Solar Panel or ABR-SIDEWINDER 70A Petrol Charger

Shaker,
using your own analogy, you will have a very stuffed battery in no time.

With solar there is no need to worry about shade, or even pointing it in any direction either, it's something you know you will require so you put the panel in the sun, to a solar using person it becomes a natural thing to do.

I've never seen my 12v battery system showing below 12.0 Volts in it's entire life of a few years now, even when running the fridge, because the solar maintains it charged, even in partial shade.
There is no risk of having a "flat" battery with solar at any time of the day, because it is being maintained at the optimum charge rate - unless you go buy elcrappo gear or don't have it in the sun, then you deserve a flat battery.

Whereby with a generator you run the battery down first, then you recharge it again.
You have to be there to turn on the gennie and turn it off again when the battery is showing charged, which may only be a surface charge anyway, because your measuring the charge @ the battery, not the rested charge rate.

But it's a choice people make and a gennie is less expensive (to buy) than solar but it's more expensive in the long term.

Maîneÿ . . .

It was a 'once off' experience, but a solar panel would have done me no good at all.

Mainey/Shaker, to me the shade is a fact of life you have to deal with, with solar. You just have to have a back up - 'big' batteries, a gennie, be prepared to run the car for while, Rotronics device and run car for a short while perhaps, a Ranox with transfer function well set up...something. Gonna cost a bit but as Mainey has , long term costs worth considering too.

Hi Mainey, how can you tell if the solar panel is elcrappo , They all give a 25 year warranty but thats if the company doesn't go bankrupt

I was looking at getting some Panels from Luxury Home Products or All Solar

i see Mandrake has got some cheap panels for sale too he doesn't sell the folding panel sets :-(

The panels they sell look the same as the expensive one's.

I am still doing my homework

Shaker,
In your case you obviously had a flat Cranking battery, because as you say you “were stuck with a flat battery at 4.30 in the afternoon, just as you are leaving the campsite"
With solar you use a dedicated storage battery system to run the accessories, however, I also periodically charge my Cranking battery with my solar system when I'm camped for long periods to also keep it maintained.

My point is with solar none of your batteries would not have got down below 12 volts at any stage, and the batteries will last much longer because they are not discharged below 12 volts.

jdwynn,
yes, the backup I use is a larger than usual AGM DC storage battery system that will run all accessories for three days without undue damage.

Maîneÿ . . .

kenny,
the 25 year warranty is on the panel performance.
The numbers to look for is cell performance

Mandrake has some panels so look into them and I'm sure he will be able to assist with the accessories to make them into a suitcase system?
He was (is) selling a good panel when I checked them out recently.

Maîneÿ . . .

OFF ya bike mainey, not everyone wants solar and the 70 amp regulated power charger is another option.
I wouldnt have solar for my needs as i would need about 3 80w panels and they are a pain to carry, not to mention the fact that when camping in the winter down south, most friends who use solar have to plug into someones genny to remain charged.
I use a honda gen, and a 25 amp ctek charger, with 400 amp hrs of batteries, which i try and not let get below 12v
Different people need different setups, so go with your best decision kenny.

Pesty

Pesty, the post was not in reference to you :)

Obviously, as your post clearly states, you *need double the battery capacity* I use - simply because you don't use solar, as you say: "which i try and not let get below 12v" indicating your 400ah battery system gets below 12v ?? where my much smaller 200ah battery system has never ever been below 12v.

The original poster asked a question with a choice of only two answers, I replied apropiately to his question with no relevance at all to your situation.

As to your friends in Victoria having to use someone's gennie to maintain their batteries, that's dificult to imagen, as solar power is not related to heat but sunshine.
I lived there for 17 yrs and had no hassles, it's usually a quality or installation problem, not lack of sunshine that causes battery charging problems with solar power.

Maîneÿ . . .

Yep thats the sort of answer i was expecting mainey, pick out the eyes of a reply to suit your own agenda.
In fact i rarely run my batteries down to below 12.4 - 12.5, and i run probably 3 times the refigeration that you do as i have a wife with special food needs that arent available in many towns so we need to carry more than most.
Besides that i dont give a dam as what i have suits my needs and i would be able to camp for weeks in one spot if i wanted too, but we dont holiday that way so the alternator does most of the work.

Pesty

Pesty,
Really sorry you feel that way
I only commented on the information you posted

Maîneÿ . . .

Attn. KennyBWilson,

First, let me say that I've purchased a few solar panels from a few different ebay sellers in the last couple of years, and have absolutely no complaints with any of them (until now)..
BUT!! .. If you're considering solar panels from ebay,the first seller you mention (in your follow-up 4 above) is one I'd suggest you avoid...
Thread # 73637 will give you an idea why I say this ;-)

The other seller you mention is probably OK (I've had no dealings with them), and I can tell you that I've had good dealings with seller bit_deals , who has similar offerings..

Regards, Ed C

:)

Thanks for that info Ed.

I just wonder how many people have been caught out and not bothered about it

Probably too many :(

problem is, they do "make good" if/when challenged, therefore no grounds to leave negative feedback (& warn others)....

Depends on what accessories are drawing on the battery system, as the solar will be charging the battery continiously during the day, to some degree, the gennie will recharge the battery, when it's turned on, replacing the used capacity.

The 80 watt panel should realistically put out ~30 Amps daily.

With solar, the accessories will drawing direct on the solar power during the day, so the 12v battery should be close to fully charged at night.
However, I believe an 80 watt solar panel alone may be too small to maintain the 12v battery fully charged indefinately.

Maîneÿ . . .

"The 80 watt panel should realistically put out ~30 Amps daily. "

Please get it right
The 80 watt panel should realistically put out ~30 Amphours daily.

Just because the Generator is capable of delivering 70 amps doesn't meant that the batteries will accept 70 amps.

"The 80 watt panel should realistically put out ~30 Amphours daily. "

- not in the southern parts of Australia in Winter.

Mike,
do people go camping for 3 days at a time in the Southern parts of Australia in winter, I can't even imagine someone thinking about that with wet, cold conditions, it would be just too unrealistic and difficult to handle for most people :-)

Maîneÿ . . .

Yes I did think of this idea , but the 1Kva is about $1350 , but for an extra $700 or so it's better to get the 2Kva which can run the fridge and charge batteries too.
A good battery charger start from $300

Thanks for your input

A 1kva should run a charger and your fridge no worries, ABR has a smart charger too, which i think is cheaper than $300.

Pesty

Thanks for the info Pesty, do you have any problems with fumes in your car or do you carry the Genny in a trailer

Jaycar also sell a smart charger which appears to be a copy of a Ctek in various sizes. Much cheaper too, while I have Cteks the mates Jaycar one works just as well.
Re the fuel fumes in the car from the gennie, if you drain the float bowl on the gennie and carry it in one of those soft marine waterproof bags you don't get any fumes except when it has been left in a closed vehicle for a while. No fumes otherwise. The bags will also contain any spills.

Thanks Ozhumvee,
I didn't know it was that simple, and it might not hurt to run the genny until the fuel empties from the carbies or could that dry out the seals , still looks better that the 70a until but twice the cost,

My Yamaha 1kva has a drain on the float bowl and as all my yard equipement with Honda motors have the same I'd imagine the Honda gennie would too.
The marine bags are made of a heavy rubbery stuff like an inflatable boat and have waterproof zippers so seal well.
You will find that most small engine owners manuals say to run engine out of fuel before storing.
I went through what you are going through a few months ago while on the road, due to inclement weather the solar wasn't keeping up with the power use. As we weren't travelling very much but rather meandering with lots of stops the alternator wasn't charging the batteries enough to top them right up but only putting a surface charge in so eventually we had flat batteries and no way of charging them. Solar isn't much use in 10/10th cloud cover.
As we had the Ctek with us, a gennie seemed the best way to go, we also had nowhere to mount or carry enough solar panels to do the same job in a 4wd with most of the roof covered by the roof top tent.
Looked at the 12v chargers but as they can only do one thing ie charge batteries, may possibly cook say 150 ah batt capacity we decide that a gennie was better value long term. Much quieter, can run 240v appliances (battery chargers for cameras, phones laptop etc), can charge batteries via the Ctek and run the frig at the same time, plus the big scenario when you wake up to flat batteries one morning in an hour or so you are good to go, solar would take much longer depending on panel size and battery capacity.
To my way of thinking unless you have a large rooftop to mount panels on (caravan or motorhome) so they are available permanently then solar can be a pain especially if you are chasing the sun with moveable panels. Ok with one panel to top up an aux in a 4wd but any more become a pain.

Hi jdwynn, I have never heard of Ranox before today.
I will look into that too

Thanks

I havent either maybe someone should expalin it .
it sounds like the name of a dish washing liquid.
Ian

That's beneath you Ian.

RANOX Link:

Maîneÿ . . .

This post has been read by the moderation team and has been moderated due to a breach of The Personal Attacks Rule .

Forum Moderation Team

This post has been read by the moderation team and has been moderated due to a breach of The Personal Attacks Rule .

Forum Moderation Team

Matt M
Yes I agree with you but this is how it happened.

My daughters washing machine crashed and I had a Bosch front loader in the shed which I gave her.

She came and asked what powder do I need for a front loader and I just said Ranox.Why I dont know I was busy and the name popped up in my head.

She went to town and arrived back just as I was reading this thread and said dad I coulnt find any Ranox so I got Radiant instead.

Thus my post.

Now Mainey has posted the Ranox sails guff and I am concerned about some misleading information in that guff.

I think it is wrong to mislead people so if ethics need to be bought up about "whos beneath what" then I think Al & Al should be bought to bear not Ian.

Ian

Ian, you’re a knowledgeable person and I understand you sell quality products but I am aware of nothing quite like the transfer function on the Ranox, and when you set up your system to make use of that unique function, the results are stunning. You have knocked Ranox before and your criticisms just seemed pointless to me then, but I investigated them and still ended up buying a Ranox and remain very happy that I did.

If you keep knocking other systems you have to tell us not only what equivalent systems you have but particularly what they cost. You never do that.

jdwynn,
quoted from the Ranox website:
"A further problem with campers/caravans is the distance between the charge source (alternator) and the second battery. As every cable has resistance, when charging a discharged battery at a rate greater than a few amps, there is a significant voltage drop through this cable.
As the current increases so does the voltage drop, further reducing the battery charging voltage. Therefore, even charge levels of 70% are not possible. eg using quality low resistance cable (10 metre of 4 square mm.), fuses, relay and connectors (total resistance of 0.25 ohms); will have a voltage drop of about 2.5 Volt at 10 Amp. Deduct this from your supply of say 14 Volt, leaves only 11.5 Volt. This voltage is comparable with a battery charge level of 25% capacity. This low charge also severely reduces the battery life, adding more expense"


The argument Ranox have put forward is the use of "10 metre of 4 square mm" cable between the Alternator and the Aux battery in the Van creates 2.5v loss in Voltage, this scenario will *only* be true if you use cable this small, and I will guarantee no-one out there uses cable this thin in this situation.

Maîneÿ . . .

Mainey, none of that's relevant to my set up. The key is what the transfer function on the Ranox does. Focus on that but also relate it to what people with a camper do when staying at one site for a long period. Cheers

jdwynn,
Then my question is:
where does it "transfer" the energy from on a *continious basis*

so I can "relate it to what people with a camper do when staying at one site for a long period" ?

There has to be a renewing of the transferred energy from an independant power source, something like an Alternator, generator or solar etc.
When the original battery is half dead so is the energy supply to the Ranox.

Maîneÿ . . .

Mainey, transfer function operates for 45min from when you actuate it, at 25amps depending on whether or not the Ranox is regulating the flow. So you get about 20ahr from one activation. Note the car doesnt operate when this happens - that can be important. Key (for our set up) is to have significant capacity in the car - we can transfer up to 90 ahr if we have to (to draw down to 50%) assuming car batteries full. We don’t use our car batteries much these days now we have a camper, and what we find is for any given holiday we'll go for a drive some time or other (fishing, to stock up etc) and so car batteries get a full top up. So like everything it depends on your needs, how you camp etc. Ranox working out very well for us. Obviously don’t need it if solar doing the job, and if you're not in the shade. There’s a lot more to our set up but this gives you some idea. Cheers

JDWynn
Is the Ranox fixed in the car or the camper.
Ian

Ian, it has to be near the batteries being charged, so in the camper in our case.

jdwynn

OK
Now Ranox claims a replacement off a running vehicle at 44AH in 142 minutes .

You claim in transfer to glean 20AH in 45 Minutes and that figure extarpolates out to 3.155 times so you can glean 63.1AH in 142 minutes.

You you can braw your car batteries down to 50% indicating you have a transfer of 90AH so you must have 180AH in the car.

You then go for a drive in your car to get a full top up of your batteries yet the Ranox is in the camper so you can achieve something in the car that Ranox stated categorically that cannot be achieved.

So why buy the Ranox anyway if you have now proved you didnt need it as you could have just plugged the car batteries in and run off them and draw down to 50% and go for a drive.
Sorry mate it does not compute but dont get me wrong your happy and that is what matters.
Ian

Ian, not sure about the 44ahr in 142 minutes. Probably the device is regulating the flow when charging battery is being filled up - flow slows. Frankly, I was talking simplistically in saying I could draw 90 ahr - in reality as our camper batteries fill then regulation would occur. I haven't done more than 2 transfers in a row as yet - but over a week of bad weather / shade if you don’t go for a drive then may do a few transfers.

"You then go for a drive in your car to get a full top up of your batteries yet the Ranox is in the camper so you can achieve something in the car that Ranox stated categorically that cannot be achieved." ??? Camper is set up mate!! Not hooked on the car. So you get back to camp, hook it up, turn the engine off, and do a transfer. As I said long stays is the key.

"So why buy the Ranox anyway if you have now proved you didn’t need it as you could have just plugged the car batteries in and run off them and draw down to 50% and go for a drive." You have to get your head around the device and how to make use of it. When you get back to camp, camper batteries low right. Longer you leave it low, the shorter the battery life is right? So getting charge in at 25 amps is useful. Other thing is if you leave camper with power hungry fridge running you want to get charge into camper batteries as much as possible – if just do a simple battery connection with everything equalised that’s just not enough – in my case solar on car roof so that’s no use either.

With respect, I think you guys are looking at the Ranox as a poor mans Rotronics / Sterling device. Probably fair description!!. What I'm trying to describe though is what makes it unique and useful to me (and a many others). Cheers

JDWynn

The charging figures of 44AH in 142 Minutes was taken out of the Ranox website information posted up by Mainey.

You are supposedly exceeding their own specs on transfer by around one third.

They claim a cable only system will never charge a battery full you are claiming a full top up.

In defence of Ranox you cannot put a Rotronics in the same category as it or a Sterling.

The Ranox is a good device but for what it does it is not a poor mans unit but priced according to its performance and would sell without the misleading information that comes from the website and to top that off the disclaimer they print at the end is almost bloody laughable.

"The designer,assembler and dealer will not be held resposible for any damages, direct or indirect ,arising from or related to this product."

To me that indicates "CAVEAT EMPTOR"
Ian

Ian, I don’t think you are really in touch with what a Ranox actually does and how people use it. You seem hell bent on knocking the product no matter what, and in all of this you haven’t once acknowledged that you sell a competitor product. People on this forum are normally really careful to highlight a conflict of interest……..

JDWynn
It appears you have not understood what I have said and I do understand what the product does and if Im in conflict for posting what I have then Im sure the moderators will pull me into line.
Im not openly trying to sell a product just pointing out what I consider shortfalls in a post and general information about a product.
Ian

jdwynn,
you keep saying you transfere the charge from one battery to another, but that is only while you have capacity in the original battery above the capacity in the second battery, as you say you have to go for a drive to recharge the car battery.

Question:
what happens when you discharge car battery & it will not start vehicle ??

You must have an independant power supply available to charge the battery?

Maîneÿ . . .

Mainey, we're using an Electro Parts 80Amp Battery Protector to protect car batteries. But, Ranox monitors car and camper batteries and constant LED readout really helps managing things, and also it will not overdischarge car battery (can't remember cutoff setting is though).

Remember also, Ranox is the backup - solar doing the job mostly so you dont necessarily have to go for a drive at all. Just so happens that we always seem to for a drive fishing or whatever every now and then.

So again, all too easy with the brilliant little Ranox. Cheers

jdwynn,

"Remember also, Ranox is the backup - *SOLAR DOING THE JOB MOSTLY*
so you dont necessarily have to go for a drive at all.

Now it makes sence, as I said, you have to have an external charging system.
Where is the solar power cable connected, to supply power to what battery ??

Maîneÿ . . .

Mainey, our solar going straight to the Steca in the camper. No need to charge car batteries with it so far, but regardless I'm just making a connection to the car batteries now. Cheers

jdwynn,
So as I understand it solar charges the "camper" battery ?

What battery does the Ranox charge ?
The Ranox draws current from the Cranking battery ?

Maîneÿ . . .

Mainey, solar & ranox both charge camper batteries.

JDWynn

The transfer system you talk about that is so wonderful brings to mind the laws of physics and the full bucket of water against a half full bucket of water and if you connect the two then gravity will transfer water from the full bucket to the half full bucket.

Similarly a full battery can transfer to a half full battery.

Every unit with a wide acceptance voltage DC unit can do the same thing so it is not unique to your unit so this wonderful feature has not been invented by you know who.

A wide acceptance unit cycles a feed battery and a battery life is based on cycles so if you use a cranking battery the so called savings made may be lost in premature battery replacement costs.

Even using an auxiliary battery to do it this it could mean you could be charging that battery just to transfer the power to another battery so that auxiliary battery is cycling and adding to the overall and unnecessary cost and the system would be better served by a more efficient DC system or adding more solar.

An efficient DC/DC unit is one that can maintain the peak charge of the cranking battery with no cycling for maximum life and smart charge the auxiliary battery or camper battery to full charge using all the spare capacity of the alternator.

The units I support are capable of doing just that so I must state that I do not have a competitive product that you asked for I have far superior products that can achieve a greater life and capacity for batteries and does not prematurely killing one to charge another.

Ian

Ian

You are the original "dog with a bone" mate!! LOL.

By the way, you don't need the moderators to step in to confirm you have a conflict of interest in all of this - you do and that's a fact. The problem I have is you're trying to find fault in whatever way you can, when you have a conflict. Nonetheless I still think this is a worthwhile discussion and I don't want you moderated.

Re: your latest post:
- your discussion about gravity indicates to me you don’t understand why I chose Ranox.
- your comment about “premature battery replacement costs” indicates you don’t realise that this for me is a backup system – cycling of car batteries is minimal
- your comment “better served by a more efficient DC system or adding more solar”, suggests I would like to spend many more $$ than I have. I understand your Stirling units go in Winnebago’s with mega amphrs of battery storage – you may be talking to the wrong market here cost / storage wise. “Adding more solar” ????? – give me a break, Ranox is the solar backup for me – this is an irrelevant suggestion. Your “more efficient DC systems” need you to run the car for charging – for the purpose of charging mine doesn’t, and my incidental driving is enough to keep car batteries happy (I might have a problem when I find a no cost beach site under a palm tree, with fresh water supplies, no people, food supplies, well stocked sea with fish – that is to say I will always need to do some driving each week!!).
- your comment “prematurely killing one (battery) to charge another” – wild exaggeration if you ever watched a Ranox working. As above, in my case, Ranox is for backup, not used constantly.

“The units I support are capable of doing just that so I must state that I do not have a competitive product”. If you don’t have a competitive product why criticize?? But, rather than knocking others why don’t you outline a system relevant to our needs (campers not Winnebago’s). On this site, we respect the need for a reliable charging systems, to keep batteries charged, to reduce deep cycling etc, so there is no doubt people will look at it even if it costs a bit more.

I suggest you consider max 200amphrs of batteries, week stay on a beach, 160w of solar – system needs to be for backup i.e. cope with some shady days, include 110l compressor fridge (ave 3amp draw 24hrs). If car needs to be run tell us how much. No generators – not the point here. And cost it. And don’t tell us to replace our fridges with a eutectic one etc.

jdwynn,
please advise what accessories you actually use when in the bush ?

Maîneÿ . . .

Fair dinkum Ian.

Are you suggesting that the 'full bucket' half empty bucket' analogy applies to batteries equalising charge? I am happy to be corrected, but my understanding is that this will not happen (at least in any reasonable time frame) because of the receiving battery's internal resistance.

In any case as jdwynn points out, it is just one of the features of the Ranox unit. Thanks also for confirming that any unit with a wide acceptance voltage (presumably including the Sterling products), can 'kill' a battery in the same way.

For the record, my earlier comment did not refer to the dish washing liquid comment; you can play whatever childish games you like to put down a competitor's product. Rather it was the 'I haven't heard of it either, maybe someone should explain' comment. At best that is a little fib, at worst an out and out lie. You know full well you have heard of it before. You have quoted their website to me in previous discussions. Its OK, I know why you did that, it goes something like this:

Ian says: I haven't heard of it before, hoping someone jumps in and gives him the in to criticise it (thanks for that Mainey).

Ian says: Oh I just looked at their website (for the first time, what a surprise) and I am concerned about some of the claims they are making.

Then the discussion heads down the path of comparing it to superior products which don't 'choke' the current, etc, etc. Oh, and by the way I just happen to sell such a superior product, funny old thing that.

I know, I know, you are merely protecting us all from unscrupulous advertisers and dodgy claims. Thanks for taking on this crusade Ian, but maybe the crusader would have a little more credibility if he didn't sell a competitor product.

I have said to you before, I don't doubt that the Sterling products are superior. But lets be blunt, they are a damn sight more expensive so they had want to be superior. As jdwynn points out, horses for courses, for many of us the Ranox, or the units Derek sells will work perfectly given our own circumstances. For many others, the Sterling units will be the only way to go. It just comes down to intended set up, usage, etc.

It strikes me as ironic that you don't see the Ranox as a competitor given the superiority (and price BTW) of the Sterling units. Yet you seem to spend a fair bit of time on here trying to put them down. If the Sterling units are so superior and value for money, then they should sell themselves without having to resort to attacks on a competitor.

I make no excuses for any claims Ranox makes which may be wrong, nor for some of their earlier attempts to get the name on this forum. But, your earlier comments have shown that you are not afraid to tell fibs in order to get an opportunity to promote your products. Pot and kettle I think.

Matt.

Mainey, in setting up my system I calculated / used 80amphrs a day as my demand. Haven't reconciled that in the field yet - if you recall I wired my camper elect. direct to battery (not thru Steca yet) so can't get really good info on our use just yet. Cheers

jdwynn,
What I've asked you is:

"please advise *what accessories you actually use* when in the bush ?"

Maîneÿ . . .

Mainey, sorry.......use fridge, fluoro lights and water pump.

Matt M
The first line of your last post is correct "Fair Dinkum Ian"of that I am.

The Sterling unit is not a wide acceptance voltage unit and it is ignition activated and works from the alternator via the cranking battery between the range of 13V to 15.5V.

Your tendency to try and emulate Geoffrey Robinson with Hypothetical should be kept for a similar type program where you can be witness judge jury and executioner.

I do not mislead people about products and your criticism is shallow in as much that to bring things to peoples attention whether by me or anyone else if it can be shown to be correct should be taken for what it is worth as this site is for information for people to consider and decide for themselves.

If I am proven wrong then from that alone I would suffer credibility with no need for you to martyr yourself as the voice of the people.

JD has done a good job so far promoting a product he believes in and Im sure Al & Al would be pleased with the exposure as regardless that is what it is.

I do not knock the product but the way it is marketed with information that is questionable.
Ian

Ian, “JD has done a good job so far promoting a product” is way off the mark.

In fact I have just tried to ensure accuracy and an understanding of the device, to the extent of my knowledge. Other than saying I have it in the first place (that's all I said, which just responded to the original thread question) I have been responding to you and Mainey's comments - really, you promoted it yourself.

I've also encouraged you to put forward an equivalent system and sincerely I still look forward to seeing that, discussing its strengths and weaknesses against the Ranox etc. Dont even think you'd be against the self promotion rule cos you'd be responding to this request.

Cheers

DJ
The Sterling DC equipment is not just one item and does not have a wide acceptance voltage transfer system just a high efficiency system and as stated before is working strictly within good charging practice of 13V to 15.5V.

There are three categories of DC to DC charging Smart Alternator Regulators, Alternator to Battery Chargers and Battery to Battery Chargers.

The Smart Alternator Regulator comes in two models but is being expanded to four models in 2010.

There currently is an AVR12 which is basically 12V to 300A and a PDAR which is 12V or 24V selectable and will handle up to 300A alternators and this model comes with an optional remote control.
They can smart charge all batteries in the system with multi stage charging and have selectable battery type switching.
The AVR12 has battery temp sensing and the PDAR has both alt and bat temp sensing

They are not suited to new vehicle alternators due to potential warranty problems.

The Alternator to Battery Charger connects to the external of the alternator and is stated to be 100% warranty safe.

It comes in 80A, 130A, 160A and 210A in 12V and 60A and 100A in 24V and they takes the power from the alternator and then split the power maintaining the optimum condition of the cranking battery and then charging the house or auxiliary battery with multiple stage charging.

The units are both bat and alt temp sensing and have selectable battery type switching.

The Battery to Battery Chargers come in 12V/12V 50A, 12V/24V 50A, 24V/24V 30A and 24V/12V 30A and a new 12V/12V 100A along with two waterproof to IP68 models will be released in 2010.

These units connect to the cranking battery and to the auxiliary battery and smart charge the auxiliary battery with multiple stage charging and also have battery type selection switching and all come with both alt and bat temp sensing.

All products have voltage sensing.

The range of products can also be added to with splitters to enhance multiple battery charging especially with the ProSplit R that has models up to 250A in both 12V and 24V and up to 4 outlets that controls and safeguards each outlet independently.

The Sterling range is capable of using all the spare capacity of an alternator which means the highest capacity recharge in the shortest timeframe which is the most efficient method available today.

The Sterling Alternator to Battery Charger is the only one in the world to date and is widely used in the marine industry.

The Marine industry sales are by word of mouth and where a boat docks the conversation normally drifts to problems with battery charging and where a boat is fitted with Sterling AB units it normally instigates and enquiry.

We have supplied units to Malaysia, Noumea, New Zealand and to overseas vessels on transit passing through Australian and New Zealand ports.

I will not be posting prices as I consider that could be deemed an offer for sale and against the terms of reference for this forum but I will state that efficiency is not upfront the cheapest but the extrapolated costs of extended battery life and greater battery capacity per amp becomes the best option overall and ultimately the cheapest.

Ian

Ian, thanks for this. Be good to make a separate thread on it - pretty buried here.

The 12V/12V 50A Battery to Battery Chargers would probably be the one of most interest to me, and maybe others with a camper trailer but then again I don’t know anything much about the rest of the range. Can the Battery to Battery unit sit in the camper trailer so temp sensor would be with the trailer batteries?

Reckon many camper trailers would have to be re-wired to cope with 50amps!! Gotta be a good thing though.

How does it work, or rather, sitting on a beach for a week, how would you use it? What needs to happen under the car bonnet to facilitate the use of the Battery to Battery units (assuming this sits in the trailer)? Does car motor need to be running to use it?

Is the purpose of the splitters to ensure different batteries not competing?

Cheers

JD
Just a quick one for now
The Sterling needs the engine running to charge there is no capacity to transfer without it.
I do have wide acceptance voltage units but one is for charging trolling motor batteries and turns 12V into 24V or 36V and is aimed at the marine market.
The other is being designed into a voltage controlled splitter that takes direct cable only alternator power to deeply discharged batteries until the resistance reduces the charge to where it switches to the smart that then completes the charge and will be the next quickest charger to the Sterlingg that converts all the spare alternator power.
The wide acceptance also greater than anyone else and allows me to run solar through it so it will work on the fly and also while parked.
I will get back to you with a bit more Sterling for your information to assess and its good that you question and want to know more to have a better understanding and like I have stated I dont mind your setup I just do not life the way it is marketed.

Ian

What about solar and connect the Cranking battery into the solar charging system
Just so simple as all is needed is an 'on/of' switch inline between the Cranking battery and the Aux battery.Image Could Not Be FoundMaîneÿ . . .

I'm not sure yet, But because i have been a good boy all year he will deliver via Aust Post what ever I ask for :-)

The only items I use when camping is one or two fluro light's and 40litre Engel fridge

Now if I travel everyday do i really need anything? Maybe not! depending on how far do i travel before reaching my next destination, if it's over a 4 hour drive hopefully the car alternator should charge up the 2 car batteries up to 90% charge, I know I won't get the full 100% charge

If I travel every second day , maybe a 100w folding solar panel can help keep the batteries at least 80% plus charged

If I'm camped for more than 3 days then either solar panels or a 1kva gen should be good

Now another question, I run 2 x N70ZZ lead acid batteries in the car, I need both for winching because the deep cycle batteries aren't good to use when winching.
Maybe i should have brought a Hydraulic winch instead

Should I buy an additional 100ah AGM battery instead and just get the Solar panels to keep that charged up

My final question is How many people really use any other additional charging system when only travellng in car only and not towing anything else, maybe i am jumping the gun by getting these extra accessories with really needing them

last line should read "without really needing them"

"if I travel everyday do i really need anything" # a decent AGM Deep cycle battery

"If I travel every second day" # as above

"If I'm camped for more than 3 days" # just a solar panel

Maîneÿ . . .

Just as I thought , I looked at getting a 75ah Thumper until i saw the price, a decent 100Ah AGM in less than half that price.

Then there is the weight factor, a 13kg panel is easier to pack and use then a 35Kg battery bolted down

The Solar panel should last 10years plus were an AGM could last 3 to 4 years.

I still have 2 weeks to decide, but I am still learning and it's all very intersting

Thanks everyone

Kenny,
when you go to buy the AGM battery look for one that has a 10 year service life warranty, with similar terminals as in the picture below, definately *not* with conventional type battery posts.

I expect many, many more than just 4 years out of my AGM's
I think they would be close to that now anyway.

Image Could Not Be FoundMaîneÿ . . .

Hi gmd,

I thought 70A charger might be a fast way to charge the batteries but without never seen it work I can't comment

The Yamaha is the same price as the Honda and you must be the first person to knock the Honda's :-), I have heard good reports on both and found them to be equal but ity comes down to what they can do wityh patch leads and whether two generators can talk to each other. Ii know the hondas can don't know about the yamaha's

I have a Ctek 7amp charger but i could look into buying a larger one, but if I charge the batteries before i leave home the car should keep them up to 90% charged if i drive everyday , your situation is you have a large Caravan which might need

man you have too many chargers and batteries and where do you keep your solar panels , do you have the panels on the roof of truck ? If Origin energy ever finds out you have more power than them they'll send the heavies over your way. lol

With all this talk about Solar panels I thought I should keep up with the Jones
But no use spending 3g's on equipment if I'm going to only use it on long weekends away

I think if i'm going to buy a small camper or caravan i will invest in a 2 Kva genny after reading Roachies report about Generators, but first i will buy a 70 or 100ah AGM battery and maybe get the panels later

I got a good price on a 100ah Redback AGM batteries from the 12volt shop for $289100ah Redback AGM

They claim you can charge these batteries from a car in 3 hours, is this true ?

I would wonder why they are selling them $100 less than the advertised price if they are so effective ?

" 100 AH AGM Thumper REDBACK Deep Cycle battery Price - $389 "

The website states:
"The Thumper REDBACK battery holds a very low internal resistance - which will allow the battery to recharge from anywhere between 13 -15 Volts and from completely discharge state to a charge condition in a mere 3 hours of vehicle charging"

All good AGM's have "very low internal resistance" that's just a normal characteristic of AGM's compared to wetcell batteries.

Maîneÿ . . .

A friend of mine brought as few of these last year at the Caravan and Camping show, Thats the Show special price