Power Washing and Roof Cleaning Forum

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Skid Battery

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Install an inverter.
I'm planning on installing one at the back of my box truck against the wall.
I can charge batteries while running power tools using my ramp as a work table for carpentry and run the hot water burner I'm planning to hook up to my PW'er.

I'll post the link on my laptop when I get it working, it took a shhhhht.

I don't think a hitch plug supplies enough power (watts)

http://m.northerntool.com/products/shop~tools~product_200422351_200422351?hotline=false

http://m.northerntool.com/products/shop~tools~product_200377863_200377863?hotline=false

-- Edited by Maverick Contracting on Thursday 19th of November 2015 07:35:47 PM

John Aloisio · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Art,

we carry two group 29 batteries on each skid every day, and we take them off every night and put them on a charging station in the shop. We do this because we wash our skids down every day at the end of use. With the group 29's we rarely have to change a battery during the day even if we are working 10 hours. sometimes we gt into the second battery on commercial jobs when the pump is just running full all day.

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

The other option is to run 2 batteries in PARALLEL, check the link how to. This will give same voltage but longer run time, like a bigger battery. www.12voltbattery.info/images/content/batteryWireDiagram.jpg

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Our marine batteries are strapped to the floor of the box truck in parallel. I installed a waterproof outlet next to them and ran a pig tail through the floor where we hook up the extension cord. I have a trickle charger mounted to the top of the waterproof box with velcro and plug it in each night so the charge is always across both batteries. Each day we swap the clamps to cross the batteries in a different direction. If you charge just one it doesn't get fully charged across both. We have never run out on the longest days.

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Good Tip Brett with the clamps.

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Thanks Brett, first time I heard of that

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Maverick Contracting wrote:
Thanks Brett, first time I heard of that

I use to charge just one side and found there wasn't enough juice for a long day so I looked it up and everything I found said to charge across batteries. Now we have two batteries fully charged when we leave using a 2 amp trickle charger. I also wire the negative from one battery and the positive from the other to a negative and positive block. Each block is where I attach the negative and positive of anything 12v on the truck. Pump, LEDs and oscillating fan. My understanding of this is just like charging. It pulls current across both batteries for longer usage and equal life. I hope this makes sense!

SprayWash · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Brett is smart!!!

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

SprayWash wrote:
Brett is smart!!!

As Gomer used to say... Gosh!

Brandon Vaughn · Approved Exterior Cleaner

We switched our trucks over to 2 golf cart batteries this year and have been loving it. I have them wired in series to make them 12v. They have quick release water fill ports, so the guys can quickly check the fluid levels and fill with distilled water when running low. They check fluid levels every month.

Longer amp hours & cheaper price then running 3 batteries in series.

It acts as 1 big 12v deep cycle battery - a smart trickle charger is wired to them and we plug them in at the end of every day.

DirtyRoofcom · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Im going to be running 2 batteries in parallel this year. they will be located in the bed of a f250 pickup

i would ultimately love to have them charged by the trucks alternator. is it as simple as running heavy cable to the bed of the truck? possibly only the positive and ground out to the bed/frame? perhaps put a breaker/switch in so i can turn off the charging as needed?

Liberty SoftWash · PWS Vender

Run a isolator charge only when truck is running.

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Roof Cleaning PA wrote:
Run a isolator charge only when truck is running.

What Eric says. If you don't you could end up with a dead truck battery one day and no way to get home!

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I just installed a Battery Tender on my Skid. Plug it in and I'm good to go in the morning.

www.batterymart.com/p-battery-tender-plus-12v-5a-wp-battery-charger.html

njacobson · Veteran Member

I just planned on running one marine battery, and hooking a battery tender up . fixed to the terminals, so it stays on the skid. can just plug the tender in each night when done working. it will charge itself back to full, and ready to go in the am.....Is one battery not enough? why is everyone running two batteries?

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

If you're running your pumps all day long and they start to loose charge not only will performance esp distance will diminish and if I remember right too low power levels can damage the motor

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

njacobson wrote:
I just planned on running one marine battery, and hooking a battery tender up . fixed to the terminals, so it stays on the skid. can just plug the tender in each night when done working. it will charge itself back to full, and ready to go in the am.....Is one battery not enough? why is everyone running two batteries?

Nicholas I fixed your link in your signature so its live.

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

njacobson wrote:
I just planned on running one marine battery, and hooking a battery tender up . fixed to the terminals, so it stays on the skid. can just plug the tender in each night when done working. it will charge itself back to full, and ready to go in the am.....Is one battery not enough? why is everyone running two batteries?

I did exactly what Art has done because I was tired of messing with my big charger. Plug and go!

You increase the capacity. It's like trying to clean a 2000 sf roof with a 25 gal. tank. Add a second tank and you won't have to remix. Here is a quote from Battery School... "The final voltage remains unchanged while the capacity of the bank is the sum of the capacities of the individual batteries of this connection. Amp-Hrs, Cranking Performance and Reserve Capacity increases while Voltage does not."

A lot of battery questions are answered at Battery School.

I ran out with a single batter set up one time on a long day and it was the last time. Fortunately it was when I was using a trailer. I had to disconnect the trailer, move the truck and use jumper cables to power the pump and finish the job. When you think about it... an extra battery pays for itself if you ran the battery down and had to return to finish the job.

John Aloisio · Approved Exterior Cleaner

That is a good site Brett.

It is very simple...If you run in parallel you can run pretty much as many as you want and the voltage stays the same. It is when you run in series that you increase the voltage.

I am a stickler for emptying the trucks every night, because we do not run a trailer, like some of you guys. We take everything off, including the batteries and put them on a battery bank charging shelf in the shop. We always carry two Group 29 Marine batteries. My first year I used the Group 27's and had to change one out by the end of the day at least 3 times a week. With the Group 29's we rarely change a battery out, even in a 10 hour day. It all comes down to reserve capacity and you want that number to be in the 210-240 range, or higher. In theory, that is the number of run time, continuous minutes you can have the battery operating at. Both batteries on the trucks are at the end of the bed near the tailgate for easy access. We also, clean the terminals and steel wool the connections about once a month.

-- Edited by John Aloisio on Friday 26th of February 2016 07:22:49 AM