Was replying to another thread and found this was $39! Normally they are $59 for club members.
$39 is bloody awesome for what it has. I've got one and can highly recommend.
XTM Powered Battery Box with USB & Accessory Socket $39 Club Price + Delivery ($0 C&C/ in-Store/ $150 Order) @ Supercheap Auto
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geekcohen on 02/10/2023 - 11:45 supercheapauto.com.au (1785 clicks)
Last edited 04/10/2023 - 10:57 by 1 other user
Last edited 04/10/2023 - 10:57 by 1 other user
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I've had mine for a while and it seems to be okay.
I've tucked mine away though in the ute and bought one from Amazon for easier monitoring.
Mine's 2 years old and still works fine
My Aldi box had a useless 3 colour LED thing to indicate battery level. Replaced the module with one that had digit display and two QC3 USB ports from Aliexpress to make it a little more useful.
Don't need the voltmeter any more though since have added a shunt (Junctek KG series, it's great and also allows monitoring via bluetooth. New KH series available now has a less convoluted display IMO)
Anyway, this is still cheaper than the $50 I paid for my Aldi one, and that didn't even come with Anderson plugs. Not that anyone asked, but here's what I've ended up with now :D
The Junctek display isn't fixed to the box so I can mount it higher up when the box goes in the back of the car for camping.
https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/702/106923/batterybox1…
https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/702/106924/batterybox2…
Nice.
Can you please describe what's In there. Do you have any low volt / low Ah cutout insIde?
Not specifically, I'm usually not gone more than 3 or 4 days and battery doesn't get that low but there is some protection built in.
Just a cheap eBay 100Ah lithium battery inside. The blue box is the Victron solar controller, the cigarette lighter socket hanging off it is what I connect my fridge to and is usually the only thing permanently connected. The Victron monitors battery level and will disconnect the load if level gets too low.
The little black box at the front is part of the battery monitor, can just use that via Bluetooth or connect the display to it. It does have an option to connect to a relay I could use to disconnect other loads but haven't had a need. Anything else connected to the ports on the battery box are usually only short term use, SUP pump, battery charger etc.
Three Andersons for input/output (Victron connected to one inside the box, one connected to DC-DC charger in car, one spare) and a couple of cigarette lighter sockets and some USB ports on the box has been plenty so far. All in around $500 for everything in the picture.
@bamzero: Thank you. Very nice. (I made something similar but jammed in a massive cutout relay that's probably never gonna get used - your having the charger inside is much more sensible.)
Looks interesting.
"Not suitable for starting battery application "
Does that mean you can't use it to jump start a car? Or it's something else?
I think it is more about putting this in the front (or back) of your car and then hooking up the car that way using the terminals as the primary source of power. I'd say it is a warning about not for a high current draw like a car.
I wouldn't suggest jump-starting it off the little terminals on the side, just unclip the top and then use the battery for jump-starting.
Thanks.
The wiring is insufficient and may damage the boxes accessories and outputs.
Do not use it for anything which requires high current.
No winch. No jump start. Just accessoriesIt’s made for deep cycle batteries which are made for capacity, batteries used in regular vehicles are starter batteries - designed to deliver a high amount of power for a short stint and then work in conjunction with the alternator to provide power to the electrics.
The cables in the box are not designed to carry the current you would be pulling from a battery to start a car.
I also have one and recommend. Been going strong for years.
Great price. Aldi has these every so often at $50 to give people an idea of what they're worth.
Like naruto above mentioned the voltmeter is wired in, so it's constantly on and drawing a small current (about 10ma but it adds up). A simple improvement is just to add a push button switch inline with it.
Got mine from BCF a few days ago too, still $39 if you're a club member and free to join if not.
Any good options on batteries for this thing? What to look out for?
You’ll want to put a deep cycle or recreationally battery in not a regular car battery.
and do you just charge like a powerbank via a wall socket?
Yes but you need to buy a car battery charger.
@figarow: ah so these are more for 4x4's that probably have them connected in the back regularly? I was just looking for a camping solution to avoid taking 4 power banks
@iShibby: They don't necessarily need to be connected up, I keep mine portable as I trek a few people around when I am not camping so need all the seats available.
You can buy a solar blanket that will trickle charge it whilst you are camping. But the benefit to this kit is you can tack on a camping fridge and some LED lights for cooking and what not. It just adds a lot of creature comforts. But if you are just looking for something to charge your phone and a torch or whatever than yeah a few power banks is best. I wouldn't recommend buying this unless you are going to buy a solar panel of some sort and/or a car battery charger.
Depends what you want to do with it. I bought one of the cheap lithium 100AH on eBay for around $280 which has been serving me well to run the camp fridge and other small devices.
Recharge with a suitable battery charger.
I've got one of these in mine which I use with a DC to DC Charger but just charged via a car battery charger until I got the DC to DC charger.
I use it for my 240V inverter and powering my Fridge along with a few other small things in the back of my ute. Does a great job! Have yet to put it through its paces, but its cheaper than buying a 200Ah Lithium Battery and has done the job so far.
Just depends what you are wanting to do and power.
Yeah, I bought mine when it was on special at Supercheap.
Bought a couple from BCF but didn't post becuase I thought it had been this price ($39) for a number of weeks. (although the instore signs say member price $59)
Better than the Kings one for sure. I put 120AH Lithiums in them. One for my trolling motor and one for my fridge.
Just to add another note - this product and its design is very generic. You will find most 4x4 brands have the same kit with a different sticker on the side, or a couple anderson plugs instead of extra usb ports etc. The box itself and its internal cabling is all the exact same so don't think too hard about brands, just buy the cheapest bet - which is this one at the moment.
Also worth keeping in mind you can add and remove features as you need, its pretty simple you just need the cabling and whatever you want to add on plus a knife to cut through the plastic. Its good for a set up that requires more than just an esky but you dont want to bolt lots of equipment to your car.
Got this from BCF. It is good enough to carry the battery but the voltmeter on the box stopped working after 1 month.