Adding Inverter to Ice house

so I’m starting to get more into the quieter=better fishing crowd and want to avoid running the genny during long/peak fishing periods. currently have one battery in the house and want to add another in parallel. I also want to add a inverter to run a TV and dvd player (roughly 80 watts total), couple of questions:

1.) If I add another battery to parallel, does it need to be in the same battery group/CCA/AH?

2.) The inverter setup is going to be manually clipped onto the battery when I want to run quietly and have separate outlets. If the batteries are hooked up in parallel, can I still run the inverter and the 12 volt system (heater and lights) at the same time?

1. It’s better if they are the same size but it will work if they are different.

2. Yes you can still use your 12 volt items while the inverter is running. Depending on your inverter you might get some noise on the 12 volt side that might make lights flicker.

I have a 12 volt LED TV with built in DVD player That will also run on 110 volts. It works quite well. I have a camper power panel installed and that has a built in smart charger for my batteries so if I do run my generator it charges the batteries too. Often we shut the generator off before bed, crawl in bed while watching a movie on 12 volt and then when I shut it off I don’t have to go outside to shut off generator.

Sorry for a bit of an alternative suggestion to what you were asking for, but until I started looking I didn’t realize there were dual voltage TVs out available

supercat wrote:

1. It’s better if they are the same size but it will work if they are different.

If they are not the same size, will it pull from one more than the other or what happens if they are not the same size? I was going to add an older group 27 from boat to the group 24 that is in the ice castle.

If there wired together in parallel they will be the same voltage and it won’t pull more power away from one battery.

I wouldn’t be afraid to have 2 batteries that are a little different in size. I’m adding a group 27 along with the factory group 24 in my shack with an inverter. Just waiting for the battery to get back in stock.

If you use 2 battery’s of different amp hour capacities (sizes) you will gain more capacity than a single battery, but as they discharge the larger battery will use some of its energy to try to recharge the smaller battery, because the smaller battery will discharge faster (some of this energy will be returned but whenever you convert 1 form of energy to another (electrical to chemical then back) it is never is 100% efficient). As they are connected in parallel they will both be held at the same voltage but you will loose some capacity. This can also effect charging with a smart charger. As stated it will work, but having two battery’s of the same amp hour capacity will give you much better performance. Same goes with using 1 new battery and 1 old battery (different capacities), it will work but it wont give you full performance.

In my last shack I had separate batteries.

One dedicated for the heater/lights, one dedicated for the tv/dvd/sound bar.

In my opinion it’s the only way to go.

Just to add a little to the original post it is not recommended to put batteries in parallel or series if they are of different age, type, or chemistry. By doing so you can overcharge a battery within the battery pack and can cause that battery or others to fail. As before I’m not saying it won’t work but just so you know the possibility’s.

Hmm, sounds like I’ll need to hook the inverter to a separate battery and not bother with running them in parrallel.

thanks

B-man wrote:

In my last shack I had separate batteries.
One dedicated for the heater/lights, one dedicated for the tv/dvd/sound bar.

In my opinion it’s the only way to go.

Did you have a way to switch this back to run everything on only one battery?

Been following as I need to add capacity. My new to me house has a single group 24 sla. We’re adding a tv & blu ray player for sure. Also have an inverter I would like to add so we can have at least some 120v if a generator is not available.

Original plan was to run 2 size 27 agm’s from my boat and in parallel. When needed I would swamp out the 2 for the single group 24. Co-owning and will be times where one of us has the batteries charging at our respective homes.

I’m okay hooking up a 24-27 in parallel. Didn’t think about any sla-agm potential issues though if that need ever came up. Sounds like I need to keep the chemistry separated.

I just installed a extra battery and inverter in mine last weekend. Mine came factory with one group 24 battery and I added another group 31 battery and I did not go with a agm battery because the research I found with the agm battery charged differently than a wet battery. I wired the batteries in parallel and wired the inverter to the posts on the group 31 battery. I have quick disconnects on the inverter so I can unplug it when its in storage and not being used in case the inverter had any draw and would drain my batteries.

Coletrain27 wrote:

I just installed a extra battery and inverter in mine last weekend. Mine came factory with one group 24 battery and I added another group 31 battery and I did not go with a agm battery because the research I found with the agm battery charged differently than a wet battery. I wired the batteries in parallel and wired the inverter to the posts on the group 31 battery. I have quick disconnects on the inverter so I can unplug it when its in storage and not being used in case the inverter had any draw and would drain my batteries.

Just remember this will work but will cause premature battery failure because of the mismatched reserve capacity. You would be better running of a single battery and switch them when one has been discharged. I not saying it will happen in a year but it will happen.

What about mismatching batteries if you had them downstream of a switch? Specifically a Blue Sea that lets you select 1, 2, or 1+2. Switch

Would that eliminate all these concerns about different flavored batteries?

supercat wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Coletrain27 wrote:</div>
I just installed a extra battery and inverter in mine last weekend. Mine came factory with one group 24 battery and I added another group 31 battery and I did not go with a agm battery because the research I found with the agm battery charged differently than a wet battery. I wired the batteries in parallel and wired the inverter to the posts on the group 31 battery. I have quick disconnects on the inverter so I can unplug it when its in storage and not being used in case the inverter had any draw and would drain my batteries.

Just remember this will work but will cause premature battery failure because of the mismatched reserve capacity. You would be better running of a single battery and switch them when one has been discharged. I not saying it will happen in a year but it will happen.

How is that?

Not trying to start any arguments i’m just stating a fact. Without going into a chemistry class here I suggest you talk to someone yourself that understands how batteries work. I always find the internet as a starting point and then doing the research on my own the best option.

As I posted above it is not recommended to put batteries in parallel or series if they are of different age, type, or chemistry. By doing so you can overcharge a battery within the battery pack and can cause that battery or others to fail

Patk yes you are correct that a battery switch would eliminate this problem by isolating the batteries

I researched a lot and half the sites say it’s fine to add batteries in parallel that are different AH as long as they are the same type and the other half say no so

this makes my head hurt
next question, anyone have a grey wolf ice house that has a hdmi port next to the tv connections and know how to connect that to the radio system

I have no experience with a grey wolf but my glacier has the hdmi port on the wall and it connects directly to the stereo so you can play the tv sound through the stereo speakers and play dvds right from the stereo to the tv. I just have to change the input on the stereo and it works

As long as these are the same TYPE of battery (agm/gel/sla), hooking them up in parallel should make them operate as one large battery. They aren’t connected by the chemistry, they are connected by the electrons that the chemistry creates. As long as you dont start mixing the different types of batteries that work on slightly different voltages, parallel away! It is only going to be when you splurge for the lithium house batteries that you’re going to have to delete everything and start over. (Note – gel batteries require slower charging, so don’t use them unless you know your house converter is setup for it)