Waeco remote power appliances

OWN A WAECO URBAN POWER SUPPLY & FIND IT REALLY GOOD TO POWER OUR ARB 40L FRIDGE & 12V LIGHT.CARNT TELL YOU HOW LONG IT WILL RUN OUR FRIDGE AS WE HAVENT TRIED RUNNING IT FLAT.A GOOD POINT OF THESE UNITS IS THAT YOU CAN MOVE THEM FROM VEHICLE TO VEHICLE,INTO YOUR TENT FOR LIGHT OR ANYWHERE.I GUESS RUNNING TIME WILL DEPEND ON OUTSIDE TEMP & HOW OFTEN THEY ARE OPENED.

BRUCE & ANNE , ONE THING TO REMEMBER , ACCORDING TO THE WEACO WEB SITE IT TAKES 4-5HRS TO RECHARGE THE URBAN FROM FLAT BUT 7-9 HRS TO RECHARGE THE THUMPER.(FROM STD CIGARETTE PLUG)WE DECIDED IT WAS EASIER TO KEEP THE SMALLER (AND CHEAPER) UNIT CHARGED.BUT WE PLAN TO BE TRAVELLING ABOUT 4-5HRS PER DAY THUS KEEPING THE UNIT TOPPED UP. HAPPY TRAVELING

Bruce and Anne, You can work out mathematically how long the various batteries will last. First you need to know the amp/hour rating of the battery. I have a Projecta jump start unit which has a couple of sockets as well as jump leads. It has a 17amp/hour battery. I use a fluoro which draws less than one amp per hour and therefore I could expect 17 hours and maybe a little more. I also use a CPAP machine which draws 1.1amps. I have used it for 2 nights without charging, running it for about 7 hours each night. I used it for a third night after a drive for an hour or so (the vehicle charges at about 3-4amps.) If a fridge drew 1 amp over a period of an hour (most draw about 3 but operate about 30% of the time) I could expect about 15 hours from it. Just find the rating of the battery, the current required for your fridge (take into account ambient temperatures too) out with the calculator and Bob's your uncle!! Good luck!! .... Are you happy with the Waeco?

if the fridge draws on average, 1.3 amps per hour, then a 48ah unit should run for about 18 hrs. That's assuming you only discharge the batteries to 50% of charge (known as Depth of Discharge). On the Waeco fridges there is a high / low postion switch. On high, the batteries discharge to 11.5V, on low to 10.5 V. By discharging any more than 11.5V with sealed lead acid batteries, you are reducing the life of your batteries far quicker than necessary.

As to charging, all the battery manufacturers recommend no more than C/10, where C is the capacity of the batteries. So 48ah /10 = 4.8 amp charge rate. If you take out 24 ah, then it should take about 5 hrs to charge.

The other option to purchasing, is to make your own. I've just made two 48 ah packs for about $250ea. The only thing I left out is the jump start ability.

Try making your own
1 x battery box $20
1 x deep cycle battery $140
Couple of hella plugs and Anderson plugs $50

I wired a dual battery system to a Anderson plug to the back of the car. When travelling I place the battery box in the back and connect it to the Anderson plug. The battery box has a small lead on it connected to the battery for that purpose, the lid of the battery box also has 2 x female (fused) hella outlets mounted on top 1 for the fridge and 1 for lights.The box only needs to be connect for charging otherwise it is portable ( make sure you strap the box down). Note if you make your own you can put better and larger capacity batteries in them then the waeco and save$.
Cheers
AK

i agree with shaky and AK, after looking at the prices of the power packs they are just way overpriced sealed deep cycled batteries in plastic whiz bang casing. There are sooo many batteries out there that can do the job you want for up to a third of the cost. Follow the above advice, get wire connectors, a soldering iron, some inline fuses, some heavy duty cigarette plugs - though i have abandonded these fickle things and gone for 2 pin Clipsal 24v plugs that provide a much better and secure connection. And you can buy batteries now that can happily take charges way in excess of C10 if you want to pay the money for a battery that also has enough CCA to start your wagon and you can recharge straight off the connections to your main battery in about an hour if so inclined. Or if ability to jump start and run your applicances is your only concern buy a cheap Suupercheap jump start pack and keep it under your seat (recharging once every couple months) and use you battery set up in the back for whatever reason you need it.

If I was going to do the job, and I will be in the not-to-distant future, I would be using Odyssey batteries as they are capable of both deep cycle and starting function while being able to be fully recharged within one hour (NO CURRENT LIMIT, as long as charging voltage within specs) from a normal alternator, and half size/weight of equivalent CCA Lead-acid, 400-500 complete charge-discharge cycles, 8-10 year life, etc. No hassles with spilled acid (compared with Lead-acid, Calcium), good long term charge retention (comared with Calcium).

You may get 72 hours out of a Thumper if you do a trip to the Snowies in August.....

Thanks everyone for all the replys and follow ups. Decided to go with building my own, I've priced a few batteries and the Odyssey at $368 & GST for a 75amp a bit expensive, but I imagine very good. Thanks again all Bruce

Bruce & Anne if you want to build your own you can buy a battery box from Supa cheap that is already set up it includes cable, circuit breaker and a battery test function and from memory outlets. Cost was $99 all you need to do is add the battery. I didn't go this option but it may suit your needs.
Cheers
AK