Batteries peukerts law.

Thanks for the reply Derek, not too shaw but i require enough power to run a 60l evakool fridge/freezer use the radio and also charge computer and camera batteries and also some lights at night. I am heading off in Jan for a year + trip and i would like to be able to stay in the one place for a while. Am also looking at solar 125w Sharp.
Also thanks for the link.

Stephen without knowing the type and number of lights and accessories and hours per day it is very difficult to work out.

Lets say the Engel uses 50 amps per day and you have 2 Torpedo lights that use 0.4amps each for 5 hours (4A total) The laptop and camera say 2 hours a day (16A) and the radio say 8A so you use a total of about 80amps per day max. My personal suggestion is to have at least twice this in capacity and I would use 2x 120 a/h AGM's. Then you need to generate the power to top these up. The 125W Sharp is a good idea and will almost replace what you use.

You will need to use the car or mains power to top up when the panel falls short. Make sure you have a good 3 stage smart charger to bring the batteries back to life whenever possible.

Fit a Sulfarid device to each battery to prevent loss of capacity and use a solar regulator that show you more information such as a Steca PR2020 so you know your amp use and SOC (State of Charge).




Regards

Derek.

Thanks Derek, I should calculate what i will be drawing from the batteries, maybe later.
I have currently a crank and 1 wet DC 115amps in the bay, looking at batteries and the different build qualities just a little confused fullriver.
Purchased a 15amp C-tek charger, the steca and plasmatronicsregulator are the brands that i'm considering.
In relation to sulfarid devices i thought they where a waste of space and that the mains charger and the solar regulator did a similar function.

Regards

Steve

Steve

There are only a few mains chargers that can do what the Sulfarid devices do. Your car and solar panels will never fully 100% charge a battery when there is a fr-idge running off the battery. These devices create a 15v high frequency charge that prevents sulphation of the plates caused buy shallow charging of batteries as happens with recreational batteries.

Yes the plas-matronics reg-ulator is also worth looking at.

Regards

Derek.

==There are only a few mains chargers that can do what the Sulfarid devices do.==

It sounds as Steve already has a c-tek charger (though i never heard of a 15A one), which does the same thing,albeit with 240v input, as that device you mentioned.......why recommend something that is not required?

Andrew

Steve will not be able to use his XS15000 all the time to prevent sulphation. So when he is using the panel he should use a Salfarid device.

Andrew there is also the 25amp xs25000 also with the desulphation cycle included But starting to get a bit pricey.
I would have thought occasional charging with the ctek would be adequate without going overboard with equipment.

2 x 120Ah AGM = $626
130W (80+50) BP solar panel = $1200
Sulfarid = $80
Steca PR2020 = $220
3 stage charger = $275

Total = $2401

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I think I'll stick with a 3 way fridge and Coleman Dual fuel lamp.

Mike Harding

Yep agree 100% Darian, from blatant lies to just complete Bu115h1t, already made some expensive mistakes and gained some expereance. Agree about the net if you can find the info, have found what seem knowledge people on here.

Hey Darian & Stephen F,
I'm just curious, but were the above comments directed towards Derek at ABR?

The reason I ask is because I've had several dealings with him (Derek) and found him to be very knowledgeable of his products and more than willing to recommend a product that he didn't sell if it were a better option.

The usual disclaimer.

Geoff

I second that Geoff.....

Geoff have not yet purchased from Derek, and i wasn't having a swipe at him either. I use this site because people like Derek are willing to share there information.
(its funny how things can be read out of content)

Regards

Stephen

I thought the 'sales counters' might have done it, but no - Derek is not bundled in with the context of my comment - as you say, he knows his stuff and is helpful to all here - I'm talking about these chains of shops that sell all sorts of gear, but have staff who often know close to nothing about the products - if they say they know nothing that's at least better than those that know nothing, but claim to know a lot !! One thing is for sure, we can expect to have to pay a more for products if we want expert advice with them, because the experts are often only accessible in small businesses.

Good idea Buy it -- Try it--- Then try to get it right NEXT time!
How else would we learn !!!!? LOL