In the early sixties I used an impulse relay. It was either made or not made, in sequence. The sequencing was done by one pull on the armature from the coil. One was made, the next was open. Pretty simple, and the alternation from one mode to the other was mechanical and out in the open. Control was by one impulse from a push button switch, or in my case, a photocell biasing an scr or whatever it was.

I wonder if they still make such a simple reliable device.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
Makes me want to have StaRV II crap out around Port Jervis, just to meet him in person and see him in action. In June, of course...

I'll meet you half way. Say, anytime between 6/23 & 7/4. I'll be down on the NC/SC stateline in the coastal area.

I'm not much to look at but if you bring the Barth and your telescope I'll ditch the wife and go to a Star Party.

quote:

Originally posted by hilarlee:
Because this was the fourth time I have had to deal with this issue I decided to upgrade to Intellitec "Big Boy" relay.

My hope is this is Intellitec's "best" disconnect product and will last 30 years.

Looking at the spec sheet it seems impressive. I like the fact that it could operate at a lower voltage then the other one. The surge of 1200 amps seems that this one should last longer then 20x

Specifications:
Part Number 77-90000-120
Nominal Actuation Voltage 12 Volts
Actuation Current 5.6 Amps
Continuos Duty Operation
Minimum Actuation Voltage 9 Volts
Maximum Continuous Carry Current 200 Amps
Maximum Short Term Current 1200 Amps 30 Seconds

quote:

I'll meet you half way. Say, anytime between 6/23 & 7/4. I'll be down on the NC/SC stateline in the coastal area.

I'm not much to look at but if you bring the Barth and your telescope I'll ditch the wife and go to a Star Party.

Unfortunately, that's the time I'll be prepping StaRV II for the Big Voyage - leaving mid-July for 3+ weeks on the road, to the family reunion, visiting my sister and Dad, and the Nebraska Star Party (which is WAY out in the boonies in the Nebraska Sand Hills).

quote:

Originally posted by hilarlee:
Thanks again Bill for confirming that I'm not losing my mind and we have covered all angles.

I got this email while on vacation and just now got around to posting it. Seems like "hilarlee" has finally gotten this thing straightened out. Whew...

Hi Bill, I finally got around to installing the “Big Boy” relay. Works with a resounding and distinctive loud and clear “CLICK!” I’d post my pictures but don’t know how yet. I still haven't had a chance to find out about our mystery part but will let you know when I find out…

hilarlee







Until hilarlee post I'll let them explain the scenario...

Help!!
I have a Intellitec Big Boy battery disconnect #53-00597 that I dropped and broke the end cap with the latching mechanism. Does anyone out there have a non working one for parts? These solenoids are $$$ and I would prefer to repair this one, something Intellitec does not offer.

Ross

Welcome to the Forums!

This won't be what you want to hear, but if the end cap broke, the solenoid may be well past its prime (not to mention that, while it may appear to be repairable, it may not be). My own approach is that - except for very few cases - if an electrical component breaks, a new one takes its place. Fixing stuff in my driveway suits me better than on the shoulder in the rain, at night.

You have a good point Rusty, and I also thought about the old saying "Never time to do it right but always time to do it over" I was hoping to find another for parts since the end that is broken is not electrical, its the latching part only. I have found lots of good info here just lurking around.

Ross

Bill N.Y. How is that Big Boy working?

quote:

Originally posted by bill h:
Bill N.Y. How is that Big Boy working?

Don't you mean hilarlee? As far as I know, they have been the only ones to do this.

On page 4 of this thread.

It has been over a year... So hilarlee, how's the "Big Boy" doing?

Bill N.Y.

Sorry, the April 15 post with the picture made me think you had one, too.

I have a Big Boy and the Intellitec battery connect system for charging. Both are the same size relay but the constant duty solenoid has an electronic controller that limits the current after energizing so that it doesn't over heat. So far so good.

DC control Upgrade

Did have to modify the controller because if the solar panel increased the battery voltage to the house batteries above 13.3 volts the main relay would kick in and try to parallel the house batteries with the chassis batteries. Not what I wanted so I added a control that would not allow the paralleling relay to operate when the key was off.

Have over 5K miles on the system and so far no complaints.

I have the original main coach battery disconnect switch and and isolator setup. Does the "Big Boy" somehow replace this steup?

Hello Bill N.Y. and all.
I'm new to the site and just stumbled upon it looking for battery disconnect info. Thanks for all the great info posted here. Although I don't have a Barth and hadn't heard of them until finding this site they look like great rigs. Exactly the type of rig I would love to upgrade to someday. Anyway, I have a smaller 1996/7 class C Serro Scotty with a Cummins, based on a Dodge 3500 chassis cab. I can usually figure out my own electrical woes (with the help of sites like this) but that's about as far as it goes. I have read all through this thread and searched all over the internet trying to find the easiest, most convenient, safest, and cost effective way of disconnecting the coach batteries for storage. I currently have NO type of disconnect at all other than removing cables. With battery box lids strapped on and everything tucked away in a compartment doing that is an annoyance. So, here is what I've been pondering with the limited electrical experience I have. I was leaning away from the standard non-lacthing relay because of the drain issues everyone has mentioned, but it occurred to me that for storage this is not an issue and was probably why the sales person (mentioned earlier in the post) was arguing to use the relay and why Barth used them originally. The constant duty non-latching relay only uses power when energized so when disconnected there would be no drain from the relay (or the controlling switch). Is my thinking right here or am I overlooking something? I do understand when energized it creates a draw.
Next I was wondering if just putting in a mechanical disconnect switch like a Perko marine switch, among many others, would be the simplest way to go. If going that route, what are peoples thoughts about using the ground vs. the positive cable to disconnect? Ground disconnect seems like the more safe route to me, but again I have limited experience.
Then, as my thoughts wondered today, this hit me. Why not use a heavy duty continuous relay switch on the ground cable making wiring easier (in my case anyway). I would need to use the 4 prong version, since the coach battery chassis ground would be disconnected with the relay open. The switch, a simple SPST or DPST wired directly to the battery would be the only "bypassed" connection once "disconnected" via the relay. I hope you can understand my train of thought there and can point out why this is or is not a good idea. Thanks again for your input and please point out where I may be overlooking any hazards.
Darress

quote:

Originally posted by darress:
Although I don't have a Barth and hadn't heard of them until finding this site they look like great rigs. Exactly the type of rig I would love to upgrade to someday.

Ok, now that you buttered us up, we'll try to help.

quote:

Originally posted by darress:
...I was wondering if just putting in a mechanical disconnect switch like a Perko marine switch, among many others, would be the simplest way to go.

This is the simplest, easiest, and most trouble free route to go.

quote:

Originally posted by darress:
If going that route, what are peoples thoughts about using the ground vs. the positive cable to disconnect? Ground disconnect seems like the more safe route to me, but again I have limited experience.

Most gasoline tankers in our area uses a ground disconnect instead of a hot disconnect. It is safer to have a ground cable break free or touch the mounting hardware. It seldoms corrodes and easier to mount in most cases.

quote:

Originally posted by darress:
Why not use a heavy duty continuous relay switch on the ground cable making wiring easier[?]

The same reason this thread was started. It will draw power and will eventually fail... as long as you know how to bypass it if it fails and you don't mind the power draw then use a "constant duty" solenoid. Because you'll be hooking it up via ground get a 4 pole non-grounding type of solenoid.

quote:

Originally posted by towerguy:
I have the original main coach battery disconnect switch and and isolator setup. Does the "Big Boy" somehow replace this steup?

Sorry, I was away on vacation when you posted this... If you have soloar panels and do alot of boondocking then a constant duty solenoid will drain your batteries. You'll have to read these pages to get a feel for all of the reasons why or why not to use something like this. I recently seen these on some of the firetrucks in our area. They have been trouble free so far.