I took the $$ off based on all the following promotions
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/724371
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/725793
I used a 10% off GIFT card bought previously
$149.99x78%x90% - $20 = $85.29 $149.99-$85.29 = $63.71 63.71/149.99=42.48% off
Not sure if I can get the further %4 off from shopback?
What isn't made in China?
Ive got the 60A DC DC charger. Its done 12 months no issue. I also have the 50A DCDC with MPPT works well and I have a 20A MPPT which Ive had no issues with. Also have one of their 100AH Lithiums
I have heard customer support is lacking with regards to warranty at times but I've yet to require customer support. YMMV.
I am not sure. But I think if you keep to their low performance low function products like this 20A one and don't go using it 24x7 at 40 degrees C its probably ok. They'll be no No bragging rights at the camping ground but if you use the right size fuse, wire, lugs and install it in a ventilated location. Should work.
I have a cheapy ridge ryder 20A DC to DC charger and I think its a pretty similar product.. If installed correctly and treated with care its going the distance for me as a part-time camper. Turns on when it should, turns off when it should. puts 20A in the batteries when it should, floats when it should.
This doesn't auto-sense supply/alternator voltage and activate like a lot of DC to DC chargers, you have to run an ignition wire to activate it (which often has to be done on modern cars anyway), not a big deal at the price… and you also need to set dip-switches to set the battery type and voltage which seems kinda old-school….
Their instructions for setting up Lithium battery charging are a bit funny, I "think" it's just a single max charge voltage setting… From the manual:
"To get started, make sure SW5 = OFF to gear the charger for lithium batteries. There will not
be a float voltage and instead users will select between Type 1 lithium voltages or switch into
Type 2 lithium voltages depending on your lithium battery specifications. You must select a
lithium Type to when selecting your charge voltage. Type 1 voltages range from 12.6V ~ 13.0V
and Type 2 voltages range from 14.0V~14.6V.
Typical chinese manual, it makes your head hurt trying to read it, lol
Thanks for the investigation, I will follow the manual for the installation, I'm glad I've got it with only an isolator's price, should I feel happier as I didn't pay the add-on features which should increase the chances of failures?
I have this model and don't have any complaints. I have also wired the ignition wire through a switch on my dash so I can manually turn it on and off. I don't keep my 2nd battery in the car all the time, so keep the unit switched off when it isn't needed. The dip switches aren't an issue as long as you pay attention to which way is on.
Brilliant! I most likely use it at holidays, only a few times annually :-( , I was thinking to remove the battery and charger together once back to work.
By the way, experts, I bought a 6B&S twin-core cable, should I use one of the cores or use the cable (both cores in parallel) for a single lead? I prefer to have the leads to take up to 100A safely or 70A at least as I'm not going to install a fuse.
https://www.repco.com.au/en/globes-batteries-electrical/elec…
It depends how far you're running them, are we talking 1m or 10m, and are you talking about just between your batteries and the DCtoDC charger? … If it's only a short distance like 3m that size wire should be fine for up to 70amp, over 70amp you'd want 2x which should be ok up to 100amp… (I think)
It would be a bit silly not to include fuses or circuit breakers, if you throw a dead short on cables that size connected to batteries expect fireworks and things to catch fire, lol…
yes, between the two batteries now and between secondary batteries/ charger in the near future once I get the charger. jump start cables don't have fuse either, my usage is close to jump start, what if I use it only a few hours at most temporarily and avoid the dead shorts carefully? you know, the fuse holders mostly don't have the size of cable
This is a nice chart for checking cable sizes, B&S sizing is the same as AWG I believe:
http://assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/newsletter/images/…
Jump start cables dont have a fuse because of the huge amps that are drawn when cranking an engine and they're only used temporarily, if there's a short the clamps tend to blow apart and disintegrate so connection is lost, they're not a permanent installation…
You really do need fuses or breakers… Not to be harsh but if you don't understand the need for fuses you should probably find someone with some electrical knowledge to help you with the installation…
Most high amp fuse holders and circuit breakers use crimp on eye-connectors…
@FLICKIT: Thanks so much @FLICKIT, can you please recommend or just give me an example of a high amp fuse holder and a circuit breaker, circuit breaker is better in my case, right? as I don't need to replace fuse, is it quick enough when a short happen?
@Jeff1001: I'm not playing with big amps so I just used these little auto-reset 50amp breakers when I set up my camper a few years back, in the past they were only about $2 on ebay, not many on there now:
https://www.electrotraders.com.au/auto-reset-circuit-breaker…
https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p/narva-50a-c-breaker-auto…
If I was playing with 100amps on a budget I'd probably look at something like this, places like SCA, Repco, Anaconda, and the likes all sell them but they tend to be pricey:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/165618230545
As for fuses, search around for midi fuse holders, also known as ANS fuses I think, like this
https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p233452…
I see ANL fuse holders mentioned a bit now also, I think they're just a variation on ANS, I haven't used them myself…
I use a voltage sensitive relay/dual battery isolator. What's the benefit of this other than when the 2nd battery is lithium?
I used a VSR for years and I think they're fine when both batteries are lead acid, I switched to a DCtoDC charger a few years back just to be kind to my AGM house battery… Alternators and lead acid batteries are usually 14.7v charging, AGM batteries tend to get cooked at that, they prefer 14.4v I believe…
Anyone use their inverter? Any comment?
got the 3000w inverter/charger model a bit fiddly to setup through the menu and you'll need an electrician to wire it up as its just input/output terminals for the 230V.
but yeah its been pretty good. Handy to be able to charge back up @ 75amps ( i think) when you have power aval
I bought one of their cheap ~$175 1000w inverters a while back, I haven't actually used it yet, build quality looks quite good though…
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/293399740739
It was a bit of a knee-jerk purchase so I can recharge my e-bike in the campervan once I upgrade the aux/house battery…
I like the idea of it's UPS function, I think I can make use of that in the future….
I don't get what does it mean with ups function though. What is it exactly
You can use it as a UPS…
Connect it to a battery, connect it to the mains with an IEC cord, plug your PC or such into the mains outlet…. The PC will be powered by the mains, if that goes off it will switch over to battery-inverter power in 50ms….
Personally, there's a good chance I wont use that function but it's crossed my mind to use the lithium battery and inverter as a UPS for my PC when I'm not travelling in the campervan, mounted right it will be very little effort to cart it inside after each trip…
I can see it being a handy function for people that use powered caravan park sites and the likes often, they can just use the inverter outlets all the time and dont have to switch back and forth depending on if they're on mains/shore power or off-grid (for laptops, tv's and the likes)… Probably handy for people on the road with Cpap machines and the likes also….
Ah ic..thanks for the info
is Renogy just glorified Chinese made (as everybody else) more expensive brand? what are your thoughts?