Would you still do the Genesis Dual Battery?

[Fpolanco]

I’m currently on the fence regarding the Genesis dual battery set up or just disconnecting the aux battery and going with a bigger single battery (group 94r).

For those that went dual battery, if you had to do it all over again, would you do still do it? Anyone revert to a single battery?

For those that pulled the aux battery, did you eventually upgrade to the dual battery? Or was the single battery enough for you?

I understand and well aware the dual battery set up is based on needs. What I’m looking for are things I didn’t thought of (for example, potentially needing a battery while away from comfort of home surroundings) and long term usage reviews or any other negatives.

Thanks!!

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[bleda2002]

I considered the dual battery, but given the fact that they're both AGM and smaller than the 94r, the amount of useable power was just not worth the amount of cash (and basically full warranty void). Instead an extra deep cycle marine battery with a DC to DC charger tied to the ignition makes more sense imo and is a whole lot cheaper and not a warranty void.

Edit: That math I did when I looked at it was, a 94R can have about 80 amp hours, 40 useable before I cause damage. 2 group 25's have ~100 to 115amp hours, and you can use 50 to 57.5 of them before you cause damage. So 700, plus another 6-700 in batteries, and warranty void for 10-15 more amp hours just seemed pointless compared to a deep cycle and a dc to dc charger that will give me an extra 60-80 amp hours depending on size and for a whole lot less money. No its not as fancy or cool, and it takes a bit more work, but so be it imo.

 

[chorky]

It depends. Yes and no. Thus far i have been happy with mine.

HOWEVER

you absolutely NEED to do an energy audit. Figure out, with a small buffer factor, what you realistically most expect to use/need electrically.

In my specific situation, I could have gone a different route and saved money/wiring needs. But. It does work well But has limitations.


Another consideration is to get the self build kit. Basically just get the combiner and g-screen. In my slecific situation I ended up adding a third battery in the bed. The 64ah battery underhood was not sufficient. For you it might be. The only way to know is via an energy audit (basically make a spreadsheet with a bunch of calculations to see what you can expect to consume to figure out what you need)

 

[chorky]

I considered the dual battery, but given the fact that they're both AGM and smaller than the 94r, the amount of useable power was just not worth the amount of cash (and basically full warranty void). Instead an extra deep cycle marine battery with a DC to DC charger tied to the ignition makes more sense imo and is a whole lot cheaper and not a warranty void.

Edit: That math I did when I looked at it was, a 94R can have about 80 amp hours, 40 useable before I cause damage. 2 group 25's have ~100 to 115amp hours, and you can use 50 to 57.5 of them before you cause damage. So 700, plus another 6-700 in batteries, and warranty void for 10-15 more amp hours just seemed pointless compared to a deep cycle and a dc to dc charger that will give me an extra 60-80 amp hours depending on size and for a whole lot less money. No its not as fancy or cool, and it takes a bit more work, but so be it imo.

it also depends on what battery manufacturer you use and how many cycles you want to have before degrading performance. I spoke with the electrical engineers for full river and they claim 500 full cycles if drawing down to 70% DOD. For my specific situation, assuming two full weeks of camping a year and every other weekend for summer I think I calculated a battery lifespan of 22 years. Which we all know isnt gonna happen. So even 500 cycles is sufficient. But knowing how many ah is needed is the most important aspect

 

[tysongladiator]

Depends on why you're getting it. If you have issues, a battery delete or dual battery system won't solve issues. You're just carrying the issue over to another setup.

If you don't have issues, but just want something else, nothing wrong with that. The dual battery setup looks cool. All depends on the "Why."

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Depends on why you're getting it. If you have issues, a battery delete or dual battery system won't solve issues. You're just carrying the issue over to another setup.

If you don't have issues, but just want something else, nothing wrong with that. The dual battery setup looks cool. All depends on the "Why."

You've hit upon why I haven't done it to begin with - there's no why that makes sense to me. Money is crazy high for any benefit I'd see.
If i was concerned about power while out and about in the wilderness or while camping, I'd go another route a whole lot cheaper and more under my control with no warranty issues (and no fussing trying to get to other stuff because of a massive pair of batteries and a tray in the way)
I'd do what at least one person here has done - mount a battery at the rear, and use some electronics like Redarc and other good companies can supply to manage it. I'd go a deep cycle in the rear battery (so I could draw power for camping lights, charging things and so on).
$$ vs. "Need".
And since the scare stories out there don't.........
If I do anything, it will be a rear battery, patterned after what another forum member has done - with a connection at the rear to run a winch mounted on my trailer. I'll need power at the back more than I need more power up front (aside from when I'm running the snow plow)

Interesting question for the "rest of the crowd" though - would you do it again........
It's a personal question and will hit upon almost anything except logical need for a good many folks, and will be totally justified by logic and need by others.

 

[Rummie]

Like you said, it depends on what your needs are. And your budget.

I put the Genesis in a little over a year and a half ago. I had two reasons to do so.

1. We go very remote by ourselves and try to make the Jeep as reliable as possible. The second battery issues I had seen people having made me want to get rid of the factory second battery. The Genesis system is one of the ways to do that. It also provides a backup if the starter battery goes dead for some reason.

2. We wanted power for our fridge and a few other small items. The Genesis worked well for that since we were driving most days. I also have a small solar panel on the hood to help keep the house battery charged.

The Genesis system met those needs. We have since added a Starlink and other power uses. It is not enough for our situation now. I am in the process of installing a BCDC40 and a lithium battery. I plan on keeping the Genesis system installed. It is well built and has been reliable. It still fixes the second battery issues and serves as a backup power source.

Would I install it again? Given the same initial situation I absolutely would. With my current power hungry usage probably not.

It's a quality product with good support. Just depends on your needs.

 

[SPED1]

New englanah here...... My gladiator came with a 94R and I replaced both it and the aux battery at the same time with like batteries from interstate!

 

[Fpolanco]

Depends on why you're getting it. If you have issues, a battery delete or dual battery system won't solve issues. You're just carrying the issue over to another setup.

If you don't have issues, but just want something else, nothing wrong with that. The dual battery setup looks cool. All depends on the "Why."

I may awaken and piss off the battery gods after writing this but I don't have any issues regarding my battery or any other electrical components. Having issues on my previous JKU, I understand this sentiment completely.

I have 2 biggest "whys":

1) Redundancy. I usually have a Noco battery jumper in the truck at all times but having that extra battery to jump from would be a great piece of mind. I'm hoping the odds of both the second battery and the Noco jumper being dead would almost be nil (hoping I don't piss off another battery god...)

2) My current fridge is an absolute hog. I'm taking precautions over the next few weeks to help with that before our next trip. Again, having that piece of mind of the extra battery

As another member pointed out, that second battery may not provide THAT much more juice for the cost...

 

[Fpolanco]

You've hit upon why I haven't done it to begin with - there's no why that makes sense to me. Money is crazy high for any benefit I'd see.
If i was concerned about power while out and about in the wilderness or while camping, I'd go another route a whole lot cheaper and more under my control with no warranty issues (and no fussing trying to get to other stuff because of a massive pair of batteries and a tray in the way)
I'd do what at least one person here has done - mount a battery at the rear, and use some electronics like Redarc and other good companies can supply to manage it. I'd go a deep cycle in the rear battery (so I could draw power for camping lights, charging things and so on).
$$ vs. "Need".
And since the scare stories out there don't.........
If I do anything, it will be a rear battery, patterned after what another forum member has done - with a connection at the rear to run a winch mounted on my trailer. I'll need power at the back more than I need more power up front (aside from when I'm running the snow plow)

Interesting question for the "rest of the crowd" though - would you do it again........
It's a personal question and will hit upon almost anything except logical need for a good many folks, and will be totally justified by logic and need by others.

The cost is def a HUGE factor. You're looking at $1k just for parts, assuming you don't do the work yourself.

And what scare stories? Regarding the dual battery set up?

And which specific rear battery set-up were you looking to copy? Sounds like a sweet set-up!

 

[Fpolanco]

Like you said, it depends on what your needs are. And your budget.

I put the Genesis in a little over a year and a half ago. I had two reasons to do so.

1. We go very remote by ourselves and try to make the Jeep as reliable as possible. The second battery issues I had seen people having made me want to get rid of the factory second battery. The Genesis system is one of the ways to do that. It also provides a backup if the starter battery goes dead for some reason.

2. We wanted power for our fridge and a few other small items. The Genesis worked well for that since we were driving most days. I also have a small solar panel on the hood to help keep the house battery charged.

The Genesis system met those needs. We have since added a Starlink and other power uses. It is not enough for our situation now. I am in the process of installing a BCDC40 and a lithium battery. I plan on keeping the Genesis system installed. It is well built and has been reliable. It still fixes the second battery issues and serves as a backup power source.

Would I install it again? Given the same initial situation I absolutely would. With my current power hungry usage probably not.

It's a quality product with good support. Just depends on your needs.

Thank you for this!

If you had to do it all over again with your current set-up, would you go to a single battery with the lithium battery in the bed?

 

[Fpolanco]

it also depends on what battery manufacturer you use and how many cycles you want to have before degrading performance. I spoke with the electrical engineers for full river and they claim 500 full cycles if drawing down to 70% DOD. For my specific situation, assuming two full weeks of camping a year and every other weekend for summer I think I calculated a battery lifespan of 22 years. Which we all know isnt gonna happen. So even 500 cycles is sufficient. But knowing how many ah is needed is the most important aspect

Excuse the potential noob question but how would one track if you're getting close to that 70% threshold? Is that what the G screen is for?

 

[tysongladiator]

You've hit upon why I haven't done it to begin with - there's no why that makes sense to me. Money is crazy high for any benefit I'd see.
If i was concerned about power while out and about in the wilderness or while camping, I'd go another route a whole lot cheaper and more under my control with no warranty issues (and no fussing trying to get to other stuff because of a massive pair of batteries and a tray in the way)
I'd do what at least one person here has done - mount a battery at the rear, and use some electronics like Redarc and other good companies can supply to manage it. I'd go a deep cycle in the rear battery (so I could draw power for camping lights, charging things and so on).
$$ vs. "Need".
And since the scare stories out there don't.........
If I do anything, it will be a rear battery, patterned after what another forum member has done - with a connection at the rear to run a winch mounted on my trailer. I'll need power at the back more than I need more power up front (aside from when I'm running the snow plow)

Interesting question for the "rest of the crowd" though - would you do it again........
It's a personal question and will hit upon almost anything except logical need for a good many folks, and will be totally justified by logic and need by others.

Brother! I think you and I communicate too much on this forum! We're starting to think alike!??

The reason I say that is because I do have a battery in the rear of my JT. I've had a battery in the rear for two years now. And it is a deep cycle marine battery. I use it for all of my external needs. The only thing I don't have is something like a Redarc. But, I haven't needed it yet. Before I go on a trip I make sure it's fully charged and it stays with juice the entire time.

 

[Fpolanco]

Brother! I think you and I communicate too much on this forum! We're starting to think alike!??

The reason I say that is because I do have a battery in the rear of my JT. I've had a battery in the rear for two years now. And it is a deep cycle marine battery. I use it for all of my external needs. The only thing I don't have is something like a Redarc. But, I haven't needed it yet. Before I go on a trip I make sure it's fully charged and it stays with juice the entire time.

Do you have a write up on this set-up?

 

[Rummie]

Thank you for this!

If you had to do it all over again with your current set-up, would you go to a single battery with the lithium battery in the bed?

If we didn't go so far away from help I would possibly only put in the lithium house battery. Going remote as we do I would still put in both systems.

Would have to do some more research into other options to get rid of the aux battery before deciding for certain though.

I am putting the lithium house battery under the 40% part of my rear seat delete in the cab. It is charged by a dcdc charger at 40amps. I am installing a victron shunt to monitor the battery. Pretty simple system with a 100ah battery that can be fully discharged and can be charged at a rapid pace.

I am making the install extra easy by using the top of a Kickass battery box for breakers and power plugs. I had purchased the Kickass box planning on using it instead of putting the battery under the seat. When I decided to go under the seat it made sense to just use the top of the box in the system.

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