Technical - SA 4x4

Power Talk: Battery cycling basics

Lead-acid batteries remain the industry standard for mobile and vehicle applications. Sealed lead-acid batteries, also known as VLRA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) batteries, are now widespread because they are safer, require little or no maintenance, and cope well with the heat generated by being sited in a vehicle’s engine bay. Modern cars, and notably those using stop-go technology, have these batteries specified as original equipment. However, the starter batteries of many vehicles are still specified as open batteries (also called ‘wet’ batteries), which require the cells to be filled with distilled water. The C-rating on the label VRLA batteries are…

Tech Talk: Turbo Care

Expensive turbo failures can be avoided. Chris Kambouris of TurboDirect points out some of the primary causes of turbo mishaps, and how to keep them in check… Turbochargers are components that are critical to the reliable operation of correct emission production and under-bonnet thermal management of an engine. The turbocharger, although situated outside the engine, is fed the same oil that the engine relies on, and from the very same engine’s oil pump. The oil is fed through an oil feed line, which is the main “artery” feeding the life blood to the turbocharger. When an engine fails, the entire…

Power Talk: Battery Monitoring

In vehicle applications, the use of a second battery is very common. Most users choose one of the widely available lead-acid battery technologies. These include starter-type wet batteries, sealed-valve regulated, Gel and AGM types. Each type has different characteristics, but they are all essentially energy storage devices. The last two articles have covered two topics: first, how to store energy in a battery by charging with an AC-DC charger or MPPT solar controller, and second, how to make up for energy losses that happen in a lead-acid battery when charging takes place. How do you monitor the state of charge…

Africa Halfway: Jeep Maintenance

Road conditions on the West Coast of Africa have been nothing short of gruelling. Through tens of thousands of kilometres, it’s been a changing kaleidoscope of sand, mud, rocks and intense heat and humidity… not to mention occasional torrential downpours. Make no mistake: these are some of the worst roads on the planet. My 2011 JK Unlimited Rubicon Wrangler has performed flawlessly, but after 51 000km of this stuff, it is time for maintenance that is more serious than just the usual oil changes and tyre rotations. I’m also making a few key upgrades which should help us keep the…

Tech Briefing

Tech Briefing: Battery charging basics

The battery is at the centre of all our energy requirements in our vehicles. Battery technology is changing fast in various energy-storage markets, but owners of recreational vehicles still choose lead acid batteries, mainly because of cost and availability. When we discharge a battery, energy is converted from chemical to electrical energy; when we recharge, the electrical energy is converted into chemical energy. No-one struggles to discharge a battery, but most people struggle to recharge a battery; and knowing when a battery is fully charged is a challenge. Charging methods and stages Recharging methods vary from AC chargers (connected to…

Tech Briefing

Tech Briefing: Fire risk

The many burnt-out vehicles abandoned in remote parts all over Africa are grim testimony to the fact that fire is a major risk when overlanding. The culprits are a combination of high ambient temperatures and tall grass, plus heat from the engine and (even more often) from the exhaust. How does one deal with this? The fact is that even green, wet grass dries out very quickly when exposed to the high heat and ventilation of the exhaust areas under a vehicle. This happens within minutes, not hours. In certain circumstances, you may have to stop every 10 minutes to…

Company Profile: Victron Energy

Victron Energy provides power solutions to marine, industrial, automotive, mobility, off-grid and solar markets around the world. Founded in 1975 by Reinout Vader, Victron Energy is based in Almere-Haven in The Netherlands. In the last 43 years, Victron Energy has grown from a small, one-office technology company, to an international enterprise with nearly 1000 different products sold in more than 60 countries worldwide. Victron Energy enjoys an unrivalled reputation for technical innovation, reliability and quality, enabling it to become a world leader in the supply of self-supporting electrical power. Our products have been designed to meet the most demanding situations…

Product Test

Long-term Test: Waeco CFX-65

The Waeco CFX-65 fridge-freezer we have been using since early 2013 has now been rebranded a Dometic, in line with the Swedish company’s brand-consolidation exercise. It was always built by them, so this is just a name-change for this fridge which needs no introduction as the unsung hero of all our local trips. Whether it’s working at max capacity in 40 degree heat or sitting turned on in an office for months at a time, the old beast has its work cut out. And it hasn’t missed a beat. As Grant Spolander put it in his 2013 review of this…

Product Review

Product Review: BF Goodrich KM3 Mud-Terrains

Back in the early 1980s, BF Goodrich introduced an unconventional tyre that would forever change the way we thought about off-road traction. They called it the T/A Mud-Terrain: “T/A” borrowed from their successful line of street-performance offerings, and the rest for the type of terrain it would call home. It was the first such tyre with an aggressive tread design, deep voids, and radial construction. The impact was such that, in the following years, nearly every tyre manufacturer in the genre would introduce a variant of BFG’s original design. In 1984, the company rocked the four-wheel drive community with a…

Product Review

Product Test: Carma Quip Rough’it Mattress

Let’s face it, Z-folds work a treat for sleeping, but they are hellish bulky. When you pack for a family of five or more, chances are that the mattresses take up half the available space. Most people have experimented with the blow-up balloon type, which pack lekker small and flat, but it doesn’t take long before everyone’s had enough of broken or forgotten pumps and that sinking feeling when a mattress is punctured. It’s only a matter of time. Somewhere in the middle of the bulk versus reliability debate is the self-inflating mattress. For car-camping purposes, we’re not talking about…

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