Arrid Twin Chargers

Submitted: Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 10:45

ThreadID: 10805 Views:2674 Replies:5 FollowUps:6

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raybates

Hi anyone had any expirience with the Arrid TwinCharge unit? I am considering getting one to mount in my caravan

Reply By: Member - Eskimo - Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 10:53

Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 10:53

not ray bates form adelaide is it?Wow, am I cute! The extra long legs are built-in prevention against ducks disease. Great looks and a real goer. Doesnt waddle along like some.

AnswerID: 48178

Follow Up By: raybates - Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 10:56

Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 10:56

No Sorry. I'm not from Adelaide

FollowupID: 310077

Follow Up By: Member -Bob & Lex (Sydney) - Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 12:28

Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 12:28

Someone stole your pic EskimoRegards Bob
Where to next

FollowupID: 310086

Follow Up By: Member - Eskimo - Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 16:51

Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 16:51

well its outa
nudenut
puddle duck
or WillemWow, am I cute! The extra long legs are built-in prevention against ducks disease. Great looks and a real goer. Doesnt waddle along like some.

FollowupID: 310117

Reply By: Hoffy - Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 11:29

Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 11:29

I have heard very good reports about them. I have just purchased one to fit in my caravan. It arrived yesterday. Be aware that the wiring diagram supplied with it for use on a compressor fridge appears to be incorrect. I only discovered this last night. I will send an email to them about the "mistake" which shows the secondary battery connected in parallel with the battery in the vehicle and the fuse in the output of the unit. The unit is supplied with the fuse installed in the input lead. BTW, it is also supplied with an Anderson plug and socket. Documentation is extremely light on.

Keith

AnswerID: 48183

Follow Up By: Member - Stillthinkinaboutit - Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 20:17

Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 20:17

Hi Hoffy,

Not sure what diagram you got with your unit, but mine is correct.

The option for connecting a compressor fridge :

The red wire for the arrid and the vehicle supply( input ) is connected to the normally open contact of a relay ( 87 ) and to the relay coil + ( 86 ) .
The relay coil ground ( 85 ) is connected to ground.
It shows the second battery positive connected via a fuse to the normally closed contact ( 87a ) of the relay. The supply ( + ) for the compressor fridge is connected to the relay common ( 30 ).

Please note that you must use a changover relay ( SPDT ) relay for this purpose. A normal relay ( SPST ) will not work as terminal 87a may not exist or it will be bridged to terminal 87.

The orange wire from the arrid will connect to the second batteries + terminal and the black wire will connect to the battery - terminal and ground.

The idea here is that the fridge supply is coming from the second battery until the vehicle power is supplied to the arrid unit.
Once power is supplied to the arrid unit is the compressor fridge is obtaining its supply from the vehicle battery, not from the second battery.
This means that the arrids output is fully used to charge the battery and does not supply any power to the fridge.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Mark

FollowupID: 310143

Reply By: Member - Captain (WA) - Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 11:40

Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 11:40

Hi Raybates, I have not used one, but when I looked at buying one for my van I found that there is a maximum recharge rate of 10 or 15 amps (cannot remember which now). Depending on the battery type and how long you are driving for, it may not fully charge the battery. But at least its getting the correct voltage to recharge if you run the vehicle long enough.

By fitting a charge isolator instead (rotronics type) you can recharge you battery at a much higher rate, but you need to run big cables to the van. However, the cost of the rotronics unit for 3 batteries (2 in vehicle, 1 in van) is over $1,000.

I was then advised to first try running large cables to van (relatively cheap) before buying the Arrid twin charge. I simply charge the van via a solenoid to the car battery and manually switch as required. I did this and it works well enough. It may not completely recharge the battery 100%, but is more than enough to keep van battery running for my needs (have 115Ah battery) until I get back to 240V power.

Cheers

MarkNissan 2003 GU 3.0TD
Windsor Rapid Offroad

AnswerID: 48186

Follow Up By: Hoffy - Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 17:19

Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 17:19

The Arrid will put out 20 amps and is capable of charging the van battery to full capacity. A car alternator will only charge a battery to around 70% capacity unless you can run it for 60 - 80 hrs.

FollowupID: 310125

Reply By: Member - Stillthinkinaboutit - Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 19:45

Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 19:45

I have an Arrid Twin Charge 30 ( 30Amp ) unit fitted into the camper.
It charges 2 x 110A/H AGM batteries and I find it works very well. The AGM batteries will draw the full 30 amps from the arrid unit due to their low internal resistance and they charge quite quickly.
Conventional deep cycle batteries would draw less current due to the higher internal resistance and would take longer to charge.
I would certainly recommend the Arrid Twin Charge 30.

Regards,
Mark

AnswerID: 48251

Follow Up By: Member - Stillthinkinaboutit - Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 19:48

Thursday, Feb 26, 2004 at 19:48

oops I should say it is a Twin Charge 20 ( 20 Amp ) sorry for the confusion. I was thinking of another unit I had in the last camper.

FollowupID: 310141

Reply By: Hoffy - Monday, Mar 01, 2004 at 13:11

Monday, Mar 01, 2004 at 13:11

Hi Mark, Thanks for the detailed explanation. I had worked out how to connect the unit as electronics are my daily job. I thought I would mention the error in my diagram to try people from falling into a trap. I have been in contact with Arrid and they are investigating. From your explanation there may be two circuit diagrams kicking around.
Keith

AnswerID: 48740