Dual Battery Charging - Redarc vs Genesis

[bugnuker]

I'm trying to get a dual battery setup in my JLUR.

I saw Genesis and I love how it works. However, I do not want to install the dual battery system in the front (and remove the AUX battery) because my jeep is brand new and I know the dealer will flip a lid if they see this thing installed under the hood.

My goal has now moved to installing it in the back of the JLUR. I like the American Adventure Labs mount for the JL that holds a battery and an ARB dual compressor.

Genesis sells a universal system so you can mount it anywhere. I bought this when it was on sale for Black Friday. It arrived and it is way bigger than I thought it was. It's so big, it wont fit in the back next to the battery and I am sad about that.

Here comes Redarc. I saw that American Adventure Labs has modified the design of the mount to now include a place for the Redarc charger. It looks like the Redarc charger is quite a bit smaller than the Genesis. The RedArc is also potted and ready for abuse (but in my case, I plan on mounting in the car so it should be less abusive)

I just learned about Redarc and didn't know this was a possible solution before I bought the Genesis.

Now I'm trying to figure out if I should try to find a different place to mount the genesis system, or return it and get the Redarc.

Here is what I know as of now:

RedArc:

Seems to support multiple types of batteries, like AGM, Lithium, Lead, etc.
Seems to support Solar charging if you wanted

Unsure if this system supports disconnecting the two batteries when the jeep is NOT running. This is very important for me, because I want to ensure I can always start the jeep. The goal would be to hook up all aux equipment to the second battery.

Genesis:

I don't think this supports all the different battery types. I think Redarc supports more?
I don't think this supports Solar charging

I know this one has a special cable you can run to a fuse to let the system know the jeep is running, and when the jeep is running, it connects the two batteries to let the aux one charge up.

I'm looking for some feedback from anyone who is running one of the other systems.

Right now, it seems the Redarc has more features (Solar, charges more types of batteries, smaller) - but I just don't know for sure and before I try to return the Genesis, I wanted to find some more info.

Thoughts?

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[Ratbert]

@Genesis Offroad is a sponsor, so they should be able to answer a lot of your questions.

 

[lashlee]

The Redarc is a great piece of equipment, assuming you are talking about one the BCDC battery chargers. I've installed them before with excellent results, but it all comes down to what your long term needs are, and what's the best component for your particular setup. The blue wire from the BCDC should tell the Redarc to separate the batteries when the ignition is off, and tie them together when the ignition is on.

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