Dual battery options?

Had you had a look at the Thumper Battery options??

They aren't cheap but are fully sealed and can be located in the back with the fridge and removed when not required.

PB

It is possible to successfully run your fridge directly off the main battery without the need to install a second one. If you install adequate cable to the luggage compartment you can install an appropriate fuse plug and away you go. However, unless you also have either a seperate switch (manual or auto) then it is likely that you may flatten your battery when the engine is not running. It is also possible to install a battery in the luggage coompartment. Make sure it is sealed type and in ideally a sealed container with adequate ventilation.

Mount the 2 battery and fridge in your camper trailer ?

Hi Jo,

Have a look at the Flyer battery box by ABR. It should have the features that you need. Note that you need to purchase a battery as well.

I don't have any experience with them but I'm intending to get one myself shortly.

Cheers,
David

Is there room to put a decent battery in the factory holder?

Petrols dont take much to start so I would prob try and chuck a whacking big battery in something like the batteries I just bought century 700cca nz 4wd batteries and back it up with some kind of jump starter


unless your the stop and prop type of camper youd have no issues and if you did you have the jump starter (make sure its kept maintained)

Just found this on the net it may save you from getting another battery


http://www.engelaustralia.com.au/cgi-bin/products.cgi?category=Fridge%20Accessories&sub_category=Battery%20Monitors

Sidewinder Flyer

Derek advertises on this site. I got one a few weeks ago cause it was as a package cheaper than an under bonnet one anyhow. Dead easy to install. Love it, has changed my refrigerated life.

http://www.sidewinder.com.au/page133.html

Not sure of your actual set up but here are a few options:

Put second battery in your trailer and run Anderson plug from it to your fridge. (Doesn't really make sense running cable past the fridge to the trailer to charge the battery then run more cable back to the fridge) This system will avoid a battery in your car.

Or

Put a redarc (or ABR version http://www.sidewinder.com.au/page79.html ) under the bonnet and run the wires to the fridge. This will eliminate the need for a second battery but only provide power to the fridge whilst the car is running. Will save you from remembering to turn off the fridge every time you stop though.

Is it essential that you have the fridge running for extended periods whilst the car is not running? If so then do a combination of both methods (battery in trailer and isolator) and/or combination of other suggestions above using the portable power pack thing (thumper?) when you don't take the trailer.

I don't think the lighter connection in the rear is supposed to be for running a fridge for long periods of time.


sdr00y

Jo,

I have a Flyer battery pack (my "fixed" auxiliary battery) which has a 100 A/h AGM battery in it.
Excellent piece of gear but the combined system is a little heavy and you really need an AGM battery if mounting inside a vehicle.

I also have a 75 A/h Thumper (also an AGM) and this is both more portable and more compact if room is an issue.
The Thumper comes with an in-car charging kit to maintain the battery system when travelling.

I use the Flyer to run the fridge while on the move and the Thumper at the camp site where I like to remove the fridge from the vehicle.

The Flyer is a little cheaper in the purchase price of the system itself and the added cost of a suitable battery and the option of different sizes of AGM batteries to put in it is also attractive.
You can also purchase and install a battery pack insert from Derek and build it up to whatever capacity you wish, within limits.

Both systems are excellent and I can recommend either of them for your needs.
They both have Isolators included which protect the primary battery by keeping it separate from the auxiliary circuit so you won't drain your starting battery.

Bill.

Jo,

I run a Pirahna isolator from the main battery under the bonnet to a 100AH AGM battery in the rear of the vehicle. The cable for the isolator passes through the firewall gromet and the isolator sits under the passenger seat with the active cable travelling to the rear of the vehicle. The isolator ignition wire is spliced to one of the 12v wires in the cabin and the earth to chassis.
The AGM battery is also earthed to the chassis.
I have installed a bank of 4 fused sockets in the rear for the fridge and other accesories.
I'm not an elecrician but haven't had any problems with this setup.

I also have a flyer from Derek, I installed it on Sunday. I have a 100 amp hour agm. I plan to leave it in the car but if your not going to use it for a while the only thing keeping it in the car is one plug.

I also have a Flyer from ABR, nice piece of gear, very good build quility and well thought out. You can put any size battery in it, but as others have mentioned, it does become quite weighty.

I also just recently jumped in the 'new fridge' thing. I thought working out which fridge to get was tricky, but working out which way to go with batteries was even more time consuming.

It all depends on how long you are going to stop for, how big your fridge is, how cold you are going to run your fridge blah blah blah.

I looked at the Thumpers, they are pretty good units but the thing that steered me towards the Flyer was that I am able to put a larger capaciity battery in it for less cost than the equivalent capacity Thumper.

Good luck.

Hi JO

If you try running the waeco from rear socket it will probably run for a while before the X Trails cable size causes voltage drop problems. I run a 40Lt Waeco in rear of my Prado and had issues with voltage drop like most people do until they correct the cable issue. People with Engels love to bag Waeco owners because of this as the Waecos are inbuilt to cut out before you have problems, so they look like being a Waeco problem when really it is a cable size problem. The error lights on the Waeco will show this anyway.

Its very easy to fix this problem if all you want to do is buy a pre-wired correctly sized cable and lay it out from battery to rear of vehicle (or wherever you want the fridge to be) and screw the fitting to car and plug it in.

Waeco make a pre-wired unit purpose built for this. Engel also make one for their fridges. Many after market suppliers like those highlighted in replies here also make them because the vehicle original cable is going to be a problem.

Have a look at this WAECO power kit link and you will see what you get. It comes with 2 outlets already prewired with the correct size cable ready for mounting in the vehicle. One is standard cig outlet other is the heavy duty hella outlet which will be the one to plug your fridge into. Just pull off the red cover on the cig plug at end of fridge lead and away you go. It has 2 settings to run your fridge. 1 is always on until the Waeco's own inbuilt settings will cut out the fridge dependant on the vehicle voltage. The 2nd is only on when the engine is on, so fridge will only run while engine is running which means the battery is charging at same time. If you dont leave the fridge open for ages when stopped and manage how you keep the coldness in the fridge, this 2nd setting will allow you to run your fridge off your existing standard X Trail setup in any place you want the fridge to be located in the vehicle.

All for waeco retail price of $119 (or less) and no changes to batteries etc until you can afford it and then some of the other suggestions like Thumpers or ABRs Flyer will allow fulltime running of the fridge.

There is an EO Member right here on exploroz that is a Waeco agent if you wanted to talk to him about buying one (just let me know and i will pass on his details. No affiliation yada yada blah blah etc - just a happy customer of his) or you can just go to anywhere that sells Waeco products and get one. Other than that buy another generic brand setup or make your own.

The Waeco is very simple to install and comes with everything you need. You wont need anything else. Hope that helps you out, cheers....

Thank you all for some great suggestions! Has certainly answered my question & didn't realise there was so many options. I'm a bit reluctant to wire it into the trailer in case I want to take the fridge without the trailer. Like the look of the flyers or the waeco power kit.

Thanks again for all your input :)

Cheers,