Installing 16v\18v setup for daily

[JL Audio 5,000+ posts]

why not buy 2-4 step UP transformers? lol and just keep a bank of 16s in back and a 12v up front?

 

[njaykaplan 10+ year member]

That is why you talk to the tech support about what you are looking at and what you would actually need.After you talked to all of your options pick out what works best for you. Everything from the flux caps, extra alt, way you hook up a bank and the step downs all work. How to get the best results from what you choose would be best answered by anyone of those tech departments from whose product you are looking at. I have talked to several battery companies and if you ask point blank the difference or what is better by each company I would bet they pick one of several reasons why THEIR OWN product is better for any number of reasons. Same with amps and same with subs and or speakers.

I felt the safest as a daily setup with the fluxcap, because i drive over 100 miles a day. I'm really not sure how much you're supposed to have, amperage from the fluxcap, i had a regular 100 amp one to run the sundown 3k, and i'm sure it would have been better to have a second or maybe even a third, but i never had a problem using one for daily. It kept the 2 S1000s charged properly, and the only time i'd drop is when i was really burping it, but i can't even remember the drop. I'm really not too helpful, seeing as i never even competed, i had it completely for a daily setup, because i have issues and wanted the most out of the amp at the time //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif. How much power were you looking to run though? I've heard of problems with the Kinetik, then i've heard of other people not having a problem, so i was skeptical of even talking to them about using it. The fluxcap was my only option, seeing as i wasnt about to put a high output externally regulated alt in a CLK430 mercedes.

 

[shizzzon 10+ year member]

U want to know my setup? here it is-

1 Mechman 250A alt @14.9v

65aH stock starting battery.

2 AQ3500ds

1 SAX-100.4

(maybe another 100.4 and a 1200d if i decide to run mids in the car later on)

1 D3100, 1 D5100

Harrison Labs diagram shows that i should only use 12v batts in my car and let the fluxcap strictly provide the higher voltage.

I'm tryin to keep cost down. I know 12v batts are cheaper than 16v batts so i'm thinkin i should do a bank of 12v and a set of these caps to match the maximum current capability of my amps. The downfall to that idea is if i dont get enough caps, they will limit the current throughput to my amps...

so many options...

 

[njaykaplan 10+ year member]

The diagram probably shows it directly connected to an amp, you can parallel the fluxcaps and run it directly to the amp, but your best off using it to charge a battery bank. It probably would be cheaper to run the kinetik, since you'd need at least 2 of the fluxcaps, and 2 or 3 D1000s. I picked up 3 S1000s from Mechman last year and he hooked me up with a great deal, the smaller 16v batterys, but only ended up using 2. I used 1 12v battery and my alternator to supply the power, and my alternator kept my 12v side satisfied, which kept the fluxcap with the power to keep the 2 16v batterys full. I'm sure i had to drain it a little, running a Sundown 3k at half ohm, but i never had a problem with running out of power running it 3-4 hours every day and the maximum charge the 16v batterys were seeing was about 80-100 amps.

 

[shizzzon 10+ year member]

Well, this is how i see it-

Let's take your sundown 3000d.

It can run all the way down to 10v before it shuts off.

So anything over 10v, it will be supplying power obviously...

If you had 2 small 12v batts in the back then that ran to a 200A flux cap, you could have all the 200A current u can handle to that amp but would only be limited to 200A of current...

If you had just your starting battery and alternator running a 200A flux cap but your 16v batts after the cap, the sundown amp has that "reserve" to dip into when the fluxcap is maxed out!

I am seeing that this fluxcap, in a sense, can visually appear to be an alternator to the sundown! Once it's depleted of output power, it would need a batt to get the rest of it's power from.

The point is this-

I believe if u or i have a small 12v bank before the fluxcap, this would save money on buying batts since 12v is cheaper anyway. Purchase fluxcaps like you would purchase alternator(s). Single 200A alt can run a 3000d so let's say a 200A fluxcap.

all we need now is a small 16v battery, seriously! I believe just a single D1000 would be enough.

Follow me-

the fluxcap acts like an alt to the amp that comes after it.. The cap could discharge a max of 200A consistently from the alt or the small 12v bank behind it when the alt is at idle... Anything over 200A which would be BRIEF would be pulled out of a single 16v batt.. so i think i see the light, lol

Difference between a REAL alternator and this fluxcap is a cap can react instantaneously to current demand whereas an alt and regulator have a massive delay compared to even a battery.

Just out of curiosity, how much did u buy ur 200A model from hlabs for?

 

[njaykaplan 10+ year member]

I had 100 amp model, and i think i paid about 150 used locally. I'm sure they're pretty pricey, i think 300 a piece directly. Someone here must be able to get a better price though.

 

[shizzzon 10+ year member]

well for your setup, you would need more than a single d1000 or s1000 because of the low output from the cap but i'm sure u know that, lol.

I'm just glad i finally understand this thing.

 

[Stalin-ohaulic]

well, i was trying to understand how the fluxcaps work and i believe i do now so tell me if i'm wrong about the following or not-
It states that it's 98.5% efficient.

The amp ratings on these fluxcaps, should these be equal or slightly higher than the alternator output rating?

I'm under the assumption that since the alt is what is gonna drive these caps that if the max capacity is reached from the alt that no additional current can flow through the caps, correct? with the exception of the starting battery but i rather not for the sake of being able to start the car...

So is that part correct?

also, 98.5% efficient.

So this means that since my alt is a 250A alt and if it's pushin about 200A of current through let's say a single 200A cap, that i should see the following-

Example-

14.0v 200A = 2800w

Output-

18.5v 200A then minus efficiency - 197A = 3644.5 watts

Is this correct?

Also, another question..

Since this is an upconverter, it will only ask for power when the amps ask for power correct?

And one last thing, when this thing is not turned on, or if the vehicle is off, this device does properly isolate the 16v batts from ever bleeding into the 12v side, correct?

To the bolded portion of the quoted text, NO you were not correct. The wattage will stay constant. at 14v drawing 200 amps you would indeed have 2800 watts assuming 100% efficiency.

You would likewise have 2800 watts when you "step up" to 18.5v because when you step up with transformers it uses the 14v drawing 200 amps to make the 18.5 volts. So if the device were 100% efficient, you would still be able to make 2800 watts, drawing 151.4 amps of current instead of your 200. The FluxCap would still be drawing 200 amps of current to put this out and it would be taking approximately 5% of your efficiency while doing it resulting in 2660w of total output. If it put out any more than that, it would be magically making power.

In my humble opinion, it would only be good for charging some 16v batteries and only then if you were to have a circuit that would adjust the voltage bases on current draw like a battery charger does. Otherwise, you will blow these bad boys up quickly. You would have to compete with the engine off and deplete the batteries. Then shut the stereo down and start the engine and recharge the batts.

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

DC transformers and flux capacitors? That poor snake must be fully milked of oil.

 

[DBBOOM 10+ year member]

Marty McFly would be proud.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

I felt the safest as a daily setup with the fluxcap, because i drive over 100 miles a day. I'm really not sure how much you're supposed to have, amperage from the fluxcap, i had a regular 100 amp one to run the sundown 3k, and i'm sure it would have been better to have a second or maybe even a third, but i never had a problem using one for daily. It kept the 2 S1000s charged properly, and the only time i'd drop is when i was really burping it, but i can't even remember the drop. I'm really not too helpful, seeing as i never even competed, i had it completely for a daily setup, because i have issues and wanted the most out of the amp at the time //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif. How much power were you looking to run though? I've heard of problems with the Kinetik, then i've heard of other people not having a problem, so i was skeptical of even talking to them about using it. The fluxcap was my only option, seeing as i wasnt about to put a high output externally regulated alt in a CLK430 mercedes.

Only problems I have ever heard about used 1 battery as 12v to run the whole vehicle and sometimes even more. I know people who have used them for YEARS in daily driver set ups without issue. Point I was making is, I wouldn't ask Soundstream about technical support over a Sundown amp or vice versa.

 

[shizzzon 10+ year member]

the 100A models have a 150A spike in them for a short duration.

It is highly advisable to fuse each 100A line with around 130A fuse.

This is to prevent the cap from overloading itself and destroying the diodes inside.

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

the 100A models have a 150A spike in them for a short duration.
It is highly advisable to fuse each 100A line with around 130A fuse.

This is to prevent the cap from overloading itself and destroying the diodes inside.

Oh, its a diode flux cap. Different animal altogether.

 

[profundus-sanus 10+ year member]

the kinetiks will work fine.. i've had 5 hc16v's in my daily driver for over a year now..

I had one problem when i tried to only use 1 battery to run the 12v side.. That was 2 weeks after they were installed.

immediately after i connected all 5 12v posts together and i've had zero problems ever since.

Plus you should be able to get the kinetik batteries for close to half the price of what it will cost you for the same ammount of PM batteries+ the 2-3 step up modules you'll need.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

the kinetiks will work fine.. i've had 5 hc16v's in my daily driver for over a year now..
I had one problem when i tried to only use 1 battery to run the 12v side.. That was 2 weeks after they were installed.

immediately after i connected all 5 12v posts together and i've had zero problems ever since.

Plus you should be able to get the kinetik batteries for close to half the price of what it will cost you for the same ammount of PM batteries+ the 2-3 step up modules you'll need.

I know a few that are going on 3 years actually and 1 I know for sure is about as "daily driver" as it gets.