Ark ArkPak

AVOID!!! – Bought an Arkpak 730 from Anaconda. Nothing but issues. Battery discharges very quickly even without a load. Lost 2 brand new batteries whilst trying to figure out the issue. I do not recommend this product whatsoever.

Brilliant service & Product – Excellent product but even better service from the Ark Corporation. I have had some questions regarding my ark730. I called the first time and the service guy talked me the problem with a world of knowledge. It turned out I had a loose connection. The second time I email 6 months later and received photos and step by step instructions and… Read more

information to fix my issue which I caused my self. These units are bullet proof and I can’t thank Ark enough for hiring such amazing staff. Well done Ark.

Worth the money if you understand the specifics of the product – The Arkpak 730 is a multi purpose unit with it’s price mainly due to the 7 stage battery charger - one of the best available. It’s a system that requires some understanding - I’ve called ark Pak many times and learned a lot as a result. I feel a lot of the negative feedback is through a lack of understanding as to how the unit operates 1)… Read more

Arkpak shouldn’t be judged on how how long a battery lasts because Arkpak doesn’t sell batteries.

2) Ark Pak are first to tell you that the battery charge indicator is unreliable, so there’s a setting to switch to a much more accurate voltage meter.

3) When first plugged in to mains power, it takes a a minute for the system to decide how long the charging process will be. Within that minute it fluctuates wildly so isn’t an accurate representation...

It’s not a perfect system - the inverter draws 6w to 8w when in use, the inverter is only 300w, the lack of an inbuilt solar charge controller is annoying. If you want to spend more $, “ goalzero” are the industry leaders but for the price, Arkpak is my preference.

Not ideal for remote camping – I've had the Original ArkPak for sometime now (since 2014) and while it hasn't been used a lot I've always had a suspicion it wasn't quite as good as it's portrayed. I am currently conducting some trials to see if I will keep it or get rid of it. The trials consist of a 105ah AGM battery hooked up to a 250w solar panel 24/7, For the 1st week it… Read more

was connected through the anderson plug connection and it kept the battery fully charged, with no appliances running off it, The following week I ran a small (15w) compact fluoresecent globe 24/7 for a week through the 150w Invertor, by the end of the week the battery was down to 15%, The next week I plugged the ArkPac into mains power to get the battery back up to full charge, the solar panel was disconnected. The next week I connected the solar panel up to the external battery terminals with no appliances and the battery was kept fully charged. The next week, still connected to the external battery terminals, I ran the same 15w compact fluoro light 24/7 for a week, the battery dropped to 58% by the end of the week trial. This week I've removed the light and left the solar panel connected to the external battery terminals and the battery was kept fully charged. I'm reluctant to connect my fridge to it and trial it for a week given the results so far.

The manual says that when you connect to the external battery terminals it by-passes the 7 Stage charger, I'm not convinced of that as the display still shows battery status throughout the week trial.

I know I'm not the most skilled of campers but my feeling is the 7 Stage charger is not ideal for remote camping as it cycles too many times to allow the solar panel to do its job of charging up the battery, the ups and downs take away the opportunity to get maximum charge into the battery for as long a period as you can so that it gets you through the night. When your out remote camping you don't have the luxury of plugging into a main supply to top-up the power, something more to think about.

Don't get me wrong, the ArkPak works well to protect the battery and give it a longer operating life but surely a properly maintained battery (one that's monitored and kept charged up at all times etc) will still last the distance if it were connected either directly to a solar panel that has a suitable regulator and/or another charger that doesn't have as many charging cycles as the ArkPak, but my trials are leading me towards getting rid of the ArkPak.

Feel free to provide advice if I'm doing it wrong or if you know of another way to maintain full charge in a battery being used in an ArkPak or just share your thoughts. Lastly, I would rather be wrong than right, coz if I'm right then I've made a bad investment choice and will loose money when I go to sell it off.

Great for camping, picnics and days on the beach! – Have been using this now for camping and other excursions for just over 2 years and it's never missed a beat. I purchased a good quality 100Ah AGM battery to go with it, along with the car charging kit. We've done more weekenders than I can count and 4, 2 to 3 week trips through the north west powering a fridge, lights, charging cameras, iPads,… Read more

phones and a laptop.

At home, it's never off charge. Always left on float. In the car, I started out using the car kit although the lighter plug is absolutely useless and requires constant attention to ensure it's working properly. I changed the plug and it's been fine ever since. Having said that, I've since gone away from using the car kit and now use a DCDC charger in the car so I can charge at 25A. This is great if you've been camped up for a few days with no charging and are only traveling a relatively short distance to your next stop (1 to 2 hours) .

As for the inverter, I've read a lot of people having problems with it and spoken to a few out on the tracks that are in the same boat. What I've found is that the majority of these people are not aware of the limitations of the built in inverter and believed they could plug any appliance into it as though they're at home. It's only 150 or 300w depending on the model you've bought. That's enough to run very small appliances and charge laptops but it won't run a microwave, a hair dryer, an iron, a kettle or a coffee machine. It simply doesn't have the capacity to do that.

The built in smart charger works well for standard lead acid batteries but I've found in time that it's actually not so great at charging AGMs. The charging profiles for all batteries except calcium, charge at pretty much the same volatages (14.4) and all float at 13.1v. To keep an AGM healthy, they need to be charged at 14.7 and floated at 13.6. I've recently changed to an external charger with the correct profiles and as a result have found I've been getting much better usage out of the battery.

For solar, we use a portable 120watt panel with a built in regulator the plugs straight in to the Anderson plug. The smart charging system in the arkpak isn't used when charging like this but it does keep tabs on the charging process so you can see what's happening on the display.

If I have any niggles is the fan noise. But in reality, I don't leave the display running while at camp anyway so it rarely creates an issue.

Knowing what I do now about portable 12v systems I likely wouldn't buy another Arkpak as a cheaper and more capable DIY solution isn't that difficult. It suited our needs perfectly at the time of purchase and continues to serve its purpose well. It's even seen us through two blackouts that lasted several days running a camp fridge and lights.

Replacing The Fuses – I did find it very hard to replace the fuses, it is very frustrating to get the fuses in place, taking the fuses out is a dream but replacing them is frustrating they tend to not go into the fuse slots at all, you have to fiddle around to get them in place, there must be a better way to replace the fuses. otherwise, it's a good product.

Ark pak 730 – Great for off grid camping. Would be better to use a lithium battery as the agm is heavy but that's with all battery packs. We can get 3 days out of it running older engel 40L fridge or waeco cfx75(on low),12v shower(2 people once) and charging devices. For longer life we charge the pak while driving or use the solar panels at camp. Look after… Read more

your agm battery properly otherwise you will find yourself spending alot of money replacing all the time.

Had it for 5 years and very happy with performance – Used extensively under all conditions with little problem. Developed an issue last month and Brett at Arkpak has been great in helping sort it. Still happy I chose the Arkpak. Show details

Waste of money – Never stays charged since bought 2 years ago - have bought new batteries charged it to 100% gone off grid next morning plugged in to charge a phone and discharges completely. Not recommended Show details

Absolute rubbish – I unfortunately purchased 2 of these units, a 730 and then a year later a 730P. Both are over priced garbage. The 730 had problems after approximately 14 months, I couldn’t get much help so I sent it back to the manufacturer. After several months I got it back only to have the same problem 6 months later. The charger just did not work. I ended up scraping it for parts the 730P was just as useless. I’ll never buy anything from Ark ever again. Show details

Overpriced and unreliable – My mate and i both baught one a few years ago. My ac charger failed and my mates battery management system failed. The small inverter is pointless. The fact that you have to bypass the bms and use an external regulator when charging with a solar panel seems stupid for the price, it should regulate solar input itself. And it only has 1 anderson plug connection! You can buy battery boxes with twice the versatility for cheaper.

So frustrating - waste of money! – As others have said. This product is just faulty. The display never reads the right amount of charge, have to constantly reset and have sent back a few times too! Waste of money.

Arkpak 730 (P) 300w 240 volt pure sine + 135ah AGM battery – Bought this product along with a 135ah AGM battery as a package in March 2019 to use as a freezer as we travelled round Australia. We linked the Arkpak with a Kings 45l fridge/freezer, as we travelled we charged through the cigarette lighter/power port, we bought a splitter & had one go to the freezer the other to the battery pack, when camped we… Read more

used a 250w solar panel. In the 10 months (33,000km) away including 2 weeks up the Gibb River Road we had no problems at all. We used the 240 volt to run clippers to cut hair (saving $25 every couple of weeks or so) we also used the 240v to run the lap top. This is not a cheap set up, but we could not fault the quality or function of this product.

Good for $200! – I managed to score a second hand one for $200. For this price it is awesome value. Works well. BUT don't try and charge it through your cigarette socket on your car... you will blow things up lol. It needs a direct cable to your battery. UPDATE: Well that was a waste of money in the long run. It slowly stopped working - now is just an expensive battery box. Show details

P.O.S – I have exchanged this unit three times. Different batteries tried and faults constantly. *"Do not depend on this product** 500 bucks down the drown. Make yourself a battery box without the POS inverter and save yourself a few hundred bucks. So very disappointed again. Show details

Not Happy Camper – Purchased an Arkpak 730. I believe the charger in the unit is not sufficient. My new battery went dead. Need to buy a new battery and a different charging system. Will not recommend or touch this product again. On return, the salesrep was not surprised to see another faulty Arkpak.

Dont buy rubbish. Waste of my hard earned money – POS. Kept coming up on display have you put a new battery in. Said no. Now will not switch on. Never buy. Waste of my hard earned money. Stay away from this box. Cant contact arc for help.

real crap – only lets you use 20 percent of power before cutting out, load of crap do not buy, real piece off crap, suppose to cut out when down to 20 percent not a good buy really annoying as can not find receipt to take back to Anaconda got last year only started using it 2 months ago don't not go there Show details

not happy with ark pak – Bought first ark pak had installed. Thought was best option for fridge and phone recharge. After 2 months would not charge from car or power point. Battery went flat Had to buy new battery Returned to autobahn x 10 times Screen crashed not reading correctly . Screen reading charged battery wasn’t Then fuses kept blowing Ark pak not car wiring went… Read more

to second auto electrician Finally threatened to go to fair trading . Received new ark pak after 2 weeks. First time needed to charge battery from power after a trip as the battery didn’t charge from car or power returned again to autobahn. Fuses blown. [name removed] told me they put on cheap crap fuses and replaced them with more quality ones. Their words. Gave me some spares Not happy with product at all. Expensive experiment.

Poor product and no support – Purchased an Arkpak 730, worked fine the 1st time we used it. The next 2 times the 240V outlet would not work, kept making a beeping sound. Went through all the troubleshooting several times, still can't use 240V. Made for a frustrating camping trip not being able to power items. Rang Arkcorp twice for tech support, was promised to be called back… Read more

and received no call. Understandably at this stage, very disappointed in the product and non existent support. Would no suggest this product.

Use lithium – Good unit. Runs ARB fridge 24/7 (home beer fridge) with lithium battery on 240v charge, away camping can get 4.5 days easy on just battery alone, add regulated solar keeps battery over 90% easily. Lithium LiFePO4 100AH battery used due to 14kg weight means I can lift it, AGM 120AH at 41kg is not really portable. No issues with system at all, good product. Show details

Scam!!!! – My Ark Pak was great ( while it worked). Then I contacted Ark Corporation about getting it fixed and they charged me an extra $200 and everybody disappeared. NoArk. No money. Show details

Inverter issues – The Ark pack works fine using DC current but even when you turn the switch on to use the inverter in continually beeps... Voltage is fine but the inverter won't power a small light without beeping.... Seems reliable for DC current only... Disappointed with inverter set up Show details

Good product but took some understanding – Apart from replacement 240 volt charger price, it’s a great product. Took me a while to understand it. I leave it on the back floor of my car as it’s very heavy for arthritic elbows. I charge it from solar panels about one day a week while not using it. While camping it ran a small compressor fridge while laso charging phone etc. works well. Show details

piece of junk – first trip with arcpac 730 had it plugged in to charge while driving. Seemed to drain still while only running small Engle fridge. On return home tried charging on 240v, no success. Contacted Arc who said it must be a problem with battery. $400 dollars later for new battery on next trip, blown fuse in 12v charging cable. Replaced and blew fuse in… Read more

car. Fridge still runs off pac but cant charge. also only one 12v outlet works. Will be binning and buying another brand

What a waste of money and time – Had for under two years lost two fridge fulls of food it has been back twice for repair. Would not recommend to anyone as it doesn’t cost much more to put in a auxiliary battery .i can put in a fully charged battery it will tell me it is half charged and at times it will not charge and other times it will but only half charge battery and tell me it is fully changed have brought two batteries and does the same with both of them  Show details

What a waste of money. Not even old enough for landfill – Bought one three years ago, then on one of my trips, burning smell. I unplugged immediately but it was too late! Diagnosis after three month wait for repair on warranty: burnt motherboard. Finally got a replacement which I didn’t use as much. Then in July 2018 on a car trip to Townsville, blown fuse in car. I replaced fuse and again blown fuse. At… Read more

home I plugged in battery pack to charge with 220V and noticed it wouldn’t charge. I’m guessing it’s not even worth it’s plastic for recycling. Stay away from it! I’m going to buy another one from their competition.

Update, just bought one from Protecta.

Waste of money – Over couple years got error open circuit. Next I check box and at 100per cent. Plug into car to maintain get to destination 0%. Today put on charge at 48% went onto boost for 2 hours then went back it's on 100 float cycle. Rubbish rubbish rubbish. Had a kickass battery box 3 years no hassles whatsoever. Do not buy this power station.  Show details

Absolute cheap rubbish – One of the worst products I have had any thing to do with. Fuses always loose no contact, had it returned for warranty work this took 2 months. I would never recommend this unit to anyone bloody disgraceful I would hope somebody reads this review so they don’t waste good money on this product.  Show details

Excellent product – I run 65l fridge with camp lights with solar panels on110amp battery had it 12months no issues never gets below 70% great unit stays in my car full time unless someone wants to borrow my fridge never had an issue best piece of gear I’ve bought for camping and long trips away  Show details

240V cable failure – 240V charging cable failed after approx 12 months. Seems to be a common problem. 12V still working but is a real pain as I would prefer to leave it on charge in the garage. Ark Pak people didn't seem to be very interested as it was out of warranty. Sent many messages via email to Arc Corp, with no reply from them.  Show details

Great unit until – I have had my Ark Pak 730 for about 12months was working fine I decided to leave battery charger on continually for around. a decided to take battery out of box for about a week when I put it back in it asked me the usual questions what type battery and all but while it was evaluating it comes up with error (open circuit ) I can't get it to stop what is wrong ???  Show details