Comparing the Blue Sea 7611 to the Surepower 1315

[boywonder]

I need to buy a battery separator for my build and I've been comparing the Blue Sea 7611 with the Surepower 1315.

These appear to be very close in functionality (bi-directional charging), with the following differences:

Continuous amp capacity for the 7611 is 120A and the 1315 is 100A.

The 7611 draws 150ma vs 750ma for the 1315 when energized. The 7611 would seem to help the issue of burning up close to an amp when solar charging, a common complaint of the 1315.

The 1315 has a 400A intermittent current rating (30 seconds on/6 minutes off duty cycle); the 7611 is 210A for 5 minutes.....hard to compare here apples and oranges.....may not be that different, although the 7611 states that it's not designed for starting current.

For some reason, the 7611 is limited to group 27 battery banks....??? If the stock Ford alternator puts out 115A, why should the bank size matter?

Is there anything else I'm missing here?

My house batts are 2X 200AH AGM's, and I'm tempted to try the 7611, although I'll be way over a group 27 size aux bank.

I don't really need the bells/whistles of the 500A Blue Sea unit, and I will be installing a solar panel/controller so I do want bi-directional charging capability. The van will mostly be used on weekends so the idea of solar charging the starting battery while it sits all week is appealing.

[daveb]

the 7622 has full manual controls on it which is a nice feature

[Scalf77]

The 1315 comes in a 100 Amp & 200 amp version. I believe I would go with the 7622 or the 7620, there it really depends if you want the manual override switch to be part of the unit. I don't think there is a significant cost savings with the 7620. While I agree that it may be more then we generally need, if I wanted to try to use it to start the vehicle off my house battery, then I would go either the 7620 or 22. Sounds, like you already decided it was more then you want, so if my choice was between the 7611 or 1315-100 I would choose the 7611 or maybe the 7610. The 7610 & the 7611 are pretty much the same, except the 7611 has a Auxiliary battery priority mode (tied to 12 volts) will change the relay open voltage to 12.25 (30 secs) from 12.75 (30 Sec). The 7610 is pretty much the same unit except that instead of Auxiliary Battery Priority Mode it has a Start Isolate mode, when this terminal is tied to the "start" circuit it will disconnect.


-greg

[boywonder]

Greg:

Thanks for the info on the 7610, I'm looking into that one as well....

[boywonder]

I've also looked into the Surepower 1315-200 (bi-directional 200 amp separator)......It's relay energized power consumption is 1.5A....ouch! That eats into the available solar current.

At this point, I think the Blue Sea 7650 add-a-battery kit may be the way to go (for my needs anyway). It's a 7610 separator and a 5511 battery switch (rated at 300A continuous/450A intermittent). This would allow manual connection of the batteries via the switch if the starting battery is dead. This solution also means that I need to run some beefy wire under the hood.

The add-a-battery kit is just over $100 online, about the same as a Surepower 1315-200.

[rockbender]

Originally Posted by boywonder

I've also looked into the Surepower 1315-200 (bi-directional 200 amp separator)......It's relay energized power consumption is 1.5A....ouch! That eats into the available solar current.

Because of this, I would go with a 1314-200 if you were still thinking about the Surepower route and put in an extra switch to use the 'jump start' feature to connect manually. I've got a 1315 and disconnect it manually (by a switch I've installed) when the rig is parked so that solar indeed goes to charge the house batteries not just to power the solenoid. Next time around I'll pony up for a magnetic latching relay knowing what I know now.

[Scalf77]

I use the m-series 6007 switch instead of the 5511. This gives me the following options:

Off - Manually disconnects the house and van batteries (nice if you are working on or having work done on the van)
Circuit 1 - Manually connects the house and van batteries (debug, start assist)
Circuit 2 - Uses separator to automatically connect house and van batteries (normal operating mode)

circuit 1 & 2 - this redundant

Sure Power also has a latching separator, the Sure Power 3104, it is a 300 amp version and highly configurable. It unfortunately has a very high price tag also.