Dual battery and fridge

[WranglerMan]

Don't be phased about the genesis. You will have some upfront work to install it but it's not a huge deal and you'll learn more about your jeep. Plus at some point the little tiny stock starter battery may drive you crazy. I have the dual genesis and there is no messing around once it's installed. Just plug your fridge in and you're golden every time. No switches, nothing complicated. I also run a 47 ARB fridge and have had no issues with maintaining the charge. The other nice thing about the genesis is that if for some reason you do run your starter battery low you can press a button to join both batteries and then start it.
In the long run I think it is less complicated than solar and recharging goal zero batteries but each to their own right? Whatever you decide will be right for you.

Its funny you mention running your battery low as I have done this twice, once under a controlled situation to test the Genesis system and once when I was in the middle of a National Forest with nobody around and the second time was by accident as I had lights on and stereo going and I got that click of death and a simple push of the boost button got me rolling, I simply love the fact of having this peace of mind.

I do regular conditioning of my batteries with a Odyssey 20 amp smart charger to keep the batteries at peak, I know batteries don’t last forever but I want to get maximum life from them.

As you said the stock baby battery is crazy and a poor design by FCA and not by having two batteries it’s the location

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[Maverick909]

I have the Jackery 500. and a Iceco 52qt fridge. I had zero issues running 24hrs on one charge. on my upcoming 14 day trip this will run none stop on the jackery. while driving i keep the jackery plugged into the jeep and the fridge into the jackery. If im at camp then i will run the 100watt solar panel to keep everything happy. I will be going to dual battery once the small aux goes bad in the jeep and ill update to the 240amp battery. If your worried about it though get a jump pack for your jeep just incase it somehow drains it

 

[Reinen]

I have the Jackery 500. and a Iceco 52qt fridge. I had zero issues running 24hrs on one charge. on my upcoming 14 day trip this will run none stop on the jackery. while driving i keep the jackery plugged into the jeep and the fridge into the jackery. If im at camp then i will run the 100watt solar panel to keep everything happy. I will be going to dual battery once the small aux goes bad in the jeep and ill update to the 240amp battery. If your worried about it though get a jump pack for your jeep just incase it somehow drains it

You might want to keep using the Jackery even with the dual battery. I'm in a similar situation (with the Bluetti AC50, same difference). I've been looking into the dual battery and there appears to be a little problem with it in regard to accessories like a fridge. While the dual battery is a great failsafe against depleting your cranking battery and dealing with the tiny aux battery, a cranking battery is not ideal for low, steady draw devices. Depleting a cranking battery below 50% capacity severely shortens its lifespan. You want a deep cycle battery for that (like your Jackery). You also don't want to mix battery types in the Genesis dual battery because of different charging requirements, so without an additional deep cycle battery you're relying on a cranking battery for something it isn't designed to do and doesn't do well.

What I'm finding is that a much better way to run aux devices like a fridge is instead of using an isolator on two cranking batteries (like the Genesis) is to add a separate deep-cycle battery with a DC-DC charger, preferably with solar input. This is what you're already doing with the Jackery if you have it charging via a 12v outlet that only operates while the vehicle is running and/or charging with solar. So the dual battery can actually be a step backwards from your Jackery setup (at least as far as your fridge is concerned) although it does get rid of the stock baby battery.

Also, before getting a jump pack check out the Jumping Battery If Alone thread. The dual batteries can cause jump packs to fail. Important info in there.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jumping-battery-if-alone.18651/

I would not call myself an expert though so someone please correct me if I'm wrong on anything.

 

[LooselyHeldPlans]

I have 3 fridges, all compressor fridges, the one in the camper runs off a 120AH lithium battery and with a few hours of sun every few days it will run forever. I am fitting a 48AH lithium in the floor in the back of my JLUR to run me 25lt compressor fridge, it will easily run it overnight, tested at 22hrs and then I gave up but all it has to do is keep the day pack drinks and food cold when we stop, and maybe run as a beer fridge at night

Bear in mind Lithium gives you more usable power as it can be drawn down further than an AGM, so 48AH Lithium will give about the same usable/safe (for the battery) power as a 80AH AGM. I haven't sorted the setup but here is a quick mock-up

Steve here has it figured out. This setup is so much better than the heavy AGM battery and is likely a lot cheaper than the genesis dual battery thing. If you could also rig this to constantly Charge a dedicated battery jump starter, you’d have the best of all worlds (assuming the lithium battery is heated).

 

[JimLee]

You might want to keep using the Jackery even with the dual battery. I'm in a similar situation (with the Bluetti AC50, same difference). I've been looking into the dual battery and there appears to be a little problem with it in regard to accessories like a fridge. While the dual battery is a great failsafe against depleting your cranking battery and dealing with the tiny aux battery, a cranking battery is not ideal for low, steady draw devices. Depleting a cranking battery below 50% capacity severely shortens its lifespan. You want a deep cycle battery for that (like your Jackery). You also don't want to mix battery types in the Genesis dual battery because of different charging requirements, so without an additional deep cycle battery you're relying on a cranking battery for something it isn't designed to do and doesn't do well.

What I'm finding is that a much better way to run aux devices like a fridge is instead of using an isolator on two cranking batteries (like the Genesis) is to add a separate deep-cycle battery with a DC-DC charger, preferably with solar input. This is what you're already doing with the Jackery if you have it charging via a 12v outlet that only operates while the vehicle is running and/or charging with solar. So the dual battery can actually be a step backwards from your Jackery setup (at least as far as your fridge is concerned) although it does get rid of the stock baby battery.

Also, before getting a jump pack check out the Jumping Battery If Alone thread. The dual batteries can cause jump packs to fail. Important info in there.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jumping-battery-if-alone.18651/

I would not call myself an expert though so someone please correct me if I'm wrong on anything.

Odyssey extreme batteries. Can handle cranking (higher than most traditional cranking batts) and survive 400 charge/discharge cycles to 80% depth of discharge. I believe the Full River batts operate about the same as well. I think having an isolated deep cycle batt is just as functional though.

 

[JimLee]

For people into solar charging I highly recommend Cascadia offroads hood mounted solar panel (if you have a sahara/sport hood that is) 80 Watts and you don't have to stop and set up panels, it's always charging when the sun is out, you can run a fridge forever without starting if you have sun every day. The Rubicon one is obviously smaller and only puts out 30 watts, but 30 is better than zero IMO. it also doubles as a functional hood black out.

 

[Reinen]

I was looking at the Cascadia solar panel. Great idea and was totally going to get it, but I was so disappointed with the Rubicon size. You never get the full watt rating out of them so in real world use it would be closer to 20w than 30w. Yes, better than nothing but it also amounts to a rather pricy trickle charger on the Rubi. Almost makes me want to swap for a Sahara/Sport hood. (almost, so don't ask).

 

[Gorilla57]

I just carry a Renogy suitcase 100w setup and hook that up when the Jeep is stationary, at altitude I'll get 6amps out of the charger with good sunlight. With the Genesis and AAL setup, I have 2 batts connected to the fridge. 1 under the hood, 1 in the rear storage tub (the 3rd is the starting batt and connected to the factory 12v outlets). The only reason I carry the solar is that we sometimes camp where it gets hot during the day. That makes the fridge run a bunch during the day and heats up the tent. I have a 12v fan that I connect to the Jeep rear factory outlet to cool the tent off when the sun starts to go down and that works well. So, the 3 batteries take a hit during the day/evening and charging up to 100% during the day is needed. If we drive anywhere during the day, I already have the IBS disconnected and the 240amp alternator charges the 3 batteries pretty fast.

 

[LooselyHeldPlans]

For people into solar charging I highly recommend Cascadia offroads hood mounted solar panel (if you have a sahara/sport hood that is) 80 Watts and you don't have to stop and set up panels, it's always charging when the sun is out, you can run a fridge forever without starting if you have sun every day. The Rubicon one is obviously smaller and only puts out 30 watts, but 30 is better than zero IMO. it also doubles as a functional hood black out.

For the price of the rubicon, you could mount a flexible 100w on your hardtop, but the MPP controller, and get a light lithium battery back. I love the idea, but it's just too much money for what you get.

I was looking at the Cascadia solar panel. Great idea and was totally going to get it, but I was so disappointed with the Rubicon size. You never get the full watt rating out of them so in real world use it would be closer to 20w than 30w. Yes, better than nothing but it also amounts to a rather pricy trickle charger on the Rubi. Almost makes me want to swap for a Sahara/Sport hood. (almost, so don't ask).

It does make me want to get the Sport hood (that and the thing is just so flashy for zero functionality add).

Someone, please ask.

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