Portable Battery Pack
Submitted: Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 at 01:00
ThreadID:
2759
Views:
11288
Replies:
5
FollowUps:
8
This Thread has been Archived
Phil P
Looking at purchasing a Waeco 50L fridge & want a portable battery pack. I can't justify spending $400-$500 on a portable battery pack.
What I want to do is buy a deep cycle battery (75 A/Hr) for around $140, plastic tool box to store battery in and a 12V regulator/charger system (typically used for solar panels) from Repco for around $25.
I will plug the Repco Charger into a heavy duty Hella Plug that has been wired into the car and use the car's 12V to charge the deep cycle battery while I'm driving.
Sounds
too easy - anything that I have missed ? any other suggestions ?
I need it to be portable because the fridge will be used in different vehicles !
Thanks
Phil P
Reply By: OziExplorer - Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 at 01:00
Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 at 01:00
Those portable battery packs are a rip-off of the highest order.
Go here:
http://www.apollobatteries.com.au/spec.htm
very bottom of page to the 862 or 882 Deep Cycle Battery.
The 862 is about $125 and the 882 about $140. These batteries are made by Global Yuasa in Korea and are the best value and quality deep cycle batteries I have found. You can buy a battery case without any fittings for about $20.00 from SuperCheap and fit a Hella 16mm Universal Socket (Don't use the 20c cheaper non-Hella units, as they are sub-standard)
Now for charging the battery, this is by far the cheapest and easiest to install and works like pure magic:
http://www.redarc.com.au/sbi.htm
and these can be purchased from Ashdowns, Ingrams, Baxters for about $110 incl GST. This could easily be made portable, but you will need to be able to use more than just a cigarette lighter plug. This unit will normally allow a charge of between 20 and 30 amps. If you are using it in the same different vehicles (say 2 or 3) you could use an Anderson Plug in each vehicle and on your unit.
Will you be using this on a casual basis in each vehicle, and for how many days at a time?
A 12v regulator for solar panels is a completly different kettle of fish to charging with an alternator.
Suggest you also look at the evaKool ED50 fridge. It is slightly dearer than the Waeco, uses the same compressor as the Waeco, but the cabinet is far superior in insulation properties and design, and can easily be opened in the back of most vehicles.
www.evakool.com.au
AnswerID:
10367
Follow Up By: Phil P - Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 at 01:00
Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 at 01:00
Thanks for reply, I only need to use the fridge for a day or two out of the car, so I guess the 90 A/H Apollo should do the trick !
Will the redarc product prevent overcharging ?
Can I run the fridge off the battery while it is charging ?
Thanks
Phil P
FollowupID:
5434
Follow Up By: Oziexplorer - Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 at 01:00
Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002 at 01:00
Oh sure the Redarc will prevent over charging.
Yes, you can most definitely run the fridge and charge the battery at the same time.
Check out the Tech Specs for the Redarc unit here:
http://www.redarc.com.au/sbi-techspec.htm
Also
check out how good the spike control is here:
http://www.redarc.com.au/sbi-techspec2.htm
By the way, this Redarc unit is basically identical to units costing around $250 with fancy brand names from 4WD drive outlets. Personally, I would not use a second rate product myself, as I have been around auxilliary twelve volt battery systems for to long and think I have tried or used all of them. This is the cheapest, most cost effective and most importantly trouble free and works and works *very*
well.
Out of my evaKool, I can get 2 days
well out of my 882. A Waeco should go close to two days. The difference in quality on the insulation of the evaKool cannot be overstated. If you read the
test results between the different fridges, you can easily see the difference.
FollowupID:
5435