Fitting an internal Auxliary Battery to my Disco 2

[cominsa]

I want to fit a second battery to my Discovery and am thinking of getting the split charging system from x-eng and mounting the battery in the space left by one of the rear seats in the boot. We plan to use it to power a fridge and lighting during our camping trips.

Is this a viable solution, are there any regulations about having a battery located in the boot space?

Has anyone else done something similar and can provide pictures / advice.  :)

[propes]

I had a series3 109" ex military winterised and the battery was behind the seat bulkhead under an insulated cover so dont think theres much trouble with regs. But all id be concerned about would be venting the gasses away from the interior and not having any sources of ignition anywhere near (camping stoves) until the rear door has been open for a while. All armoured vehicles have the gasses vented out via a flame trap/one way valve so in a sealed vehicle this is a problem,in my rrc water in + gas out!

[Mud_Medic]

I have a disco 2 with 2 caravan batteries in the space where the near side third seat used to sit. I have a big inverter/charger mounted on top of that. I am at work at the moment, but will post picks when I get home.

I use this for days away rallying. Often I am not away for long periods of time, but do have a split charge system. It is nothing more than a relay attached to the 30A trailer feed behind the offside rear light cluster. It has cost me nothing more than £5 and a few bits of wire and connectors.

PM me if you want circuit diagrams. It is all very easy.

The only thing I have splashed out is sealed batteries (not gel). They are reasonable priced. You can change them 3 times and still be cheaper than the optima yellow tops, and they have a much greater capacity.

Ed

[cominsa]

Thanks Mud Medic, I will check out the local Caravan shop to see if they have the required bits. I will pm you if I need the diagram  :)

[cominsa]

Propes, good advice, we have a long gas lead which moves the stove as far away as possible from the bus, I can clean most things off the bus but the wifes cooking is not pretty. Will look into the caravan style batteries and charger as suggested by Mud Medic.  :)

[Mud_Medic]

Here are some pictures of my setup.

I have mounted the inverter on top of the batteries.

I have mounted the positive cable from the batteries inside a piece of hosepipe to protect them :D

Ed

[Range Rover Blues]

Personally I wouldn't want a battery in the cab space with me in case anything whent wrong (accident) and also the gasses that batteries give off.  If you fit the batterires into a leisure battery box you can then vent the box through the floor or inner wing.

The X-Eng kit uses a good heavy duty relay but you might also want to check out the Wizardbuilt split charge kit which doesn't need a connection to the alternator.

[propes]

Defenders have the batteries under the passenger seat i believe, properley secured i cant see a problem.

[cominsa]

It looks like as long as I can fix it securely it should be ok, I will check out at some of the caravan accessory shops to see what they suggest. Thanks for all your help on this...looking forward to the weekend to start the work

[ibruceuk]

Slightly OT, but what inverter have you got, and where did you get it from???

Here are some pictures of my setup.

I have mounted the inverter on top of the batteries.

I have mounted the positive cable from the batteries inside a piece of hosepipe to protect them :D

Ed

[300TDi Disco]

Fit dry cell battery then you don't have to worry about gases or major vibrations.

[Mud_Medic]

I had the frame made to measure. it is made of steel inch square tubing which I have painted black. (they wanted too much money for powder coating!)

The batteries were from a caravan dealer, and the inverter is sterling combi inverter/charger. (1600w continuous and 40 amp charge)

I have a split charge system using nothing more than a simple 40a automotive relay.

I know this is a bit of an overkill, but then again, I did it because I can!

Ed

[300TDi Disco]

Here are some pictures of my setup.

I have mounted the inverter on top of the batteries.

I have mounted the positive cable from the batteries inside a piece of hosepipe to protect them :D

Ed

Wow, like the work you have done there. I could run my house off that. Fair play.