Charging of battery through cigi lighter outlet

Submitted: Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 12:09
ThreadID: 87329 Views:4993 Replies:2 FollowUps:6
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I am thinking which way to go in regards to duel battery setup. I have always run duel batts under the bonnet but some times find it not suitable for our needs. I still have the duel controller I pulled out from last prado so dont have to buy this again. But this time Im thinking of buying one of those waeco thumper cased batteries for the fridge or similar thing. While we are travelling i can use the outlet for the fridge no problems but when pulled up I prefer the fridge to be in with us then in rear of car, pain going to rear of car all the time. So I was thinking getting the thumper, run the fridge off it when camping and when back on the road use the oulet in the rear for fridge (as we do now) and whack the thumper on charge via the other power outlet. Does the power outlet charge at the same rate as say having the same battery under the bonnet but hooked up via the duel controller ?? I have charged the torch off the outlet but this is only very small capacity compared to a thumper..........cheers
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Reply By: Crackles - Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 12:52

Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 12:52
K a standard Cigarette plug will not be suitable as the rating of both the plug and the wiring is far too small. You could use your old controller then run twin 16 mm leads to the back of the car and connect direct to the Thumper with a 50 amp Anderson plug. At $700 to $800 plus wiring for the size you would need to run a stand alone fridge, its not a cheap option.
Cheers Craig....... .
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Follow Up By: Kimba10 - Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 13:31

Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 13:31
Sorry for my ignorance crackles but where does the $700/800 come into it ?? I like your idea as far as using the duel controller, actually was just thinking before reading your reply would I be able to use the controller for anything else other wise I was going to get rid of it. But reading your reply Im thinking I could use it for charging a battery in the van/jayco when we get it ?? I'm a bit restriced for room under the bonnet for a duel batt set up compared to previous vehicles so was one reason I was thinking of other alternatives.........cheers
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Follow Up By: Crackles - Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 16:55

Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 16:55
75 Ah Thumper would be the smallest size you'd need to run a fridge reliably stand alone. No doubt there are cheaper one's around.
Cheers Craig....
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Reply By: Life Member - esarby (NSW) - Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 12:55

Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 12:55
KImba.

I run mu weaco 40 Lt from my live Cig plug to the thumper, with the fridge plugged into the thumper while travelling. Then just unplug the thumper when parked overnight. I run the weaco at -4 degrees and the thumper lasts about two days and nights without charging if I stay over somewhere.

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AnswerID: 459017

Follow Up By: Kimba10 - Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 13:23

Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 13:23
Sounds ideal to me, ours is 50L although we are looking getting another for a freezer but maybe slightly smaller (40L)?? not sure yet. Priced the thumper waeco but stupid me didnt think of asking what amp hour battery they have in them and if it goes bang can you pull it apart and replace with a different battery if required. there is a 4wd show at Eastern Creek soon so will check it out further........Didnt realize you could run from the thumper while charging at the same time..Cheers
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Follow Up By: ross - Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 19:25

Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 19:25
I think they are about 40 amp. You can buy a 100 amp deep cycle battery and an Arc battery box for less than the Waeco.
You can also charge on the fly and run the fridge with this set up as well.
Ive run my 50 litre waeco for about 4 days on this set up with carefull use of the fridge
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Follow Up By: Kimba10 - Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 20:30

Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 20:30
Cheers Ross, this really sounds the go for my use, will enquire on monday and get some prices. what style of battery would be best, taking into consideration the battery will be inside the rear of vehicle next to fridge when travelling ?? I have heard about some battery with glass matt inside ?? sorry but I know minimal about batterys but have always purchased them from battery world here in Penrith but have always just used a cranking battery as second battery and never had an issue, I know they dont last as long as a deep cycle but due to my short runs to and from work then the vehicle sitting in garage for a few days before driving again i just went with cranking. Have done this with 2 previous vehicles but as said very limited with room under bonnet and found that having the second battery under bonnet some times just didnt suit our needs.... Will definately get some form of deep cycle this time though..I like the sound of it lasting 4 days that would be impressive Regards Steve
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Follow Up By: ross - Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 23:38

Saturday, Jul 02, 2011 at 23:38
I was using a 105amp Delkor,it cost around $240. Its a budget deep cycle ,no glass mat ,just thick lead plates.
Getting 4 days out of it means no kids touching the fridge and keeping it in the shade.Turning it off at night also helps.
I also had my fridge hard wired direct to the battery terminals,anything in between robs some power(inc battery boxes)
Its all wired to the cranking batteries in the front via a solenoid that isolates the deep cycle battery when the engine is off.(so you dont have flat batteries up front)
It may be possible to over charge the deep cycle battery but running the fridge while it was getting charge from the engine seem to keep it in the right range.

You can get a wet cell deep cycle at any battery retailer,but as you may have found battery world are not the cheapest.Look for other battery specialists,there is plenty in each city.
You can get the Arc battery boxes from supercheep,$60?
They have a cig lighter plug and other outlets as well a LED battery indicator.

Make sure the battery will fit in the box.
Deep cycle batteries can only be discharged to about 80% of their max charge,any more and you shorten their lifespan(of about 1100 recharges?).
Im not great on electronics either ,so you need to study up on that.
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