Stripped the Jeep down today so I could load it up with folding tables etc for my daughters 6h birthday party, gave the 22AH second battery a test running the Waeco 40lt fridge in freezer mode (full of ice blocks) did a sterling job at keeping them frozen for the 4 hours needed with the battery dropping just below 12V (this was with an ambient temp in the 40's), looks like it might even do a night running the fridge with no problems
Cheers
Steve
Public Officer - Member #076
Steve I ran my Waeco 35 on a 55ah second battery on the Cape trip, and found it really struggled in the heat of the September Cape. I was charging it off my rooftop mounted solar panel but it would often drop below the Waeco cutoff voltage before morning. I suspect it was due to heat build up inside the KJ at night. I have seen a number of vehicles that leave the rear door open all night to avoid this heat load but obviously its a security issue in some places. At Seisia I just plugged the fridge into the camp kitchen AC and then it was fine. What I am suggesting is that 22ah might be too small for that 40l fridge/freezer , you don't want to have the voltage drop below about 12.4v over-night for long term life of the battery - even if deep cycle.
No problem if it's too small, I didn't really plan to have it run the fridge on trips as the 40lt Waeco wont fit in the JK with 3 of us on board anywayMore to use it on day trips where it is just me and to keep the fridge running at stops rather than overnight, the battery was really intended to run LED lighting whilst setting up camp etc. Was interesting to see it run on freezer mode for as long as it did (in 43c heat) with no issues though
For the bigger family trips the camper will come with a 100AH battery and 230W solar panel.
Cheers
Steve
Public Officer - Member #076
No problem if it's too small, I didn't really plan to have it run the fridge on trips as the 40lt Waeco wont fit in the JK with 3 of us on board anyway More to use it on day trips where it is just me and to keep the fridge running at stops rather than overnight, the battery was really intended to run LED lighting whilst setting up camp etc. Was interesting to see it run on freezer mode for as long as it did (in 43c heat) with no issues though For the bigger family trips the camper will come with a 100AH battery and 230W solar panel.
Hi Steve, sounds like you got it sorted as you always do. I scratched my head for a bit learning some about batteries, solar panel etc. Anyway, whilst we are on the subject, I hope you wouldn't mind me chiming in some of personal calculation and understanding/misunderstanding. Please feel free to correct
From my limited understanding batteries are best kept >50% charged.
Just some rough calculation here, an overestimate:
Fridge/Freezer uses roughly 40A/24Hrs at 75% duty cycle
LED lts, movie,coffee machine, all uses about 10A/24 hrs
Keep Battery above 50% charge, say 50A/24hrs
Extra margin 20%= 20A/24hrs
TOTAL= 120 AH/24hrs.
Get battery>120AH for use.
Store DCDC and AUX BATT in cool env, ie; in cab.,under the dash,
Charge and maintain, also use solar to charge.
In this case, 70A/8hr solar charge x 1.5 (Safety Margin)x 18 Vmp (Average Solar Output Volts) = 236.25 W Panel ie; 240W say?
When not in use keep battery 100% charged and maintain it (alternator-DCDC/Solar).
This is for major trips obviously.
Last edited by AV8; 29-11-14 at 04:53 PM.
Picked up my roof rack from Wooders today, fitted the windscreen hoop this evening but need to get some longer bolts for the snorkel and some spacers to push it out a bit. I'll mount the rest tomorrow and get some pics.
Cheers
Steve
Public Officer - Member #076
Ooh! What kind did you get?
Got the rugged ridge sherpa rack, mostly because it was at the cheaper end of the scale and also because the main hoop over the windscreen mounts very solidly, some of them flex too much and can hit the windscreen frame, I cant see that happening.
Here's a couple of pics off the web. All the tube is 2"
Cheers
Steve
Public Officer - Member #076
Cool,
I have my heart set on a Uneek roof rack, but its a bit Pricey $$$
Yep $2500 for the Uneek with chassis brackets and shipping!!!! this was well under half that, well under, and the front hoop has light mounts as wellOriginally Posted by Nixolus
Cheers
Steve
Public Officer - Member #076
Nice, I'm thinking of swapping my kayak for a canoe.
I have a big arse jet tent that weighs a fair bit and is pretty long, Since I am struggling to put the seat down with two child seats, I think I need a rood rack to load it and the camp chairs and stuff that we need to go camping now that we are married.
Remember the days when you just needed a tarpaulin, a sleeping bag and a can of aero guard to go camping, and yes it was horrendously uncomfortable, but that didn't matter until the next morning. You certainly didn't think about it in the planning stages.
I have had orders to lux up our camping a bit since the fateful Fraser island trip when we had to spend a night in the Rocsta, me in an upright seat, and my wife curled up on top of the big blue esky.
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