Powering pellet smoker from rear power port

[Jank4AU]

Curious if I were to power my pellet smoker from the power outlet in the cargo area, which battery would it be pulling from? Would that all come from the front engine battery? I'm going to be at my kids' soccer tournament all day Saturday and was going to run the smoker and didn't want to drag the extra generator out there if I didn't need to. I'd probably be running it for about 5 - 6 hours. We only live about 3 miles from the fields so I could easily get there with almost a full EV battery.

Thanks.

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[Mocopo]

PLEASE make sure you do a fallow-up on this. You may have found a use for an EV that I can get behind.

 

[multicam]

I’ve done it with my wife’s 4Runner which has a 400w outlet in the back. I want to say our Traeger is ~280 watts? Can’t remember. It worked perfectly.

I can’t speak to the 4xE but you should just be able to check the respective wattage ratings and make sure it’s within bounds. I could be wrong, I’m definitely not an electrical expert.

 

[dcmdon]

I think the outlet shuts off after something like 20 minutes.

I don't know about your smoker, but going through a restart after the power goes off and it doesnt shut down gracefully (by burniing the firebox empty) is sketchy at best and at worst results in an overfull firebox that won't light.

I'd suggest you test your smoer by getting it up to temp and then unplugging it for aminute then plugging it back in.

In general, if people are counting on you, you should know it will work by having done a dry run.

If it was me, and I'm correct that it shuts off after anywhere between 20 and less than 60 minutes, I'd just bring the generator.

Either way, do a dry run in the driveway before you cook.

 

[C.Sco]

Are we talking about the 12V "cigarette lighter" outlet in the cargo area? Or is there a 110V cargo outlet option from the factory like the Gladiator has?

Regarding the 12v outlet, if I remember right there's a fuse in the fuse box you can move over one position to cause the cargo outlet to be live full-time. My 2019 GC definitely had that ability, and I think I saw on Youtube that the 4xe Wrangler does as well.

I'm not sure what battery it draws from - I would assume it's the 12V battery. But what I don't know is whether or not the HV battery maintains the 12V battery when the vehicle is off. I've heard it doesn't, but I've also heard of people making it work by disconnecting the driver door wiring harness, which apparently tricks the computer into using the HV battery to maintain the 12V battery somehow? I wish I knew more... hopefully someone else can chime in with more info.

 

[Jank4AU]

I think the outlet shuts off after something like 20 minutes.

I don't know about your smoker, but going through a restart after the power goes off and it doesnt shut down gracefully (by burniing the firebox empty) is sketchy at best and at worst results in an overfull firebox that won't light.

I'd suggest you test your smoer by getting it up to temp and then unplugging it for aminute then plugging it back in.

In general, if people are counting on you, you should know it will work by having done a dry run.

If it was me, and I'm correct that it shuts off after anywhere between 20 and less than 60 minutes, I'd just bring the generator.

Either way, do a dry run in the driveway before you cook.

That's a great suggestion. I've got to make sure the travel inverter I have that converts the cigarette lighter to a regular 110v will work as expected. Lots to test out tonight over a few beers.

 

[Jank4AU]

Regarding the 12v outlet, if I remember right there's a fuse in the fuse box you can move over one position to cause the cargo outlet to be live full-time. My 2019 GC definitely had that ability, and I think I saw on Youtube that the 4xe Wrangler does as well.

Great info here as well. I'll try to look into it today while I'm watching the clock at work, dreaming of smoked meat and beer.

 

[diesel_dave]

It pulls from the 12v battery like all 12v loads do. If you leave the ignition in "run" the 400v battery will keep the 12v battery full. The issue is that times out after 30 minutes. So you'll have to cycle the ignition every 30 minutes. I've also heard you can disconnect the driver door harness and it won't time out but that's unconfirmed by me. Also, I imagine you could leave it in neutral and have the parking brake applied. Obviously be very careful if you do that...

 

[Jank4AU]

It pulls from the 12v battery like all 12v loads do. If you leave the ignition in "run" the 400v battery will keep the 12v battery full. The issue is that times out after 30 minutes. So you'll have to cycle the ignition every 30 minutes. I've also heard you can disconnect the driver door harness and it won't time out but that's unconfirmed by me. Also, I imagine you could leave it in neutral and have the parking brake applied. Obviously be very careful if you do that...

Yeah, I'll be at a soccer tournament with thousands of people. Definitely won't be doing anything that sketchy in a public place but it's good info to know if I'm camping or something.

 

[Jank4AU]

Are we talking about the 12V "cigarette lighter" outlet in the cargo area? Or is there a 110V cargo outlet option from the factory like the Gladiator has?

Regarding the 12v outlet, if I remember right there's a fuse in the fuse box you can move over one position to cause the cargo outlet to be live full-time. My 2019 GC definitely had that ability, and I think I saw on Youtube that the 4xe Wrangler does as well.

I'm not sure what battery it draws from - I would assume it's the 12V battery. But what I don't know is whether or not the HV battery maintains the 12V battery when the vehicle is off. I've heard it doesn't, but I've also heard of people making it work by disconnecting the driver door wiring harness, which apparently tricks the computer into using the HV battery to maintain the 12V battery somehow. I wish I knew more... hopefully someone else can chime in with more info.

Found this video on YouTube regarding moving the fuse over a half-slot. Going to try it when I get home. Thanks to Brandon Haneline!

 

[AnnDee4444]

Might want to research the 4xe guys with refrigerators. I'd post a link, but can't seem to find it right now.

 

[Bzinsky]

Yes just unplug the door harness, perfectly safe. It won’t time out then because the only reason it shuts off is because the vehicle knows the doors are closed. It thinks you accidentally just left it on. You can unplug the door harness or just leave the door open. Unplugging the door harness takes 2 seconds.

The ability of the 4xe to keep the 12v battery charged via the main battery is an extremely useful feature and many people would benefit from a fairly large inverter install. Just wire it up off the 12v battery like you would on any vehicle. They aren’t that expensive and not that difficult to install. I actually have one that I leave in my garage. I just run a beefy set of jumper cables off of it and use it when needed for power outages. (I used it on ICE vehicles before my 4xe but I had to leave the engine running while using it)

I’d just hardwire if you plan on keeping your 4xe long term.

 

[Cuyose]

Yes just unplug the door harness, perfectly safe. It won’t time out then because the only reason it shuts off is because the vehicle knows the doors are closed. It thinks you accidentally just left it on. You can unplug the door harness or just leave the door open. Unplugging the door harness takes 2 seconds.

The ability of the 4xe to keep the 12v battery charged via the main battery is an extremely useful feature and many people would benefit from a fairly large inverter install. Just wire it up off the 12v battery like you would on any vehicle. They aren’t that expensive and not that difficult to install. I actually have one that I leave in my garage. I just run a beefy set of jumper cables off of it and use it when needed for power outages. (I used it on ICE vehicles before my 4xe but I had to leave the engine running while using it)

I’d just hardwire if you plan on keeping your 4xe long term.

Just be careful if you unplug the door harness and arent used to taking your doors on and off. Some have reported bending the pins when trying to hook it back up when they werent familiar with it. Ive had my doors on and off many dozens of times with no issue though. and yes, it literally just takes a few seconds.

 

[Bzinsky]

Just be careful if you unplug the door harness and arent used to taking your doors on and off. Some have reported bending the pins when trying to hook it back up when they werent familiar with it. Ive had my doors on and off many dozens of times with no issue though. and yes, it literally just takes a few seconds.

This is true. Unplugging it is not intuitive at all. But incredibly easy once you know how to lock and unlock the connector.

I have all four doors off and stored, mirrors on, ready to drive in 195 seconds! It’s super easy.

 

[Jank4AU]

Well, I owe you guys an update so here goes. Okay, so I failed pretty miserably at this in my testing. I'm 100% sure it was user error but the bad news is that in failing miserably, I also fried the controller on my smoker.

So, I plugged in an inverter (I know now that it was not made for the constant power draw of my smoker, more like to be able to charge your phone in the car) to the 12V outlet in the rear. Then I plugged my smoker into that. I routed the cord out of the window flap where the small tab at the bottom of the rear window hooks into the tub just to the left of the tailgate so that I could keep the windows closed and not fill my Jeep with smoke for hours. The smoker turned on and started working and shortly thereafter I started getting smoke. I was super excited, pulled the cooler out of the Jeep, and was just about to put my rub on the ribs when I heard it shut off. I couldn't power it back on so I made sure the inverter didn't have a tripped fuse. I couldn't get that to turn back on and it was super hot. My dumb ass is lucky I didn't burn down my Jeep. Also, I didn't realize there's a 115V plug in the back of the center console above the rear cup holders (I added them back in). That probably would have worked fine. At any rate, I tried plugging my smoker into that outlet and while I could get power to the heating element (the pellets started to smoke again) there was no power going to the auger or the fan. I moved the smoker back to the backyard and plugged the smoker into the outlet I normally use with the same results: the heating element worked but no power to the auger or fan.

Let me make a plug for Grilla Grills here, they're an awesome company. I messaged them on Facebook this morning and got an instant reply. They gave me the CSR # to call for help and asked that I get back to them to let them know my problem was resolved. They're sending me a new controller to get my smoker working again, no questions asked. When I was originally looking for a smoker, I had heard their customer service was stellar so put it to the test by messaging the owner some questions I had about their stuff. Always heard back either right away or within an hour or two. When I called this morning, the phone was answered by a real, native English-speaking person in just a few rings and he was super helpful. I can't recommend their stuff enough if anyone is looking for a new grill, smoker, griddle, or outdoor kitchen equipment. Guess I need to invest in a simple tailgate generator.

As info, this is the smoker I am using (I have the non-wifi version from a couple years ago): Chimp Tailgater WiFi Wood Pellet Grill - Spring Sale Bundle (grillagrills.com)

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