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58qt fridge kill my battery

Odubi

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Just curious if anyone has any insight to how long will a 58qt fridge last before cut off to still start?
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Just curious if anyone has any insight to how long will a 58qt fridge last before cut off to still start?
It depends on the amp draw at rest, the amp draw at high load, the outside air temperature, the temperature of the contents of the cooler, how often you open it, and the size/condition/age of your battery.

If you are targeting how long you can run the cooler and then still be able to start the truck, I'd say that is a hard and risky thing to do.

What will you do if you go one minute over?

But if you just want to know the draw versus capacity, you can figure that out by taking the average load of the cooler vs the battery capacity.

Honestly if a mistake would mean leaving you stranded, you need to invest in a secondary battery that charges while you drive and isolates itself when the engine is off so it doesn't draw down the starting battery.
 

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Most of the good fridges will draw about 1 amp per hour under average test conditions. I have one in the bed of my Gladiator at all times and it has gone several days at far less than one amp per hour when it is cool on the garage. (Even on our coldest day of 11 degrees outside it was still 50 in our garage). But under normal use I’d start with 1 amp per hour and go from there.

If I were trying to use my starter battery to power my fridge I’d also be concerned about causing harm to the battery with frequent deep draws. Starter batteries do not like a slow deep draw so I’d invest in at least a dual purpose battery.

A second battery for accessories is the best option but not always practical. If you have no other options at this time get one of those tiny little jump start batteries. I have a NOCO boost in every single vehicle anyone in my family drives for any emergencies.

If you are in want of an accessory battery I have some strong opinions on those if you’re interes
 

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The battery (in the max tow at least, I'd imagine diesel is similar) is an AGM so they're pretty good for discharge down to about 50% before having issues with longevity and low voltage issues. They're a 65Ah unit and as was said, 1A-1.5A per hour is typical of something good like a new Dometic so the math gives you somewhere between 21 and 33 hours before you start dipping too low. Odds are you'll be on the better side of that in Canada where it's not as hot.

My advice (and my plan when we finally bite the fridge bullet) is to buy a Jackery 500/1000 or similar, add an ignition-switched 12v port to charge the battery, and run the fridge from that battery. It will give better life since lithium batteries can discharge much deeper and it's far more versatile since it's portable with a built-in inverter. The 1000 will run your fridge for about 3-4 days with nothing else on it and you can supplement that with solar very easily to push it almost as far as you want.

Most importantly, a diesel engine has higher compression and requires a more robust starter than a gas engine so you will need higher voltage and remaining capacity to start your truck than the rest of us. Definitely do a second battery and definitely carry a jump starter.
 

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The battery (in the max tow at least, I'd imagine diesel is similar) is an AGM so they're pretty good for discharge down to about 50% before having issues with longevity and low voltage issues. They're a 65Ah unit and as was said, 1A-1.5A per hour is typical of something good like a new Dometic so the math gives you somewhere between 21 and 33 hours before you start dipping too low. Odds are you'll be on the better side of that in Canada where it's not as hot.

My advice (and my plan when we finally bite the fridge bullet) is to buy a Jackery 500/1000 or similar, add an ignition-switched 12v port to charge the battery, and run the fridge from that battery. It will give better life since lithium batteries can discharge much deeper and it's far more versatile since it's portable with a built-in inverter. The 1000 will run your fridge for about 3-4 days with nothing else on it and you can supplement that with solar very easily to push it almost as far as you want.

Most importantly, a diesel engine has higher compression and requires a more robust starter than a gas engine so you will need higher voltage and remaining capacity to start your truck than the rest of us. Definitely do a second battery and definitely carry a jump starter.
I have a Launch Edition and I was not aware that any stock Jeep came with an AGM battery. But I do know that not all AGM batteries are deep cycle batteries. And I would also add that I don’t think that a stock battery at 50% state of charge will start a Gladiator. Haven’t tested that theory so I could very well be wrong. One thing we do all agree on is that the best option is some sort of accessory battery.
I attached a few photos of my setup. Admittedly it is a little overkill for most applications but for my requirements it is about perfect.

8161315C-374C-4BA1-A0E9-7618A18F234E.jpeg


F1CC9306-C6D0-459B-9AC9-CB1D0AE675DE.jpeg


0B23A5E8-E9BB-4A3B-AEF4-5647C2C6B07A.jpeg
 

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Don't most fridges have a cutoff when the battery power gets low? Still not a bad idea to have one of those jumpstart battery packs.
 

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Don't most fridges have a cutoff when the battery power gets low? Still not a bad idea to have one of those jumpstart battery packs.
Yes they do. My concern is that I want to make sure, and want everyone who buys one of my refrigerators, does not reach for something in the fridge only to find out that everything is ruined because the battery protection system turned off the fridge without them noticing.
 
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Odubi

Odubi

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Most of the good fridges will draw about 1 amp per hour under average test conditions. I have one in the bed of my Gladiator at all times and it has gone several days at far less than one amp per hour when it is cool on the garage. (Even on our coldest day of 11 degrees outside it was still 50 in our garage). But under normal use I’d start with 1 amp per hour and go from there.

If I were trying to use my starter battery to power my fridge I’d also be concerned about causing harm to the battery with frequent deep draws. Starter batteries do not like a slow deep draw so I’d invest in at least a dual purpose battery.

A second battery for accessories is the best option but not always practical. If you have no other options at this time get one of those tiny little jump start batteries. I have a NOCO boost in every single vehicle anyone in my family drives for any emergencies.

If you are in want of an accessory battery I have some strong opinions on those if you’re interes
I’ll do a duel battery set up as some point but as of right now no one makes one for the diesel. And honestly I cant invest 1,000 cad for a decent size power station so I was just hoping I can get by with what comes in the Jeep. With that said I have the largest NOCO BOOSTER I CAN BUY JUST TO BE SAFE.
 

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The largest NOCO you can buy is crazy overkill. I have a GB70 in my Gladiator and GB20s in my ES350 as well as my wife’s van, my father in law’s Subaru and both daughter’s cars.
 

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I have a Launch Edition and I was not aware that any stock Jeep came with an AGM battery. But I do know that not all AGM batteries are deep cycle batteries. And I would also add that I don’t think that a stock battery at 50% state of charge will start a Gladiator. Haven’t tested that theory so I could very well be wrong. One thing we do all agree on is that the best option is some sort of accessory battery.
I attached a few photos of my setup. Admittedly it is a little overkill for most applications but for my requirements it is about perfect.
Well I've never seen a commonly available AGM that isn't deep cycle because that and the higher rate of charge are generally the accepted benefit of the technology... I'd assume these are good within typical best practices.

And just for the record, my battery below. Not sure if the diesel is the same but mine is definitely AGM.

Jeep Gladiator 58qt fridge kill my battery AGM
 

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TennesseePA

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That sure nuff says AGM. I’ve never looked at mine but probably have the same thing. It makes sense for a vehicle marketed for off road to have AGM
 

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I have a Launch Edition and I was not aware that any stock Jeep came with an AGM battery. But I do know that not all AGM batteries are deep cycle batteries. And I would also add that I don’t think that a stock battery at 50% state of charge will start a Gladiator. Haven’t tested that theory so I could very well be wrong. One thing we do all agree on is that the best option is some sort of accessory battery.
I attached a few photos of my setup. Admittedly it is a little overkill for most applications but for my requirements it is about perfect.

8161315C-374C-4BA1-A0E9-7618A18F234E.jpeg


F1CC9306-C6D0-459B-9AC9-CB1D0AE675DE.jpeg


0B23A5E8-E9BB-4A3B-AEF4-5647C2C6B07A.jpeg
Mark tell me about the Noco Marine battery box in the pictures? How big a battery are you running and where did you get it?
Thanks..
 

TennesseePA

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Mark tell me about the Noco Marine battery box in the pictures? How big a battery are you running and where did you get it?
Thanks..
I got it off of Amazon and I have two of my 100 amp hour LiFePO4 batteries in there. My entire accessory power system is mounted to a 1/2 piece of plywood so when I want the bed of the truck open I just have to unplug the Anderson plug are take it out.
 

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Well I've never seen a commonly available AGM that isn't deep cycle because that and the higher rate of charge are generally the accepted benefit of the technology... I'd assume these are good within typical best practices.

And just for the record, my battery below. Not sure if the diesel is the same but mine is definitely AGM.

Jeep Gladiator 58qt fridge kill my battery AGM
Thanks for teaching me something! I was inspired to do some reading and the AGM in our Jeeps makes more sense than just vibration resistance. Everything is so electronic in all modern vehicles AGM is the common sense solution, especially when you throw in the auto stop start feature.

After all that I admit that was in error about the deep cycling capabilities or the starter battery but I’d still recommend a dedicated power system for your fridge. A trolling motor battery in a trolling motor battery box is a cheap solution that will make sure you never drain your starter battery.
 

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Thanks for teaching me something! I was inspired to do some reading and the AGM in our Jeeps makes more sense than just vibration resistance. Everything is so electronic in all modern vehicles AGM is the common sense solution, especially when you throw in the auto stop start feature.

After all that I admit that was in error about the deep cycling capabilities or the starter battery but I’d still recommend a dedicated power system for your fridge. A trolling motor battery in a trolling motor battery box is a cheap solution that will make sure you never drain your starter battery.
No doubt. This is probably the best possible starting point and AGM with a high amperage alternator will recharge quickly but for anything more than overnight stops, it’s still not going to reliably cut it.
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