Alternative to a 2nd battery for intermittent winching

falfrenzy

Observer
I was deliberating adding a 2nd battery to my truck for the winch, which is removable. I have welding quick disconnects front and rear with 1/0 welding cable that is attached to the main battery that has top and side posts.

After much deliberation I opted to go with a jump pack with welding disconnects spliced in.

Which ever end of the truck the winch is on the jump pack can be tied into the other end. Cost was approx $150

And I have portable power to run 12 V accessories and jump start my truck if needed. I do realize that capacity is limited, but its not a rig that uses the winch daily.

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I Leak Oil

Expedition Leader
Not trying to be rude, but what problem is this solving for you? I'm just not clear as to what the issue is.
 

comptiger5000

Adventurer
Personally, if being able to keep up with the power demands of a winch are a concern, I see 2 good solutions: run a big-*** alternator that can better keep up with the power draw (meaning less work for the battery and you can get closer to continuous winch use if needed) or run a hydro winch. More battery capacity is a band-aid for a winch (unless you need that capacity for other things as well) and adds unnecessary weight (while still providing only limited bursts of winch usage).
 

LR Max

Local Oaf
Jump packs are just good to have, especially out in the woods.

That said, during winching, just keep your vehicle at 2,000 RPM when winching, and then for an hour or so afterwards, keep electrical requirements to a minimum (no radio, no cell phone charging, no HVAC + fans, etc).
 

proper4wd

Expedition Leader
That truck probably has a 140+ amp alternator from the factory along with a 800+ CCA battery. More than enough for 97% of all winching tasks on its own.
 

zelatore

Explorer
I agree - unless you are winching A LOT you're stock alternator and battery should be able to handle the typical extraction. Now if you're in deep water and can't run the engine, or doing multiple pulls back to back to back I can see that you may run the battery down but I've never seen anybody do so.

As you said, your portable battery pack does give you some extra jump-start capability so it's not pointless, but those things aren't deep cycle and have very limited A/hs (if you can even find a rating on them at all).

I think for the average guy his stock electrical system would be fine, then carry a Microstart or similar ultra compact jumper (about the size of a paperback). That way if you do run the battery down via winching or whatever you'll be able to get yourself started then you'll just need to give the alternator a chance to do some work for a while before shutting off or going to the winch again. I forget what brand my little jumper pack is but it takes up no room/weight and I've done 4 jumps on one charge with no signs of getting weak on Rover V8s.
 

Wh1t3nukle

I gotz dis
That truck probably has a 140+ amp alternator from the factory along with a 800+ CCA battery. More than enough for 97% of all winching tasks on its own.

^This.


I think the application has merit with his stated usage.

It's having the ability to run a winch in the rear without 1) running long cables from the Main or 2) adding an AUX battery closer.


Can the power pack be recharged from the main battery?

Well done. Report results! Perhaps a test run in the rear with line out to a tree to last wrap. Light e-brake set and wind the cable in. Will the power pack last that duration?
 

NYresQ

New member
That truck probably has a 140+ amp alternator from the factory along with a 800+ CCA battery. More than enough for 97% of all winching tasks on its own.

As long as he has someone sitting in the cab keeping the revs up over 2,000 rpm or more. Most factory alternators put out less than 30% of their rated capacity at idle... The 125amp in my duramax put out about 40amps at idle. with the high idle on it jumped to about 85 amps, still not enough for a decent pull on my M15000... I have a 250amp DC Electric Alt on order. That one is good for 180 amps at idle and full rating at just over 1200rpms. That will be able to handle almost continuos pulls at full load on my winch with the twin Odyssey Batteries I have.

Its a combo of the Alt, the battery(ies) and the cables supplying the power to your winch that will either work well, just barely work or will cause a fire. Most important thing to remember is "Longer run= Heavier cable"
 

I Leak Oil

Expedition Leader
I don't think he's implying that he intends to run the rear winch with the pack only. Just the ability to supplement the system from either end of the truck depending on where the winch is. At least I hope that's the case.
 

AndrewP

Explorer
That truck probably has a 140+ amp alternator from the factory along with a 800+ CCA battery. More than enough for 97% of all winching tasks on its own.

I could not agree more.

To me it would make *far* more sense to keep the jump pack for it's intended purpose, to help jump start the truck in the event of drawing the battery down. The jump pack is not going to provide meaningful power to the winch, and if it did, it would likely toast the jump pack battery.

As someone said above, a decent single battery is enough for 99.9 percent of all winching chores. A second battery is extremely useful for many things, and I disagree with Comptiger5000 who just doesn't yet know. I think it's super useful for running accessories like a fridge, while keeping the engine battery fully charge for restart. Plus, it's built in redundancy if your main battery fails. As a secondary benefit, setting it up to aid when winching is just gravy.

Let's face it, no practical alternator is going to keep up with a winch, but fortunately, winching itself is extremely rare. So basically all winching stored stored power. In my view much better to spend $$ on a second battery than an upgraded alternator. Much better.

But getting back to the original thought in this thread, good try, no cigar. There isn't enough stored energy in a jump pack to make a meaningful difference.
 

Wh1t3nukle

I gotz dis
I misread. Power pack just to jump. He has cable running to rear. Leads to winch has disconnects.

Winching is rare....lol.
 

falfrenzy

Observer
I don't think he's implying that he intends to run the rear winch with the pack only. Just the ability to supplement the system from either end of the truck depending on where the winch is. At least I hope that's the case.

Yes, only to supplement if needed. I have made a decent pull when high centered with the factory battery and the alternator and it worked fine. I subscribe to the Swiss Army knife school of thought " Once I have plan A done right, how can my plan B have multiple facets?"

I see the jump pack as a backup more than a "must use" when winching. Plus it can run an assortment of 12 volt accessories also.
 

comptiger5000

Adventurer
As someone said above, a decent single battery is enough for 99.9 percent of all winching chores. A second battery is extremely useful for many things, and I disagree with Comptiger5000 who just doesn't yet know. I think it's super useful for running accessories like a fridge, while keeping the engine battery fully charge for restart. Plus, it's built in redundancy if your main battery fails. As a secondary benefit, setting it up to aid when winching is just gravy.

Let's face it, no practical alternator is going to keep up with a winch, but fortunately, winching itself is extremely rare. So basically all winching stored stored power. In my view much better to spend $$ on a second battery than an upgraded alternator. Much better.

The bit about the fridge and such is why I mentioned that I wouldn't add a second battery just for a winch, but if you've got other stuff where it's desired / needed, then it's worth having and will help out when winching. But if you're making long enough pulls that drawing the batteries down significantly becomes a concern, that's when it's time to either go for one of the big 270 - 300+ amp alternators that are out there (which may not keep up completely, but it'll be a lot closer, so much less battery drain) or just go for a hydro winch and take power draw out of the equation.

In this case, hydro is out because of the rear mounted winch, so it's either add a second battery or a big alternator (or both). If the second battery isn't needed for anything beyond winching, it's a waste (such as a rig with no fridge, etc). It adds extra weight to the rig and won't help winching runtime any more than a big alternator will (and might even do less).
 

LR Max

Local Oaf
Even if he is winching a lot, he will run out of less-than-100%-duty-cycle winch solenoids before he runs out of vehicle electrical capacity. Except for the new solid state solenoids, typically, an electric winch can do 2 back-to-back 100ft full pulls before they start to overheat (my experience).

That said, recently I had to help a buddy with a dead battery in camp. I would have swapped my boots for one of those jump boxes.
 

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