Engel battery
Submitted: Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 09:37
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ozidave
I am going camping for 3 days and want to run my Engel periodically to keep it cool. I don't have a dual battery system. What would you recommend I use as a campside power source?
Reply By: Member - Sand Man (SA) - Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 09:56
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 09:56
ozidave,
You could simply use your car battery and run the vehicle (or go for a drive) after the second day. This should keep the battery charged.
BUT, as a backup I would strongly recommend a portable "jump starter" pack that you could use to jump start the vehicle, should the car battery drain down too much. These are available from Repco, Supercheap, etc. for a reasonable price.
Buy the highest capacity unit you can aford. (eg. 400 or 500 amp unit)
These are also useful for powering lights, etc. when camping, so are a worthwhile investment. They simply charge from the vehicle cigarette lighter socket whilst travelling and utilize a non-spill AGM type internal battery.
AnswerID:
97203
Reply By: time waster - Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 11:28
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 11:28
you can buy a low power cut off device for around $20. that plugs into your cigarette socket and the engel plugs into the other end and when the volts gets down to a safe engine stating level it will cut of the appliance,when you see this happen just run the engine for a while
AnswerID:
97218
Follow Up By: ozidave - Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 11:48
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 11:48
Thanks Time Waster, where would I buy a power cut-off device?
Ozidave
FollowupID:
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Follow Up By: David Au - Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 14:22
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 14:22
BigW have the Projecta low battery cut-off units. Best price I have seen around.
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355852
Reply By: time waster - Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 11:55
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 11:55
i have seen them at our local camping store in
adelaide (snowys) but
places like battery world and the 12volt
shop should stock them,i once saw it in k-mart but haven't seen since,
shop around prices may vary.it looks like your 12v mobile phone charger on sterroids i think it has a couple of l.e.d.s too
AnswerID:
97222
Reply By: David Au - Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 14:34
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 14:34
A $99.00 GMC generator and battery charger. Run fridge from 240v and charge battery at same time.
AnswerID:
97247
Follow Up By: Goona - Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 19:00
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 19:00
David,
Have you actually done this as the engels come with a warning not to run dirrect from Generators.
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355901
Follow Up By: time waster - Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 19:03
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 19:03
i looked at these genies but was advised (told) do not run sensitive electronics from the 240v out let,you can damage your engel because the volts are irregular,but the 12v charging for the battery is fine.a friend has burnt out two transformers in his jayco because of this. $660 for an 80watt panel is a much usable form of running a fridge plus $60 for a reg,if you do enough camping to justify the expense
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Follow Up By: David Au - Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 19:19
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 19:19
Goona did not know Engels were that crook they could not be run from a generator. Engels must have poor design or poor quality electronics or both if they say that. Any portable refrigeration should be able to run from a generator. I have never had anything fail running gear from a generator, and never seen any other equipment with a warning like that on.
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Follow Up By: Member - Jeff M (WA) - Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 19:25
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 19:25
Not only that but the Engel is a 12v Fridge using a 240v Power Adaptor to run it of mains. So worst case scenario would be that the Engel is using a switch mode power supply that does not take kindly to square wave power and therefore blows up. In theory if that was the case the unit would still run on 12v.
IF that IS the case then get a 12v or 13.8v Power transformer say 4amps and run that off the Genie and then plug 12v into the engel and do it that way, then if your power adaptor blows up (unlikley) just go and buy another, no harm done to the engel.
FollowupID:
355906
Follow Up By: David Au - Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 19:30
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005 at 19:30
Time Waster an 80w panel is only $550.00 incl GST plus freight and a top of the line Morningstar SHS6 solar regulator with Pulse Width Modulation for $66.00.
As for the volts being 'irregular' is not correct. They are a rotating field alternator and have run computers and all sorts of gear from them. It is important they are doing 3,000rpm as that regulates the cycles. Put a voltmeter on these generators and you will see the voltage is stable, don't rely on here-say and those that spread unnecessary alarm. I can imagine Honda and Yamaha wanting you to believe that, as the GMC generators must have mascaraed their sales.
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355907