Redarc BCDC Sizing

[Snowhunter]

Hello All

This is my first post here and I'm hoping that someone can help out.

My Ram 1500 is a true dual purpose vehicle: Daily work truck 7 mths a year and my adventure vehicle weekends and winters. I'm just beginning to build it out after one year as a work truck. That year taught me some of my daily needs and I have some ideas on what I want/need for my adventure trips. Initially my adventures are limited to 2-3 day driving trips leading to fishing, camping, hiking and photography opportunities. Most of my adventures are currently limited to the Adirondacks and the northeast. I'm hoping for some longer trips into Canada and to explore winter/ice roads in Ontario, Quebec and more.

My current adventure needs are pretty simple: a refrigerator, an inverter for charging batteries, phones, laptops, etc. and an aux battery jump system just in case. My work needs are pretty similar with the biggest difference being that I rarely drive more than 30 to 40 minutes to a job (on-stie RV repair) and the warmth/heat of summer.

I have decided on Redarc components. Reasons include compact size, quality and reliability (I'm concerned about long trips into north Canada with no services or communication). I'll be rigging up a BCDCxxxx unit with a SBI12 isolator for jump starting duty. I'm looking at 1500w inverters and down the road I will be looking to add solar backup (not a priority as I expect the short, dark, cloudy, snowy days of winter to limit it's effectiveness). Initially I'll be running 3 50ah LifePO4 batteries in parallel (I've chosen this size because of where I can fit them under the seat back of the crew cab).

So here is my question: What size BCDCxxxx should I use? Conventional wisdom says that the 25 amp model will be fine but I'm concerned about it providing enough of a charge during my limited summer driving from job to job. I'm thinking that the BCDC1240/1250 would charge faster providing more charge during those short drives. Will the higher amperage be too much for 150ah of batteries? Will the higher amperage damage anything? Shorten the life of anything? I'm looking at a first world problem here as my main concern is running the refrigerator 24/7 all summer long to keep my drinks and lunch cold during the day. Beyond that I'm sure that it would all be fine for the rare times that I charge batteries during the work day and/or run corded power tools.

Thanks for any advice/suggestions!!!

 

[K1mj]

Hello All

This is my first post here and I'm hoping that someone can help out.

My Ram 1500 is a true dual purpose vehicle: Daily work truck 7 mths a year and my adventure vehicle weekends and winters. I'm just beginning to build it out after one year as a work truck. That year taught me some of my daily needs and I have some ideas on what I want/need for my adventure trips. Initially my adventures are limited to 2-3 day driving trips leading to fishing, camping, hiking and photography opportunities. Most of my adventures are currently limited to the Adirondacks and the northeast. I'm hoping for some longer trips into Canada and to explore winter/ice roads in Ontario, Quebec and more.

My current adventure needs are pretty simple: a refrigerator, an inverter for charging batteries, phones, laptops, etc. and an aux battery jump system just in case. My work needs are pretty similar with the biggest difference being that I rarely drive more than 30 to 40 minutes to a job (on-stie RV repair) and the warmth/heat of summer.

I have decided on Redarc components. Reasons include compact size, quality and reliability (I'm concerned about long trips into north Canada with no services or communication). I'll be rigging up a BCDCxxxx unit with a SBI12 isolator for jump starting duty. I'm looking at 1500w inverters and down the road I will be looking to add solar backup (not a priority as I expect the short, dark, cloudy, snowy days of winter to limit it's effectiveness). Initially I'll be running 3 50ah LifePO4 batteries in parallel (I've chosen this size because of where I can fit them under the seat back of the crew cab).

So here is my question: What size BCDCxxxx should I use? Conventional wisdom says that the 25 amp model will be fine but I'm concerned about it providing enough of a charge during my limited summer driving from job to job. I'm thinking that the BCDC1240/1250 would charge faster providing more charge during those short drives. Will the higher amperage be too much for 150ah of batteries? Will the higher amperage damage anything? Shorten the life of anything? I'm looking at a first world problem here as my main concern is running the refrigerator 24/7 all summer long to keep my drinks and lunch cold during the day. Beyond that I'm sure that it would all be fine for the rare times that I charge batteries during the work day and/or run corded power tools.

Thanks for any advice/suggestions!!!

Hi, Welcome to Overland Bound.
Your 3 batteries are going to provide 150Ah 12V which is more than enough for your needs (as you described). And I agree that you won't really benefit from solar given your use case.
Regarding the BCDC range. The 25A is usually recommended for up to 100Ah of battery. The 1250 and the 1240 models are both suited for your capacity but the 1240 packs more value in terms of price/output. Your batteries should have a spec sheet stating max charge and discharge rate. It's usually at least half the capacity. So if it was 25A, you are still well below the margin because you are only providing 1/3 of the charge to each battery.
If you are installing the Redarc unit inside the cab, away from the engine heat or moisture you can go with the Redarc Core line which is basically the same units but less insulation and less expensive. This is my recommendation because you can keep it away from the elements and close to the batteries in the cab.
Also don't forget to install a good monitoring system with a shaunt at the battery terminal.
If you ever decide to go an easier route and not deal with wiring, fuses, etc. Goal zero 1500x provides 125Ah of battery and if you get the car link it charges up within about 3 hours. It also has the inverter, outlets, solar input and more.

 

[Snowhunter]

Hi, Welcome to Overland Bound.
Your 3 batteries are going to provide 150Ah 12V which is more than enough for your needs (as you described). And I agree that you won't really benefit from solar given your use case.
Regarding the BCDC range. The 25A is usually recommended for up to 100Ah of battery. The 1250 and the 1240 models are both suited for your capacity but the 1240 packs more value in terms of price/output. Your batteries should have a spec sheet stating max charge and discharge rate. It's usually at least half the capacity. So if it was 25A, you are still well below the margin because you are only providing 1/3 of the charge to each battery.
If you are installing the Redarc unit inside the cab, away from the engine heat or moisture you can go with the Redarc Core line which is basically the same units but less insulation and less expensive. This is my recommendation because you can keep it away from the elements and close to the batteries in the cab.
Also don't forget to install a good monitoring system with a shaunt at the battery terminal.
If you ever decide to go an easier route and not deal with wiring, fuses, etc. Goal zero 1500x provides 125Ah of battery and if you get the car link it charges up within about 3 hours. It also has the inverter, outlets, solar input and more.

Thanks!
I was not aware of the Core line. That would be perfect as I am mounting this in my cab. Unfortunately it does not look like they are available in the US yet. I will look into it further.
Thanks also for the monitoring system suggestion, I had overlooked that.
Yeah, I have been leaning towards the 1240 for the reasons that you said. I don't think that what I gain from the 1250 is worth it.

Thanks again!