Unsealed 4x4 Australia's Dometic PLB-40 Review.

[Ridge Runner]

It's well known that I have been rambling on about the PLB-40 since I bought them 2 years ago, Now Unsealed 4x4 have picked one up and run with it and their results are very much on Par.

Enjoy,

https://magazine.unsealed4x4.com.au...-review-the-lightweight-portable-power-option

 

[condor22]

Cut n paste from your referenced hyperlink article.

Now to cost. Okay, so this little box retails at around $1000. Sounds pretty steep, right? Except when you think about it this way a 100Ah lithium battery on its own is around the $2000 mark. So, youre getting just under half the amp hour rating,

Not strictly correct, I bought my 100AH LiFePo4 Pylontech a month ago for $985 not $2,000. Most I Googled in Oz range from $600 to $1,300, I'd hazard a guess at varying quality. As I mentioned in another post mine is in the upper range of quality and reliability. What is the average cost of a 100AH lithium in the U.K.

Not knocking the PLB40 in anyway, in fact seriously considering one, lol It's a very easily used device for portable power and definitely has its place in a suite of portable power.

As an aside, Unsealed 4x4 is Pat Callinan's baby, his organisation has many 4x4 and camping equipment sponsors that provide a lot of gear to test...... draw your own conclusions i.e. for several years he drove and praised the Amoroks he had. He now drives Ranger and Everest and now praises them. I watch his shows and subscribe to Unsealed, so no criticism on my part, just observation lol.

My thoughts for its use, apart from fridge use, is that as a battery bank it would be great for charging my detector batteries as both the GPX & SDC have 12V charging. Then there's the SP01, mobiles, tabs and wireless phones all on USB. As I am mostly off grid anyway. It's compact size and weight make it an ideal 12VDC source when needed.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Cut n paste from your referenced hyperlink article.

Now to cost. Okay, so this little box retails at around $1000. Sounds pretty steep, right? Except when you think about it this way a 100Ah lithium battery on its own is around the $2000 mark. So, youre getting just under half the amp hour rating,

Not strictly correct, I bought my 100AH LiFePo4 Pylontech a month ago for $985 not $2,000. Most I Googled in Oz range from $600 to $1,300, I'd hazard a guess at varying quality. As I mentioned in another post mine is in the upper range of quality and reliability. What is the average cost of a 100AH lithium in the U.K.

Not knocking the PLB40 in anyway, in fact seriously considering one, lol It's a very easily used device for portable power and definitely has its place in a suite of portable power.

As an aside, Unsealed 4x4 is Pat Callinan's baby, his organisation has many 4x4 and camping equipment sponsors that provide a lot of gear to test...... draw your own conclusions i.e. for several years he drove and praised the Amoroks he had. He now drives Ranger and Everest and now praises them. I watch his shows and subscribe to Unsealed, so no criticism on my part, just observation lol.

My thoughts for its use, apart from fridge use, is that as a battery bank it would be great for charging my detector batteries as both the GPX & SDC have 12V charging. Then there's the SP01, mobiles, tabs and wireless phones all on USB. As I am mostly off grid anyway. It's compact size and weight make it an ideal 12VDC source when needed.

Yeah well looking at the pictures I see the Reviewer was using your BM Fridge So ' 36 hours he used 58% which means he used 1.611111% per hour X 0,4 = 0.64444444444Ah per hour, If you use it down to the 80% mark DOD / by 1.611111111111 which means it will run your BM for= 49.6551724138 Hours, So just over 2 days and in the colder months it will run your BM for around 3 or 4 days, Hooked up to a 120w Panel it will only drop by around 5 to 15% over night and it will charge back up in around 50 minutes because the PLB charges at arounf 17.5 to 17.7% per hour. So with a panel hooked up during the day it will never go below 100%.

Today I desided to weigh some of my Gear baring in mind I have an excess of 700 to 750+kgs to play with.

The PLB 40Ah = 7.5kg+/- Or if I use 2 = 15kgs but 1 PLB is equal to the 80Ah based on One Charge each.

My 80Ah AGM = 22.9kg
My 115Ah Deep cycle batteries weigh 23.4kgs each = 46.8kg

1 PLB vs 1 x 80Ah AGM =15.4 Kgs
2 PLB's vs 1 x 80Ah AGM = 7.9kgs
1 PLB vs 1 x 115Ah =15.9kgs
2 PLB's vs 1 x 115Ah = 8.5kgs
1 PLB vs 2 x 115Ah = 39.5kgs
2 PLB's vs 2 x 115Ah = 31.8kgs.

Then there is the Charge times @ 80% DOD the PLB will fully charge in 4.571 hours regardless of whether it is by the Ciggy Socket or a 120w Panel or the AC Adapter, where as the 80Ah AGM at about 45% DOD takes between 12 to 14 hours and to fully charge one of the 115Ah Deep cycle batteries can take between 14 to 18 hours unless you blast the daylights out of it,

seeing as the PLB is a premium brand/grade I think the reviewer was quoting a premium grade Lithium battery, Sure there are cheaper versions of the PLB as well as Lithium Batteries, and when you add to the fact that the PLB already has a DC to DC and MPPT charge controller already built in makes it well worth having, because Zero wiring is required and it can be taken from the house to the 4b or the Wifes Car or the Boat or the Camper or tent.

I'm not saying that the PLB is a replacement for a system like yours where you are running every thing in a Camper Trailer from a battery bank but the PLB can handle most of our needs and being a 100% portable puts it in the same "Must Have" bracket as having a fridge.

Like you I have been sceptic about the PLB but after 2 years I just can't believe it does what it can do. The Only other model on the market that is worth buying is the PowerOak/Bluetti 700/1000 models avoiding the 1500-2400 models because you can't charge them from the Cars 12v Socket and they can take over 18 hours to charge due to their size.

My Van having all Live 12v sockets allows me to power the PLB or a fridge 24/7, When I first got the Van I left the PLB plugged in to the Cigar socket with the Little Dometic plugged in to the PLB and it was still at 100% after 4 days, These Porta Packs really are Game changers and the choice to take it where ever you need power really breaks all the rules, IE the Power company cut through the power lines out side and I was without power Or should I say my neighbours were for about 11 hours, But I had lighting and TV and the food in my Fridges was safe and sound. I just never run out of power and since I have owned them I have even drained out my brand new 2Kva Petrol generator and put it back in the Box. :Y:

Even with your Future Lithium setup One of the cheaper portable packs would make life easy.

As for the reviewer His results match mine and every word is true baring in mind I bought 2 PLB's and most of the time I only use One of them unless it was when the power company knocked the Power Out, And the fact that the reviewer actually tested it in Australia using your fridge and not here makes it even more applicable. :Y: erfect:

 

[condor22]

https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/companion-40Ah-lithium-power-station

Have you heard anything about the Companion 40AH, it's $340 cheaper, same warranty, same lifecycle?

BTW the above retailer sells the Dometic PLB as well $899, RRP is $1249, so a reasonable discounted price.

 

[Ridge Runner]

https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sale/companion-40Ah-lithium-power-station

Have you heard anything about the Companion 40AH, it's $340 cheaper, same warranty, same lifecycle?

BTW the above retailer sells the Dometic PLB as well $899, RRP is $1249, so a reasonable discounted price.

Dometic UK are charging 857.00 = $1594.02c AUD. They put the price up from 595.00,

https://www.dometic.com/en-gb/outdo...and-lighting/batteries/dometic-plb40-_-195560

 

[condor22]

Another almost example of you paying in what we pay in $

 

[Ridge Runner]

Another almost example of you paying in what we pay in $

Over here anything to do with camping All the Caravan sales people have added around $1869.00 AUD or 1000 to every caravan whether it is new or second hand where a second hand caravan now cost more than a new one did last year and All Camping gear has gone up by a huge margin, Camping Gas was 24 now I have to pay 34 per pack And this is all because people can't go over seas so they are ripping everyone off and cashing In on it.

 

[condor22]

Curiosity, lol - Camping Gas Pack? Are these the small disposable cylinders? and, what size/qty/ Supercheap do the 220gr cartridge for around $6-7/ 4 pk

I ask as here most use a 4.5 or 9kg refillable cylinder. Even here the cost of that varies considerably.

I've used BCF at $14 for 4.5kg ($23 for a 9kg) but in Wedderburn the local servo wanted $26 for a 4.5 refill. But I went to the local shop in Inglewood and got a fill for $17.

 

[condor22]

Went to Snowies yesterday to look at the PLB and the Companion Rover 40. They wanted $909 for the PLB and $589 for the Rover 40. I compared the output sockets first.

PLB40 - 1 x Cig socket, 1 x 2 pin Engel type socket, 2 x USB as outputs - Anderson input and DC input.
Rover 40 - 1 x Cig socket, 1 x 2 pin Engel type socket, 2 x USB as outputs + Type C USB output. On the other side a 50A Anderson output and a mini Anderson for all input.
There are also 2 additional special sockets for LED lighting and the unit comes with adaptor plugs. Plus an inbuilt LED light.

Both units have a similar USB output Amperage. The PLB is rated 15A output, the Rover is 10A.
Both units have a built in Solar Regulator.
Charging rate for the PLB is 8A max, the Rover is 5A.
Both have a digital display.

I then compared pricing, the PLB being $320 more, however Tentworld have the Companion at $559 and Snowies price matches, making the difference $350.

I ended up buying, the Rover 40 a. Couldn't pass the price difference, b. The Anderson Output suits my 4x4 setup as I've modified both my fridge plugs, 150W inverter and Travel Buddy to Anderson and c. The Extra 2 special sockets for low draw output and the additional Type C gives extra connections. Not sure I'll ever use the torch, but it's there if needed.

How well it performs or lasts, only time will tell. I have the brass Monkey on it at the moment. After 14 Hours the Rover was at 83% = 6.8 AH so far.
BM is set to 3C, Ambient in the room it's in around 15-16C and it has some beer, coke and choccy in it.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Went to Snowies yesterday to look at the PLB and the Companion Rover 40. They wanted $909 for the PLB and $589 for the Rover 40. I compared the output sockets first.

PLB40 - 1 x Cig socket, 1 x 2 pin Engel type socket, 2 x USB as outputs - Anderson input and DC input.
Rover 40 - 1 x Cig socket, 1 x 2 pin Engel type socket, 2 x USB as outputs + Type C USB output. On the other side a 50A Anderson output and a mini Anderson for all input.
There are also 2 additional special sockets for LED lighting and the unit comes with adaptor plugs. Plus an inbuilt LED light.

Both units have a similar USB output Amperage. The PLB is rated 15A output, the Rover is 10A.
Both units have a built in Solar Regulator.
Charging rate for the PLB is 8A max, the Rover is 5A.
Both have a digital display.

I then compared pricing, the PLB being $320 more, however Tentworld have the Companion at $559 and Snowies price matches, making the difference $350.

I ended up buying, the Rover 40 a. Couldn't pass the price difference, b. The Anderson Output suits my 4x4 setup as I've modified both my fridge plugs, 150W inverter and Travel Buddy to Anderson and c. The Extra 2 special sockets for low draw output and the additional Type C gives extra connections. Not sure I'll ever use the torch, but it's there if needed.

How well it performs or lasts, only time will tell. I have the brass Monkey on it at the moment. After 14 Hours the Rover was at 83% = 6.8 AH so far.
BM is set to 3C, Ambient in the room it's in around 15-16C and it has some beer, coke and choccy in it.

Well done and Congrats,

Cool sounds like you bought the right one, the 500 to 1000Wh are the best ones to buy because they can be charged from the Ciggy socket giving you 3 options once these solar Battery packs get over a 1000Wh they can't be charged from the Ciggy Socket because the Amp/Current Draw is too high and some of them take up to 18-24 hours to charge even from 300w of Solar or you have to use AC power or a Genny to charge them back up.

These little mid sized ones punch well above their weight and once you have done your test you will wonder how on earth they do it, I would not adapt the Compressor plug to run off it because they draw way too much power, But it will be interesting to see how fast it charges from the Ciggy socket or a 100/120 panel, Mine averages around 17 to 17.5% per hour so at around 50% DOD it takes about 2.8 hours or 2 hours 48 minutes and to fill up and from their 80% DOD as stated in the manual it takes about 4,5 hours or 4h 30 mins to back up to 100% again.

Anyway keep us up to date with how it goes, Good luck.

 

[condor22]

Just stopped the Rover and put the BM on 240 VAC. I guess 2 test here, the fridge power use and the Rover supplying that power, lol;

The BM when compressor was running showed a load of 34 watts, which if the Rover was giving 12.8 V = 2.66 amps. Its total use from the Rover 40 over 24 hours was 34% of the 40 AH or 13.6 AH. When the BM compressor was not running, the Rover showed a load of 1 W, which is probably the BM display and LEDs.

The ambient was not extreme and the BM was in a darkish room out of the sun.

As I have a couple of power meters with Anderson plugs, I should have installed one inline, but didn't think to do that. I might charge the Rover and do the test again with one inline.

This will give me V, A & W max and min as well as totals Wh and Ah. That way I can see what the volts of the Rover are under load and no load. It will also give a 2nd opinion of the Rover digital display accuracy.

Will check how long the charger takes to recharge the Rover later tonight.

I'm also thinking that as the Specs of both the PLB and Rover show 2,000 cycles at 80%, going deeper in cycle may reduce their lifecycle and that number is not specified.
So gonna keep my Rover to no lower than 25% capacity to be sure.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Cool so it should run the BM for about 64 to 72 hours then, thats a good result,

The less you take out of the battery can more than triple the cycle rate and 6000 to 10,000 cycles is possible,

So far it is looking impressive well done, :Y:

 

[condor22]

Agreed, Although 75% is my max, I'd still like to keep it to between 25% & 50%, which is what I use for AGMs anyway. That way nothing new to remember lol.

I checked recharge at the 2 hour 45 minute mark and it showed 100%. So almost spot on for the 5 amp charger.

Next summer I'll try it for a few hours on a 40C day, but not hopeful as I know even the Engel is on most of the time at 3.0 amps, when set to 2-3C. That would only give around 12 hours.

However the way I look at it, is when driving during the day the car can run the Engel and charge the Rover for overnight and use if needed. Keeping in mind I do have the auxiliary in the rear.

However the BM is not mounted, so if I went to a BBQ or whatever, I can load the "lemonade" into the BM, take the Rover and have cold drinks, even for an all nighter, lol.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Agreed, Although 75% is my max, I'd still like to keep it to between 25% & 50%, which is what I use for AGMs anyway. That way nothing new to remember lol.

I checked recharge at the 2 hour 45 minute mark and it showed 100%. So almost spot on for the 5 amp charger.

Next summer I'll try it for a few hours on a 40C day, but not hopeful as I know even the Engel is on most of the time at 3.0 amps, when set to 2-3C. That would only give around 12 hours.

However the way I look at it, is when driving during the day the car can run the Engel and charge the Rover for overnight and use if needed. Keeping in mind I do have the auxiliary in the rear.

However the BM is not mounted, so if I went to a BBQ or whatever, I can load the "lemonade" into the BM, take the Rover and have cold drinks, even for an all nighter, lol.

Yep I have only taken one of mine down to 33% SOC once and that was two weeks ago, every other time I try to keep them above 50%,

Yeah when you do the maths on lithium the numbers are mind blowing If you take it down to 80%/20%SOC and it takes you 3 days to do it @ 2000 cycles thats 6000 days Devide that by 365 thats 16.43 years, If you discharge it to where you are getting 6000 @ 3 days per cycle thats 18,000 days thats 49.31 years, of coarse thats hypothetical but it is possible, But in theory the numbers are crazy and would be har to prove,

I love the charging speed of these things, If I run 2 x 115Ah deep cycle batteries down to 50% it's going to take me 14 to18 hours to charge them giving me 115Ah of useable power, with the 40Ah Lithium I can charge it in 4 hours and for the same amout of charge time the 40Ah Lithium could give me 128 to 144Ah to use thats 29Ah more power to use and because of the speed they charge at I never seem to run out of power,

For stationary long term use AGM/Deep Cycle are the way to go but for life on the move Lithium are life changing, I wouldn't use Lithium for winching where the currant Draw can hit over 400Ah but for every thing else lithium is hard to beat :Y:

 

[Ridge Runner]

Just to do a side by side I am running the little Dometic CDF-18L from the PLB with the fridge set to around 2*c, It drops to around 1.0*c and rises to about 2.7 to 2.9, due to how i have it loaded normally it goes down to 1*c and warms up to about 2.1*c, My Ambient temp is around 24*c in the house rising to around 26*c.

 

[condor22]

Just to do a side by side I am running the little Dometic CDF-18L from the PLB with the fridge set to around 2*c, It drops to around 1.0*c and rises to about 2.7 to 2.9, due to how i have it loaded normally it goes down to 1*c and warms up to about 2.1*c, My Ambient temp is around 24*c in the house rising to around 26*c.

I've noticed the BM be a little wider in set temp i.e. I've set it to 3 C on the display. When on, it goes down to 1 C then cuts out. It doesn't come on until it hits 4 C and then repeats. That's on eco mode and I think it widens the on/off range, so it's on a little longer, then off more.

In cooler temps economical as it takes longer to get back up to 4 C. On normal mode it might come on/off over a smaller range and be better in hotter weather, but chew more juice. I haven't checked as I always run it in ECO anyway even when I set it -12 as a freezer.

Been raining here, but I'll go out and get the power meter in the morning, and do another 24 hours with a bit more data.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Just to do a side by side I am running the little Dometic CDF-18L from the PLB with the fridge set to around 2*c, It drops to around 1.0*c and rises to about 2.7 to 2.9, due to how i have it loaded normally it goes down to 1*c and warms up to about 2.1*c, My Ambient temp is around 24*c in the house rising to around 26*c.

I've noticed the BM be a little wider in set temp i.e. I've set it to 3 C on the display. When on, it goes down to 1 C then cuts out. It doesn't come on until it hits 4 C and then repeats. That's on eco mode and I think it widens the on/off range, so it's on a little longer, then off more.

In cooler temps economical as it takes longer to get back up to 4 C. On normal mode it might come on/off over a smaller range and be better in hotter weather, but chew more juice. I haven't checked as I always run it in ECO anyway even when I set it -12 as a freezer.

Been raining here, but I'll go out and get the power meter in the morning, and do another 24 hours with a bit more data.

If the cooling element goes from top to bottom and you keep the produce away from the inner wall them Temp Drift will remain One or 2 degrees Max but if the food is touching most of the walls then you will see a bigger drift,

In the Cool of winter your BM will use as little as 4 or 5Ah per 24 hours which means it will only use around 12% per 24 hours from the Rover which means it could run for about 6 and a half days.

The Dometic and the Snomater the element goes from top to bottom so if you keep the food off the walls their temp will only vary by 1*c

The ARB works like a House fridge because the Element stops about 3"/75mm from the Top and the Temp can swing by 2 to 4*c Min / Max. this works out well if you want to Use it as a Freezer and as a Fridge at the same Time So I can set it to -10*c and the Dairy Area will be around 0*c +/-1* and the Top 3"/75mm will be around -3 to -4*c when set AT -18*c the whole thing turns in to a Freezer, This makes the ARB work as a True Duel Zone without having Two Bins in the one Fridge, which does away with the need to run Two Fridges or one of the Twin Lid versions because they really Chew the power.

You really are going to have a ball with that setup, :Y: :Y:

 

[Davent]

https://www.anacondastores.com/camp...ion-rover-lithium-40-power-station/BP90168780

Is this what you blokes are talking about?

 

[Ridge Runner]

https://www.anacondastores.com/camp...ion-rover-lithium-40-power-station/BP90168780

Is this what you blokes are talking about?

Yep thats the one Dave, It seems to have the best plug sockets of any Solar/Battery pack on the market,

It has the small Anderson and the Big 50A Andersom and the Engel 2 Pin / ARB 2 Pin.

these are Awesome little units for everyday power and they will change the way we do things Ay. erfect:

The PLB has the 50A Anderson to Charge it with from the Ciggy Socket or a Solar panel and it has an 7 or 8mm socket for the wall charger and the outputs on the front it has a 12vCiggy Socket and the Engel/ARB 2 Pin socket and 2 USB ports,

The good thing about both of these two models is they both have a good solid setup without all the silly stuff you don't use. :Y:

 

[Davent]

great, will pick one up to replace my old waeco 36amph agm job which finally died after years of good service. Very handy it was too, ran my shower, lights, recharged my tecta, and my media devices, and occasionally ran a fridge for a day trip or while I let my main source recharge without load.