DEEP CYCLE BATTERIES and BUSH POWER

I covered this several pages ago, but I'll do it again.

If you use 1,000 W @ 240 VAC = 4.17 amps, however you will also use 1,000 W when drawing that from a 12 VDC source so the math is 1,000 divided by 12 = 83.3 amps.

An inverter is not efficient and actually uses about 10% more power than it produces, so you are now around 90 amps.

Most use the 20 hour rate of the battery bank and most good batteries have that stamped on them.

Example - If you have a 100AH battery divided by 20 then the max constant load should be 5 amps. Any higher and you reduce the battery life and the higher you go the more you reduce that life.

To extrapolate - if you have 3 x 100 AH batteries the 20 hour rate would be 15 amps and so on.

I'll reiterate my process and gear - Battery = 1 x 120 AGM (the caravan is a 18' shower van, all LED lights inside, 12 VDC TV, 12VDC diesel heater, 3 burner gas stove + 1 electric and gas grill, duel 240VAC and LPG hot water service, 1,000W microwave, duel USB 5VDC chargers, 12VDC fan in shower, 12VDC range hood, 12VDC water pump.
I also have a 240VAC PVR @ 15W and a VAST satellite system at 60W.

Example when I go detecting and off grid - Fridge is on LPG. Get up have brekky, water boiled on LPG stove and dishes left in a bowl of shallow water, solar panels are ON. Go detecting.
On return to van, I switch the genny on to heat the hot water and plug in my detector battery, phone, laptop etc on 240VAC and grab a beer. Then cook tea usually on the microwave, occasionally on stove using gas. Do the whole days dishes and whilst doing this the water is used is replaced and reheated. Have a shower. I then turn the genny off and use battery power.

As I detect the GT in VIC I don't need satellite, so with TV and 1 0r 2 LED lights and after initial startup the diesel heater all together pull between 4-5 amps. The 20 hour rate of my 120 AH AGM is 6 amps, so I'm well within limit. Of course if I use the water pump etc it can go over 10 amps, but that's only a few minutes and the actual AH used is well < 1.0.

I can also top up my detector battery on the way to my detecting area, lunchtime and on the way back to the van. Either by 12VDC charging or from another 150W inverter on 240VAC.

You don't need a huge system to provide constant power, it's all a matter of using what you have wisely and using good gear that reduces the risk of failing.

PS Although not installed yet as I've just changed vehicles, I have a 100AH Auxiliary battery in the 4x4 to power the Engel, 12VDC oven, lights, chargers and inverter etc.
And, like my last 4x4 the Aux will be in the rear not under the hood.

Forgot to mention, if I want to go on the internet or use my laptop, it's usually after the genny is turned off. So I use its battery and get about 2.5 to 3 hours. But I also have a 12VDC power pack that I can plug into the van battery as well. The Telstra WiFi mobile broadband has a rechargeable battery also.
If used, they both get plugged in the next afternoon when the genny is fired up.

If I decide not to use the genny, I'm more prudent on van power, but my panels will replace what I have used, so more or less indefinite 12v.
By keeping most of the LPG for the fridge, I get 2-3 weeks from the 9kg total.

Only time will tell, but based on past experience and my own knowledge, I'm confident, my battery will get maximum life.

As I only use the van periodically, I know my best battery life rate is between 30 and 60AH, 30 being better than 60. The most I have ever used on this van when the ambient was below zero overnight and the diesel heater was working harder was 46 AH which is 38%. My normal usage is about 30-35AH, including 5 hours of TV, so < 30%. I'm happy with that.

I've finally built a floor for the new 4by and installed the aux battery, fridge, travel buddy oven etc. FYI here's the WRG DIAG, followed by a few notes.



The battery is in a battery box that has a lid with 2 x fused cig sockets and covered external terminals.
The Redarc is mounted on the outside of a plastic box on standoffs to help heat dissipation.
Inside the box are 3 terminal posts - 1 is for car + in and also to connect the blue wire, a 2nd for all + outs (battery and Engel), the 3rd is for all in/out - lines.
On one end are 2 Anderson plugs, 1 for power in, the other for power out. On the other end is a dedicated Engel chassis socket, which is threaded and keyed for polarity, so no wrong connection or plugs falling out.
From the Aux battery, there are +/- connections to the battery box lid and a 6mm twin cable to under the false floor just inside the rear deck. This can feed my inverter or my solar panel input, or with a double adaptor Anderson both at the same time.
The Box lid will feed my Travel buddy oven, with a spare socket for my GPX charger.

The finished product

Condor22....magic set up.....you may want to look into a DCtoDC charger that will make sure your battery is at 100% full not 80 or 90 %....just a thought....

junkdog said:

Condor22....magic set up.....you may want to look into a DCtoDC charger that will make sure your battery is at 100% full not 80 or 90 %....just a thought....

Click to expand...

I have, and it does and I know that as I have a battery monitor that tells me that. The 1220 is a 20A, my draw is normally <3AH. Charge is dependent on driving time, I drive most days and when I don't the solar panel gets connected.

Hi Condor, just finished reading through this thread and want to say thanks for posting, it's really made me rethink my current set up and make some much needed changes to best protect and get the most efficiency out of the gear I'm using. Cheers.

condor22 said:

Oops finger trouble, should read "1220 is a 20A"

Click to expand...

Neat set up mate. You didn't need a set drawers for all your gear under that set up?
I love those travel buddy ovens, we have the large one and we live out of it. Nothing like a hot pie in the bush or at the end of a long drive, your food is ready and hot !!
you can have your own take away shop lol!!!!

GT

I'm off on my next prospecting trip next week, so the drawers on the other side from the fridge will have to wait till I'm back

Hi
Question : Any one else out there got a 2016 Toyota Landcruiser with a VDJ78R V8 Diesel that has wired up a Redarc BCDC 1225D charger for the Aux battery and if so the Q: is did you need to connect the blue trigger wire

I am using the setup to charge a AMG 120amp Aux Battery.

Cheers

Hi all

Update on the blue wire connection on new model landcruiser there is no need for the blue wire to be connected on the Redarc BCDC 1225D charger.

D

Here is a cheep way instead of buying expensive Drawer Slides :N: .... Use the PVC Chopping Boards under your ply draws( cut into strips).... With a Silicone Spray every few months and they 'Slide' all day..... Mine are 3yrs old and show No signs of wear.... Cost $6 ... :Y:

LW...

LoneWolf said:

Here is a cheep way instead of buying expensive Drawer Slides :N: .... Use the PVC Chopping Boards under your ply draws( cut into strips).... With a Silicone Spray every few months and they 'Slide' all day..... Mine are 3yrs old and show No signs of wear.... Cost $6 ... :Y:

LW...

Click to expand...

Top idea LW :Y:

Yes they do work well... I have been to some ruff places and they have held up very well indeed.... Screw AND glue all joins, and a spray of Silicone...Far better and cheaper than Those $1000 draws... Being a Sheetie by trade, I was going to make some metal ones but after building some for someone else... no way... after a while they start to rattle and it's very hard to find where it is coming from...

LW....

https://www.ebay.com.au/p/?iid=361961512444&&&chn=ps

Iknow this is an very old thread, but the OP was asking about an AGM battery that can be charged from a car cig lighter to charge his GPX battery and provide lighting.........waco battery pack is only 36 Amph, but fits the bill nicley, and is $150 cheaper than a GPX battery!

Hi,

Thank you very much for your topic, it is really informative for a newbie in electricity like me O

But I have still some trouble about finding the good diameter of wire to use between my regulator and my battery :/

Here are what I've got;

Solar panel MAXRAY mono 200 W

Victron energy regulator 12V/24V 100/15 MPPT

Battery Century 100 AH AGM

I am just wondering what size of cable to use between the regulator and the battery, there will be less than 1 meter of cable between the regulator and the battery.

Thank you for your help :Y:

Just got back from a detecting trip, had some van electric problems. First let me say that my previous ride was a Toyota FJ Cruiser, alternator charging voltage @ 13.8 VDC. By the time the power got to the van it was down to just under 12 VDC, so I installed a Redarc BCDC as per the diagram below:

This arrangement seemed to work ok in powering the van 3 way fridge as well as charging the van battery. The van is a Jurgens, it uses a transformer/charger at its heart. The top of the "power supply" also distributes van power to lights, pump, TV etc as well as the fridge. I found that when I diverted the input from the car to the input of the Redarc, that the fridge didn't work, hence the link wires.

I now drive a Colorado, different alternator and the charging voltage can be as high as 14.8 VDC, but nominally 14.2 VDC. On my recent trip, a 5 hour drive pretty well flattened the van battery, which led me to believe that the fridge was running off the van battery and the Redarc wasn't handling the charge load for some reason. (I'm yet to check the Readarc) Anyway it cost me a new battery, so I got a 130 AH to replace the 120 AH that was stuffed. As the Colorado charges at a higher voltage I reverted back to the OEM wiring setup as below, cutting out the link and the Redarc, placing the car input back to the power supply terminals. I moved camp a few short trips and then the longer drive back home and the battery state never went below 95% even after a full day driving (half of which was night driving).


All I can see now is that changing cars (and alternators) has caused an issue, which proves something I said previously, "no one system setup suits all situations"

I'll do more research on this, and maybe visit the techos at the Redarc factory, which is not far from where I live.

PS there is a motion switch that cuts van battery power to the fridge, when stopped.

FYI the above diagrams are modified for clarity as the solar and other additions are removed.............

Condor I removed and returned the BM Pro as was giving totally inaccurate read out and eventually no read out at all. :N: Setec did refund without to much hassle so credit there where it's due :Y:

That's a shame, both of mine work great on my Galaxy S4