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Battery Pack for Fridge Question

xaugievike

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So as I'm planning some Santa purchases to fit my needs Im arriving at a portable power solution decision point. Im looking for recommendations/experience with a solution that will give me 24 hours run-time on a fridge (either Jackery or Goal zero). My needs wont necessitate more than this (yet) and im just looking for first-hand knowledge/experience in this area. Thanks in advance.
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So as I'm planning some Santa purchases to fit my needs Im arriving at a portable power solution decision point. Im looking for recommendations/experience with a solution that will give me 24 hours run-time on a fridge (either Jackery or Goal zero). My needs wont necessitate more than this (yet) and im just looking for first-hand knowledge/experience in this area. Thanks in advance.
Have not used a jackery or Goal Zero, but we have a Dometic PLB40. While it's being charged by the rear power port in the JL it is also passing power to the fridge. We have powered the fridge without charging the PLB40 for a weekend without it going dead. We also power the lights and USB ports in our RTT. It is worth a look.
 

Moregone

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I have the Jackery 500. It's been awesome.

I made a mount so it sits snuggly between the rear seat and the sport cage up against the window using the Hardtop bolts. Takes up zero space k in the primary cargo area. I use it for my Alpicool CF55. It does a day easy in bad conditions. Much longer in cool weather
 

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The Jackery 240 gives me 18 hours with a 35L Snomaster, so I'd say a Jackery 500 will be the ticket. It will get you well past 24 hours.
 

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All -

So as I'm planning some Santa purchases to fit my needs Im arriving at a portable power solution decision point. Im looking for recommendations/experience with a solution that will give me 24 hours run-time on a fridge (either Jackery or Goal zero). My needs wont necessitate more than this (yet) and im just looking for first-hand knowledge/experience in this area. Thanks in advance.
Jackery 500 over Goal zero. Jackery comes with the 12 volt car charger where the goal zero is extra. I plug the jackery into the car 12 volt and my iceco 3 in 1 fridge into the jackery. I get my fridge ready the night before so it is to temp and I can run it 26 hours without charging the jackery if I need to. Goal zero has good stuff and if money isn’t an issue it might be better. I believe you can change out the battery yourself vs the jackery which your not supposed to open it up. I have emailed jackery about a battery change but they never got back to me.
 

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I see these posts regarding refrigerators and electric generators on all of the message boards. Folks tend to lean toward the social media influencer stuff and end up looking like Marco but without the cool beard.

Basics: know how to charge the power pack.
1. 12v plug
2. 110v outlet (Rubicon only?)
3. Alternator
4. Solar

Know your storage needs:
1. not everyone needs a 75qt fridge to take up the entire cargo space in the back.
2. My personal lesson learned is go back and buy a smaller fridge (I have 40qt)
3. pack it right, remove boxing and use zip locks. Frees up more space.

If I could go back I would have purchased a smaller fridge and larger electric generator. I have the 40qt dometic which is great but it's not always full. I also have the GZ Yeti 400. This size battery is nice but it requires constant attention to make sure it's holding sufficient power. They shut down below 10% to prevent damaging the battery.

My recommendation: Look into future expansion. I would now buy a GZ 1000 or bigger. The reason is that you can add a link kit and charge it with your alternator. This leaves all of the power ports available and it's charging any time your engine is turned on. Think that through. "future proofing"
 

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I agree w/ @Overland_Texas about thinking of charging. .The Jackery batteries charge through, too. Just have your 12v plug in the back of the Jeep set to on with the ignition. That'd done with a fuse in the fuse box. Then, plug the fridge in to the Jackery, then the Jackery into the Jeep. When you are driving, the Jackery charges and runs the fridge. When you stop, the Jackery takes over. I've found the 240 to be more than enough for that scenario, and it works great. But as Tim the Toolman once said, "More power!" I'd get the 500 if I had it to do again. The 1000 starts getting to too big a size/weight for my likes and needs. But that 500 would run my 35L fridge for a good 36 hours at 34 degrees, and that's in hot temps. This time of year it would go MUCH further than that.

If I'm parked for a couple days, camping or say, at Oshkosh, I have a 60w solar panel that puts the Jackery to bed at night with 100% charge and overcomes the daytime usage, even in hot temps. Works beautifully.
 
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xaugievike

xaugievike

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Thanks for the replies thus far gang. I suspected the 500 version of whatever flavor I go with is likely going to do what I need.

I maybe should have been clearer on my intended (primary) use. We have an RV at a property as our getaway and the fridge's primary task will be simply schlepping food up there (and occasionally back as needed too). However at the end of the work week I'd like to be able to have the fridge loaded Thursday night, running on the power supply overnight and at work during the day friday. obviously after that on the drive the jeep can take it over...so really 24 hours is cushion for the hotter days sitting out in the parking lot until I can get going.

While I do intend to get back to some "camping" ....most of that will be at a racetrack where I can run a generator during the day to do the heavy lifting.
 

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I have been using Goal Zero 1000 powering a Dometic CFX-40. For your usage, any 500 will work. The problem isn't the sustained running it will be the initial start-up. If your contents you are putting in are already cold...you will be fine. Just take a look at the lower cut off limits of voltage for the frig and compare them to the ouput voltage vs time graph based on the expected load. Many times that lower DC voltage will drop below the frigs low-end voltage before you get to the 50% point on a battery. For that reason, I went with the GZ 1000. However, for whatever reason, you can use the AC the built-in inverter which will drain your battery a little faster but will allow you to use the battery even though you might be below the DC voltage limit for the frig to work on.
 

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Has a good YouTube channel. I have the exact same set up as he reviewed.
iceco 3 in 1 fridge using the jackery 500 or 240 I believe.
 

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Good stuff on here. I have been pouring over setups and just cant make up my mind on what I want to do so I have given up for now.

Instead and for now I am just bringing my honda 2000w generator with me. It's big, weights over 50lbs but will work until I figure out what exactly I think I need going forward. I built a home made trailer so I have the room for it.

It has some added bennys in the mean time. It will power most anything without any issues. Frig, charge up the jeep, heater, blender, on and on. I think even a small 1k unit would work, be smaller and less weight but I already had the 2k unit.

The downside obviously is noise, even though the honda's are super quiet. But where I am planning on going I will be super remote with hopefully no one around for MILES so the only one to bother is myself.
 

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i would really like to see one of these portable battery units get additional dc outputs or a higher combined dc output and a 25amp dc out port so it could be wired to a fuse box to give it a little more versatility for diyers. so far the bluetti ac200 is the only one i see offering this.
 

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I have a Dometic CFX3 35 (36L) fridge, a Dometic PLB40 battery, with the accessory hard wire kit, and a 150W pure sine wave inverter.

The CFX3 plugs into the PLB40, which plugs in to the Jeep's battery. Since I have a dual battery Jeep (2020 Sport S), and since Dometic gives you excellent power management features, I have no concerns that the Jeep or the PLB40 will ever have any issues.

With all the batteries on the market that offer so many bells and whistles, and SO MANY AMP HOURS (Zero, Jackery, etc.), why did I get the PLB40? Because I'm not gaking any chances with my fridge. I also don't need to power a bunch of stuff when the Jeep is off.

I use the power inverter when I need to power or charge my MacBook Pro, GoPro, my Zero Lighthouse Mini (tent light). My other devices are always charging while I'm driving.

I tested the fridge and battery at home, using it to store some food and drink that would force me to access it several times a day. Happy to report, with the battery starting at 100%, and not being charged, the fridge lasted more than 72hrs before hitting 10%. Shocking to be honest.

A note regarding the PLB40, I had no idea it is a Lithium Iron Phosphate battery. I had to look it up, and it turns out that compared to a Lithium-Ion battery, it has four times the lifecycles! Bonus!

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Don
Jeep Wrangler JL Battery Pack  for Fridge Question IMG_4495
Jeep Wrangler JL Battery Pack  for Fridge Question IMG_4494
Jeep Wrangler JL Battery Pack  for Fridge Question IMG_4907
Jeep Wrangler JL Battery Pack  for Fridge Question IMG_4906
Jeep Wrangler JL Battery Pack  for Fridge Question IMG_4904
Jeep Wrangler JL Battery Pack  for Fridge Question IMG_4903
 
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daviddarwin091

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If you have at least a 12-Voltage Battery with a rating of around 100 amp-hours on hand, the 12-V battery will be able to deliver roughly five amps per hour for about 20 to 50 hours before it is completely depleted.
You could connect a 240-watt inverter to the 12-volt battery if you have one. You may calculate the amount of amps needed in an hour by multiplying the watts by the voltage.
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