getting electrical about things

[digibane]

I could sum up this post by this one liner:
If i wanted to get a second battery in my 110 defender, what would be best: NL or C-Tek?
and who is considered a reputable person to go to for fitting such? (because i dont trust myself for #### with undertaking this project)
add to that: what kind of battery to get as a secondary one

The why:

I need a fridge. This is probably the main reason. I would also like to plug my 850w Trailboss inverter that would charge my laptop and camera batteries from time to time but thats not a big deal.
I have dreams(goals) to do overlanding trips that are longer than just a weekend, maybe a week or 2 or longer later. I understand that the common deep cycle batteries take a while to recharge on systems like NL and at the same time, I might have to consider adding a solar panel to the system and have no idea if NL supports such.
Basically put: my little research indicates that i should probably get something from C-Tek but I dont know if it would be overkill or even what to get from C-Tek that would be appropriate, or heck even another brand that I may not be aware off.

Did I also mention that I have no idea if once again: a deep cycle battery would be overkill for running a 50 something liter fridge/freezer plus an inverter for the above mentioned items or if a high-cyle one will do or crystal or all of those that are in the market right now.

Hope this makes sense.
Your knowledge would be highly appreciated.

[Stranger]

Feel your pain man

there is so much to choose from these days that you can get mind boggled to the max. The reasons I like my setup

The NL box is really easy to work with, they are reliable and understandable and portable. Easy wiring from front to back. Can take high cycle or deep cycle and solar can be connected.

High cycle battery. I find the high cycle takes charge better than a deep cycle and we have minimum requirements for energy. A Waeco CF 50 and a few lights along with a few items that need to be charged, all 12v

100W semi flex solar panel and PWM controller. The semi flex is way more expensive than a standard panel but makes up for it in lightness and packing space. Pushes more amps than I require for load therefore feeds the high cycle at the same time. If I am short of amps a couple of hours with the fridge off while the battery takes the charge does not hurt. For a simple setup the PWM controllers do the job very well, no need for expensive MPPT controllers.

If I was in your shoes.

Would that inverter suck up so many amps from a deep cycle that I could not fully recover or need excessive panels and amps to do the job ?

Do I want a permanent addition to the vehicle in the way of a aux battery and C-tek

Do I need an inverter or are there 12v adaptors that can do the job ?

Do I need to spend a lot of Rands for a perfect setup or can I get 95% of what I want (100% of what I need) for less.

[Birder]

With Stranger on this one , KISS applies, to for reference I run a NL 50l Twin off 105Ah deep cycle but have never used the "deep" part charge with 80W German Panel via a PWM solar charger lots of monitoring of the panel voltage and battery charge rate. works for me for 10 days + stays off grid , daytime fridge runs off car battery

[jelo]

I agree about an NL box with a battery or even two. Permanent batteries can be a PITA.