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  #15  
Old 06-11-2017
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For me, it simply comes down to whether I will leave the fridge in the Jeep or take it out when I go wheeling.

If I am going to leave the fridge in the Jeep, I keep it connected to my Yellowtop 2nd battery in Uneek dial battery tray via a Waeco fridge connection kit for an extra measure of low voltage protection but if not, then I use my 120Ah KickAss battery in its homemade box with 20A KickAss regulator and Project 150W solar blanket for the stays longer than 2-3 days.

Even when I do leave the fridge in the Jeep, I usually have a reason to drive the Jeep daily so I am not too worried about the Yellowtop getting damagingly low and it's performed fine so far with the moderate load in two SE QLD summers and lots of off-roading. I am not sure there are many other batteries that will fit the dual battery kits and have their terminals in the right positions so I will probably replace it with another if it dies.

I can get 1-1.5 days out of the Yellowtop for my Waeco 50L and 2-3 days for my Evakool 22L but I can get double those numbers from the AGM battery so it's sometimes a difficult choice when it comes to weight and packing space. I noticed the average power draw on the Waeco was much lower when I got a fridge cover and I felt more comfortable with connecting it to the Yellowtop but even with the 22L, I get about 0.5-1 days more with my homemade car sunshade fridge cover.

Even with a good AGM home charger and installing the dual battery kit myself, the AGM setup was about half the price of the dual battery kit.
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  #16  
Old 06-11-2017
SnakeDoctor  SnakeDoctor is offline
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I've posted this elsewhere but there is a cheaper option if you are willing to back yourself.

Adding up the costs for a proper DC/DC charger + a dual battery kit + an extra 2x D34A Optima batteries is quite a bit of cash.

Capacity wise, at the end of it, you end up with 55Ah for each D34a.

Using the second battery only for accessories when the car is off, and only discharging to 50% that leaves you with 27Ah of power to go through, pretty poor return on the 1k+ that the setup costs.

Another option is to go with a drop in AGM battery replacement for the main battery like http://www.batteriesdirect.com.au/sh...n66-tall).html which is a 70 Ah battery. Total setup cost is $390

Discharging this to 50% gives you 35Ah of power to use, much better value.

You would obviously need to have low voltage cut outs on whatever accessories you are using, I haven't tested if the Wrangler would start even when the battery is discharged to this level but I bet it would - i'll let you know when I buy one of these and set it up.

35Ah is enough to run a moderately sized fridge overnight and you can add a solar blanket to keep it charged up during the day when you aren't driving.

Other downsides are that you don't end up with a "spare" battery to jumpstart with or use as a spare replacement main battery in the event of total failure of the primary.
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Last edited by SnakeDoctor; 06-11-2017 at 06:37 PM.
  #17  
Old 07-11-2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeDoctor View Post
Another option is to go with a drop in AGM battery replacement for the main battery like http://www.batteriesdirect.com.au/sh...n66-tall).html which is a 70 Ah battery.
I investigated this option and it may just be my cautious nature with batteries (I've seen one explode) but I couldn't find an AGM battery that I was confident could handle the conditions in the engine bay (especially heat), last a long time, handle the current draw of my winch and also fit in the battery tray.
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  #18  
Old 07-11-2017
Krump_7  Krump_7 is offline
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What about one of those "all rounder" batteries. Supposedly can be used as a crank and deep cycle. Well so the advertisement goes. Better then an agm in the engine bay?
  #19  
Old 08-11-2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by st_za View Post
I investigated this option and it may just be my cautious nature with batteries (I've seen one explode) but I couldn't find an AGM battery that I was confident could handle the conditions in the engine bay (especially heat), last a long time, handle the current draw of my winch and also fit in the battery tray.
Just curious - what makes you more comfortable in a regular start battery vs the dual purpose AGM battery I linked to?
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  #20  
Old 08-11-2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Krump_7 View Post
What about one of those "all rounder" batteries. Supposedly can be used as a crank and deep cycle. Well so the advertisement goes. Better then an agm in the engine bay?
Then you are back to a Yellow top Optima. I've had a Red top as a start battery now for 3 years without an issue. Most people seem to be getting between 3 - 5 years out of them under the bonnet.
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  #21  
Old 08-11-2017
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My yellow top is starting to go. Resting voltage is down to ~12.5V. It's been around that long since I got it.

I'm looking for ways to cool "Satan's Sauna" a bit, now. The top left cat being so close to it certainly isn't helping.
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