Thread: Engal battery usage.

engel's don't have low voltage cutout....well not that i am aware, i am sure the swing motor will operate well below 10.5V...not much good for your battery though

i am not sure there is a formula to work out how many more hours

how many amp/hrs in your battery?

two supercharge allrounders
MRV87 825 CCA's

Unfortunately, in my early days of Engel ownership, I let the fridge work its guts out until the battery’s last breath. This is not good for the battery and the fridge wont cycle as the compressor cannot reduce the temperature. This is probably caused by a shorter stroke of the compressor or something due to a lack of power. I found the hum the compressor makes from a full power source to a weak one noticeable. This in on a 40 litre model.

New ENGAL does have a low voltage shut down... Old ones were famous for running battery down to 2 or 3 volts...

To easily estimate how much longer it will run the important thing to understand is - what load was on the system when you measured 11.95v? If that voltage was measured at the fridge when the fridge compressor was running and maybe something else like a light or radio then there was heaps of life left. BUT if there was no load on the electrical system (nothing switched on or running) when the reading was taken then it was very close to the end... The cut out voltage is measured at the fridge and the greatest strain on voltage levels is when the compressor is trying to start after cycling. Heavy cabling and good plugs/connectors will also extend run time as the fridge experiences less voltage drop.

My evakool plugged into a cig light socket virtually stops as soon as a charging source is stopped (engine or solar) If I use the quality low voltage plugs it will run for a couple of days - just by changing the plug...

just to add clarity--

These are properly set up and enclosed storage batteries dedicated to the camper.

The ONLY concern I have is damage to the batteries from extended discharge. They have maybe 4 hours usage(from new) before this trip.

I would assume both readings were taken at "idle"

i generally go by voltage, don't like my batteries getting into the low 11's

I am guessing but your batteries are probably 90 or 100Ah. The 825 refers to the CCA which is the cranking load it will take under ideal conditions.

As mentioned older Engels have no cut out for low voltage. I didn't think all the new ones did either, only the plastic models I hope I'm wrong!

so if fridge draws 3.5Ah then in theory to get to half the battery it would take 14 hours of running. Very simplistic way of looking at it but that's my take on this. If it was me I'd assume I could get 10 hours of operation time and just depends on how hard the fridge works. Up here I get about 2 days if the fridge is prefilled with cold stuff and not opened to often.