Welcome to Childers Batteries & Off Grid Living Centre, a family-owned and independently run battery store. Our store is your one-stop shop for all your battery and off-grid energy needs. We offer a wide range of high-quality batteries and accessories from top-tier brands. Whether you're looking for a reliable car battery, a deep-cycle marine battery, or a complete off-grid solar system, we have you covered. Our knowledgeable staff is dedicated to providing expert advice and exceptional customer service to help you find the perfect solution for your needs.
Meet the team
Jason Marshall - Branch Manager
A 30+ year veteran of the automotive industry specialising in batteries and charging. Jason is a published author with over 3000 copies sold of "Recreational Power Guide - Batteries & Charging". He has decades of experience working for both manufacturers and resellers and prides himself on old-school customer service Jason lives locally in Childers and is a proud member of the Rural Fire Service.
Operating a battery shop in a small town means we all need to do our bit for the community. As volunteer Rural Fire Fighters, we are called upon to defend people's properties, livestock, and machinery. Sometimes this means that Childers Batteries may be unattended, but before you get too cranky at us, you never know…one day it may be your property that needs saving.
Darren Helleren - Managing Director
After 11 Years with the RACV and as a fully qualified auto electrician, Darren started in 1992 as D&A Auto-Electrical, a part-time business started by Darren and Anette. It began in their garage with the wiring of racecars, caravans, boats, and custom cars. In 2005, Darren took a redundancy package at D&A Auto-Electrical, which was part-time now became RETROLOOMS and Darren moved to run the business full-time In 2006. Over the next 15 years, Darren would forge his reputation as one of the most experienced guys in the 4WD, Caravan & RV space. His in-depth knowledge of the Victron products meant that Darren was called upon by the solar industry to provide support and technical assistance which has made his expansion into off-grid living an obvious one.
Retrolooms became the service agent for Oyster Satellite Systems back in 2008 and for Webasto and Victron products in 2014. Sometime between 2014 and today Retrolooms also became the preferred repairer/installer for Redarc products.
Throughout 2020, we noticed the Retrolooms expanding and changing direction significantly; especially with the caravan industry and domestic travel booming over the last year – we were quoting and installing more electrical fit-outs than ever before!
Therefore, we decided to re-brand our business to follow in this direction.
Retropower is now our parent company, with expertise in:
- Designing and installing custom 12V to 240V power solutions
- Designing and installing mobile electrical systems
- Designing and installing off-grid renewable power systems
- Retrofitting to new renewable energy solutions
- Technical support and supply for trade and wholesale clients for small off-grid solutions
- Victron technical specialists and taking care of Victron warranties and repairs
Through the combined knowledge base of both Darren & Jason, you can rest assured that the aftersales technical service will be of the highest order.
