Arkpak 730 battery box

[pfsweets]

I was wondering if anyone has used or is using the Arkpak 730 battery box.  I have been studying power options for my van and it seems that this product might be the answer.  I am not full timing yet and really want to power a dometic portable refrigerator full time, charge my phone and laptop.
I like the capabilities that it can be charged with a solar panel, alternator, dc or shore power.  The box is somewhat expensive, just under 500.,but if I were to,hook up everything independently it would cost me much more since I would have to have someone do it for me.

It can take up to a 130amp hour battery and I think for my situation that will be plenty.

Just throwing it out there if anyone knows something about this product that I might be interested in.

Thanks
Peggy

 

[WheelEstate USA]

while you're "just throwing it out there", throw away the idea.
5 bills will buy you into solar that will be much more trouble free and fulfill your needs much better.

 

[highdesertranger]

wow 450 bucks for that. I agree pass on that. a 6a charger is way small for a 130ah battery. then in one place it says a 150 watt inverter in another it says 300 watt. either way a 300 watt MSW invertor isn't worth much. all in all this box is way over priced. if you come to the RTR with the parts you can get it put together. if you ask here we will help with the parts. highdesertranger

 

[pfsweets]

wow 450 bucks for that.  I agree pass on that.  a 6a charger is way small for a 130ah battery.  then in one place it says a 150 watt inverter in another it says 300 watt.  either way a 300 watt MSW invertor isn't worth much.  all in all this box is way over priced.  if you come to the RTR with the parts you can get it put together.  if you ask here we will help with the parts.  highdesertranger

Thank you so much.  I think I am going to get all the parts together.  I am going to try to go to the Van build out Nov. 1st in Havasu, but I would like to know what to bring.  What wattage of inverter should I get for a 130 amp hour battery?  If I don't make it to the van build out I am definetly going to RTR in Jan,

 

[highdesertranger]

what do you want to run off the inverter? tell us that and we can go from there. highdesertranger

 

[WheelEstate USA]

pfsweets...We are in Havasu. Hot right now but should cool some for the build party
Hope to see you here.

 

[pfsweets]

what do you want to run off the inverter?  tell us that and we can go from there.  highdesertranger

Actually the only thing I will probably run will be charging my laptop.

 

[pfsweets]

In order to determine what your needs are the load must be determined. Which Dometic do you have in mind? There are many models with varying electrical needs.

Guy

Guy, I have a Dometic CF 35  according to the owners manual it draws 6amps on a 12 volt system.

 

[pfsweets]

pfsweets...We are in Havasu. Hot right now but should cool some for the build party
Hope to see you here.

Wheel.  I am really hoping to be there on Nov. 1st  will only be able to stay a couple of days but really looking forward to it.  Thanks I hope to meet you as well.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Actually the only thing I will probably run will be charging my laptop.

You will probably be ahead by getting a 12V adapter to charge your laptop (unless it is a mac   )

Guy, I have a Dometic CF 35  according to the owners manual it draws 6amps on a 12 volt system.

If you have a kill-a-watt run the refrigerator on 110 for a couple of days to calculate % of time running.  Otherwise using 30% to 50% cycle time would be a good estimate: your frig will draw 43 AH at 30% to 72 AH at 50% in 24 hours.

 -- Spiff

 

[highdesertranger]

x2 if you can find a 12v charger for the lap top it would be better all around. plus then for the moment you wouldn't need an inverter. highdesertranger

 

[WheelEstate USA]

I have 2 brand new inverters I never needed to connect. We run everything 12V.

 

[pfsweets]

You will probably be ahead by getting a 12V adapter to charge your laptop (unless it is a mac   )


If you have a kill-a-watt run the refrigerator on 110 for a couple of days to calculate % of time running.  Otherwise using 30% to 50% cycle time would be a good estimate: your frig will draw 43 AH at 30% to 72 AH at 50% in 24 hours.

 -- Spiff

Yes I will get a 12 volt adapter.  Now I really don't need a inverter.  According to your calculations on it drawing 72 AH at 50% are you talking about how much of the battery it will draw, based on a 140 ah battery?  Sorry I am so dense.

I would like to have enough solar power to recharge the battery on a sunny day fairly quickly.  If I am drawing only 72 amps in a 24 hour period and using a 130 amp hour battery I wonder how long it will take me to get back to 100%

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

 According to your calculations on it drawing 72 AH at 50% are you talking about how much of the battery it will draw, based on a 140 ah battery?  Sorry I am so dense.

Not dense, just don't understand a new language yet.  I am talking about how much of the battery your refrigerator will use if it runs 50% of the time, called duty cycle or cycle time: 6 amps X 12 hours (50% of 24 hours) = 72 amp hours.  

I would like to have enough solar power to recharge the battery on a sunny day fairly quickly.  If I am drawing only 72 amps in a 24 hour period and using a 130 amp hour battery I wonder how long it will take me to get back to 100%

First, 50% duty cycle is the most I have ever seen from my refrigerator, so it is an extreme.  30% duty cycle is more common, I think.  During a sunny day, my solar panels supply enough power so that the batteries do not have to supply any.  During the night my refrigerator runs less ('cuz it's cooler out).

To answer your question: it depends on how much solar panels you have, how much sun is getting to your solar panels, how much of the panel output is getting to your batteries and how far down your batteries have been drawn.  I don't use much power and I spec'd my system so I could run for 3 days without sun before I got to 50% battery capacity.  I have 200W solar and 208 AH of batteries (2 X GC2 6V batteries in series).  I am seldom below 85% battery capacity and am back to 100% usually before 1:00 PM.  

So, you first have to determine how much power you are going to use (this only you can determine, although others can help with AH calculations), the size your battery pack to accommodate that, then size your solar to charge your batteries (we have experience here that can help with that).

Or you can go by Bob's advice and get 200 W solar, ~200 AH of battery and see if this meets your needs.

Whichever route you choose I would recommend you get a Trimetric meter (it counts amps in and out of your battery) to measure what is actually going on with your system.

 -- Spiff

 

[pfsweets]

I am thinking that 200 watts of solar panels and a 200 amp hour battery is going to be more than enough for me.  Right now I am not a full timer and the most time I spend off grid is about 3 - 4 days.

thank you so much for all your suggestions.

 

[akrvbob]

It's almost like we want this to be hard. The Renogy kits have really made it simple:

* 200 watt kit will be fine for most people.
* 400 watts if you are a heavy power user.

Yes, there is a huge amount more to learn, but you don't have to learn it all in ONE thread or one day.

Buy the kit, buy 200 ah of cheap batteries and plan to kill them, and it will all start to become clear. You'll have lots of questions, but you will also have a foundation to build on.

We all want to build mansions of knowledge without any foundation and it rarely works that way.