Original Coupon Deal
Been looking at how to get power during longer camping trips to run my fridge and power extra gadgets. With the extra discount currently on offer it brought it down from $549 club price down to $469.
It's got the inverter etc all included in the box. So basically can charge in the car or via 240 or solar and run the battery.
Modified sine wave though…
Modified sine wave inverter is obsolete,no one should be paying a cent for it. a pure sine wave inverter costs less than $100 if you look hard enough.
This is an overpriced box, only good if you like the pretty looking box.
You're not wrong. That's a hell of a lot of money for a box with no battery
Well it's Engel so you're going to be paying a premium. Nice to have all in one, though you'd think for that price they could at least include a solar regulator too.
I went the cheap way. Just under $500 got me an 80ah AGM, battery box, 600w sinewave inverter, Victron SmartSolar reg and 2x 120W panels.
The solar reg fits nicely in the battery box, just the inverter is external but I don't use it very often anyway.
Also super slow DC-DC 7amp. Trash.
No deal here for me. Can get a lot more value for your money elsewhere IMHO.
Got an example?
Seems pricey and I rarely use my inverter when off-grid.
Have been really impressed with my Hardkorr Battery box - https://hardkorr.com/au/product/heavy-duty-battery-box/
Fit a 140ah AGM battery in it and I've seen others fit a DCDC Charger in the lid if needed. Total price for the batt + box combo at the moment is $488.
Personally would go for the Companion Rover 40ah Lithium for $559
https://www.anacondastores.com/camping-hiking/power-cooling/…
Downsides to it in my opinion if people looking at it -
Slow charge speed (5ah?)
Cant have solar and alternator plugged in at same time to charge
Doesnt have inverter
Still better than the Engel as you wont get a 40ah lithium battery in it for the $90 price difference
Agree with comments. This is an overpriced battery box with only a 300W inverter. You'd be able to get a 100Ah lithium LiFePO4 battery, battery box and at least 1000W inverter for not much more and potentially less.
What would you recommend?
Battery $389.22 (eBay Plus) - VoltaX 100Ah LiFePO4. I would recommend a LifePO4 over AGM as AGM batteries are much heavier and you can't use as much of it's rated capacity.
Battery Box $46.79 (eBay Plus) - MOBI Battery Box
Battery Monitor - there's plenty of options. Some display simple information whereas some are able to provide battery % and estimates. Your choice if you need/want one. You can just use the voltage display on the battery box as an indication of the battery charge.
Inverter - Your choice depending on your needs. Check the wattage of your intended appliances. If just charging your phone you can just plug it into the cigerrete socket on the battery box or usb ports. If you was to use your phone power brick for faster charging and other small electric appliances you can get a cheap modified sine wave inverter. Jaycar sells some good value ones such as this 300W modified inverter. If you want to cover all potential appliances (e.g. microwave) you pay extra for a pure sine wave inverter such as the Adventure Kings.
Also need to consider the cost of how to charge the battery on your trip and when you get home. To charge battery at home you need to find a suitable 240V battery charger that can charge a LifePO4 battery such as this. For in car charging while driving not expensive if just a voltage sensitive relay however a DC-DC charger can be $100-$200 and more. However generally a 100Ah LiFePO4 battery should be able to run a 12v fridge for at least 3 days so you may just need a home charger.
If going lithium also need to consider the discharge current and what you want to run off it.
ie, the Voltax has a discharge current of 50A meaning you cant run more than about 600W so a 1500W inverter would be overkill on that battery.
I'd still go sinewave though. The Giandels are decent for the money. A 600W can be had for under $100
Seems pricey for something that doesn’t include the battery.