Two battery setup connection for inverter

[Al97]

I just added a second 12V battery to my basic Jayco 154 BH camper and have a question on how to use the battery terminals for connections.


In the photo it shows I hooked them together using the recommended jumper wires between batteries and pull power from + on one battery and the - on the other.
Now I want to add an inverter connection and would like to use the other + and - terminals since they have enough stud length left to take the heavy cables to the inverter. The + and - studs where the main power/charging cables are attached don't have much thread left for additional heavy cables.


Would drawing power from the other two +/- terminal cause any problems balance problems or other problems between batteries?


Thanks.
Alan

[Vicr]

Yes, OK to connect your inverter there. Just remember to fuse/ circuit breaker the connection at the battery to protect the cables going to the inverter.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by Vicr

Yes, OK to connect your inverter there. Just remember to fuse/ circuit breaker the connection at the battery to protect the cables going to the inverter.

I agree with that, it doesn't matter which +/- you use. One other thought, if you hook them up that way, there will be no disconnect to kill the power to the inverter, if needed, unless you add one along with the fuse.

[Mustang65]

Electrically speaking all loads should be connected to the same connections as the charging connections. It keeps an equal flow in and out of the batteries.

- Another question(s) is how old was the original battery before you added the second battery?
- Have you ever had the original battery die (voltage 10.5VDC)? 1x? 2x?....
- Multiple times of dropping the original battery below 12.2VDC?
- Battery cell tops exposed to air (above water level)?
- Corroded connections (causes charging issues)

All these items will have an effect on your Ah's and battery life.


Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[Screwby]

After scouring the web when I was wiring up my battery bank a common theme was found for wiring and charging. Most of the respectable power diagrams insisted that all wiring going to the camper come from the opposite far ends of the battery bank. They said it helps keep the load even across all the cells as opposed to drawing from the middle or the side. I’m no electrical guru but it made sense to me.