Ark Pak - Questions and Queries

dstock

dstock

Explorer
Question for you Brett on the XO Jack,

Had my eye on this for awhile, great to see you are going to be selling them. What is the distance from the center of the jack mount to the top of the jack mount? It's the only measurement I'm not seeing on the website. I'm basically trying to figure out how tall the mount is to see if will clear my Jeep swing-out tailgate when the jack is in the stowed position.

Thanks!
 
Brett From Ark

Brett From Ark

Supporting Sponsor - ARK
dstock said:
Question for you Brett on the XO Jack,

Had my eye on this for awhile, great to see you are going to be selling them. What is the distance from the center of the jack mount to the top of the jack mount? It's the only measurement I'm not seeing on the website. I'm basically trying to figure out how tall the mount is to see if will clear my Jeep swing-out tailgate when the jack is in the stowed position.

Thanks!
Click to expand...


Hi Dstock

as the trailer jack has an adjustable shaft you can adjust it to suit your individual needs it can be as small as 6.49 inches or as long as 14.17inches.

if you feel i have not answered your question please let me know and i am happy to follow up.

Regards

Brett from Ark
 
dstock

dstock

Explorer
Brett From Ark said:
Hi Dstock

as the trailer jack has an adjustable shaft you can adjust it to suit your individual needs it can be as small as 6.49 inches or as long as 14.17inches.

if you feel i have not answered your question please let me know and i am happy to follow up.

Regards

Brett from Ark
Click to expand...



Not the shaft itself, but the mount for the jack where it attaches to the frame. When the jack is in travel mode, stored against the side of the frame, how tall is the mount bracket from center to top? I'm trying to figure out on my trailer how far the mount would be above the frame?

Thanks.
 
Brett From Ark

Brett From Ark

Supporting Sponsor - ARK
dstock said:
Not the shaft itself, but the mount for the jack where it attaches to the frame. When the jack is in travel mode, stored against the side of the frame, how tall is the mount bracket from center to top? I'm trying to figure out on my trailer how far the mount would be above the frame?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hi Dstock

thanks for coming back to me so i can follow up the backing plate measurements are 205mm long by 208mm high and its and 8mm thick plate if you send and email to me brett@arkcorporation.com i can send you some additional information.

look forward to your email coming thru.

Regards

Brett from Ark
 
M

MizMoosie

Observer
Hi Brett,

I've had my Arkpak out on a few trips this summer. Usually 2-4 day trips with an Indel B 50qt fridge hooked up to the Arkpak.

I start out with a fully charged 105amp hour AGM battery. I use the 12V connector to my Jeep to run the fridge during the trip to a campsite. Upon arrival, I hook up the fridge to the Arkpak via the 12V connection.

My fridge is set at about 39F. After 2-3 days, my Arkpak shows about 60% charge left ( about 12. 5V). Question: Is this 60% of the charge left to the alarm sounding at 10.8V? Or, is this 60% charge left to 0% charge on the battery? Or, maybe it is a stupid question? :sombrero:

Second question: I recently hooked the Arkpak up to the Jeep's AC inverter during a trip to another campsite. The Jeep inverter did not charge the Arkpak. The jeep inverter kept shutting off. Would I have more success hooking the Arkpak up to the second 12V accessory outlet in my Jeep? The ArkPak selector was in the OFF position and the fridge was plugged into a 12V accessory outlet.

I am very happy with how the Arkpak works! Obviously, I will be that much happier if the answer to my first question is Yes...That will give me about 4-5 days of fridge run time without additional charging of the Arkpak.

My apologies if these questions have been asked/answered elsewhere...

Rhonda
 
R

RawC

New member
LiFePo4 battery for ArkPak

Brett,

Thank you for your responses to my questions via personal email. I figured it best to ask additional questions via the forum for the communities benefit. An answer to a question I posed about batteries prompted the following reply "...If Money is no object you can invest in a LiFePo4 battery with the big positive for this type of battery is they suffer from no memory loss and also weigh one third of the weight of a conventional battery...". Frankly I thought "LiFePo4" was a brand of battery and not a type. As I was surfing the internet looking for the appropriate battery for the ArkPak, I came across a comment you made about lithium batteries. Lithium quote.jpg from a different bulletin board.

I greatly appreciate the brands you recommended for AGM's based on your usage and wanted to see if you could/would provide suggestions for LiFePo4 models. However my initial concern was the comment you posted about lithium batteries. Provided this isn't an ArkPak issue anymore with the LiFePo4 type battery, can you suggest a few vendors/models I could choose from?

By the way, I think I'm going to purchase an ArkPak with the 150 watt inverter instead of waiting for the 300. My major use for this is to power a Dometic CDF-11 fridge/freezer. As I've had time to think about my uses I haven't been able to find any good reason to wait for the 300 when time's a wasting :ylsmoke:

Of course, I'm all ears when it comes to what the possible benefits are to waiting for the 300.
 
kevint

kevint

Adventurer
I use my ArkPak to power a Ham Radio. Not sure how I did this but I have been away from the radio for a few weeks and have returned to find my battery dead (display briefly shows 9.9 v). When I power on the ArkPak, the display shows a "Low Battery" alarm for a few minutes and then the charger shuts back off.

Not sure if I've killed my battery but just wondering if there is anything I can do at this point.
 
Brett From Ark

Brett From Ark

Supporting Sponsor - ARK
MizMoosie said:
Hi Brett,

I've had my Arkpak out on a few trips this summer. Usually 2-4 day trips with an Indel B 50qt fridge hooked up to the Arkpak.

I start out with a fully charged 105amp hour AGM battery. I use the 12V connector to my Jeep to run the fridge during the trip to a campsite. Upon arrival, I hook up the fridge to the Arkpak via the 12V connection.

My fridge is set at about 39F. After 2-3 days, my Arkpak shows about 60% charge left ( about 12. 5V). Question: Is this 60% of the charge left to the alarm sounding at 10.8V? Or, is this 60% charge left to 0% charge on the battery? Or, maybe it is a stupid question? :sombrero:

Second question: I recently hooked the Arkpak up to the Jeep's AC inverter during a trip to another campsite. The Jeep inverter did not charge the Arkpak. The jeep inverter kept shutting off. Would I have more success hooking the Arkpak up to the second 12V accessory outlet in my Jeep? The ArkPak selector was in the OFF position and the fridge was plugged into a 12V accessory outlet.

I am very happy with how the Arkpak works! Obviously, I will be that much happier if the answer to my first question is Yes...That will give me about 4-5 days of fridge run time without additional charging of the Arkpak.

My apologies if these questions have been asked/answered elsewhere...

Rhonda
Click to expand...

Hi Rhonda

sorry for delay in coming back to you i have just come back from leave and i am playing catch up with all things work.

the answers to your questions are below

Question: Is this 60% of the charge left to the alarm sounding at 10.8V? Or, is this 60% charge left to 0% charge on the battery? Or, maybe it is a stupid question?

ANSWER - there is never a stupid question at all, 0% is 10.8 volts so it is the same thing once it gets to 0% it will be 10.8 volts and vice versa. this relates to a discharge cycle so its not on charge its discharging the Ark pak will always tell you what it is doing in the bottom left hand corner.
your result of 12.5 volts at approx 60% relates to the battery when it is on a charge cycle this means that the unit is under a charge cycle either by home charge or DC to DC car charge, when on a charge cycle the goal post for being 100% charge it changes this means the battery voltage needs to climb to 14.5 volts for an AGM type battery for it to be 100% charge. if you need me to explain this in more detail please let me know.

Second question: I recently hooked the Arkpak up to the Jeep's AC inverter during a trip to another campsite. The Jeep inverter did not charge the Arkpak. The jeep inverter kept shutting off. Would I have more success hooking the Arkpak up to the second 12V accessory outlet in my Jeep? The ArkPak selector was in the OFF position and the fridge was plugged into a 12V accessory outlet.

ANSWER - the home charge requires a constant 120 watts of power to work when pluged into a power point from my understanding the inverter supplied with Jeeps are only rated to 100 watts this is why the home charge is not working in your jeep the inverter is not providing enough wattage for the home charge to operate.

if you feel i have not answered the questions please let me know and i am happy to provide additional information.

Regards

Brett from Ark
 
kevint

kevint

Adventurer
kevint said:
I use my ArkPak to power a Ham Radio. Not sure how I did this but I have been away from the radio for a few weeks and have returned to find my battery dead (display briefly shows 9.9 v). When I power on the ArkPak, the display shows a "Low Battery" alarm for a few minutes and then the charger shuts back off.

Not sure if I've killed my battery but just wondering if there is anything I can do at this point.
Click to expand...

Actually, I discovered that the charger was plugged into a pwer strip that was off. Still not sure how the battery ran down but now I know why it wouldn't charge.

Also, not sure how much I've damaged my battery.
 
Brett From Ark

Brett From Ark

Supporting Sponsor - ARK
RawC said:
Brett,

Thank you for your responses to my questions via personal email. I figured it best to ask additional questions via the forum for the communities benefit. An answer to a question I posed about batteries prompted the following reply "...If Money is no object you can invest in a LiFePo4 battery with the big positive for this type of battery is they suffer from no memory loss and also weigh one third of the weight of a conventional battery...". Frankly I thought "LiFePo4" was a brand of battery and not a type. As I was surfing the internet looking for the appropriate battery for the ArkPak, I came across a comment you made about lithium batteries. View attachment 293462 from a different bulletin board.

I greatly appreciate the brands you recommended for AGM's based on your usage and wanted to see if you could/would provide suggestions for LiFePo4 models. However my initial concern was the comment you posted about lithium batteries. Provided this isn't an ArkPak issue anymore with the LiFePo4 type battery, can you suggest a few vendors/models I could choose from?

By the way, I think I'm going to purchase an ArkPak with the 150 watt inverter instead of waiting for the 300. My major use for this is to power a Dometic CDF-11 fridge/freezer. As I've had time to think about my uses I haven't been able to find any good reason to wait for the 300 when time's a wasting :ylsmoke:

Of course, I'm all ears when it comes to what the possible benefits are to waiting for the 300.
Click to expand...

Hi RawC

excellent question to ask and such a great idea that you want to share the information with others this is what i like most about forums people always doing there best share and help others.

Let me be very clear so there is no confusion, the current model Ark Pak being sold in the USA model number AP620US is not able to support a LiFePo4 battery types, as i mention in the above post this battery type requires a very specific charging curve that is not available in the current Ark Pak model number AP620US.

we do have a new/upgraded Ark Pak that will soon be available to the USA, it's approx date of availability is looking like mid/late August 2015, the model number of the new Ark Pak will most likely be AP730US (this is to be confirmed) the new model does have the ability to take a LiFePo4 battery type, so if you are keen to get a LiFePo4 battery type then you will have to wait until the new model is available.

in terms of suggestion for battery brand that uses LiFePo4 batteries i have only had access to testing a Fusion LiFePo4 battery model number V-LFP-12-100 a link is below i am not sure if this battery brand is available in the USA.

http://www.fusionagmbatteries.com.a...M/tabid/337/mode/details/pid/713/Default.aspx

if you want to have the ability to use a LiFePo4 battery then you will have to wait for the new upgraded Ark Pak if you do not want this feature then you are able to purchase the current AP620US.

if you have any more questions please ask and it is great to see other forum users sharing there experiences and questions with others.

Regards

Brett from Ark
 
Brett From Ark

Brett From Ark

Supporting Sponsor - ARK
kevint said:
I use my ArkPak to power a Ham Radio. Not sure how I did this but I have been away from the radio for a few weeks and have returned to find my battery dead (display briefly shows 9.9 v). When I power on the ArkPak, the display shows a "Low Battery" alarm for a few minutes and then the charger shuts back off.

Not sure if I've killed my battery but just wondering if there is anything I can do at this point.
Click to expand...

Hi Kevin

sorry to hear that all is not well with your battery that you have in the Ark Pak, to give some feedback and information for you to help conserve battery power it is best to have the isolater in the off position and unplug all items and ensure the inverter is also turned off as well, the reason for this is even if you have nothing plugged into the inverter and leave it on the inverter will draw approx 0.4 amp hours from the battery if you leave the isolater in the on position.

also to give some additional information about your battery 12.6 volts or more and it is considered 100% charged 10.8 volts is 0% charged if you go below 10.5 volts this is known as a kill zone for a battery and you also run the chance of actually reversing the polarity on your battery, you even run the risk of reducing the battery amp hour capacity by up to 20 % as it been discharged below 0%.

my suggestion to you is if you have a set of jumper cables start your car up pop the bonnet connect the jumper cables to your battery under the bonnet then turn the isolater to on in the Ark Pak and connect the jumper cables to the external terminals on the left hand side and leave the LCD screen off while charging this way, you want the unit to charge like this for at least 45 mins to 1 hour.

charging the Ark Pak this way gives it a really big boost charge and will help it recover much quicker from the really deep discharge it has been thru.


please let me know how things go.

Regards

Brett from Ark
 
Brett From Ark

Brett From Ark

Supporting Sponsor - ARK
kevint said:
Actually, I discovered that the charger was plugged into a pwer strip that was off. Still not sure how the battery ran down but now I know why it wouldn't charge.

Also, not sure how much I've damaged my battery.
Click to expand...

Hi Kevin

as i mentioned in the previous post it is not good to take a battery below 10.5 volts hopefully your battery can recover from this really deep discharge. if you dont need to be powering anything from the Ark pak it is best to have the isolater off and also turn the inverter off as well.

please let me know how your battery goes and if yo are able to get it to recover, as mentioned in previous post you may need to give it a big boost charge via your jumper cables connected to your car battery while it is still running.

if you have any more questions please ask.

Regards

Brett from Ark
 
Brett From Ark

Brett From Ark

Supporting Sponsor - ARK
Last edited:
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