12V Fridge & freezer

[intentsrig]

Ok. 24 hour test:

At 1000 yesterday, battery was at 12.7v. Fridge was set at 29f, and already cold.

It reached 100f ambient temperature here yesterday. Black Jeep was closed, but in deep shade.

Just now, 24 hours later, fridge still running, battery at 11.9v.

Jeep started with no sign of sluggishness. According to fridge manual, I still had .5v to go before it shut down, set on medium. (11.4v)

I’m thinking I’ll set shutdown to high
(11.8v), now that I know it will go 24 hours on a hot day at that setting.

I had 1 beer sitting in the middle, on the floor. It didn’t freeze, but is very cold.

I’m happy.

That’s really good. Especially considering the outside temp and you only having 1 beer inside. The more stuff in the fridge, the less the compressor has to turn on.

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[brazos]

That’s really good. Especially considering the outside temp and you only having 1 beer inside. The more stuff in the fridge, the less the compressor has to turn on.

Cool. Good to know that it’s more efficient loaded.

I’ve got it on shore power now. It automatically defaults to that, so no need to unplug 12v.

Takes 10 seconds to plug it in or unplug. I’m thinking I’ll just keep it running 24/7.

What a nifty piece of kit! No more trips to town just for ice!

 

[Martindfletcher]

I can confirm in that kind of heat it can kill the battery when set to low. I was confused about the low and high settings.. lol.

 

[brazos]

I can confirm in that kind of heat it can kill the battery when set to low. I was confused about the low and high settings.. lol.

Yeah, I’ve read the fridge manual twice now, and didn’t notice until the second trip through that they only recommend using “low” for a battery which isn’t required to start the vehicle.

They recommend either medium or high for batteries which are required to do so.

I figure sticking with high will be easier long-term on a battery which isn’t designed to cycle deeply, and also provide further insurance that there will always be adequate juice for the Jeep to start.

24 hours in 100f is enough for me.

 

[Memphis Peej]

If you were in the woods how long would you have to run the jeep to charge the battery back up?

I'd mainly use this for a weekend camping trip likely and I'm curious as to what it would take for me to make sure I could drive back home

 

[brazos]

If it starts, it will take you home. No need to wait.

 

[DanW]

I had mine on today in the parking lot at work, with the interior closed up and hot. I plug it in at night, so it was a nice 33 degrees when I did the commute. The battery went from 12.6 to 12.5. The fridge is full to the brim of water and gatorade, so it is pretty clear it wasn't having to work hard, at all.

It is nice to come out and pop open an ice cold drink at the end of a long day! I keep that fridge in there and running all summer. My Jeep is better equipped than my living room, since the fridge is right there.

 

[Jackpunx]

I've been really happy with my dometic

 

[Memphis Peej]

If it starts, it will take you home. No need to wait.

I didn’t make that clear. My bad.

I meant to ask how long would I have to run the Jeep to charge the battery back to full capacity to continue to run the refrigerator. The implication being that if I’m camping for two or three days and the refrigerator is drawing from the battery how long to run the jeep to recharge the battery, so I don’t get stuck.

 

[Jackpunx]

I didn’t make that clear. My bad.

I meant to ask how long would I have to run the Jeep to charge the battery back to full capacity to continue to run the refrigerator. The implication being that if I’m camping for two or three days and the refrigerator is drawing from the battery how long to run the jeep to recharge the battery, so I don’t get stuck.

You can set the dometic. I have mine at to turn off @ 10.8 .. run until your guage makes you happy

 

[DanW]

You can set the dometic. I have mine at to turn off @ 10.8 .. run until your guage makes you happy

All of them, ARB, Dometic, Snomaster, Smittybilt, and others I looked at have that feature, and it is a nice insurance policy.

 

[Jackpunx]

All of them, ARB, Dometic, Snomaster, Smittybilt, and others I looked at have that feature, and it is a nice insurance policy.

My only experience is with the dometic, but I dont think you can go wrong with any of them. It only takes about 20 min to get to 37° no matter how hot it is. Love it

 

[Martindfletcher]

I didn’t make that clear. My bad.

I meant to ask how long would I have to run the Jeep to charge the battery back to full capacity to continue to run the refrigerator. The implication being that if I’m camping for two or three days and the refrigerator is drawing from the battery how long to run the jeep to recharge the battery, so I don’t get stuck.

I drove for 20-30 minutes after battery was completely dead until the start stop started working again. It charges more when moving I assume. I keep a battery pack and trickle solar panel when leaving it more than 2 days now.

 

[r-d]

I recently purchased a small electric cooler for my weekend camping trips. It draws 5.8A constantly (no thermostat) through the 12V cigarette plug. Curious as to how long this could run without the Jeep running. I do have the tow package and AUX switches with the upgraded "650-amp maintenance-free battery with run-down protection".

Seeing some of these posts with others running large coolers for over 24 hrs makes me wonder that my little one could run for much longer.

Also, does the Jeep's "run-down protection" mean it will shut off power to the outlet if the voltage gets too low?

I've attached a link to the cooler:
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/igloo-iceless-portable-electric-cooler-28-qt-0370710p.html#srp

 

[Jeff1]

I've had the ARB for about 2 years and picked up the Dometic PLB40 in the spring during REI's sale using their 20% discount along with my REI dividends making the price reasonable! Ran them both for about 3 days the other week when temps where in the upper 90's without an issue and the Dometic still had about 40% battery. I did pre cool the fridge and contents of it.

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