Waeco CoolPower RAPS 44AH Battery Pack

Submitted: Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 18:10
ThreadID: 134748 Views:19573 Replies:8 FollowUps:11
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Guys further to my thread the other day re running a fridge, this unit has been recommended to me as an alternative to a Thumper etc... a Waeco CoolPower RAPS 44AH Battery Pack. Has anyone used them or have any knowledge of them?

I hope to be able to drive during the day with the battery plugged into the outlet in the back of the Pajero with the fridge plugged into the battery, then unplug the battery from the car overnight with the fridge running off the battery, will this work guys?

https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/waeco-coolpower-raps-44ah-battery-pack?gclid=CKS1oMWWxNMCFY0rvQodPNABkA#specifications
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Reply By: RMD - Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:20

Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:20
I would use the fridge during the day and have it plugged into a vehicle charging source ie, dedicated Anderson plug. Perhaps a ciggy plug if you must, but they are not realy good for long term/frequent connections because they work loose and get hot and burn the plug. Hence no fridge working.
Although the RAPS has a few plugs the thing costs $299.
With a similar battery in a box and anderson plugs for connection to car and fridge you should be able to halve that cost. Maybe even have a handle on it too.
An Aldi DEEP cycle battery is 40 AH and available on their specials each year. The battery cost is $99. For less than the $200 difference you could buy the necessary gear to suit your needs.
In that a Jaycar digital voltmeter $15, to monitor the voltage level and switch to switch it off when not required is also affordable in that $200 spare.
A couple of andersons and some suitable cable will be required too.
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Reply By: Zippo - Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:23

Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:23
Don't recall seeing the current draw for your fridge, but 44Ah is rather thin for that task.
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Follow Up By: Chris. - Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:24

Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:24
The fridge draws just under 1 amp.
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Follow Up By: Zippo - Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:31

Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:31
Chris, is that while_running or average over a cycle?

Either way, if it's only 1A it should be fine. (I'm used to Engels).
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Follow Up By: Chris. - Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:33

Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:33
Zippo to quote the marketing spiel: "0.77 Ah/h @12V | 5°C interior | 32°C ambient"
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Follow Up By: Sigmund - Saturday, Apr 29, 2017 at 08:51

Saturday, Apr 29, 2017 at 08:51
You should *at least* double that figure for real world conditions.

* opening the lid
* running with less than the unit full
* adding stuff so creating pull-down
* add 5% for every extra degree of ambient temp
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Follow Up By: The Bantam - Sunday, Apr 30, 2017 at 09:59

Sunday, Apr 30, 2017 at 09:59
Fridge draws under an amp? ........ serioulsy who ever wrote that was dreaming.

for any practicality for pretty much any commercially available Dc compressor fridge you need about 80 to 100 AH ..... that is an N70 battery .... or an N50 at a push.

cheers
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Reply By: Les - PK Ranger - Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:51

Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:51
Couple of things with that Chris.

The Waeco raps 44 has the batteries inbuilt and all comes ready to go.
That is ok, but all batteries will eventually cark it, a lot depends on maintenance / charging, not letting AGMs run down too low, say max 50% SOC.

If you bought a battery box, you could choose your own battery as mentioned (aldi or other), and when it eventually dies you can buy another.

Not sure if the Waeco unit battery(ies) are replaceable, but if they are I bet they'll be $$$ more than equivalent other after market.

Someone mentioned specs for fridge running.
5c isn't terribly low, most seem to run their fridges on 1, 0 or like myself -1, keeps beer just off freezing in the middle, while cryo packed perishables live great around the outside near the plates.
I'd expect most modern fridges would run at those temps using about 1.5 amp/hr avg give or take.

The Waeco would do it ok overnight, but you'd need to drive next day to recharge, if 12v charger is anything like my old Arkpak charger (thing it was 6 amps), you do need to do a decent 5 or 6 hours driving to top off again, OR get a 150w of so solar panel to top it off during he day if camped up and not driving.

If driving, a battery box (and maybe the Waeco box) can be wired up to charge from the alternator, much faster, usually an hour, two max and mine's back to 100% SOC . . . or at least as much as it can be, but SOC and how much batteries really recharge on trips is another matter).

Yes the Waeco box you linked to would suffice, you'd probably have to wired up to charge from the vehicle alternator anyway, or get solar.
You can likely set up your own slightly higher amp/hr AGM battery in a battery box for quite a bit less.
AnswerID: 610616

Follow Up By: Chris. - Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:58

Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 19:58
Les thanks for the detailed explanation, more food for thought. It might just be easier, for the few times each year I camp, to make sure I'm at a powered site.
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Follow Up By: Les - PK Ranger - Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 20:08

Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 20:08
Mate, why not try it first as you say ?

Also as someone said earlier, in the safety of home, run the fridge overnight, and see how it goes on your main.
I have HAD to run mine on a trip or two on the main, sometimes game overnight (with others) and started no worries at all next morning . . . once solo I turned the fridge off about 8pm (last opening), turned on again after starting up next morn.

The other thing you can do at camp is whack a 150w solar panel on the main, should easily give you a good charge during nice weather to top things up.
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Follow Up By: Chris. - Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 20:17

Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 20:17
"Run the fridge overnight, and see how it goes on your main"... I think this is probably the best starting point mate, cheers.
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Reply By: gerard m2 - Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 21:10

Thursday, Apr 27, 2017 at 21:10
We have the Primus 44ah power pack and used it with our Waeco CFX 40 and haven't had any problems running the fridge for a day or so. The reason we chose the Primus over the Waeco Raps was that it seemed to have a few more features. We also use a flexible solar panel to keep the power pack charged.
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Follow Up By: Chris. - Friday, Apr 28, 2017 at 06:16

Friday, Apr 28, 2017 at 06:16
Thanks Gerard, I will look at that one too.
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Reply By: 2517. - Friday, Apr 28, 2017 at 11:24

Friday, Apr 28, 2017 at 11:24
Why not put a solenoid under the bonnet ,wire the main battery up and run decent twin wires to rear with Anderson plug and use battery box.That way refrigerator is isolated at night it would be cheaper and use what size battery you like.Very simple to do.
AnswerID: 610644

Follow Up By: Les - PK Ranger - Friday, Apr 28, 2017 at 12:41

Friday, Apr 28, 2017 at 12:41
That is the best idea to solve all issues, but the OP was only looking for a fairly portable economic option (in fact in another thread, no off grid power need whatsoever) . . . in the end a battery box and 2nd battery might well be the best option.
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Reply By: Member - richard m6 - Friday, Apr 28, 2017 at 11:56

Friday, Apr 28, 2017 at 11:56
Hi Chris i have one recently used on last day of camping trip day to power waeco 40l cf set at 3c day temp 27c o'nite 10c battery 80% when checked when got home. I also have 100ah batteries and love the portability of the much lighter power pack.
AnswerID: 610645

Reply By: Sigmund - Sunday, Apr 30, 2017 at 10:46

Sunday, Apr 30, 2017 at 10:46
If you want to measure the SoC accurately you need to isolate the battery and let it sit for 3 hours.

And if you go the RAPS route, starting properly charged, you'll have around 22 amps before hitting 50% SoC which is the desirable minimum. Say you're in camp for 15 hours, you can draw 1.5 amps per hour.

That's not accounting for losses, which will be minimal with good wiring and the fridge close to the battery pack.

But for that application I would go for a 100 Ah battery to provide some wiggle room (like another day in camp or power for a light or device charging).

Also budget for a smart 240v charger for battery maintenance. A 10 amp unit for a 100 amp battery eg.
AnswerID: 610691

Reply By: Member - RUK42 (QLD) - Monday, May 01, 2017 at 13:55

Monday, May 01, 2017 at 13:55
Chris
I used a Waeco RAPS 36 with a 50litre Waeco set much the same as you describe except that I had a RAPS12R-U2 plug connected with heavy cable directly to my car battery instead of the car ciggy plug. This unit can be set to deliver power all the time or with ignition only (I used the latter setting). That means the Waeco battery is only connected to the car battery when ignition is on. So the Waeco battery plugged into that and the fridge plugged into the battery. Worked really well for overnight stops or anything up to about 18-20 hours.
So - yes - a 44AHr battery should be fine.
Kevin
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Follow Up By: Chris. - Monday, May 01, 2017 at 13:57

Monday, May 01, 2017 at 13:57
okay awesome info, thanks Kevin, much appreciated.
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