In car battery box charging
- Thread starter richxd87
- Start date
Kerensky97
Xterra101
I got one of these El-Cheapo jump-starter units of Woot and even it has a plug to charge off the 12v. Any that don't have a major drawback in my opinion.
http://amzn.to/2fMwXAU
http://amzn.to/2fMwXAU
Rotorgeek
Adventurer
x2 on this. I have a National Luna Power Pack. I want to charge it from the cig lighter in the rear of my 4Runner.
mep1811
Gentleman Adventurer
Ark Pak offers a 12VDC to 12VDC charger. I use one, not very effective but better than nothing .
http://www.arkcorp.com.au/p/3237/12v-dc-dc-car-charger
Funny how a simple internet search that others can't do can find things.
http://www.arkcorp.com.au/p/3237/12v-dc-dc-car-charger
Funny how a simple internet search that others can't do can find things.
Rotorgeek
Adventurer
Maybe that is why we ask for advice from people that are using these items. Or did you not do a "simple internet search" before you purchased.
pdxfrogdog
Adventurer
If memory serves, the NL power pack comes with 20 something feet of 8 or 10 gauge wire terminated with a 50A anderson connection for running a dedicated circuit. That would tell me that they don't feel the OEM power port (and its 14, 16 or smaller gauge wire) at the rear of most rigs is up to the task. Certainly not for the hours of continuous duty needed to fully charge a decent size battery. Kind of like you trying to breathe through a cocktail straw, IMO.
TacomaAustin
Observer
If a cigarette lighter plug is your only option, then a low amperage charger like the REDARC BCDC1206 is available through eBay. The cigarette lighter plug is usually limited to 15 amps, 12 VDC before blowing a fuse - which is a mere 150 watts. The REDARC BCDC1206 charger will consume about 10 amps on a 12 volt DC circuit during the initial bulk charge cycle.
Not all of the 10 amps consumed will make to the battery. The output on the REDARC BCDC1206 is only 6 amps max during its bulk charge cycle. So, it will take multiple hours of driving to replenish a 75 amp hour battery that has been depleted to the 50% level.
I use an ArkPak 715, which has similar specs. It gets the job done, if all you have to work with is a cigarette lighter type plug.
If you plan to run a dedicated #6 or #8 gauge wire loom to the rear of the vehicle, then a CTEK D250S will replenish your deep cycle battery at a much fast rate. The bulk charge cycle will be done in about a third of the time needed by either above mentioned REDARC or ArkPak units. You can see some installations in the Customer Reviews on the Amazon page below.
https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-56-677-Automatic-Battery-Charger/dp/B005LBCVL4
Not all of the 10 amps consumed will make to the battery. The output on the REDARC BCDC1206 is only 6 amps max during its bulk charge cycle. So, it will take multiple hours of driving to replenish a 75 amp hour battery that has been depleted to the 50% level.
I use an ArkPak 715, which has similar specs. It gets the job done, if all you have to work with is a cigarette lighter type plug.
If you plan to run a dedicated #6 or #8 gauge wire loom to the rear of the vehicle, then a CTEK D250S will replenish your deep cycle battery at a much fast rate. The bulk charge cycle will be done in about a third of the time needed by either above mentioned REDARC or ArkPak units. You can see some installations in the Customer Reviews on the Amazon page below.
https://www.amazon.com/CTEK-56-677-Automatic-Battery-Charger/dp/B005LBCVL4
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If you don't want to spend hundreds of dollars and will be driving long enough to charge your battery with 100w or so, you can use something like this: https://www.amazon.com/DROK-Converter-Controller-Stabilizer-Automotive/dp/B01E283VYM. I rigged that to the rear cigarette outlet in my 4runner to charge my deep cycle while I was driving (8-10 hrs driving every other day to the arctic). It requires a bit of tuning with a multimeter, but once set up it works quite well.
pluton
Adventurer
Right, My NL PPPack came with 6mm wires running to the starting battery, which is roughly between our 4 and 6 gauges in size.
TacomaAustin
Observer
I know this an old thread - but the one thing I like about my ArkPak 715 is its ability to take an input voltage that is 12 to 12 point, whatever volts - and - provide a boosted output voltage of 14.1 t 14.5 volts during the bulk / absorption charge cycles - regardless of what the alternator on the truck is doing. This is a nice feature, especially when your auxiliary battery is in a remote location at the end of long run of wiring - such as on a trailer or the rear bed of my truck. Think about the voltage drop which occurs over long wire runs from the truck battery.
The Redarc charger that I mentioned does the same, as does the CTEK - but the CTEK D250S definitely requires its own dedicated wiring loom using either #6 or #8 gauge wires directly to the truck battery, with a dedicated fuse.
It is slower going to replenish a depleted auxiliary battery due the limitations of using a cigarette light port in order to power the charger on the ArkPak. But even so, after 12 to 15 hours of using my fridge on an overnight stay, my AGM auxiliary battery will usually be replenished back up to at least the 90% level after a couple hours of driving. So, for my use, the ArkPak is definitely better nothing. It works as spec'd - but not enough for folks who are heavy power users.
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Let me also mention that even though they run at least couple of hundred dollars, - all three of the above that I mentioned are smart chargers -. After completing a bulk charge cycle, they will transition to an absorption cycle automatically - which means lowering the amperage once the auxiliary battery reaches a 90% charge level. Unfortunately, no matter what charger someone uses, it takes about 4 hours to bring a 12 volt battery from the 90% to the 100% charge level. After that, a smart charger switches to a lower voltage float cycle, which is 13.1 volts with an ArkPak. On the ArkPak, there's also the ability to enter into the charger the type of 12 volt battery and it's size, i.e. rated # of Amp Hours.
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By the way - while driving - even if it is off-road, I run the fridge off a dedicated a wiring loom from ARB, which runs to the truck battery. This is to allow the auxiliary battery inside the ArkPak to recharge without any load what so ever while recharging. If I stop the truck for less than 2 hours - I leave the fridge plugged in to truck battery. The hint here is you do have to minimize power usage with an ArkPak.
Essentially, I've traded buying ice for an ArkPak. Even though I bought my ArkPak used for $120, if you throw in the cost of a new deep cycle AGM battery and the $400 Indel B fridge that's a lot ice - but on a two week road trip, it's worth it, plus no more soggy food.
On a final note, the ArkPak allows me to store the battery out of the truck when not on a road trip and it keeps on a a maintainer via 120v AC power cord.