solar panels. And then by doing a DIY solution, you can use the solar generator to power your vehicle electronics (lights, radios, fridge, etc) and still pull it out of the rig to power stuff around camp.

That's where I am at and a pigtail installed to charge the starting battery with the solar.

The disparity in price for what all appear to be Chinese construction does have me a little concerned though. You can find 100ah LiFePo from high $400's to a solid $1k and they all "smell" the same. The environmental concerns around lithium products means they are largely if not completely sourced overseas. I'm not scared of a lot of things, but I am terrified of a lithium fire and the hydrofluoric acid produced by one. One of my neighbors had one go to smoke and he lived in a hotel for about a half a year while the insurance company gutted everything in his house and remediated. What I'm saying is, I don't know if the more expensive brands are simply market capitalization , or they have a higher level of QC attendant to their price.

 

[M Rose]

This very question came up on our conference call last Sunday. The option you don’t mention is a diy LiFePO4 100ah solar generator. The Jackery 1000 is only a 50ah battery pack, while for the same cost you can build a 100ah generator with 100w solar panels. And then by doing a DIY solution, you can use the solar generator to power your vehicle electronics (lights, radios, fridge, etc) and still pull it out of the rig to power stuff around camp.

That's where I am at and a pigtail installed to charge the starting battery with the solar.

The disparity in price for what all appear to be Chinese construction does have me a little concerned though. You can find 100ah LiFePo from high $400's to a solid $1k and they all "smell" the same. The environmental concerns around lithium products means they are largely if not completely sourced overseas. I'm not scared of a lot of things, but I am terrified of a lithium fire and the hydrofluoric acid produced by one. One of my neighbors had one go to smoke and he lived in a hotel for about a half a year while the insurance company gutted everything in his house and remediated. What I'm saying is, I don't know if the more expensive brands are simply market capitalization , or they have a higher level of QC attendant to their price.

I’ve been doing a lot of research into this the past couple of months... The Jackery uses prismatic cells encased in plastic which are very volatile if the casing is ruptured... all of the LifFePO4 cells are manufactured in Asia... the best LiFePO4 cells are encased in aluminum so if a cell is ruptured it is contained inside the aluminum case with safety vents to vent pressures if the cell fails. Check out DIYSOLAR on YouTube. He goes into great details about both commercial solar generators, and DIY generators and how DIY if done correctly is safer than the commercial products

 

[bgenlvtex]

I’ve been doing a lot of research into this the past couple of months... The Jackery uses prismatic cells encased in plastic which are very volatile if the casing is ruptured... all of the LifFePO4 cells are manufactured in Asia... the best LiFePO4 cells are encased in aluminum so if a cell is ruptured it is contained inside the aluminum case with safety vents to vent pressures if the cell fails. Check out DIYSOLAR on YouTube. He goes into great details about both commercial solar generators, and DIY generators and how DIY if done correctly is safer than the commercial products

Excellent, thank you

 

[bgenlvtex]

@ M Rose is that the Will Prowse guy? I'm not finding a DIYSOLAR channel?

 

[M Rose]

@ M Rose is that the Will Prowse guy? I'm not finding a DIYSOLAR channel?

Yes Will Prowse...

i have been finding that most others are referencing him, or his forums as the source for good information.

 

[Shokgoblr]

I built a dual battery system that is essentially a Jackery 1000 for well under $500
36ah AGM battery $70
20Amp Renogy DC-DC charger $110
1000w inverter $25 (Schumacher deal)
Assorted cables & connections $100 (crimping tool, 6AWG, Anderson disconnect)

I will be able to add an MPPT controller & solar panels in parallel with the DC-DC charger later on when I decide I need it.
The system is fully removable from my rig.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

Hi
I’m trying to decide whether to install a secondary battery in my 2004 4RnR or to buy a Jackery 1000 Li Ion portable battery with an included MPPT BMS and solar ready. It will be used for my auxiliary lights and powering the future Dometic. Would love to hear the opinions, pros and cons of each.

Thanks
Mark.

I run the dual battery setup on my CJ5. and even with two AGM batteries I have found myself in trouble on more than one occasion when I thought I could use it as my primary source of power. Well with the Black Friday specials and Jackery's latest sale I just purchased the 1000, and 2 - 100W solar panels this week. What sold me was the fact that I can charge the J1000 from the DC source in my Ram and Jeep while driving, and since I use a CPAP it was on top of my list for this year. Depending on what you're needs are you might be fine with the Jackery 500. Now even though I feel more comfortable with the add on this week, I will probably end up picking up a Harbor Freight 2000 or 3500 Predator for backup. Operating Temp is also something to consider, -10 to 40C, Recharging temp 0 - 40C...

 

[Lindenwood]

When I still had my 4Runner, I was super happy with the dual batteries under the hood and an isolator to protect the main battery. Provided good power for the winch and was easier to use on a daily basis.

 

[MarioT'sCJResto]

I run the dual battery setup on my CJ5. and even with two AGM batteries I have found myself in trouble on more than one occasion when I thought I could use it as my primary source of power. Well with the Black Friday specials and Jackery's latest sale I just purchased the 1000, and 2 - 100W solar panels this week. What sold me was the fact that I can charge the J1000 from the DC source in my Ram and Jeep while driving, and since I use a CPAP it was on top of my list for this year. Depending on what you're needs are you might be fine with the Jackery 500. Now even though I feel more comfortable with the add on this week, I will probably end up picking up a Harbor Freight 2000 or 3500 Predator for backup. Operating Temp is also something to consider, -10 to 40C, Recharging temp 0 - 40C...

I ended up adding the Yahama SC2300i Inverter Generator as my back up to the Jackery 1000 as my backup. It worked like a Gem. I also keep a Type S lithium Jump Starter in the Ram.

 

[MMc]

I hope it works for you!