What do you guys think about wiring the soft wash pump to the truck battery?
Why’s that?
It can be done, but most here won’t recommend it.
You will need to swap your truck battery with a deep cycle marine battery, preferably of a somewhat larger rating than the factory battery.
You’ll want to run large gauge power wire to the pump, with a good hi amp fuse right next to the battery.
And you’ll need to put a tender on it periodically to keep it topped off.
@Infinity you don’t think that just driving the alternator wouldn’t do the job? As long as your drive at the and of the day is long enough. Ya I can already see issues with this idea lol
Asking for a jump from a customer would just be embarrassing lol
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I can’t figure out what it means. Charging off the truck never works out the way folks think it will. Charging it over night is second best option. Best option is to not have a 12v system for washing.
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That Ford onboard generator coming out in 2021 looks pretty slick.
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Vehicle batteries are made to dump a lot of amperage into cranking a motor, and don’t last long when you deplete them over 50% over and over.
Deep cycle batteries, on the other hand, are made to run things at a consistent voltage for a long period of time and can be recharged from 75% depletion many, many times.
Doing it the right way will save you money and hassle
What about if I let the truck idle at the job? I have a dodge Dakota and when I have freelance jobs out in the heat I let it run so I can jump in the air conditioning every so often and by the end of the day the needle for my fuel barley moves at all. So the fuel wouldn’t be a problem and the battery would never die. I’m just spitballing ideas, could be complete crap but I like to take the time to think about different options even if the out come is that the original option is the best.
No. The alternator’s job is to run the vehicle and the slim amount of excess goes to topping off your starting battery. It’s not an endless supply of power. If you’re idling, the output is even less.
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Bingo
If you’re using a battery for washing, you need to plan on recharging overnight (at least occasionally)
Thank you guys, so I’ll obviously just go with the normal setup. Was just looking for a way to take a step out of day to day task but it’s quick to set up the charger for the soft wash system anyway
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Just keep an onboard charger always hooked up to your batteries on your 12v system. Get one of these and all you have to do is stick an extension cord on it when you get home for the evening. You don’t even have to unplug it in the morning. Just drive away and it comes unplugged on its own…lol
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I wouldn’t recommend wiring a 12v directly to your truck battery and have that as the source of power. What you can do however is charge a secondary battery off your alternator with an isolater installed so effectively you have 2 power sources getting charged but considered seperate systems, if your pump battery drains your truck will still start. The issue with this is the distance you generally drive between jobs and how long you use your 12v pump for, easily rectified with a large enough battery. For evidence of such systems and how to do it properly go have a search on a 4x4 overland forum those guys have fridges, lights, heaters all sorts of things run off seperate house batteries charged by there vehicles alternator, or in your case a 12v pump it’s the only way you can do it camping in remote places 5000 miles away from a power outlet.
But don’t a lot of the overland guys install larger alternators?
Some do for larger batteries and levels of use, but you need to remember that your not fully charging both up from being completely flat. While using the 12v pump battery your charging that one while the truck battery is just getting topped up. I would say any modern truck alternator will easily support 2 batteries with no issues whatsoever.
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We converted one of the trucks to 12volt last year to free up some weight to haul more chem. It’s wired directly to the trucks battery. The truck stays running all day . There has never been an issue. Other than only getting a few months out of the 12 volt pumps because there junk .
@florida_condo_cleani so you have had to jump or charge the battery? Did you make any altercations to the type of battery or alternator?
Wired directly to the trucks battery. No need to charge the battery the truck is always running
