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Engel 12 Volt in car Battery Charger queries, please help!

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  • Engel 12 Volt in car Battery Charger queries, please help!

    Hi, I have just purchased an engel 40L fridge/freezer. I have a dual battery setup with a redarc isolator, the aux battery powers the 12V socket in the back of my prado. From what I gather the aux battery is a typical wet cell, not sure exactly what type but know its a Century brand. All the wiring and setup has been done by the previous owner and has been done properly.

    Anyway, what I want to know is, should I invest in something like the "Engel 12VDCBATTC :: 12 Volt in car Battery Charger" for peace of mind. I am planning to go on a big trip up north for a few weeks. I have been reading in a lot of forums that the alternator is sometimes not efficient enough to fully charge the aux battery the isolator dual battery setup. In saying that, if I was to purchase an "12VDCBATTC :: 12 Volt in car Battery Charger" or something similar, do I have the remove the redarc isolator or will they work fine together.

    Any help would be much appreciated,

    Cheers

  • #2
    I have a 60 litre engel which I keep permanently in the back of my VX. I have some issues with leaving it running all the time, and note that if I dont do a long run every now and then that the fridge loses its ability to stay cold, and of course the auxillary deep cycle 105ah battery runs a bit down, but bounces back with a good charge from the 24ov charger.

    I have a Redarc BCDC1225 battery charger which feeds both by start and auxillary batteries - this is meant to, and does deliver a higher charge rate, but for the short runs that is simply not enough.

    I am just about to install my recently purchased dual battery monitor from ABR Sidewinder - which is a very good quality monitor and also has a link system built in which allows me to link both batteries temporarily to start the vehicle if the start battery runs down.

    I have noted that if for some reason I leave the ignition on, for the wipers whilst watching my son play sport or similar, that the start battery can run down really quicly and I lose the ability to start it from the start battery alone. I assume this is something to do with the ignition and fuel pump systems on the D4D - although I havent done any homework on that, as yet.

    Anyway, because this necessitates a jump start from one battery to the other I have decided to make the link aspect of my new monitor work, which means that I need to add a solenoid into the system. I have been advised by Derek Bester of ABR Sidewinder that the best way to do this is run the system as a seperate system to the BCDC Charging system and this will not only allow for the additional charging but also allow me to jump start without using a jumper lead via the monitor link. I believe that the solenoid system that I am about to install with my new monitor is similar in principle to the SB112 that you have.

    So, what you could do is put in a Redarc BCDC 1225 (or your Engel one if you so prefer) as an additional system to what you have now and that will allow you to have the best of both worlds. When you go to purchase the Redarc you will see that the RRP for them through ARB franchises and similar is something like $595 (the RRP from Redarc) but I know for a fact you can get the same one for a lot cheaper than that if you hunt around - try Kulkyne Kampers for at least $200 less than that, and I note that they are available for another $50 or so less than that but can't remember which site I saw that.

    I went for the BCDC 1225 after sounding out the very helpful technicians at Redarc and asking around, including reading opinions of the knowlegable souls on this forum. The BCDC 1225 is solar compatible if you decide to go that way later in the future - whereas the 1220 and 1240 dont allow for this apparently.

    To compensate for the need to do longer trips to keep the charge up, or to plug the battery charge onto the system I am about to explore the benefits of the alternator voltabe booster diode which will (quote)

    THIS SIMPLE PRODUCT WILL INCREASE THE

    OUTPUT VOLTAGE BY 0.3V TO 0.5V ON AVERAGE.

    SIMPLY FIT THE ABD IN PLACE OF THE 'ALT' FUSE IN THE FUSE BOX.

    INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED

    MINI BLADE FUSE ONLY (unquote)

    I hope that the additional alternator output into my Redarc system will allow me the freedom of running my Engel 60 most of the time, and my Engel 29 as a freezer for trips away.

    Again, this product is available through ABR Sidewinder, and if you check their website or ebay store you can find out a bit more about it. One thing to note about this diode is that it is only good for vehicles post 2005.

    Cheers

    Stotty
    Last edited by Crows1; 31-03-2013, 06:44 PM.
    10/2007 VX D4D with a few knick knacks.....

    Comment


    • #3
      Gday

      I run an engel 60lt and prevoiusly the 40lt with your trip up north is it mostly a driving trip or your planing on setting up camp for a long stay?
      The reason I ask is if you are doing a driving trip where your only planing a day or two here or there give your battery a good charge on a 240v charger and the alternator will do the rest
      this has worked hassle free for me on 2 4wk trips
      If your are planing on setting up camp I would spend my money on solar panels I have found these to be great as now I have kids and we dont road trip any more we setup camp.
      you can buy good solar on ebay I got 120w from bitoo for $180 and works well

      It would probly be worth while having the battery tested as if there not cared for they lose amps as I learnt my uncared for 100ah was operating at 40ah and I can only get it back to 70ah that was what made me buy try the solar.

      hope it makes sense, good luck
      pete

      Comment


      • #4
        Gday Irony,

        I have a 40L Engel & couldn't be happier. Running a dual batt system with Redarc SBI12 isolator, 2nd batt is Exide 105Ah deep cycle. No problen getting 2 to 3 days without running Prado with Engel @ 3 to 4 degC. Always cool Engel on 240v before leaving. Unless you uprade to higher capacity altrnator, to make sure higher charge to both batt & greater output, suggest considering multi-stage 240v charger. I have CTEK 5Amp charger and has definitely increased voltage of both batteries but is limited by the standard alternator at 13.5V, but definately better than not having it. Would have liked the 7 Amp CTEK but twice the price. CTEK & other manufacturers offer good DC to DC chargers which have a boosting effect but need to decide how often you run the bus if it will be effective. If you are looking at being stationary for more than 3 days then solar panels are the way to go. Mate of mine has 80W panels which more than keep the battery topped up, running 40LEngel. There are a lot of fancy, expensive charging systems out there, I say, do your own research, understand, and keep it simple. The golden rule is......keep the beer cold anything less is failure!!
        ScOzzieBok
        Lurker
        Last edited by ScOzzieBok; 08-04-2013, 12:25 AM.
        [FONT=Comic Sans MS][/FONT]Prado '08 GXL D4D, 2" Tough Dog, Firestone rear airbags, RedArc dual batt(105AH), Narva175 Spotties, Tracklander roof rack, ARB awning, ARB CKMA12 onboard comp, Sovereign Bar, GME 3520 UHF, Milford full cargo barrier, Tyredogs, Cooper 265/65R17 A/T3, MaxTrax, XROX Rocksliders, Scangauge2, Hi Lift Jack, Ironman drawers & fridge slide + the never ending wish list

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by ScOzzieBok View Post
          Mate of mine has 80Amp panels which more than keep the battery topped up, running 40LEngel.
          probably 80W not amp? 80amp x 12V = 960W not impossible to carry around but would be bulky. Most fridges 40-60L would use 2-8amp/H

          Comment


          • #6
            It's probably cheaper to get Leigh's voltage booster diode first and get your battery checked out. It might not be at it's stated capacity anymore. Car DCDC charges are expensive and are often not needed.

            My new 130Ah AGM battery didn't last a day, more like 8 hours from day one. Took it back to the ebay seller and it tested at 35% capacity. Got a brand new one and all's good now. Hassle free seller too. Goes by the name of 4wdextreme on ebay and is local to Adelaide in the northern suburbs (Greenwith).
            amts
            Ninja Poster.
            Last edited by amts; 05-04-2013, 12:20 PM.

            Comment


            • #7
              pjorek, thanks for the correction, yep 80W panels. First day off after Nightshift, & a couple of scotches, that's my excuse anyway
              [FONT=Comic Sans MS][/FONT]Prado '08 GXL D4D, 2" Tough Dog, Firestone rear airbags, RedArc dual batt(105AH), Narva175 Spotties, Tracklander roof rack, ARB awning, ARB CKMA12 onboard comp, Sovereign Bar, GME 3520 UHF, Milford full cargo barrier, Tyredogs, Cooper 265/65R17 A/T3, MaxTrax, XROX Rocksliders, Scangauge2, Hi Lift Jack, Ironman drawers & fridge slide + the never ending wish list

              Comment

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