Does anyone know about ARK Portable battery boxes and where to buy them
- Thread starter scot zimmerman
- Start date
Hi Corey, Try putting another battery. I have the battery charging/float cycle for the past 4 weeks, no problems at all. My only issue I have is the “Alarm open circuit”. I have looked at the manual and could not find anything about the warning
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
OK just for a test I went to the other room where the Ark is and turned on the LED screen and it had been on the charger all night.
Battery was in alarm mode, so I unplugged the charger for a bit, and the LED screen came back to 12.4V after I pushed the info button for a second.
First time pulling off the wingnuts on the side, and I put my multimeter on the studs, and it stated 124V, same as the LED readout on the Ark.
Plugged the charger back in, and the screen then said the battery was at 58% charged, and then the voltage shot up to 12.7V and said it was in charging mode.
Multimeter confirmed the higher voltage.
Then the screen said 94% charged within a minute, and back to 12.4V again, and now in discharge mode.
What is going on here, bad battery?
Maybe I should have made the drive to Sears and got the Diehard?
This is a new Exide, and had been shipped to Amazon earlier this month, it has not sat around in a dusty warehouse.
Battery was in alarm mode, so I unplugged the charger for a bit, and the LED screen came back to 12.4V after I pushed the info button for a second.
First time pulling off the wingnuts on the side, and I put my multimeter on the studs, and it stated 124V, same as the LED readout on the Ark.
Plugged the charger back in, and the screen then said the battery was at 58% charged, and then the voltage shot up to 12.7V and said it was in charging mode.
Multimeter confirmed the higher voltage.
Then the screen said 94% charged within a minute, and back to 12.4V again, and now in discharge mode.
What is going on here, bad battery?
Maybe I should have made the drive to Sears and got the Diehard?
This is a new Exide, and had been shipped to Amazon earlier this month, it has not sat around in a dusty warehouse.
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
Wall, we posted at the same time.
Not going to spend $200 plus on another battery just yet until I hear from Ark that they suspect it is the battery.
Maybe I can trade in this Exide on a Sears battery.
To much of a hassle to return it to Amazon, especially since the two boxes it arrived in are now gone
Not going to spend $200 plus on another battery just yet until I hear from Ark that they suspect it is the battery.
Maybe I can trade in this Exide on a Sears battery.
To much of a hassle to return it to Amazon, especially since the two boxes it arrived in are now gone
Frustrating I am sure trying to determine whether it is the box or the battery that is causing your issues. Any friends nearby that might have a dual battery system that would be willing to pull the second battery to let you test another battery? I checked the status of mine and the fridge test before going to bed and the readout showed 12.4V and 100%. Figured I would hit the 12.2V cutoff by the time I got up but it was back up to 12.7V and still 100% this morning. One question for Brett though is the screen showed it in testing cycle when I checked it last night. In reading the manual it mentions it doing this during the charging cycle but not in the discharge cycle. Need to know if this is normal.
nickmimi
Adventurer
Corey. I hope it is not the battery. It cannot be returned to Amazon. Warranty has to go through manufacturer. I ordered the exude from amazon. I tried to cancel or return mine after I found out it did not ship in 2 days even though it was listed as prime and asked me about 2 day shipping at checkout. The listing does state a non returnable item. Mine is to be delivered early next week. I will let you know how it goes.
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
Ed, I have duals in my FJ, but first I want to test the resting voltage of each battery in the rig.
Really do not want to yank out the 2nd battery out there, as stuff I have hooked up to it will need to be reset which is kind of a PITA.
Thanks Nick, I notice that too with some of Amazon's Prime stuff, it is not truly a two day shipping like most of their stuff.
Looking forward to reading your results with the Exide too.
Really do not want to yank out the 2nd battery out there, as stuff I have hooked up to it will need to be reset which is kind of a PITA.
Thanks Nick, I notice that too with some of Amazon's Prime stuff, it is not truly a two day shipping like most of their stuff.
Looking forward to reading your results with the Exide too.
The battery hit 12.2 V this morning and I got 42 hours of use running the ARB fridge. I was hoping to get a bit more based on the numerous people who have said they are getting 3-4 days from their batteries. The fridge was in the garage and the temperature probably stayed between 75-80. I put two gallons of water in the fridge, maybe I may have gotten a bit more time if it had more stuff in it.
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
That is weird, I have gotten up to four days off of the stock Panasonic battery in my FJ while running the fridge non stop one time.
A little hard to start the rig at that point, but it started.
No longer have that battery though, the FJ got a new battery earlier in the year, or last Christmas.
Now back to my Ark, it was just showing 100% charge, and in discharge mode, and 12.7V, and then right before my eyes dropped down to 12.6V.
Maybe mine is alright?
I did get the battery error message again a few hours ago, and instead of shutting down the LCD screen, I just pushed the info button and it went to the temperature screen, then after 20 seconds or so back to the normal screen.
Sure would like to know why I get these errors though.
And when in error mode, is it still charging?
Ed, you might look into getting the Goal Zero charge controller like I bought and a solar panel to keep yours charged up in the field when running the fridge.
I would think with one of these deep cycle batteries though you would get for to five straight days operating the fridge.
Did you have the LCD screen activated the whole time, or shut down.
Shutting it down will save some juice since the fan is always running when the LCD screen is on.
We are suppose to get some high winds tonight here, possibly up to 50 MPH, so when I wake up at 1 am tomorrow morning to get ready for work, the Ark may be called into duty to run some of those Goal Zero LED lanterns so I can see, that is if we lose power.
A little hard to start the rig at that point, but it started.
No longer have that battery though, the FJ got a new battery earlier in the year, or last Christmas.
Now back to my Ark, it was just showing 100% charge, and in discharge mode, and 12.7V, and then right before my eyes dropped down to 12.6V.
Maybe mine is alright?
I did get the battery error message again a few hours ago, and instead of shutting down the LCD screen, I just pushed the info button and it went to the temperature screen, then after 20 seconds or so back to the normal screen.
Sure would like to know why I get these errors though.
And when in error mode, is it still charging?
Ed, you might look into getting the Goal Zero charge controller like I bought and a solar panel to keep yours charged up in the field when running the fridge.
I would think with one of these deep cycle batteries though you would get for to five straight days operating the fridge.
Did you have the LCD screen activated the whole time, or shut down.
Shutting it down will save some juice since the fan is always running when the LCD screen is on.
We are suppose to get some high winds tonight here, possibly up to 50 MPH, so when I wake up at 1 am tomorrow morning to get ready for work, the Ark may be called into duty to run some of those Goal Zero LED lanterns so I can see, that is if we lose power.
Corey,
I had the LCD on the entire time. I am going to recharge and continue to test run times. I will turn the LCD off and put more stuff in the fridge. I would be happy if I could get 3 good days out of it. Solar is in the plans but I need to save for the panel I want. Hopefully Brett will chime in on the issues you are having. Good luck if you end up having to use it tomorrow.
Later
I had the LCD on the entire time. I am going to recharge and continue to test run times. I will turn the LCD off and put more stuff in the fridge. I would be happy if I could get 3 good days out of it. Solar is in the plans but I need to save for the panel I want. Hopefully Brett will chime in on the issues you are having. Good luck if you end up having to use it tomorrow.
Later
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
Sounds good on the test.
Power stayed on at my place, the high winds for my area got canceled, but we sure got the rain.
I am thinking of getting another solar panel to recharge up the Ark while on a week long summer trip since my Powerfilm foldable one I have now is mainly for the stock FJ battery since it runs my fridge and tent light inside of it.
Looking at the Goal Zero Boulder 30 and the tripod they carry, or maybe another brand.
Power stayed on at my place, the high winds for my area got canceled, but we sure got the rain.
I am thinking of getting another solar panel to recharge up the Ark while on a week long summer trip since my Powerfilm foldable one I have now is mainly for the stock FJ battery since it runs my fridge and tent light inside of it.
Looking at the Goal Zero Boulder 30 and the tripod they carry, or maybe another brand.
peakjunkie
New member
Corey - you will need something much bigger/better. I spoke with Buddy over at ARB and they recommend a 100 - 160 watt solar panel setup to get the needed amps (e.g. you can use 2 x 80 but not 2 x 50). The Expedition Portal 12v/Solar forum has plenty of suggestion and images on Ebay options (and is how I first heard about ArkPak). The guys are generally choosing folding models and some guys are mounting full panels on roof racks. Either approach generally come with built-in voltage limiters so you can keep your hard-earned cash from Goal Zero (who like Monster and Bose tend to price what they think the market will bear rather than what it should cost). Hope this helps.
BTW, you can get 100 watt solar panel for ~$150 and 160 watts for ~$200 - $225 depending on folding options, etc.
Back to the beloved Arkpak, I'm using mine with Diehard Platinum Size 31 and the word "flawless" comes to mind. This weekend will be a real workout outside Escalante powering a fridge, photographic equipment and lights for 3 days hopefully without ever starting up the SUV. Report next week.
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
Thanks Peak, I was wondering about some of the solar panels that have built in charge controllers.
I do need something portable though.
I paid about $900 I believe a few years back for my Powerfilm 60 watt foldable from Adventure Trailers.
That was with a few cables/plugs too which I needed to connect to my stock battery.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...camping-overlanding-trips-installed-6-27-2009
I could also use that same Powerfilm I have now to hook to the ArkPak, but I would prefer a second panel dedicated just for the Ark.
Looking forward to hearing how your setup does on your upcoming trip.
I read some of the reviews on the Goal Zero 30 watt Boulder and the tripod, and they seem to suck
Customer service at Goal Zero is pretty much nil too.
I do need something portable though.
I paid about $900 I believe a few years back for my Powerfilm 60 watt foldable from Adventure Trailers.
That was with a few cables/plugs too which I needed to connect to my stock battery.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...camping-overlanding-trips-installed-6-27-2009
I could also use that same Powerfilm I have now to hook to the ArkPak, but I would prefer a second panel dedicated just for the Ark.
Looking forward to hearing how your setup does on your upcoming trip.
I read some of the reviews on the Goal Zero 30 watt Boulder and the tripod, and they seem to suck
Customer service at Goal Zero is pretty much nil too.
peakjunkie
New member
Here's the thread that caught my attention: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/114484-100W-Portable-kit-on-ebay.
The pic makes it look bigger than it really is but seems to work and Buddy says "100 watts minimum" to provide enough amps. Hope this helps.
Trip report next week.
The pic makes it look bigger than it really is but seems to work and Buddy says "100 watts minimum" to provide enough amps. Hope this helps.
Trip report next week.