Unsealed 4x4 Australia's Dometic PLB-40 Review.

[Solid Luck]

Well since we are talking different brands I have to say I'm very happy with the Nomad I picked up last December. Running a 35 litre BM fridge on the back seat in summer with a trickle charger it would take about 5-7 days to use about 50% capacity depending on how many k's I drove before I'd plug it into the elec at home to fully charge.
Can also charge via solar but I've never used the panels.

Winter is a totally different scenario. I've had it running at over 90% capacity for over 3 weeks at a time with the 5 amp trickle charger in the car.
Being lithiun ion the manufacturer claims between 800-1000 cycles.
Just another one to think about if you are in the market.
I have no affiliation.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Well since we are talking different brands I have to say I'm very happy with the Nomad I picked up last December. Running a 35 litre BM fridge on the back seat in summer with a trickle charger it would take about 5-7 days to use about 50% capacity depending on how many k's I drove before I'd plug it into the elec at home to fully charge.
Can also charge via solar but I've never used the panels.

Winter is a totally different scenario. I've had it running at over 90% capacity for over 3 weeks at a time with the 5 amp trickle charger in the car.
Being lithiun ion the manufacturer claims between 800-1000 cycles.
Just another one to think about if you are in the market.
I have no affiliation.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/4748/1627937064_20190308_073534.jpg

Why does it never charge to a 100% when on the charger ?

 

[Solid Luck]

Well since we are talking different brands I have to say I'm very happy with the Nomad I picked up last December. Running a 35 litre BM fridge on the back seat in summer with a trickle charger it would take about 5-7 days to use about 50% capacity depending on how many k's I drove before I'd plug it into the elec at home to fully charge.
Can also charge via solar but I've never used the panels.

Winter is a totally different scenario. I've had it running at over 90% capacity for over 3 weeks at a time with the 5 amp trickle charger in the car.
Being lithiun ion the manufacturer claims between 800-1000 cycles.
Just another one to think about if you are in the market.
I have no affiliation.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/4748/1627937064_20190308_073534.jpg

Why does it never charge to a 100% when on the charger ?

Hey RR. It does charge to 100% when I plug it into the elec at home. In the car if it's powering the fridge it is constantly drawing power. It only charges in the car whilst driving. I have unplugged the fridge a couple of times if I have no need for it and it has charged to 100% of the trickle charger in the car.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Well since we are talking different brands I have to say I'm very happy with the Nomad I picked up last December. Running a 35 litre BM fridge on the back seat in summer with a trickle charger it would take about 5-7 days to use about 50% capacity depending on how many k's I drove before I'd plug it into the elec at home to fully charge.
Can also charge via solar but I've never used the panels.

Winter is a totally different scenario. I've had it running at over 90% capacity for over 3 weeks at a time with the 5 amp trickle charger in the car.
Being lithiun ion the manufacturer claims between 800-1000 cycles.
Just another one to think about if you are in the market.
I have no affiliation.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/4748/1627937064_20190308_073534.jpg

Why does it never charge to a 100% when on the charger ?

Hey RR. It does charge to 100% when I plug it into the elec at home. In the car if it's powering the fridge it is constantly drawing power. It only charges in the car whilst driving. I have unplugged the fridge a couple of times if I have no need for it and it has charged to 100% of the trickle charger in the car.

Cool, I like the robust build quality about it, I could make a home for it here, :inlove:

How big is the battery in it, I'm thinking it's Hooooge layful: layful:

 

[Solid Luck]

Well since we are talking different brands I have to say I'm very happy with the Nomad I picked up last December. Running a 35 litre BM fridge on the back seat in summer with a trickle charger it would take about 5-7 days to use about 50% capacity depending on how many k's I drove before I'd plug it into the elec at home to fully charge.
Can also charge via solar but I've never used the panels.

Winter is a totally different scenario. I've had it running at over 90% capacity for over 3 weeks at a time with the 5 amp trickle charger in the car.
Being lithiun ion the manufacturer claims between 800-1000 cycles.
Just another one to think about if you are in the market.
I have no affiliation.

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/img/member-images/4748/1627937064_20190308_073534.jpg

Why does it never charge to a 100% when on the charger ?

Hey RR. It does charge to 100% when I plug it into the elec at home. In the car if it's powering the fridge it is constantly drawing power. It only charges in the car whilst driving. I have unplugged the fridge a couple of times if I have no need for it and it has charged to 100% of the trickle charger in the car.

Cool, I like the robust build quality about it, I could make a home for it here, :inlove:

How big is the battery in it, I'm thinking it's Hooooge layful: layful:

I think you have enough gear mate

Specs are as follows. Under 1k for the unit and about $120 for the 5 amp trickle charger.

Nomad 100AH Lithium Power Distribution Unit V5 with FREE 240V Charger & Built In Solar Regulator

Equivalent to 160AH in AGM (AGM can run down to 50% which whilst Nomad can run down to 80%)

Weighs only 11KG

Run an Engel for up to 4-5 days

With 2 x Ciga, 1 x Anderson, 1 x Engel, 2 x 2.1mm and 1 x dual USB output.

Huge 10 amp per port output

Maximum 20 amp output across whole unit at any one time

DOD (Depth of Discharge) to 80% (useable A/H) longer up time

25A BMS

Charge by regulated or unregulated solar

Anderson and pole connection for charging from various sources including a free 240V 8A charger with anderson plug

Reverse polarity protection

10A MPPT controller built in

Slimline design to minimise space requirement

Range of lighting, fridge equipment and other accessories to suit

12 month warranty

 

[condor22]

I may have mentioned this before re charging LiFePo4, briefly....

1. LiFePo4 deep cycles charge at a constant voltage
2. Their better charge voltage is 13.8 VDC.

However, this charges them to around 95% full, left long enough, around another couple of hours they will reach 98%. To push the last 2-5% in the charge voltage needs to increase to 14.2/14.4 V. My "expert" in the field mate has tested this numerous times and his opinion is; "the increase in voltage is a stress to the battery, but is a part of its design life span". "Not stressing it to push in that last charge does no damage and is in fact kinder to it and has no effect on cycle life." As RR mentioned lifecycle is how deep a fully (close to full) Lithium is loaded. (% of capacity used)

They are totally different to an AGM/GEL, so you can pretty well forget the logic of use/charge for them, when dealing with Lithium.

From a 240 VAC charger point of view, the best mode is the power supply mode at 13.8 V. This provides a regulated output voltage and a regulated current.

BMS apart, this is why it takes a bit longer to charge from a vehicle and not to full. The source is not as constant as 240 VAC charging. Also consider this, during my last trip there were several days my caravan 200W of panels, were only outputting 2-3 amps due to the crappy weather. This is the biggest effect re slow solar charging.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I may have mentioned this before re charging LiFePo4, briefly....

1. LiFePo4 deep cycles charge at a constant voltage
2. Their better charge voltage is 13.8 VDC.

However, this charges them to around 95% full, left long enough, around another couple of hours they will reach 98%. To push the last 2-5% in the charge voltage needs to increase to 14.2/14.4 V. My "expert" in the field mate has tested this numerous times and his opinion is; "the increase in voltage is a stress to the battery, but is a part of its design life span". "Not stressing it to push in that last charge does no damage and is in fact kinder to it and has no effect on cycle life." As RR mentioned lifecycle is how deep a fully (close to full) Lithium is loaded. (% of capacity used)

They are totally different to an AGM/GEL, so you can pretty well forget the logic of use/charge for them, when dealing with Lithium.

From a 240 VAC charger point of view, the best mode is the power supply mode at 13.8 V. This provides a regulated output voltage and a regulated current.

BMS apart, this is why it takes a bit longer to charge from a vehicle and not to full. The source is not as constant as 240 VAC charging. Also consider this, during my last trip there were several days my caravan 200W of panels, were only outputting 2-3 amps due to the crappy weather. This is the biggest effect re slow solar charging.

Yeah that cloudy weather is the killer for me which is why I rave about lithium, On a very british average aledged summer day If I used 30Ah from a 60Ah battery with a 100w panel I would be worried about it reaching a fully charged state, with a pair of 115Ah's at 50% Using a 240v 12A charger pumping out 10Ah it will take 14 to 18 hours to fully charge them, I could blast them using Big Red on the MED setting putting out 16/17Ah but even then it takes 5 or 6 hours to get the voltage up around 14.4v then I have to drop it to low and then it can take another 4 to 5 hours to get back up to 14.4v,

So if they take that long with an AC Charger I haven't got a chance even using 300w of solar, hence my move to Lithium because no matter if I use the 10A supplied charger or the Ciggy Socket or 120w Solar panel It is only going to take 2h 48m max from a 50% SOC back up to 100%. Adding to that Using one PLB I can achieve the same things as I would using a 115Ah or bigger, which is odd seeing I am doing all that using 32Ah from a 40Ah battery.

The major impact is that the Lithium charges as you go so in the day time when hooked up to the Ciggy socket or a 120w panel it never drops below 100% and what the fridge uses at night is put back in under an hour the next morning then it sits at 100% again all day so as long as that panel is hooked up the power is unlimited. even though the Pack is only 40Ah.

To replace 115Ah in to the battery takes 18 hours +/- so it is taking an hourly Average of 6.38A so there is no way can I do that here with Solar using 300w panels, because with 12 hours of daylight I would need to be pumping in 9.58Ah for 12 hours solid.

 

[condor22]

I love the "Alleged" Summer's day comment, aaah memories, lol.

My van setup and use differs from yours, so the charging process will also differ. I trip to VIC between April and October, part of Autumn, Winter and part of Spring. Over the last 6 or so years, I reckon I've had maybe 10 days where my 200W of solar didn't fully charge the AGM. I think the panels will charge the Lithium quicker, reason......

When an AGM gets to Absorption mode the current (amps) going in reduces. By the time the battery gets to 93-95% full it's only accepting 3-4 amps or less, even if the panels are putting out 12-13 amps. A function of the controller.

With Lithium they take everything the panels produce until the battery BMS slows that down and then stops the charge.

With regard to 240VAC charging, my 130 AH AGM charger was set to 21 amps max input. Because the Lithium can charge at 0.5C (for a 100 AH that's 50 amps) I set the charger to its full output of 30 A.

I know that the 38 AH I usually use (constantly noted at between 35 and 40 AH) takes around 4 to 4.5 hours to fully charge the AGM. I have checked the Lithium in the driveway and it took less than 2 hours for the same AH.
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I've said this before - the best robust system has more than 1 charging option, i.e. redundancy. My primary charging is solar for the caravan, mindful that during the day when I'm prospecting there is no load as the fridge is LPG. The secondary option is the Honda as I use it to heat water and run the microwave, so may as well use the 30 A 240 VAC when it's on. There a couple of places I go that don't allow genny use, so as a third (rarely used) option, there is a 20 A Redarc I can power from the 4x4 to the van.

The same logic applies to charging something like the Rover and Dometic portable Lithiums.

The other important factor is; Awareness - if you don't know what you use and know what you charge i.e. battery monitoring, things will eventually go wrong.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I love the "Alleged" Summer's day comment, aaah memories, lol.

My van setup and use differs from yours, so the charging process will also differ. I trip to VIC between April and October, part of Autumn, Winter and part of Spring. Over the last 6 or so years, I reckon I've had maybe 10 days where my 200W of solar didn't fully charge the AGM. I think the panels will charge the Lithium quicker, reason......

When an AGM gets to Absorption mode the current (amps) going in reduces. By the time the battery gets to 93-95% full it's only accepting 3-4 amps or less, even if the panels are putting out 12-13 amps. A function of the controller.

With Lithium they take everything the panels produce until the battery BMS slows that down and then stops the charge.

With regard to 240VAC charging, my 130 AH AGM charger was set to 21 amps max input. Because the Lithium can charge at 0.5C (for a 100 AH that's 50 amps) I set the charger to its full output of 30 A.

I know that the 38 AH I usually use (constantly noted at between 35 and 40 AH) takes around 4 to 4.5 hours to fully charge the AGM. I have checked the Lithium in the driveway and it took less than 2 hours for the same AH.
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I've said this before - the best robust system has more than 1 charging option, i.e. redundancy. My primary charging is solar for the caravan, mindful that during the day when I'm prospecting there is no load as the fridge is LPG. The secondary option is the Honda as I use it to heat water and run the microwave, so may as well use the 30 A 240 VAC when it's on. There a couple of places I go that don't allow genny use, so as a third (rarely used) option, there is a 20 A Redarc I can power from the 4x4 to the van.

The same logic applies to charging something like the Rover and Dometic portable Lithiums.

The other important factor is; Awareness - if you don't know what you use and know what you charge i.e. battery monitoring, things will eventually go wrong.

Well it is Alleged or just a Bad Rumour, Ha I've worked it out, The British Summer is a Conspiracy theory layful: layful: layful:

Bugga I've been here too long 8.( 8.( 8.(

It normally gets warm around the start of May and now I should be soaking up the Rays

Well I had a couple of hot days back when I did my road trip but since then as far as Solar is concerned I would have to hook up 2 or 3 of my 150w panels to charge them 2 X 115's, I have the Space to carry them but each one measures 1.5m x about 700.. So all 3 are set up they will take up a lot of real estate So thats a non event, But the thing that tells me to forget them is If I can't charge them in under 10 hours using a charger where I can adjust the input then I have got no chance using Solar.

AGM and the blend of Smart Chargers is another mine field, having 3 of them Because I understand what the lights are doing when they go through the 25, 50, 75 and 100% sequence of pulsing and then turning solid, When the 100% green light stops pulsing and turns solid the Charger will sit there clicking and when I hook up a DMM the Volts change from 12.8v+ and with each click the volts go up to say 13.9 and as the stable volt reach say 13.5 the pulse volt will peak at say 14.4 and then the stable volts will get up to 14+v and at each click it will keep on doing that untill the pulse reaches 1.5v to 16.5v, which might sound Bad but these pulses are split second blasts of high voltage that only last for 0.5 to 1 second and I presume that this is the conditioning/equalizing Mode where the High Volt Desulphid the Battery, This Click/Pulse thing can go on for up to 20 or 30 hours depending if you have abused the battery, The times when it dose this the longest is if the Van's computers have sucked the power out of it and then the Charge sequence will happen in 3 or 4 hours but then It will switch to the Clicking Mode when all the charge lights say its charges and I have seen it do that clicking mode for around 27 hours yet If I run the fridge from the battery for a day the Charger will charge in about 5 to 7 hours and then click for another 4 to 8+ hours,

Which tells me the AGM charges faster if you had use power from the AGM, But if you let the Vehicle slow deplete the battery power via paracstic load the AGM will not want to charge and in many cases I have seen the Charger go through it's charge sequence and the moment it starts the clicking Mode within half an hour it will put it's self back in to the Charge sequence mode again So Drawing off power from it makes it charge much better,

The Issue I have Is at what point is the AGM Charged, Is it when the Green light turns Solid Green and has stopped Flashing/Pulsing or is it when it has turn solid green and gone through that clicking Cycle,, It Just drives me Nuts not knowing because the manual does not cover this in enough Detail.

Enter the PLB, it says if you don't go below 80% DOD then you will get 2000 Cycles :inlove: I press the Button it powers up and shows me the state of Charge :inlove: After a day or two's use I just touch the power button and it tells me again how much power I have or Used :inlove: with that I can hook it up to a form of charging and I can tap the power button and again it tells me how much it has charged and I can work out how long it has to go before it is Full and when it 100% it stops charging and I just unplug it from the wall or leave it hooked up to the Van or Solar No Problem :inlove:

Sure these medium sized Pack arn't cheap but even with their high tech they are so simple to use and charge and the charging speed resolves all of the Above issues, I have spent about 400.00 on these Smart Chargers and although they are clever they have made life a PIA,

The fact I go away for days using such a small battery saving weight and not have to think about it or worry about the wiring of the van makes the time I spend away so much more enjoyable, I went away for 3 days and drove over 880ks and using the PLB was about as difficult as Glancing at the Vans fuel gauge. It really was that painless, :Y:

 

[condor22]

I emailed Companion re the Rover 40 and have a reply, asking the following Qs;

Rover 40 Lithium - Solar input is noted at 18-20 V & DC input at 14 V, both at 5.0 amps. (I have purchased one)
1. If solar or DC volts is a little higher ie 21V or 14.5V respectively, will the internal BMS handle these increases?
2. My 110 W panel can output 6+ amps (higher than spec) will the BMS also handle this increase?
3. If I charge from my AGM auxiliary battery when it is charged via a DC-DC charger and it is at 14.4 V is this ok?


Their simple answer was Yes to all 3 Qs.

So, I can only assume that if solar V is less than (<) 18V then the charge rate will take longer and if greater than (>) 20V the controller will absorb the extra. If the A of the solar output is > than 5A the same.

If whilst driving, the Rover is plugged into the Auxiliary system to charge it, also ok and in my opinion more stable than Alternator charging as it's better regulated for a deep cycle battery.

I would also hazard the Dometic PLB40 would react similarly.

 

[Ridge Runner]

I emailed Companion re the Rover 40 and have a reply, asking the following Qs;

Rover 40 Lithium - Solar input is noted at 18-20 V & DC input at 14 V, both at 5.0 amps. (I have purchased one)
1. If solar or DC volts is a little higher ie 21V or 14.5V respectively, will the internal BMS handle these increases?
2. My 110 W panel can output 6+ amps (higher than spec) will the BMS also handle this increase?
3. If I charge from my AGM auxiliary battery when it is charged via a DC-DC charger and it is at 14.4 V is this ok?


Their simple answer was Yes to all 3 Qs.

So, I can only assume that if solar V is less than (<) 18V then the charge rate will take longer and if greater than (>) 20V the controller will absorb the extra. If the A of the solar output is > than 5A the same.

If whilst driving, the Rover is plugged into the Auxiliary system to charge it, also ok and in my opinion more stable than Alternator charging as it's better regulated for a deep cycle battery.

I would also hazard the Dometic PLB40 would react similarly.

Well done, I thought as much, much of the advertising blub is aim'd at dads with very little DIY skills but when you put these un test they can handle a lot more than the quoted figures,

All the PLB sales blub is very muted but the Manual says other wise and then the supplied Items differ again.

Yeah some of the Specs on the PLB are about 20% higher than what they Claim too,

they Say in the Manual it can't be charged with anymore than 8A but they supplied it with a Charger with 10A stamped on it,

It also says that the input voltage is 12v but it is 14.6v using a PWM, So why would you use a PWM when it has it's own DC to DC / MPPT

And the input Voltage range is from 8 to 25v, According to the Manual.

Also On the PLB Spec page on their site it says it has a temp range of 0 to 50*c, The Manual says 0 to 45*c But I also know of people who have used them at 50*c+.

Here's the site page and the Manual is here too,

https://www.dometic.com/en-gb/outdo...and-lighting/batteries/dometic-plb40-_-195560

 

[condor22]

Thanks RR, but I downloaded the manual when you first raised this thread. Then later on when I Googled it re local suppliers, I noticed Snowies had the Companion, downloaded its manual and started comparing, before I chose the Rover. Gotta luv homework, lol.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Thanks RR, but I downloaded the manual when you first raised this thread. Then later on when I Googled it re local suppliers, I noticed Snowies had the Companion, downloaded its manual and started comparing, before I chose the Rover. Gotta luv homework, lol.

Every thing I have seen says the PLB takes 8A from their website and their manual yet the charger clearly states it's a 10A unit,

That guy Hobotech on YT tests out all the brands and nearly all of them are much higher spec than claimed So it would not surprize me that the Rover is so much more than the sales pitch claims, :Y:

 

[Ridge Runner]

My brother called me and was not happy that his fridge used 50%/20Ah from his PowerOak lithium Pack in 43 hours, It took me ages to get a word in until I explained that his 35L fridge when set to 2*c was only using 0.465Ah wish mine was running that low. due to the weather etc and what I have in there it uses a bit more power than that,

 

[condor22]

Went and bought a new solar blanket from Repco, 120W was $205 but with RAA discount $194.50.

https://www.repco.com.au/en/4x4-adv...ket-dtsb120/p/A5554038?kwSearch=solar blanket

I plugged it into the Rover 40 which was at 73% charge without the Drivetech controller, the results were interesting. I also put my power meter into the hook up.

Under charging load the panel was still putting out 19.6 V. I then took the power meter out of the mix, so panel direct to the Rover's inbuilt MPPT.

With the panel flat on the car roof the input Watts reading on the Rover display was at 38W input. I then tilted the panel (improvised with what I had at hand) to about 20 deg toward the sun and the output went up to a constant 68W. (Today's weather is cool around 18-19C, sunny, no cloud, but it is winter sun. So, the "angle of the dangle" does matter. (FYI sun angle in Adelaide is 30-35 deg at this time of year.

The Rover display @ the 68W input and 73% charged, showed 115 minutes to charge to 100%. As the inbuilt controller is 5 amp, it was getting maximum input.

So about 2 hours to put in 10.8 AH. Happy with the result as it also means I can run either of my fridges during the day at no power cost and there's extra to put in overnight use. Which during my mainly winter use is not much overnight.

The concertina panel I had has gone to the bin. As with all solar blankets, the segments are interconnected with thin wires and I was getting intermittent output due to either a broken wire or connection. I put it in the "too hard" basket given it was 7 years old and done a good job.

Given I now travel with Fridgeables in the Engel and Frozos in the BM, if I stop o'night I can put the BM on the main 100AH auxiliary and the Engel on the Rover and recharge next morning when driving.

 

[saau]

G'Day Condor22

Happy with the result as it also means I can run either of my fridges during the day at no power cost and there's extra to put in overnight use. Which during my mainly winter use is not much overnight.

I can show you another way to keep those fridges cool using LIB packs, I have been using these for a few years now

Did you chat to your mate about catching up at MTC ?

 

[condor22]

G'Day Condor22

Happy with the result as it also means I can run either of my fridges during the day at no power cost and there's extra to put in overnight use. Which during my mainly winter use is not much overnight.

I can show you another way to keep those fridges cool using LIB packs, I have been using these for a few years now

Did you chat to your mate about catching up at MTC ?

What is a LIB pack and MTC? The first I don't know and the second, might need a memory refresh lol.

 

[saau]

LIB = Lithium Ion Battery
MTC = Mount Crawford

Sorry for the confusion

 

[Ridge Runner]

Went and bought a new solar blanket from Repco, 120W was $205 but with RAA discount $194.50.

https://www.repco.com.au/en/4x4-adv...ket-dtsb120/p/A5554038?kwSearch=solar blanket

I plugged it into the Rover 40 which was at 73% charge without the Drivetech controller, the results were interesting. I also put my power meter into the hook up.

Under charging load the panel was still putting out 19.6 V. I then took the power meter out of the mix, so panel direct to the Rover's inbuilt MPPT.

With the panel flat on the car roof the input Watts reading on the Rover display was at 38W input. I then tilted the panel (improvised with what I had at hand) to about 20 deg toward the sun and the output went up to a constant 68W. (Today's weather is cool around 18-19C, sunny, no cloud, but it is winter sun. So, the "angle of the dangle" does matter. (FYI sun angle in Adelaide is 30-35 deg at this time of year.

The Rover display @ the 68W input and 73% charged, showed 115 minutes to charge to 100%. As the inbuilt controller is 5 amp, it was getting maximum input.

So about 2 hours to put in 10.8 AH. Happy with the result as it also means I can run either of my fridges during the day at no power cost and there's extra to put in overnight use. Which during my mainly winter use is not much overnight.

The concertina panel I had has gone to the bin. As with all solar blankets, the segments are interconnected with thin wires and I was getting intermittent output due to either a broken wire or connection. I put it in the "too hard" basket given it was 7 years old and done a good job.

Given I now travel with Fridgeables in the Engel and Frozos in the BM, if I stop o'night I can put the BM on the main 100AH auxiliary and the Engel on the Rover and recharge next morning when driving.

Thats cool coz the fridge won't use 10% over night in most cases and in winter it will use even less so your recharge times will be within an hour or so :Y:
that means you will never run short of power unless it rains for a week like it does here and even then you can charge it from the Vehicle,

If these are used where it has Snowed then they can get close to full power because of the Glare off the Snow and they charge just like they would in High Summer and due to the cool weather they work even better when the sun is out coz the panel stays cool too.

So going on your figures it is charging at around 14.086% per hour which is 5.634Ah per hour,

27%/ 115 = 0.234**** X 60 mins = 14.086***% X 0.4 = 5.6347****Ah thats pretty close to my results.

Using the Rover and the Big 100Ah I can't see you ever running out of power,

These 500Wh packs are a great introduction in to the world of Lithium, and they will do what most people need and they are a good source of backup power, Again I did the 2 X 115Ah Deep Cycle test the other day going down to 12.20v and although they will run longer once the power is down it takes over 24 hours to get the power back in using the 12A setting and when it reaches 14.4v dropping it down to the 5/6A setting, That never happens with the 500Wh/40Ah Lithium pack, With the Lithium pack I have power 24/7,

230AH Vs 40Ah Lithium ?? apart from running a big Inverter of around 1500W+ for short periods at a time I can't see much use with having big batteries, :Y:

 

[condor22]

LIB = Lithium Ion Battery
MTC = Mount Crawford

Sorry for the confusion

Lol, I spent near 30yrs in Defence the epitome of abbreviations and those 2 had me stuffed. FYI the common abbreviation for "LIB" is Li-ion. Re Mt Crawford the short answer is no. I'm tied up with house moving, and a whole raft of stuff to do for a while. I'll PM you when that changes.