Deep Cycle Battery and/or a Power Pack ?
Submitted: Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 16:32
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Doddy
Hi there. I plan to run a DC 80AH battery in my caravan to provide power for lights and water pump
should we
camp away from 240V power for a few days. I have also been advised to purchase a Power Pack to jump start my Prado diesel should its cranking battery fail on a 3 month trip. Question is, do I need both? Wouldn’t the DC 80AH give enough power to start the diesel in case of an emergency boost being required? Any advice would be appreciated.
Reply By: Hi-ryder - Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 16:43
Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 16:43
Hi Doddy for the cost of the pack i would def buy one . I have two 80 amp deep cycle but always carry the pack if we go out anywhere . I think
mine cost about 100-150 from super cheap . It has saved me once in the boat and a number of times camping with other people with dying batteries . We just use our to power the shower .Light portable they are a good thing .
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Follow Up By: Doddy - Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 22:22
Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 22:22
Thanks Hi-ryder
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Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 19:29
Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 19:29
Doddy,
The
Blue Apple Thumper is the best solution.
I have a 75Ah Thumper which also includes the ability to jump start your vehicle if required. It can be charged from your vehicle alternator via the included In-Car charge kit which includes an Isolator to protect your vehicle's starting battery and a pair of plug-in jumper leads.
No ties with
Home Of 12 Volt (the Manufacturer/Supplier), I am merely a satisfied customer.
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Follow Up By: AlbyNSW - Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 21:37
Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 21:37
$850 bucks for only 75 amps hours of battery supply does not sound very good value to me..
You can get a AGM 100 or 120 a/h battery for $300 ish put it in a Ark style battery box for less than $100 and you have a much bigger battery reserve for half the outlay.
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Follow Up By: Doddy - Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 22:25
Monday, Jul 04, 2011 at 22:25
Appreciate the comments, but still don't know if the DC80 ah would jump start the Prado diesel.
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Follow Up By: Sand Man (SA) - Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 07:17
Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 07:17
No it wouldn't Doddy.
The Thumper is designed for heavy jump start use.
Also, bear in mind, the cost of a Thumper is about the same as any alternative complete dual battey system.
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Reply By: white pointer - Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 01:40
Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 01:40
we have used a projecta brand 900a/h jump starter for lighting around the
campsite via the 12v ciggie socket, plus a few jumpstarts on a nissan 4.2 diesel and a few other stranded vehicles without any dramas. less than $150 a few yrs. ago. regs. phil.
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Reply By: ben_gv3 - Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 10:36
Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 10:36
Do you know if the DC 80AH battery has a CCA (cold cranking amps) rating? Probably not since it's a deep cycle but it's worth asking.
I trust you realise all of the Power Packs use Sealed Lead Acid batteries which are more akin to deep cycle then starter battery construction.
What I'm getting at is if your 80AH battery has the CCA to start your Prado then I would use that instead of lugging around another bit of kit. Of course you'd need to remove it from the caravan and use jumper cables instead of trying to jump it through the battery isolator (if it has a jump start function).
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Follow Up By: Doddy - Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 14:15
Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 14:15
Thanks ben and all others who responded.Will
check out the CCA of 80ah and go from there.
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Follow Up By: ben_gv3 - Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 14:22
Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 14:22
Having said that though...
Since your DC battery will be in use running your lights etc it may be depleted hence it might have trouble starting your Prado.
Just some more food for thought.
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Follow Up By: Nomadic Navara - Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 16:01
Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 16:01
"I trust you realise all of the Power Packs use Sealed Lead Acid batteries which are more akin to deep cycle then starter battery construction."
Who told you that? Sealed batteries come in both starting and deep cycle style types. These devices are made for primarily for emergency starting purposes. Every one I have examined the specks of have contained starting batteries.
The engineers design them with emergency starting in mind. Tech sales staff then tack the deep cycle use on them.
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Follow Up By: ben_gv3 - Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 18:54
Tuesday, Jul 05, 2011 at 18:54
Because I've pulled apart my own Power Pack, admittedly which is only a 18Ah SLA battery... and is the same battery you can buy from Jaycar and is definitely not a starter battery even though I've used it many a time for jump starting purposes.
What I consider a power pack is the run-of-the-mill ones you can get from SuperCrapAuto eg the Projecta ones etc not one like the Thumper or the ABR Battery Flyer.
No one said you can't use DC batteries for starting, they just won't have a long life.
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