GREENDOG'S follow up on the Engle running but not cooling

This is not the reply you are looking for but...
I was wondering if is perhaps a better financial option to buy cheap and replace every few years rather then buy expensive and be very disappointed if it crap...s out just after the warranty runs out. Anybody done some calculations ?

surely if the Engel is running then it isnt the battery?
Its either running or it isnt. If it isnt its the battery, if it is running its the refridge system?

i get a new one every 2 yrs...cheap insurance for cold beer

Greendog,

If you are just running the fridge and a couple of lights why get a deep cycle.

I use chloride batteries and have been getting about 4 years out of them. Very reliable, no maintenence and the last one 850CCA cost just over $200.00

Duncs

Stick with a deep cycle battery Greendog.
This type of work is exactly what they are designed for.

What replacement battery you buy will depend of a couple of things.

1. What size (footprint) battery will fit in the cradle?
An AGM deep cycle is the best but has a larger footprint for a given A/h rating when compared to a standard wet cell deep cycle.

2. How much are you prepared to pay?
An AGM battery is more expensive to buy, but charges quicker and you can cycle lower than a standard wet cell deep cycle.

Regardless of the battery you decide to invest in, my recommendation would be to protect it with a low voltage discharge protector as an accessory. Something like a Projecta ODP500 costing about $40 from Kmart, Repco, etc.
The Engel is a good fridge but will suck every last milliamp of current out of your battery before it stops running. Result, one "dead" battery. Do this more than a couple of times and the battery will be cactus.

I destroyed two batteries (one an expensive orbital) before installing the ODP500.
Cheap insurance.

My battery of choice would be the Remco.
The RM12 is an 80Ah AGM battery that provides a reasonably small footprint 258x165x208 that will fit in most cradles and can be bought for around $289 from Whitworth's Marine.

If you can't justify the cost of an AGM, Supercharge release a very good "budget" priced wet cell battery.

I use the "type" of battery recommended by the battery manufacturer for the job they are actually designed to do.
Cranking batteries are designed for short "cranking" and Deep Cycle batteries are for long power drain

Look on any battery manufacturers website and take THEIR advise
After all they have designed a particular battery do a particular job.

EXIDE - Passenger car batteries

Then there is DEEP CYCLE batteries
located on a different web page
with vastly different technical specs

EXIDE - Deep Cycle battery


As can clearly be seen on the Exide website, "Cranking" batteries have very different technical specifications to "Deep Cycle" batteries.
Exide is a very good example, as on their website they nominate all their batteries with their designed recommended use.

(AGM Deep Cycle batteries are very different technology again, as the Exide website explains)

I presently use a 6 year old SLA Delkor DC27 (80 ah Deep Cycle) battery as my Cranking battery, only because the original Yuasha Overlander 700cca battery was about to die, and as I was getting new AGM Deep Cycle batteries anyway, I just replaced the Cranker thinking it would last for a while, well some ~2 years later the 'Cranker' is still (possibly) as good as new.

From memory it was about $180 so it has cost only $30 per year and with-out having any problems - that's what I call cheap !!
Exide Extreme's are ~$210 so if they last 4 years they will cost $50 per year.

If you use 'cheap' batteries and it 'dies' out in the bush...
* who do you blame?
* what do you do about the 'hot' beer?
* How do you replace it with a decent battery?

IMO it pays to use a battery specifically designed to do the job you need, not a cheap compromise battery, because as any technical battery web site will clearly explain, Deep Cycle batteries are for supplying power slowly over a long period of time, whereby cranking batteries will supply a large amount of power for a short period of time.

A Cranking battery when used as a Auxiliary battery has it's warranty halved, to just 6 months.
There must be a logical reason for battery manufacturers to do this ?

Yes, a normal car battery will run a fridge !!
Any Deep Cycle battery will just do it easier
However, you can't get better than an AGM

Thanks to every one that has replyed and taken the time to give me advice,i ca,nt afford to replace tha batt just yet with xmas caming up and all so it will have to what till after the new year.Thanks again to you all.cheer's GREENDOG