Splitting up the batteries and charging
I want to install a second battery dedicated to running the forced air furnace. I know there are going to be a lot of suggested alternatives like generators, catalytic heaters, rent a space with hook...
Forum Discussion
The dimming/slowing may just be not the best connections between the battery and the rest of the RV. Obviously the battery voltage will depend on the load to some extent, but a somewhat high resistance connection will exacerbate that.
If you have twice the total battery capacity and the furnace is using 60% of your capacity currently over the course of a night, it would only use about 30% after the upgrade and your lights would still be decently bright.
I don't mean to suggest that there's any inherent reason why it's impossible or unworkable to have a separate battery for the furnace, it's just I don't see any benefit. (Intriguingly, my house--and several others of the same general vintage--is wired much like what you're proposing. I have two independent 100A electric panels side-by-side in the garage, connected to the electric meter, originally one for electric heat and one for other things. Over time the separation of loads has become a bit mixed, with some non-heat loads now on the heat panel, but that was the original setup. I'd slightly prefer a single 200A panel given the choice.)
If you have twice the total battery capacity and the furnace is using 60% of your capacity currently over the course of a night, it would only use about 30% after the upgrade and your lights would still be decently bright.
I don't mean to suggest that there's any inherent reason why it's impossible or unworkable to have a separate battery for the furnace, it's just I don't see any benefit. (Intriguingly, my house--and several others of the same general vintage--is wired much like what you're proposing. I have two independent 100A electric panels side-by-side in the garage, connected to the electric meter, originally one for electric heat and one for other things. Over time the separation of loads has become a bit mixed, with some non-heat loads now on the heat panel, but that was the original setup. I'd slightly prefer a single 200A panel given the choice.)
