Brett From Ark
Supporting Sponsor - ARK
Hi Michal
i can confirm yes you will need a charge controller / voltage regulator this ensures that you do not over charge the battery and give it too much voltage.
Regards
Brett From Ark
Does anyone know about ARK Portable battery boxes and where to buy them
- Thread starter scot zimmerman
- Start date
Hi Michal
i can confirm yes you will need a charge controller / voltage regulator this ensures that you do not over charge the battery and give it too much voltage.
Regards
Brett From Ark
Brett From Ark
Supporting Sponsor - ARK
Hi All
just wanted to say its really good to see everyone helping out and giving there real world experience with the Ark Pak
just wanted to say its really good to see everyone helping out and giving there real world experience with the Ark Pak
Brett From Ark
Supporting Sponsor - ARK
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Brett From Ark
Supporting Sponsor - ARK
Hi Corey
sorry for the late reply good to hear it came on and great to see you getting prepped just in case it did not come back on
Regards
Brett From Ark
OzSprinter
New member
Hello,
I have a similar problem to Charles above.
I bought 2 ArkPaks and 2 brand new 100Ah Deep Cycle Batteries
I have only used the ArkPaks to test them, running my Waeco for 3 days standalone.
After that test, they have just been plugged into the 240Volt mains and on Charge 24/7
At the start, this was ok (although one of the ArkPaks did the below straight away)
I walk into the room where the ArkPak is sitting and often find the "Alarm Open Circuit" fault flashing. It is constant and does not change until you reboot the ArkPak.
I have the ArkPak set to 100Ah AGM (to match the Battery).
Yesterday i moved the ArkPak to a new location in the workshop.
The ArkPak was in BOOST mode when i unplugged it, carried to workshop, plugged it back in, booted up, checked battery, within 5 seconds went into "Alarm Open Circuit", then after 10 seconds, the normall screen came back, then the fan ramped up, volts went from 13.7V to 14.5V, then the "Alarm Open Circuit" returned and would not clear.
I have the Isolator ON, everything is connected right and the unit is essentially brand new (3 months old, but never used apart from testing)
1. Is it recommended to leave the unit on 24/7 to tender the Battery?
(i was hoping i could to get the best life from my $400 Battery)
2. Why does this Alarm appear and why can't i clear it?
3. The fan that cools the Charging board is rather loud, especially when it ramps up!
I have a CTEK Battery Charger and it is solid state and completely silent, it is a shame the ArkPak can't work in the same noiseless fashion.
(Hence why they got moved into the workshop)
Products used are:
2 x ArkPak
2 x Sun Xtender 104Ah Battery http://www.sunxtender.com/solarbattery.php?id=8
I hope you can be of help Brett, i was hoping i could leave these units plugged in 24/7 until i needed to use them, but so far, they do not wish to play the game.
I know i could drop a load on the battery to take some charge out, then start the charging process again.
But it seems to charge to 100% then go to "Alarm Open Circuit" after a few days or a week regardless.
Please let me know if there is any further information i can provide to solve this annoying issue.
Cheers
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JKJenn
Adventurer
I am leaning towards going with an Arkpak solution. It seems like a no- brainer to save about $500-700 vs. the Goal Zero Yeti 1250. I also like that it is not as geared towards AC power as the Goal Zero. I make every effort to charge as much as possible via DC when camping. The appealing selling point for the goal Zero was that it could pwoer your home fridge during a power outage. I can't see why the same wouldn't be true of the Arkpak. Am I missing something? How would you ground the Arkpak if inside your home, or, would you not need to ground it inside?
This is exactly the kind of battery solution I needed versus a mounted battery box on my trailer or the hassle of adding a second battery to my JK. I would probably do exactly what corey did, except use one of the 120 watt panels from eBay instead o fa Power Film.
This is exactly the kind of battery solution I needed versus a mounted battery box on my trailer or the hassle of adding a second battery to my JK. I would probably do exactly what corey did, except use one of the 120 watt panels from eBay instead o fa Power Film.
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
JK, I am not using the Powerfilm 60 watt foldable panel, I am keeping that for charging up my FJs main battery that runs my ARB fridge when camped.
I am using the 100 watt panel I got from Solar Blvd. for the ArkPak.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/114484-100W-Portable-kit-on-ebay?p=1448548#post1448548
My pics were missing from that thread earlier, but they are back now.
Host put me on a new server, and for some reason those pics did not make, just FTP'd them to the server again.
Oz, your ArkPak sounds like the first one I had, it was defective, but it never went into boost cycle like yours seems to be doing.
My second Ark unit seems to be running great with no issues.
I am using the 100 watt panel I got from Solar Blvd. for the ArkPak.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/114484-100W-Portable-kit-on-ebay?p=1448548#post1448548
My pics were missing from that thread earlier, but they are back now.
Host put me on a new server, and for some reason those pics did not make, just FTP'd them to the server again.
Oz, your ArkPak sounds like the first one I had, it was defective, but it never went into boost cycle like yours seems to be doing.
My second Ark unit seems to be running great with no issues.
JKJenn
Adventurer
Thanks, Corey!
Brett From Ark
Supporting Sponsor - ARK
Hi Ozsprinter
thanks for posting the question and your experience with the Ark Pak, we have discovered that with some AGM (Absorb Glass Matt) batteries that they reach full saturation (full charge) BEFORE the boost cycle completes, there is nothing wrong with your Ark Pak or your battery.
To over come the issue you will need to discharge both batteries down to 30% or 40% charge, then put them back on charge, being that they are rated at 100AMPS you may need to do this 2 times to stop the Alarm Open Circuit.
and just to be clear there is nothing wrong with your AGM battery or the ARK PAK.
also i just wanted to confirm that you purchased both Ark Paks from our online website ? the reason i ask is i would like to to know what email address you used when ordering the Ark Pak's can you please email me directly that way your email does not go into a public forum - my work email is brett@arkcorporation.com
if you have any more questions please ask
Regards
Brett From Ark
Corey
OverCamping Specialist
Thanks for the clarification Brett, his does seem to be operating quite differently from my first ArkPak.
It never got to the boost cycle like his is doing, mine was always going into alarm, and could never get the battery past 12.6 V or so.
The new one works great!
It never got to the boost cycle like his is doing, mine was always going into alarm, and could never get the battery past 12.6 V or so.
The new one works great!
Brett From Ark
Supporting Sponsor - ARK
Hi JKJenn
Great question and thanks for considering the Ark Pak, please refer below for answers to your question.
the Ark Pak inverter only ever needs to be grounded when you plug in a cord that has 3 prongs if the cord has 2 prongs it is doubled insulated and does not require to be grounded.
yes the Ark Pak could power your fridge in a power outage situation, all you would need to do first is confirm how many watts your fridge requires to run then you would need to purchase an after market inverter that is the same or slightly bigger this way you know the inverter is large enough to provide power to your fridge, you would then attach the inverter to the external post located on the left hand side of the Ark Pak.
if you have any more questions please ask
best regards
Brett From Ark
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Brett From Ark
Supporting Sponsor - ARK
Hi Corey
its good to hear from you hope all is going as well as it can for you, Ozsprinter has a very similar problem that wallrats had you can refer to post 184 where i gave advice to wallrats on how to fix the situation.
hope all is well and that you are enjoying the great outdoors
Regards
Brett From Ark
OzSprinter
New member
Thanks Brett,
Ok, so sounds like a work around, more than a solution.
Is there a newer firmware for the ArkPak that might solve this problem with AGM batteries and ArkPak being left on 24/7?
Both units were purchased via Fishing/Camping retailer, both act in a similar way.
Its a shame, i was thinking i could add a 240Volt timer, but i would then need to push the buttons on the ArkPak is it reboots, so that isnt really a solution either.
Maybe if i want to leave it plugged into the mains voltage full time, i should use the CTEK charger on the external terminals?
What do others with AGM batteries do?
Thank You
Ok, so sounds like a work around, more than a solution.
Is there a newer firmware for the ArkPak that might solve this problem with AGM batteries and ArkPak being left on 24/7?
Both units were purchased via Fishing/Camping retailer, both act in a similar way.
Its a shame, i was thinking i could add a 240Volt timer, but i would then need to push the buttons on the ArkPak is it reboots, so that isnt really a solution either.
Maybe if i want to leave it plugged into the mains voltage full time, i should use the CTEK charger on the external terminals?
What do others with AGM batteries do?
Thank You