[Che]

I got a standard battery in my zook, i'm just wondering how much guts this thing has. For example, if parked up, how long could I play my 200w stereo until I couldn't turn over the motor anymore? 5 or 6 hours? More... less?

[royce]

work it out, amps drawn x time running will give amp hours used

aim to use no more than 50% of your amp hour capacity and it should still go

or fit a digital volt gauge, run it till you hit 12.2 or so and hope for the best

[3cyl]

Just park it on top of a hill all the time

[Che]

Aww, gosh... anyone know how many amp hours a standard sierra battery is good for? My battery has no stickers or info to go off.

[royce]

Assume 50

your stereo isnt running at full power all the time either, which makes it nearly impossible the calculate

[jonno_racing]

3cyl wrote:

Just park it on top of a hill all the time

thats what i do when i camp

i ran my sterio/uhf for about 8 hours when camping a few weeks ago.. hit the key and she started...

[Che]

Interesting... just planning ahead at this stage. If I have a rough guide as to how long the stereo will drain a battery I can use it as a rule of thumb, and keep on top of my electricy consumption when in the middle of nowhere... with no hills in sight.


When I shoot over to WA, I gotta keep my laptop charged, camera batteries charged, ipod charged, LED camplight charged, plus i'll probably use the stereo here and there when parked and also be running a UHF by then... not all at once, but the battery will be working harder than usual. I dare say i'll pull off the road around 5pm to avoid kangaroos, and i'll want a basic power supply for at least a few hours a night once the sun goes down.

[alien]

why not mount a 2nd battery with an isolator? then you can charge it while driving and doesnt matter if you drain the main one.

[shep]

alien wrote:

why not mount a 2nd battery with an isolator? then you can charge it while driving and doesnt matter if you drain the main one.

it cost me less then $200 to fit a second battery for my fridge.

[Che]

Yeah, it'd be sweet, but a dual battery setup is more $$$ than I can really afford right now, and something i'd likely only use once a month in the long term.

At most i'm hoping to get away with upsizing the stock battery - looks like a commodore sized battery might fit in the spacing, so that's my preferred option at this stage... but if the stock battery will see me through i'll stick with it for now.

[inbits]

You can use a winch solonoid as a controller and set it so when the ignition is on acc 2 (dash lights on) the 2 batterys are linked and when acc 1 or off it will disconnect them so when you start you always use 2 batterys but when parked you only use one.
Its a simple setup that works well and you will always be able to start it in the morning. Just make sure your only using one battery and the other as a standby.

[whincup]

as an idea i ran my stereo (fairly quiet, but not right down) for nine hours and mine started first go. standard battery, about 12-18 months old, so under half of what the warranty is for...

[inbits]

your battery has to be up to scratch though

[SuperRoo]

Why dont you get a portable 12v power pack. SuperCheap have a few choices starting from 43 bucks.

[bohuler]

che_guitarra wrote:

Yeah, it'd be sweet, but a dual battery setup is more $$$ than I can really afford right now, and something i'd likely only use once a month in the long term.

At most i'm hoping to get away with upsizing the stock battery - looks like a commodore sized battery might fit in the spacing, so that's my preferred option at this stage... but if the stock battery will see me through i'll stick with it for now.

I put a bus battery in my zook If you buy it from a bus spares yard, they only cost $170! The battery is 760cca and it has run my 40 liter engel for 2 days without a problem It is the size of a standard hilux battery.
The first pic of the battery.
The second pic shows all you need to do to make it fit. I just make 2 plates up to move the airbox forward enough for it to fit. There is another plate thats bolted into the bottom mounts.
And the 3rd pic shows the that you need to make the airbox to carby hose bigger. I used rubber and gasket cement around the airbox to bring it out to the right diameter of the flexi pipe.
The only other thing that needed doing was upgrading the earth cable, supercrap sell them ready made pretty cheap.

[2stroker]

SuperRoo wrote:

Why dont you get a portable 12v power pack. SuperCheap have a few choices starting from 43 bucks.

I would upgarde to the largest battery you can fit in.

SuperRoo is on the money with this idea, I have had been using a cheap jump pack for years, it can be charged in the car, when away camping up the beach I have it plugged in the car charging all day while we are driving around then at night I take it out put it on the table under the tarp and run lights and a 12v IPOD dock with fm tuner off it.

Put some auxillary sockets in the car and have your laptop, phones etc plugged in and charging while you are driving during the day.

[laurie]

che_guitarra wrote:

Yeah, it'd be sweet, but a dual battery setup is more $$$ than I can really afford right now, and something i'd likely only use once a month in the long term.

At most i'm hoping to get away with upsizing the stock battery - looks like a commodore sized battery might fit in the spacing, so that's my preferred option at this stage... but if the stock battery will see me through i'll stick with it for now.

use a second hand second battery.
go solar charger.
stay in a cheap van park every 2nd or 3rd night and use their power and shower.
as far as trip prep goes.
spending a bit more now will save a lot more later.