arkpak

carts

New Member
Jan 12, 2012
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Does anyone know much about them and where they can be bought...My auto elec told me about them and reccomended them as a portable duel battery system to help run waeco and power led lights.Can be found at www.arkcorporation.com
 

Burnsy

Well-Known Member
Mar 26, 2012
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Newcastle
Hi carts, don't know about them but they look expensive, for my money I'd go with dual battery under bonnet if you have room, then charging is easy and the battery will be maintained better in my opinion than a separate device. If you don't keep it charged regularly then a replacement battery on top of initial cost will add up. But like I said that's just my opinion.

Cheers.
 

carts

New Member
Jan 12, 2012
19
6
3
Charging is still easy...run a anderson plug in tub liner from battery and still will be maintained ...only difference is it can be taken out to where ever you want..electric guru might be able to help out?
 
Feb 1, 2012
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At one point I had a battery in a battery box in the rear of the vehicle. It was charged from the starting battery via an isolator and the Anderson plug to charge. I used a normal black plastic battery box and equipped it with cig socket, Merritt plug and engel fridge socket. You could leave it in the car or take it out. Just a thought for an alternative and possibly cheaper option.

Should also say mine battery stayed in the tug all the time, so was like a second battery under the hood.
 

Burnsy

Well-Known Member
Mar 26, 2012
2,663
977
113
Newcastle
Charging is still easy...run a anderson plug in tub liner from battery and still will be maintained ...only difference is it can be taken out to where ever you want..electric guru might be able to help out?

Why don't you send him a pm then!
 

zerosecta

Active Member
Sep 27, 2011
459
71
28
Melbourne
Charging is still easy...run a anderson plug in tub liner from battery and still will be maintained ...only difference is it can be taken out to where ever you want..electric guru might be able to help out?

Help with what? And the end of the day its a box and you put a battery in it just like any other box exept light blue in colout with a couple of cig sockets on it...

Im with Burnsy ,, first up if you have the space put a battery under the bonnet. --- second to that get a battery in a box and secure it in the back of the car.

As far as ark as a product, cant comment as ive never had one but my first line stands., its simply a plastic box, and the end of the day it all come down to the battery you put in the box and how well you maintain it.
 

carts

New Member
Jan 12, 2012
19
6
3
Help with what? And the end of the day its a box and you put a battery in it just like any other box exept light blue in colout with a couple of cig sockets on it...

Im with Burnsy ,, first up if you have the space put a battery under the bonnet. --- second to that get a battery in a box and secure it in the back of the car.

As far as ark as a product, cant comment as ive never had one but my first line stands., its simply a plastic box, and the end of the day it all come down to the battery you put in the box and how well you maintain it.

Boy you guys jumping down my throat quickly....only asking advise
 

carts

New Member
Jan 12, 2012
19
6
3
Is it not more than a box? 4 alterative option outlets plus 3 charging options...
 

millers

Active Member
Mar 25, 2011
282
246
43
Adelaide
Carts,
Sorry no experience with that model. It does have a lot of options and capability, the one that came up on the web page for me offered 12V and 240V (inverter) in built charging etc. I did not look hard for a price but would assume that it could be expensive.
People have offered advise on some alternatives and you also need to consider if you have a battery in the caravan as well. For my consideration the first thing would be do I need 12V / 240V / multiple charging / portability all in the one package. If so can I build this up from the components and would it be more benificial to locate the items seperately rather than together. For me the inverter is not useful as it is low power and in most cases I would be trying to go away from 240V so I am paying for something that I may not use.

Hope someone can give you their experience direct so that you can determine quality, but you can determine your need and compare the options.

Cheers
 

expanda

Site Founder
Staff member
Dec 22, 2009
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Western, Sydney....
www.expandasdownunder.com
Does anyone know much about them and where they can be bought...My auto elec told me about them and reccomended them as a portable duel battery system to help run waeco and power led lights.Can be found at www.arkcorporation.com

I don't have one personally but a good mate has one but the earlier model in his camper and car and it is fantastic he just has an 80amp hour battery in his and he uses it to power lights, stereo and water pump and it lasts for a fair few days.

When he gets home he just plugs it in the garage to recharge, fantastic little unit and gets hammered but has survived a fair while.....

The new model on the ark site isn't out yet they are estimating August but once out I am going to grab one to power the fridge in the car.

I could go for a dual battery but in the pathfinder there is just no room and if i have this in the boot I can take it out when not in use and chuck it in the boat as well to power my accessories or when having a picnic to power a stereo etc.

What are you thinking of using it for carts?

I see you mentioned LED's and Waeco so are you going to keep it in the car for the fridge and then take it out and power stuff at the camp site?

I know everyone is suggesting dual batteries and in some cases it is better but ones personal circumstance might change that.

Let us know how you get along!
 

Feldty

Member
May 31, 2012
129
7
18
Wangaratta, Vic
Hi Carts,

About 12 months ago I bought a 100 amp Thumper dual battery set up. I am guessing these are similar, but without the built in charger. I would just make sure the arkpak units contain AGM batteries as a standard deep cycle do not handle the same charge / discharge rates generally required for camping and caravaning etc. The AGM batteries I have been told will take 1/3 there capacity per hour as appose to just a few amps per hour and handle much deeper discharge without harming the batteries.

My Thumper contains AGM batteries, and if it gets down below 50% while camping, I simply grab my jumper leads and connect directly to the start battery on my ute and let it idle for an hour or so. This generally tops the battery up to a comfortable level. I have also installed a 150 amp charge kit to the rear of my ute with an isolater built in connected to my start battery. This charges as we drive along and the battery always seems to be charged. It lives in the rear of my ute from day to day.

I could have bought an AGM battery, battery box, jumper leads and set up all the wiring etc myself, but when I calculated the costs of the fittings fuses, voltage meter and charge kit it ended up within about $100 of the price, so for me it was an easy decision.

Others on hear would be able to advise with more accuracy but that is my two bobs worth.

Kev
 

expanda

Site Founder
Staff member
Dec 22, 2009
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www.expandasdownunder.com
The way I read the information on the Arkpak is that you choose the battery you want to use. So bascially its the box and then you buy the battery.

Exactly, that's the best bit you can choose any battery you want that suits your scenario.

A 100amp hour battery is extremely heavy to be turfing around and may not be want you need so you can just chuck a smaller one in.

Also they have an inbuilt smart charger in it so it recharges the battery for you.

I looked at the thumpers a few years back and they are a nice bit of kit but at the time very expensive like 800 + it was a few years back and might have come down know but they are essnetially the same thing just with a battery in it already.
 
Feb 1, 2012
165
10
18
Exactly, that's the best bit you can choose any battery you want that suits your scenario.

A 100amp hour battery is extremely heavy to be turfing around and may not be want you need so you can just chuck a smaller one in.

Also they have an inbuilt smart charger in it so it recharges the battery for you.

I looked at the thumpers a few years back and they are a nice bit of kit but at the time very expensive like 800 + it was a few years back and might have come down know but they are essnetially the same thing just with a battery in it already.

I think thumpers have gone down a bit but with the cost of the arkpak being around $400.00 from what I can tell looking at the website and then you buy a decent battery the price is probably comparable. One think I always wondered with the Thumper was how easy is it to change batteries when they eventually die?
 

grinner914

Member
Aug 3, 2011
60
21
8
Bacchus Marsh VIC
I'm sure you could achieve a siimilar result using individual components;

battery box
6 amp smart charger
150 watt inverter
2 x 12 cig sockets
Anderson plug
cabling and connectors

It all depends on your technical ability and time to put it all together.

I get most of my 12 volt stuff from ebay now. In particular from a seller autoelecau in Bairnsdale, seems to have very good pricing. No connections with the seller, just a satisfied customer.

Jason
 

carts

New Member
Jan 12, 2012
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Hi Expanda ,that was my intention...to power fridge in back of ute then run leds at campsite...do you think that would work??
 

expanda

Site Founder
Staff member
Dec 22, 2009
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Gday carts, led's take very little amperage...

Depending on the fridge make and model they can run them flat quite quickly.

What fridge do you have make / model?

And how long are you looking to use the battery for each stay weekends or longer?
 

crystal674

Active Member
Jun 17, 2011
221
34
28
Benaraby Qld
Hi carts

We have had a 105 amp Thumper for the last 6 + years.

Can't fault it!

It sits in the back of the Lexus and is charged by the car through a dedicated charging kit.

We have used it to power our Engle for 4 days and then jump started a mates Navara effortlessly.

It charges to full from 1/2 charge in 45 min of driving.

Being a fully sealed battery there is no worry about gases emiting from it.

Hubby connects the Thumper to the anderson plug on the van to double battery storage which in turn allows the geni or solar panels to recharge both at once.

It is about $150 to repack the battery when required (we have never had to do this).

Crystalyn