Temporary Battery for Camper

Hi All, I hope someone can help me,

I'm running a Waeco cdf40 fridge in my D40 though I'm going camping in a few weeks and will be away for 5 days of which I will have 1 or 2 days of no driving.

I also run one of the Waeco battery packs though this only seems to get a days worth at the best of times.

I have a camper trailer with a battery box but no battery, was looking at a century N70T 100ah from super cheap for 219 though found a site saying that they shouldn't be in an enclosed spot (the battery box is in the tool box).

The weather will be in the 30s during the day, can anyone advise as to a decent battery I can get around that price that should give me a few days or at least more than 1?

I will eventually be getting a dual battery system when finances allow.

There are regulations for the placement of certain types of battery in certain places. Currently, Australian regs allow Gel and AGM batteries to be placed in semi-sealed compartments but flooded and normal "maintenance free" batteries must be located in an enclosure where there is at least one vent to atmosphere near the top of the enclosure.

The reason is the hydrogen gas given off when charging. Gel batteries are dead if they release any, so Gel chargers rarely provide enough power to produce it. AGM batteries use recombinant technology to retain the gasses within although enough pressure will cause their internal valves to open and release the hydrogen in which case they WILL become dangerous.

The N70T looks decent enough (for a flooded cell battery). Century's website describes it as a 75Ah battery whereas the Supercheap and BCF sites both call it 100Ah (and both have it for the same $219). Batteriesdirect.com.au also show it as 75Ah but it looks like they're using the PDF information from Century Batteries. everybattery.com.au has these for $209 and they call them 100Ah batteries.

If your tool box has a lid, leave it open while charging the battery and you should be safe enough. I don't think the battery has quite enough charge to do what you want, but it's a step in the right direction. At 3A draw, 50% duty cycle, your fridge should consume 36A per day. That's about all you should draw from this battery if it's been fully charged from the mains.

A solar panel can prop that up. Get a folding 120W panel and a C-Tek D250S charger and you'll never worry again.

Thanks Mate, Looking at these: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/140W-FOL.../360466559785?pt=AU_Solar&hash=item53ed7b3329

Will these keep me going for the 5 days with the Waeco battery? I looked at reviews for the panels and they are all positive.

Wow. 140W of folding solar panel for $242 is amazing. Monocrystalline = shade-tolerant too. We have a poly and a mono on our caravan, the monocrystalline is producing power in the early morning and the polycrystalline waits for 10am and no cloud.

You'll probably produce nearly 10A with that panel alone and you'll do it from (say) 9am to 5pm - that's a HUGE amount of power. More than enough to keep you going.

Thanks Mate, I have no idea when it comes to solar panels