Battery Life

[Leighw85]

Hi there
got a few question on my new Dual Battery.
how long will my Waeco CF-50 (http://www.waeco.com.au/products4.asp?i ... bCatId2=69" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) run on this? Remembering my Waeco cuts out when the Voltage on the battery gets down to 10.1
between this and my Cool Power 36
im wondering on how much time i can have the fridge running without the car running.


i have been recommended this battery from an auto sparkie, but not sure if hes just trying to flog me of something he make the most $ out of
its a Exide Extreme N50EX
there is a link to the specs of the battery, if someone could have a look, as i dont know much about the batteries at all.
http://www.exide.com.au/products/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
then click on extreme series and scroll down to the N50EX

[DamTriton]

Well covered in other posts. Try the auto electrical section.
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/search.ph ... fridge&fid" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;[]=28

[Leighw85]

Well covered in other posts. Try the auto electrical section.
http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/search.ph ... fridge&fid" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;[]=28

what about MY fridge and MY battery???

[phippsy]

Why don't YOU do some of YOUR homework.

Damkia gave you some links to check out. Even from the first link with the 40LT Waeco and a fluoro, the guy said he gets about 2 1/2 days without good weather charging his solar panels. So at a rough guess, you might be able to get 2 days roughly from your setup.

[Leighw85]

Why don't YOU do some of YOUR homework.

Damkia gave you some links to check out. Even from the first link with the 40LT Waeco and a fluoro, the guy said he gets about 2 1/2 days without good weather charging his solar panels. So at a rough guess, you might be able to get 2 days roughly from your setup.

i THOUGHT that was what a FORUM was all about.
asking questions that you dont know the answers to! to get a hand you know.
cheers for ya help

[drivesafe]

Hi Leighw85, don’t take their comments to heart mate.

There is a sure fire way to see how long your set will last and that’s to set up your gear in your back yard when your not planning on going anywhere for a few days and just let it run, going to the fridge every so often and then you will know what to expect when you go of on a trip.

[supazuk]

i have one of those battery's and it will keep my 40 ltr fridge at -5 for 2 days in 40 deg heat.
it is a engle though

[Leighw85]

Hi Leighw85, don’t take their comments to heart mate.

There is a sure fire way to see how long your set will last and that’s to set up your gear in your back yard when your not planning on going anywhere for a few days and just let it run, going to the fridge every so often and then you will know what to expect when you go of on a trip.

yeah mate will do that hey seems the only real way to get this done and sorted.
seems like most these forums are full of people that dont want to help more that people who do.
cheers

[Leighw85]

i have one of those battery's and it will keep my 40 ltr fridge at -5 for 2 days in 40 deg heat.
it is a engle though

thats pretty good.
so what kind of power does your engel use?
is your battery a 75 AH?

[supazuk]

i have one of those battery's and it will keep my 40 ltr fridge at -5 for 2 days in 40 deg heat.
it is a engle though

thats pretty good.
so what kind of power does your engel use?
is your battery a 75 AH?

nope 58ah

[DamTriton]

OK, this is why these sort of questions are too broad to give an answer to.

Battery capacity depends on battery age
Battery capacity depends on battery temperature
Battery capacity depends on battery absolute level of charge (ie being able to be charged to 100% though the isolator - not always possible)
Battery capacity depends on battery depth of discharge you wish to use, ideally 50% DoD or less but maybe 70-80% for some battery types (also relates to longevity of battery, high DoD = short life)

Fridge demand relates to ambient temperature (including air circulation around condensor coils)
Fridge demand relates to amount of food in the fridge
Fridge demand relates to temperature fridge is set to (ie fridge at 4 deg, or used as a freezer)
Fridge demand relates to how many times it is opened in a day

Even then, no two batteries are alike, and no two fridges are exactly alike. Any advice is going to be "wrong" for your circumstances.

I do class these sort of questions with the "what is the best.....", basically, how long is a piece of string.

[Leighw85]

i am thinking of getting a solar battery charger for when im camping! usually on a beach and in Perth so always have great weather.
would something like this keep my battery charged? http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SOLAR-PENAL-GENE ... 190wt_1139" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;\
or
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/20W-Solar-Panel- ... 643wt_1139" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
if im only running my fridge and a light?
what sort of specs should i be looking at for one of these? not looking at that exact one but something like that.
cheers

[-Scott-]

Leigh, welcome to the forum.

You're right that a forum like this is supposed to be about helping members out, but members also have to help themselves out. Some questions really do get asked a lot, and the answers discussed often, and these questions you're asking fall into that category.

The regulars get tired of answering the same questions over and over, but we also get tired of other noobies coming in and posting incorrect information - not that this has happened in this thread yet.

Don't take any of this to heart - it's not intended to be personal. You're not the first new member to receive a response like this, and I doubt you'll be the last. If you hang around and get a feel for the place, you may find we're not as bad as we might seem.

Now, your question.

As a VERY rough rule of thumb, for operating a fridge under "normal" conditions (out of the sun, in moderate temperatures, kept full, not accessed every 5 minutes, fridge not freezer...) your Waeco might consume 24Ah per day - could easily be more. Three days will drain your 75Ah battery dead flat, although your fridge will cut out before then, and even the fridge cut-out is arguably draining the battery too far for optimum life. You really shouldn't try for even two full days, as this will take your battery past the nominal 50% depth of discharge (DoD, as somebody mentioned earlier). Your battery will probably run your fridge for two days before you'll need to recharge it, but this isn't too good for your battery. It's designed for "light cycling" not deep discharge.

Solar panels: another rule of thumb, work on achieving 5 hours of good light each day. If you regularly move your panel to point it square to the sun you can more, but how much more I don't know.

Round figures, let's say the panels will charge at 1A (13W) or 1.5A (20W). So you'll get either 5Ah or 7.5Ah (roughly) back into your battery each day. Even if you spend all day moving the panel to face the sun, I would guess you'd be lucky to get the larger panel up to 12Ah in one day - so it might replace half of what your fridge draws, if you're lucky. Personally, I would say it's not worth the hassle.

Edit: I just checked out the specs - where did you get 75Ah? N50EX is a small starting battery - I'd guess it's closer to 45Ah, so even a day's use is likely to take you past 50% DoD. You probably should get the solar panel and use it AND go for a drive every day.

[simkell]

Is there a reason you are not going down the deep cycle route? Due to the demand and time your fridge is running at I would be looking at a deep cycle battery which is designed to run low current draw appliances. Using the exide formula, it suggest that ED6 deep cycle battery would be a better choice. With your current configuration it should run for 2, maybe 2 1/2 days before recharge is required. Not sure if this helps, but it is there for your thought.

[Leighw85]

Cheers Scott. It says my battery is 75 ah on the top of it!

[supazuk]

Is there a reason you are not going down the deep cycle route? Due to the demand and time your fridge is running at I would be looking at a deep cycle battery which is designed to run low current draw appliances. Using the exide formula, it suggest that ED6 deep cycle battery would be a better choice. With your current configuration it should run for 2, maybe 2 1/2 days before recharge is required. Not sure if this helps, but it is there for your thought.

the red top exide battery's are a dual purpose deep cycle cranking calcium battery's.

[Leighw85]

ok so with more research, i have found out the Exide Extreme is a cranking/deep cycle type battery (dual purpose). Can be used as a deep cycle with good recharge of the alternator in quick time. i have read alot of good things and very little bad. for the room i have in the battery box i think the biggest amp hour battery i could fit would be 110/ah. My Extreme is a 75/ah.
whats done is done for my trip over christmas. i have the Extreme. ( when i get back i might use this as my cranking battery, and replace the Aux battery with a Deep cycle) but for now its the extreme.

i really need to know how long roughly i will get running my fridge of this and a fluro.
temperature will be set on my Waeco 50ltr at about 2 degrees.
outside temperatures will be about 35 degrees, keeping it in the shade but.

thanks

[DamTriton]

ok so with more research, i have found out the Exide Extreme is a cranking/deep cycle type battery (dual purpose). Can be used as a deep cycle with good recharge of the alternator in quick time. i have read alot of good things and very little bad. for the room i have in the battery box i think the biggest amp hour battery i could fit would be 110/ah. My Extreme is a 75/ah.
whats done is done for my trip over christmas. i have the Extreme. ( when i get back i might use this as my cranking battery, and replace the Aux battery with a Deep cycle) but for now its the extreme.

i really need to know how long roughly i will get running my fridge of this and a fluro.
temperature will be set on my Waeco 50ltr at about 2 degrees.
outside temperatures will be about 35 degrees, keeping it in the shade but.

thanks

So that covers about 1/4 of the points I made above. I can confidently say it will last 1/2 a day, and possibly up to 2 days. That is about as accurate as you are going to get for an answer. NO ONE will come up with anything more accurate than that as there are still too may unknowns, and even the unknowns will change from day to day, and trip to trip.

[Leighw85]

Ok then so it looks like I'm not going to get why I need out of my battery long term.
How would a larger deep cycle battery go, in a battery box (so can be portable) sound with a solar panel attached to it to keep it charged!
The battery in the battery box would not need to be connected to the car in any except if I was on the move to charge it.
How does that sound? I can get an 85 watt solar panel for pretty cheap of a mate!
Leaving my dual battery set up for running the fridge on the run, maybe some lights on camp!

[Leighw85]

?

also does anyone what the gel AGM batteries cost and do they have a specific name?

[-Scott-]

?

also does anyone what the gel AGM batteries cost and do they have a specific name?

AGM describes how the battery is made inside; gel describes the electrolyte. There are a number of different manufacturers of batteries that fit either or both descriptions.

FWIW, I have a Full River AGM battery (could be gel too - I don't know). I bought it because it was cheap, and it's still going strong 4 years later. (Well, it was the last time I used it, in October).

[DamTriton]

?

also does anyone what the gel AGM batteries cost and do they have a specific name?

Scott, not quite...
Two separate technologies.

Leighw85

Try "AGM batteries" and "gel batteries" as separate entries in google. There's heaps of info on there about the differences, look for the Wikipedia entries.

Costs and brands should be available via google too.

Research......

When you have researched it then come back with reasonable questions showing some attempt has been made to educate yourself.

I do not think this is an unreasonable request/expectation as you can type into google just as well as we can to produce this information, and it isn't us that wants the information.

[Leighw85]

Nice way to say fuck off isn't it!
Gee wizz

[DamTriton]

Nice way to say . off isn't it!
Gee wizz

Not saying that at all, but the information IS VERY freely available. In fact even if you search this forum there is a stack of information on EVERYTHING you have asked so far. What it does show is that you have done nothing and want to do nothing, and have everyone else on this forum do your research for you.

We'll make the effort to help you when you have made the effort to help you....

[Leighw85]

Well obviously I know why I want as I HAVE done sone research!
But can't find a cost!
It ain't rocket! Really I've had a shit time in thi forum so far! Sarcastic replies, getting told to find shit out myself! But hey isn't that what a forum is forpeople to ask questions to get the answers they want? Correct me I I'm wrong please!

[DamTriton]

Well obviously I know why I want as I HAVE done sone research!
But can't find a cost!
It ain't rocket! Really I've had a shit time in thi forum so far! Sarcastic replies, getting told to find shit out myself! But hey isn't that what a forum is forpeople to ask questions to get the answers they want? Correct me I I'm wrong please!

This is as much a resource of information for you to search through as place to ask informed questions. The questions you have asked have shown little in the way of research actually has been done. You come across as simply expecting everyone to answer the most basic questions. I would be more helpful if I could see some effort on your part to use this forum as a resource first. I don't do "lazy".

Honestly, did you google "AGM Batteries" or "Gel batteries"? Did you add "buy" to "AGM batteries" and see what comes up? Clearly you haven't
by seeing this

also does anyone what the gel AGM batteries cost and do they have a specific name?

Respect peoples time.

[Leighw85]

Fuck mate get a life you forum hero! If you want to come up withsmartass replies don't bother!
And it is a place to ask questions to get answers that why there is "create a thread"

[drivesafe]

Hi again Leighw85, in short, steer clear of Gel batteries because they are way too temperamental and the slightest abuse can stuff them.

AGMs are more tolerant of automotive RV use but for my money, good old fashion flooded wet cell batteries are far better.

They tolerate much higher charge voltages, they are literally self regulating where charge currents are concerned and are no where near as effected by high temperatures as most AGMs are and flooded wet cell batteries are usually heaps cheaper.

With the exception of using them on their sides, your can use a flooded wet cell battery anywhere you can use an AGM.

[Shadow]

Hi again Leighw85, in short, steer clear of Gel batteries because they are way too temperamental and the slightest abuse can stuff them.

AGMs are more tolerant of automotive RV use but for my money, good old fashion flooded wet cell batteries are far better.

They tolerate much higher charge voltages, they are literally self regulating where charge currents are concerned and are no where near as effected by high temperatures as most AGMs are and flooded wet cell batteries are usually heaps cheaper.

With the exception of using them on their sides, your can use a flooded wet cell battery anywhere you can use an AGM.

so you can put a flooded wet cell battery in the cabin of a vehicle?

[drivesafe]

so you can put a flooded wet cell battery in the cabin of a vehicle?

Hi Shadow, yes mate you can fit flooded wet cell ( FWC ) batteries inside the cab of ANY vehicle.

The only requirement is to make the battery spill proof by fitting it in a plastic battery box.

NOTE, no matter what type of battery you fit inside the cab, it should be in a plastic battery box.

If you manage to over charge a FWC battery, you may get a bit of spill from electrolyte spitting out of the caps, but if you over charge a sealed battery it WILL force electrolyte gel from the battery and because of the lower maximum charge voltages that sealed batteries must be keep under, you are more likely to over charge a seal battery than you are a FWC battery.

So again, any type of battery fitted inside a cab must be in a plastic battery box.