Battery Worries at Broome and Barn Hill Station

One of our reasons for delaying our departure from Broome was that I like using the electric induction stove instead of gas.  Unlike gas, it barely heats up the caravan. Also, we can plug it in outside and cook outside at times. I had ordered an inverter so we could use it even when not connected to 240V.  Also, our new Starlink internet router plugs into 240V.  We ordered a 2000W Renology inverter, together with 1.5m leads and a battery monitor.  The parcel arrived earlier than expected which allowed plenty of time to install these items.

Curiously, the battery monitor showed that the battery was functioning at only 5-15% of the purported 120Ah capacity.  Was it a dodgy battery or a dodgy battery monitor?  How could I know?  I contacted Kings, the battery supplier, with the hope of being able to swap over the battery for a new one with one of the Kings distributors in Broome.  But no.  Warranty issues could only be addressed with either long shipping times or by attending one of the Kings 4WD Supercentre stores.   The closest was in Geraldton, 1900 km from Broome.

So we left Broome with a dodgy battery.

Our first night out was at Barn Hill Station, with only unpowered sites available.  With the battery so low, we did not use the induction stove, saving the power for the fridge, lights and phone charging.  By the time I left the caravan for dinner, the battery monitor said the battery was down to zero.  (At Barn Hill Station we took our cooked dinner to the café area to eat, for socialising with others.) 

I assumed the battery would die while we were eating, or during the night, and our ice cream and other supplies in the fridge may be ruined.  After dinner, I returned to the caravan for ice cream.  The fridge was still going.  We enjoyed the ice cream.  Lights were still working when we went to bed. 

In the morning the fridge was still going and our frozen things were still frozen.  What a relief.  After driving that day, the battery monitor said the battery charged to 50%.  An improvement.  But we still didn’t know what was going on.  Was it a dodgy battery or a dodgy battery monitor?  That remained the same until Perth, with the battery never showing much more than 50%.  We didn’t use the induction stove with the inverter at all that week.

In Perth, we took the battery to a Kings store.  They said it would take 2-3 days to test the battery.  We would have to stay in Perth for a few days.  Since we were living in the caravan, they pushed ours to the top of the queue.  

Two days later they approved a refund or replacement.  I chose a refund, not wanting another dodgy battery experience, and sourced a more expensive Fusion 120Ah battery.  Still too small to take full advantage of a 2000W inverter, but our little caravan has very limited space, and the 120Ah battery fits the Kings battery box that I had set up.  We would have to remember to limit our inverter use to 1200W.

Now the battery monitor mostly reads 96-97%.  Perfect.

When we stop for lunch now, we typically make hot drinks using the induction stove and inverter.  And in the time it takes to eat lunch, the solar panels recharge the battery to the level it was before making the hot drinks.

We haven’t had an overnight stop since without power, so haven’t really tested the inverter / induction stove setup for cooking a meal.

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4 Responses

  1. Mina says:

    Sounds like you are having a great adventure and i do remember warning you about kings. Keep having fun!

    • Bob Cumming says:

      You and Steve Cumming both. But that was after we’d bought the Kings solar panels and battery. So far no complaints about the solar panels.

  2. Linda Annaanen says:

    Hi Antigone and Bob
    You certainly have to be a patient Jack of All Trades to do this trip! What an adventure!
    Look forward to the next instalment. Keep safe.

    • Bob says:

      Wait until you read the post (yet to come) about improvements along the way. Handrails, bed slats, security screens on windows and door, painting the floor, …