National Luna Dual Battery System

[ckkone]

I've heard great things about some of the other National Luna products, what about their dual battery system:

http://www.nationalluna.com/battery.html

The reason I brought this up is this kits seems readily available on ebay and includes everything but the battery and battery tray.

eBay link (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120153053587&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fse arch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D 120153053587%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1)

I see most other systems use a 150-200a solenoid where this kit only uses a 85a solenoid, what would be the down side to this?

[overlander]

That is the one to get. I currently have a wrangler dual battery system in my defender, as I moved it over from my jeep, so it was no additional cost. I was in direct communication however with national luna when I was shopping around. If I didn't already have the wrangler setup, I would have bought the national luna system, without hesitation. designed and built in south africa, and south african made 4wd products are the real deal, made to last the bush with caravaning and 4wd in mind.

[Mlachica]

another place to get it from is Paul May of www.equipt1.com (http://www.equipt1.com)

It might not be on his site, but you can call him.

[cruiseroutfit]

I have the National Luna setup for my 04' Tacoma... and the Wrangler for my FJ40. I'll be installing the Nat. Luna in my Taco shortly, and I'll be doing the setup in a 06' Tacoma tomorrow. Top notch for sure... they come with everything :cool:

PS, mine came from Paul @ Equipt

[ckkone]

Okay, okay, I'll call this Paul dude and get one ordered!

So few questions...

1) What gauge is the wire that comes with the kit

2) I see most other systems use a 150-200a solenoid where this kit only uses a 85a solenoid, what would be the down side to this?

[cruiseroutfit]

Okay, okay, I'll call this Paul dude and get one ordered!

Have you met Paul? He is a member of the WC but hasn't been on too many club runs lately... great guy for sure!

I'll go grab a kit and answer your other questions. :D

The National Luna kits come with killer silicone sheilded battery cable, its right ~6ga. SAE spec stuff, its rated at 1000v.

[Moody]

I just bought the National Luna kit from Paul as well. Anxious to get it all up and running.

[Boston Mangler]

Another Vote For Giving Paul May Your Business!

Top Notch Dude!!!!

[Dave]

Looks like a good setup. I think my stock Tacoma has an 80 amp alternator, would the 85 amp solenoid in the National Luna kit be too close to it's limits?

[ckkone]

My wife is already having an angina attack about all the parts I bought this summer, so I have to explore some less expensive options for running dual batteries. I figure I have about $200 to spend, so probably going with the Sure Power 1314-200.

[cruiseroutfit]

The 06' Tacoma install is complete... I have to say what an awesome kit :cool:

Things I liked about it:
VERY high quality components, right down to the battery cable lugs.
The dual batt. monitor is awesome, monitors both batteries side by side
The solenoid is a nice Cole Hersee unit, the battery cables are double insulated!
Plug and play install... and it works. I tested it through a couple scenarios, leaving the lights on too long, sure enough it sounded the alarm, and if I hooked a low voltage battery in the aux. position, it disconnected the relay as advertised.

The dislikes:
The hole (~5/8") that you have to drill in the firwall to run the contol wiring. It has preformed plastic plugs on both ends of the control link... without doing a splice in the middle, you have to drill a fair size hole. It can be cleanly done with a grommet and tad of silicone, but a smaller plug on one end or the other would have been preferred.

I'll post some pics of the Nat. Luna setup and dual battery setup soon! I'll be installing one in an FZJ80 and my 04' Taco in the coming weeks (and installing a Nat. Luna dual battery monitor in my NW Wrangler equipped FJ40)

[Mlachica]

Some good info there Kurt. May I request a picture of the in cab stuff?

[xcmountain80]

I have to do something, I was contemplating this system or something like it. I need a starting battery and an aux battery to run the goodies(fridge, winch, aux power connect).


Aaron

[texas taco]

This unit seems to be top notch. My only question is the 85 amp solenoid rating. If you put your winch on the aux battery, wouldn't it kill the solenoid?Just wandering. I am in the process on finding a management system for my system. Thanks

[cruiseroutfit]

This unit seems to be top notch. My only question is the 85 amp solenoid rating. If you put your winch on the aux battery, wouldn't it kill the solenoid?Just wandering. I am in the process on finding a management system for my system. Thanks

Don't put the winch on the aux. battery... really there isn't a reason too. Nat. Luna recommends winch installs be on the main battery, for the most part I agree. I beleive a second battery is mainly needed to protect the start battery... never to leave you stranded. Well, you can't accidently leave your winch on... ;)

In addition, the charge to the main battery has less losses than it does to the aux. battery, especially in the Nat. Luna setup where the main battery is fully charged and then the aux. battery.

I'll get some pics uploaded ASAP.

[cruiseroutfit]

Installed Pics:

[cruiseroutfit]

Controller pics:

[ckkone]

Looks like one solid unit, thanks for putting up some pics!

[Green Ganesha]

For those of you with the National Luna system, how have you mounted your controller unit?

I'm getting ready to install, and from what I can tell, there is no mounting bracket, screw holes, or even an easy way to open up the controller.

I'd rather not resort to double-sided tape....

[SAR_Squid79]

Why is Paul May selling the kit for $375, and I can get the exact same kit on eBay for $149?

Looks exactly the same to me...

[cruiseroutfit]

Why is Paul May selling the kit for $375, and I can get the exact same kit on eBay for $149?

Looks exactly the same to me...

I've never had the eBay version in my hands... but from the eBay pics I've seen they don't come with the same cables, connectors, fuse blocks, etc... might be lesser quality solenoids, cables, etc. hard to tell without having one. Another thing to consider is warranty & spares, if the unit fails in a couple of years Paul will be around to get you taken care of... the eBay shop? If you do get one post a pic of the accessories included, I'd love to know how they compare.

[Beowulf]

Here is the National Luna Manual.

http://www.nationalluna.com/datasheets/split-charge_manual.pdf

[Beowulf]

Also a LandRover thread on NL.

http://www.landroveraddict.com/smf/index.php?topic=366666.0

[cruiseroutfit]

Also a LandRover thread on NL.

http://www.landroveraddict.com/smf/index.php?topic=366666.0

I have a hard time taking any electrical advise from a Land Rover owner ;) :D

(yes a poorly executed Lucas joke).


Ther NL systen is not bush repairable. I lost a full day on our last trip as the other car wouldn't charge the batttery. Yep the NL system was faulty. That's why I like a relay.

It is extremely easy to over-ride and manually connect the NL system if needed, not sure what his issue was but short of the solenoid failing, I would consider it "bush repairable". If the solenoid did fail, a jumper cable could provide a rough but usable fix.

Interesting he had a unit fail. Anything can fail I suppose, I've been lucky with the units I've dealt with (not that many btw) and hope to see continued sucsess with future NL installs inlcuding my Tacoma.

[ckkone]

I've never had the eBay version in my hands... but from the eBay pics I've seen they don't come with the same cables, connectors, fuse blocks, etc... might be lesser quality solenoids, cables, etc. hard to tell without having one. Another thing to consider is warranty & spares, if the unit fails in a couple of years Paul will be around to get you taken care of... the eBay shop? If you do get one post a pic of the accessories included, I'd love to know how they compare.

I helped Moody install his nat. luna kit, and I have the eBay version in my rig.

Nat. Luna Pros:
Double shielded cables
Nicer fuse blocks
Better instructions (I actually downloaded and used the Nat. Luna instructions when I installed my kit)
Cole Herse relay
Much better fit and finish

The eBay kit is fine and it's worked for me so far, I did have one issue with it when I installed it. Where the cable connects to the monitor some of the pins were bent and it would not plug in, I contacted the seller and he sent me a new relay, cable and monitor. If I could do it over again I would go with the Nat. Luna kit, I think it would provide better peace of mind when off the beaten path.

[cruiseroutfit]

I helped Moody install his nat. luna kit, and I have the eBay version in my rig.

Nat. Luna Pros:
Double shielded cables
Nicer fuse blocks
Better instructions (I actually downloaded and used the Nat. Luna instructions when I installed my kit)
Cole Herse relay
Much better fit and finish

The eBay kit is fine and it's worked for me so far, I did have one issue with it when I installed it. Where the cable connects to the monitor some of the pins were bent and it would not plug in, I contacted the seller and he sent me a new relay, cable and monitor. If I could do it over again I would go with the Nat. Luna kit, I think it would provide better peace of mind when off the beaten path.

Excellent feedback Chris, good to know. :D

[FlyingWen]

My wife is already having an angina attack about all the parts I bought this summer, so I have to explore some less expensive options for running dual batteries.

Your poor wife. I've been there. Flyingwil begged for years to make his truck into what it is today. She'll finally roll her eyes in frustration and say "whatever you want".

LOL

[teotwaki]

Your poor wife. I've been there. Flyingwil begged for years to make his truck into what it is today. She'll finally roll her eyes in frustration and say "whatever you want".

LOL

Was it a hard sell to convince FlyingWil to let you modify your Xterra? :Mechanic: LOL! :wings: