PRODUCT REVIEW
WELL MADE HONEST PRODUCT
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Product Review by: Jason Marshall
Posted: 14/08/2019
THE REVIEW
Right of the bat, I am just going to come out and say that I do like this product. It's a solid performer, the quality of the product is up there with the best of them and its got some great features and industrial design qualities. Lets take a closer look at why I feel this way.
General Thoughts & Overview
I have met Mike and the team at Intervolt and they are a dedicated team who take great pride in the products they produce. Mike is very fussy and is committed to ensuring the quality of his products. As for my testing and usage, this unit has been installed (by me) under bonnet in my Prado for over 18 months and I have logged and monitored its performance over that period of time. In April 2019 it went on my 22 day trip through the Simpson Dessert, Uluru, up through Kings Canyon and the Mereenie Loop and back to Brisbane via the plenty highway. And, by the time you read this a few sand island trips. So it has been well used.
WHAT I LIKE
WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
FUNCTIONALITY
This unit has all the basic functions that you would expect from a modern Dc to Dc charger. It has heaps of inbuilt electrical & Thermal protection, reverse polarity protection, Can be ignition sensing, It will connect and disconnect the batteries as required (to prevent the start battery being overly discharged), it will buck and boost the voltage to compensate for voltage drop over long distances and to get your alternators voltage output to the set voltage, its multi chemistry, has a solar input with MPPT for efficiency, comes standard with a remote monitor so you can see what is going on at all times and it is IP67 to handle the moist stuff.
The charger itself appears to be a 3 stage Bulk, Absorption Float arrangement with preset programmable settings for different battery configurations.
CHARGING WHILE DRIVING
The vast majority of DC to DC chargers on the market will allow full current to flow through the unit while the battery is in float. In other words if you start your journey with a full battery and pull 15 amps of load on the drive, that will flow through the full battery. I particularly like that the team at intervolt will reduce the float voltage right down to try and take the pressure of the battery in these events.
QUALITY
I really rate the quality of this unit. It feels good in the hand, the construction is very high quality and I don't hear anyone saying they get a lot of failures. In fact I would go as far as to say that around those that use or sell them they are known as a quality item.
VIDEO REVIEW COMING SOON
Posted: 14/08/2019
THE REVIEW
Right of the bat, I am just going to come out and say that I do like this product. It's a solid performer, the quality of the product is up there with the best of them and its got some great features and industrial design qualities. Lets take a closer look at why I feel this way.
General Thoughts & Overview
I have met Mike and the team at Intervolt and they are a dedicated team who take great pride in the products they produce. Mike is very fussy and is committed to ensuring the quality of his products. As for my testing and usage, this unit has been installed (by me) under bonnet in my Prado for over 18 months and I have logged and monitored its performance over that period of time. In April 2019 it went on my 22 day trip through the Simpson Dessert, Uluru, up through Kings Canyon and the Mereenie Loop and back to Brisbane via the plenty highway. And, by the time you read this a few sand island trips. So it has been well used.
WHAT I LIKE
- Number 1 - The unit comes with a battery monitor (Volts & Amps) that can be used inside the vehicle and it can monitor two units.
- Its a TRUE 25 Amp charger all the way through to 50 Degrees C. It does de-rate from 50 but at 80 Degrees C it still punches 20% capacity
- The unit looks quality, is compact, has a visual LED on top of the unit to indicate the status of the unit
- MPPT Solar reg built in and can handle up to 250 Watts (17 - 27 Open Circuit Voltage)
- IP 67 so it can be temporarily submerged for water crossing
- Comprehensive user manual
WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
- The unit doesn't recall the last stage of charge after Key off - So it wont remember where it left off
- The functionality of the display takes some getting used to - make sure you read the manual
- Could be a little wider on the Solar panel Open Circuit Voltage as this can be a little restrictive for some builds. You are a little limited by the maximum voltage of the panel you can run as it max's out at 27 Volts. This should be more than enough unless running larger house style panels.
FUNCTIONALITY
This unit has all the basic functions that you would expect from a modern Dc to Dc charger. It has heaps of inbuilt electrical & Thermal protection, reverse polarity protection, Can be ignition sensing, It will connect and disconnect the batteries as required (to prevent the start battery being overly discharged), it will buck and boost the voltage to compensate for voltage drop over long distances and to get your alternators voltage output to the set voltage, its multi chemistry, has a solar input with MPPT for efficiency, comes standard with a remote monitor so you can see what is going on at all times and it is IP67 to handle the moist stuff.
The charger itself appears to be a 3 stage Bulk, Absorption Float arrangement with preset programmable settings for different battery configurations.
CHARGING WHILE DRIVING
The vast majority of DC to DC chargers on the market will allow full current to flow through the unit while the battery is in float. In other words if you start your journey with a full battery and pull 15 amps of load on the drive, that will flow through the full battery. I particularly like that the team at intervolt will reduce the float voltage right down to try and take the pressure of the battery in these events.
QUALITY
I really rate the quality of this unit. It feels good in the hand, the construction is very high quality and I don't hear anyone saying they get a lot of failures. In fact I would go as far as to say that around those that use or sell them they are known as a quality item.
VIDEO REVIEW COMING SOON