question about Fridge/Freezers

[Atom631]

probably a dumb question, but wanted to see what everyone does.

I just picked up the Ecoflow Glacier Fridge/Freezer for my beach/comping/wheeling trips.

What does everyone do with the fridge between trips? Do you just power it down until you need it? Or do you bring it in the house and keep it powered on? Maybe as a backup fridge or freezer?

I dont really need a 2nd fridge in my house, but if its better to try and keep it constantly powered vs powering on/off only when needed, then ill do that. but ideally if theres no concern with power cycling it often, thats what I would want to do.

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[GATORB8]

My 12v fridge in the trailer is hardwired, and stays where it is with the battery shut off when not in use. Our's has a door hold that will keep it cracked during storage.

That one has an on-board battery? Just a not, you don't want to charge/discharge below freezing ambient normally. Should be fine to store in low temps turned off.

 

[JEEP4U]

I keep our National Luna in our home plugged in......... use as backup fridge/freezer.......

 

[Atom631]

My 12v fridge in the trailer is hardwired, and stays where it is with the battery shut off when not in use. Our's has a door hold that will keep it cracked during storage.

That one has an on-board battery? Just a not, you don't want to charge/discharge below freezing ambient normally. Should be fine to store in low temps turned off.

yeah, it has a built in battery, so no need for external power source like a jackery, which saves a lot of space in the jeep. I just got it, so havent really tested, but allegedly it will last apx 40hrs on the battery. and I could hook up a solar panel directly to the fridge if doing extended trips when im parked for a few days.

its only 40qt, but I think that should be enough. bc of the built in battery and ice maker, its almost the same size of a 50qt. so a bit of a sacrifice.

as for storage when not in use, i plan to pull the battery and bring it inside. should I store it at 100%?

 

[GATORB8]

yeah, it has a built in battery, so no need for external power source like a jackery, which saves a lot of space in the jeep. I just got it, so havent really tested, but allegedly it will last apx 40hrs on the battery. and I could hook up a solar panel directly to the fridge if doing extended trips when im parked for a few days.

its only 40qt, but I think that should be enough. bc of the built in battery and ice maker, its almost the same size of a 50qt. so a bit of a sacrifice.

as for storage when not in use, i plan to pull the battery and bring it inside. should I store it at 100%?

I think the rule of thumb is store them charged, and if it goes over 6 months do a charge cycle.

 

[Atomic5]

I clean mine out and leave it off in the garage until the next trip.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Mine stay in my Jeep with a couple of 2l bottles of water. It run off the Ecoflow River 2 Pro. If I know I am not going to use it for a while, I bring the power station inside but the fridge never moves.

 

[roaniecowpony]

I have a 55qt Dometic and a 21qt Iceco. Both get unplugged when not in use and stored in the garage.

 

[Av8Chuck]

I think the rule of thumb is store them charged, and if it goes over 6 months do a charge cycle.

I doubt it has a lead acid battery, it's likely either a lithium-ion or LiPo battery which should generally be stored at a 50% charge. It probably has a charge controller which should discharge it to 50% over a period of a couple of days and balance the cells when charging. If it has an external battery charger you should probably leave the fridge on until it reaches about 50%. Also, these types of batteries shouldn't be discharged below 10% and not stored at a 100%.

 

[Atom631]

I doubt it has a lead acid battery, it's likely either a lithium-ion or LiPo battery which should generally be stored at a 50% charge. It probably has a charge controller which should discharge it to 50% over a period of a couple of days and balance the cells when charging. If it has an external battery charger you should probably leave the fridge on until it reaches about 50%. Also, these types of batteries shouldn't be discharged below 10% and not stored at a 100%.

i contacted ecoflow and they basicslly said the same thing. power down the fridgr when not needed, remove the battery and store around 60%.

so I pulled the AC power about 4pm yesterday and ran it off the battery. at around 8am this morning it was 61%. pretty good. I powered it down, pulled the battery, and put it away until needed.

 

[Av8Chuck]

From the advice they gave you its a good bet that the battery is either a LiPo or Li-ion. One thing that gets glossed over in discussions about storage and charging is safety. These types of batteries have crashed planes, sunk ships and burned down houses, they are dangerous.

They don't have to be but most people use them and charge them like they would a AA battery which over time increases the internal resistance of these batteries until they "pop-off."

I.m not going to get into the weeds on this, storing them at the right charge is a good first step and will help prolong the batteries life, but to store them safely it helps if people understand what actually happens.

Li-ions and LiPos are chemical batteries that utilizes a polymer electrolyte rather than a liquid electrolyte. This battery technology utilizes a positive and negative electrode with a dry thick, permeable chemical gel-like electrolyte. When the internal resistance of the battery goes up, usually during charging or a high discharge rate, it can generate enough heat that the polymer will liquify and the battery will collapse allowing the contrasting elements in these batteries to quickly meet. This begins a chemical reaction that converts the liquid to an extremely hot and toxic gas. At this point the gas has nowhere to go but out and causes what is affectionately known in California as a "car-b-cue" an EV on the side of the road providing a spectacular fireworks display.

The thing to be aware of and why its important is that once this chemical chain reaction starts you cannot stop it. No amount of water, covering it with a blanket, or a chemical fire extinguisher will make any difference - that's why they are so dangerous. But you can control where the heat goes. At work we place the LiPos in cinder blocks and place a plastic bag of sand on top, if the battery pops-off the sand is dumped on the battery the sand dissipates the heat enough to protect its surroundings and afterwards to end up with a big blob of glass. At home I have a vented metal cabinet on wheels so that if a battery pops-off I have a few minutes to push it out of the garage to make it my neighbors problem.

If you understand these batteries and have a plan for what to do if this happens then you can mitigate much of the risk. But if you just plug them into a cheap charger and forget about them that's when you burn down your house or your Jeep.

 

[ROK HEMI]

I have a 10+ year old Engle 35qt fridge on a slide out in the back of my Wrangler. I leave it almost permanently installed, but only power it on when I am using it, which I do for overloading as well as Costco trips. It will run for 2-3 days without draining the battery to low. Fits with the rear seat up.

 

[roaniecowpony]

From the advice they gave you its a good bet that the battery is either a LiPo or Li-ion. One thing that gets glossed over in discussions about storage and charging is safety. These types of batteries have crashed planes, sunk ships and burned down houses, they are dangerous.

They don't have to be but most people use them and charge them like they would a AA battery which over time increases the internal resistance of these batteries until they "pop-off."

I.m not going to get into the weeds on this, storing them at the right charge is a good first step and will help prolong the batteries life, but to store them safely it helps if people understand what actually happens.

Li-ions and LiPos are chemical batteries that utilizes a polymer electrolyte rather than a liquid electrolyte. This battery technology utilizes a positive and negative electrode with a dry thick, permeable chemical gel-like electrolyte. When the internal resistance of the battery goes up, usually during charging or a high discharge rate, it can generate enough heat that the polymer will liquify and the battery will collapse allowing the contrasting elements in these batteries to quickly meet. This begins a chemical reaction that converts the liquid to an extremely hot and toxic gas. At this point the gas has nowhere to go but out and causes what is affectionately known in California as a "car-b-cue" an EV on the side of the road providing a spectacular fireworks display.

The thing to be aware of and why its important is that once this chemical chain reaction starts you cannot stop it. No amount of water, covering it with a blanket, or a chemical fire extinguisher will make any difference - that's why they are so dangerous. But you can control where the heat goes. At work we place the LiPos in cinder blocks and place a plastic bag of sand on top, if the battery pops-off the sand is dumped on the battery the sand dissipates the heat enough to protect its surroundings and afterwards to end up with a big blob of glass. At home I have a vented metal cabinet on wheels so that if a battery pops-off I have a few minutes to push it out of the garage to make it my neighbors problem.

If you understand these batteries and have a plan for what to do if this happens then you can mitigate much of the risk. But if you just plug them into a cheap charger and forget about them that's when you burn down your house or your Jeep.

... Or your 787.

 

[Terrymo]

I have a 55qt Dometic and a 21qt Iceco. Both get unplugged when not in use and stored in the garage.

How is the 21 qt Iceco? I am looking for a small entry level fridge.

 

[roaniecowpony]

How is the 21 qt Iceco? I am looking for a small entry level fridge.

I recently used it for deer season trip in Utah. It was a great size for day outings with 2 of us in the jeep. I'll post a pic of it in the JLUR as it's still in there from another recent trip.

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