Companion Rover Lithium 40Ah Real World Battery Use & Charging

[@whippieboyz9787]

This is exactly what I needed to see, I have a AGM deep cycle at the moment (120ah) running my fridge ect. It’s good. But this has sold me. Time to re configure my set up,again.

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

Glad it was helpful mate.

[@bravoaussie]

Fantastic real world review. Bloody useful, companion should give commission because based on this, I reckon I'll get one

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

Thx @Ash Evens actual charging and usage results were the number one questions from people after my initial reviews. For me the winner here was the weight and simplicity! Hope you enjoy it!

[@bravoaussie]

@@OffTheBeatenPathAus one thing I wanted to see, with smart alternators in vehicles, would the battery still charge? Seems like it does. Obviously this isn't for a massive set up eg running multiple 12v devices, but Good enough for a fridge. Cheers for the review. Keep em coming!

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

@@bravoaussie glad it was helpful, pretty sure my 2018 Paj has a smart alternator, so I'd agree, yes no reason it wouldn't charge on another vehicle with a smart alternator. In terms of limits of what you can run, there's a definite output limit on the device for running things concurrently. I'm planning to add some worklights to my set up to also run off this.

[@salsy6275]

Awesome video mate, have a 45L fridge and have been looking for a battery for a while but this has helped massively

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

Glad I could help

[@troynoordam484]

I have 2 of these one in car and one in the boat they are awesome I’m looking at adding the 100 ah one to my camping gear next and they charge quick off solar as well as you can plug a panel straight into it without going through a solar controller

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

It is handy having unregulated solar input I agree.

[@psynriter]

Just got one of these. Im looking forward to seeing how it goes

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

Enjoy mate, used mine in the Paj for 4yrs without issue. Surprising how long they'll run your fridge etc... Great for USB charging as well.

[@psynriter]

@@OffTheBeatenPathAus thankyou for the feedback. Great video ☺️👍

[@5150show]

Thank you helpful vid

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

Glad it helped you out!

[@5150show]

@@OffTheBeatenPathAus just subbed

[@bobpfaff2258]

Great, certainly a does it’s job

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

Thx yeah been very happy with it. Actually just hooked up a bunch of STEDI camp lights to run off this as well. Future video will show that setup

[@dentray]

Have you come across any problems yet? Mine has After having for a few months with very light use I have noticed that the cigarette lighter 12v socket is poor quality, all of my12v plugs come out at the slightest movement so appliances can turn off quite a lot, also the input power regularly stops giving input charge when unit is also being used to power fridge, this is with both AC input adaptor and solar panels, I have tested at home as well as campsite, plugged into the 240 charger it stops charging at least twice an hour if appliance is also being used. Overnight a small fridge drew down to 71% battery while the charger is still plugged in putting no power back into the battery. When I remove the charger/solar plug and put it back it immediately starts charging again? I may have to return it

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

Definitely sounds like you might have a faulty unit there. I'd be returning it to get it looked at for sure.

[@amilawickramasinghe8874]

how can i charge this faster? Charging from teh cig socket with just 5amps takes forever

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

there's a limit on how fast it'll charge but the fastest way is via 240v. Still still take 5-7hrs if flat.

[@tekinozsoy3324]

Hi thanks for video ,how long u think it would of taken if you were running the fridge from your car instead

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

Once the fridge is at temperature it doesn't really run that much, especially when the car is being driven and the A/C is on. The companions are set up for a slow charge, from empty even on AC power it takes 6hrs or something to fully charge.

[@tekinozsoy3324]

Thanks 4 reply appreciated 😊

[@grantwatson8266]

Thanks for posting, just wondering if it makes much noise ?

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

Not at all!

[@benjielegas8531]

HI there, I power my fridge from the Rover 40, while driving I charge the Rover form the 12V cig outlet, when I stop the car, will the Rover stop drawing power from the Cig outlet so not to drain my starter battery? I'm planning to set up a fixed solar on my roof, I guess that will avoid my plugging on to the 12v cig outlet and sort out the drain issue. Thanks

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

I do exactly the same. The smart alternators in modern cars prevent power going to accessory/cig plugs when the ignition is off. Assuming your car has a smart alternator yes. Easy to check though. Have your fridge running with the car running, check the watts (the rover shows a net wattage so output less input). When you turn the car off the amount of watts, as output should go up because the input is no longer present. If that doesn't happen then, yes it's still drawing from your main battery. Hope that helps. Could check this as well by just plugging he companion in with the car turned off. If power is available and the battery is less than 100% it will charge and you'll be able to see that.

[@richardandrin1327]

Hi there, nice review. Have you tested charging the companion rover using solar power? I believe it has a mppt regulator built in.

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

Hi Richard, I believe it does as well. Unfortunately I don't yet have a solar panel to try. One thing to note though the Companion can only take charge from 1 source. I think if I vehicle camped and stayed stationary more I'd probably have invested in one but haven't had to yet.

[@richardandrin1327]

@@OffTheBeatenPathAus, I'm interested in getting one myself because of the convenience and portability of having a power pack to run a fridge too. My plan is to have roof top solar panel to charge it while its stationary either at camp, work or at home rather than running all the wires for a proper secondary battery setup.

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

@@richardandrin1327 no reason that shouldn't work. Love to hear how it goes!

[@mickbray6296]

@@richardandrin1327 A mate of mine has one of these and we use it every time we go out, Sometimes with solar but only for extended trips. I have just purchased one but haven't gotten out to camp with it yet. One thing to note is that it does have an input charge limit. But with the right size solar panel input and 35L fridge output. You can almost run the fridge indefinitely. For the price, and features, the companion unit is well worth it in regards to a dual battery system. highly recommend.

[@Amkay89]

So you can charge the packa nd run the fridge off it at the same time? Ive heard conflicting info on this

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

Yes. It gives the net result on the screen. So if ypur charging source is putting in 20w but the fridge is drawing 30w it'll show as 10w being used. Or vice versa

[@Amkay89]

@@OffTheBeatenPathAus thanks so much 😄

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

@@Amkay89 no problem

[@Good-feel]

Can I use electronic fan heater 240v?

[@OffTheBeatenPathAus]

No, this is a lithium power station, doesn't include an inverter. Fan heaters tend to draw a lot of power you'd need a big inverter to run one. Also 10A is the max output of any of the outlets, also not enough to run a fan heater.

[@CreateMyOwnOpportunities]

Diesel heater bro. Use hardly any battery power.