For those of us that run a fridge/freezer

[ShadowsPapa]

The USB ports will stay on for a while, if a draw is detected. The 12v port and inverter are switched with the ignition and do not stay on.

I have one of the travel fridges that has two separate cords, one for 12v and one for 120v. I have one of the 'Jackery style' battery boxes and connect the fridge to the 12v port. The battery box is plugged into the 120v outlet so it charges when the engine is running. I cool the fridge in advance with the 120v cord, and then switch to the battery box when it's time to depart. This works well for me, but I just use it for travel.

USB shuts off after 60 minutes. When we lost power a couple of years ago, I found that out. There's no draw detection to these. 60 minutes even with multiple things plugged in, it shuts down. That's what the book says and I proved that with phones and hearing aids.

There's another reason to not directly use your truck's battery - the more they are cycled, the faster they die or lose capacity. The further down you take it then recharge, the faster capacity is lost over time.
Unless you put in deep cycle batteries, drawing them down to say 12 volts, charging them, drawing them down, charging them, it's going to cause loss of capacity to where they won't last as long under load, and take months off their lives.
It's one reason people with Jeeps that don't get driven a lot lose batteries faster than the rest of us (well, ignoring the fact that Jeep batteries aren't exactly blue ribbon winners for life anyway)

A deep cycle/starter battery will do better than one that's not deep cycle.
Just warning those who haven't switched to that type of battery - if you plan on loading it and drawing it down to the lower 12s, might think of a different battery.

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[ShadowsPapa]

I have never experienced this.

Mine will run fine all night long and to lunch the next day with no worries - on the factory provided battery. I'm sure it would last longer, but I simply haven't needed it to. With a very inefficient fridge, extra power loads (other things charging) or a tired battery due for replacement, you could run into an issue.

I think the longest I have pressed my luck is around 36 hours. That was getting tight on power (previous Jeep).

But overnight? No worries - at least not for my rig.

Batteries lose capacity over time. Might work for one person then not the next person. Depends on the life the battery has had to that point. More cycling cuts the capacity more quickly than a battery that's not been cycled down far at all, and/or that's been kept near full state of charge.
Jeeps are notorious for not having fully charged batteries in part due to the use they get.

 

[ChrisNLA]

Batteries lose capacity over time. Might work for one person then not the next person. Depends on the life the battery has had to that point. More cycling cuts the capacity more quickly than a battery that's not been cycled down far at all, and/or that's been kept near full state of charge.
Jeeps are notorious for not having fully charged batteries in part due to the use they get.

Of course. To say 'use case varies', is accurate (why I say it hasn't been a problem for ME).

I'm just basing my offerings from the experience I have first or second hand with five Jeeps (two JK's, three Gladiators), all running large ARB or Iceco fridges via the main starter battery - and it simply hasn't been a problem.

To say, 'it wont work', is not accurate - as I said above. I'm not saying extra power is a bad idea, I'm just pointing out you don't need $500 (likely more) in power solutions to keep a fridge cold in all cases. In my case, I am not living out of my truck. My fridge is for day trips to the river, weekend camping trips in cool months, and for being able to stop at the grocery store, pick up a few things, and it not spoil while I run errands for a few hours. I'm sure many others have a similar use case.

And to be fair to everyone that feels strongly that you have to have tons of additional power - I myself do have plans I'm drawing that includes additional lighting on my truck, power storage, chargers, (etc) because my work background has made me a bit of a vehicle electronics nerd. But its not a necessity right now and I don't want to allocate the funds to that particular frivolous expense yet - so it's just a dream for now.

I've been meaning to post up my fridge install in a thread at some point. I did mine in such a way that I minimize the fridge running off the truck battery without immediately needing additional on board power, while providing myself infrastructure that would be helpful in the future if I add a variety of onboard electronics.

 

[hey_its_briguy]

I guess I should amend my original statement to say:

YMMV

It really depends on your use case.
Pull in to camp at 4PM and not turn the jeep back on until you leave the following morning around 8 AM and your fridge may or may not still be running, or your Jeep may or may not start. There are a ton of variables that will have an impact, like the efficiency of your fridge, the cutoff settings you set, how full it's packed, etc..

Something to be mindful of is continual deep cycle use on a starter battery (not starter/deepcycle mix) will degrade it quicker than normal. They're not designed for that use case. So, it might work fine for a while, but you may cut the battery life short in the process.

Like anything else, having the right tool for the job is preferred.

 

[ChrisNLA]

I guess I should amend my original statement to say:

YMMV

Not trying to give you a hard time. I'm just bored at work and this week happens to be the week I'm testing my new fridge in the truck

I encourage everyone to make the best educated choice for them, and just like money and time, having a little more power to use is never bad if you can justify the cost and space...

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Of course. To say 'use case varies', is accurate (why I say it hasn't been a problem for ME).

I'm just basing my offerings from the experience I have first or second hand with five Jeeps (two JK's, three Gladiators), all running large ARB or Iceco fridges via the main starter battery - and it simply hasn't been a problem.

To say, 'it wont work', is not accurate - as I said above. I'm not saying extra power is a bad idea, I'm just pointing out you don't need $500 (likely more) in power solutions to keep a fridge cold in all cases. In my case, I am not living out of my truck. My fridge is for day trips to the river, weekend camping trips in cool months, and for being able to stop at the grocery store, pick up a few things, and it not spoil while I run errands for a few hours. I'm sure many others have a similar use case.

And to be fair to everyone that feels strongly that you have to have tons of additional power - I myself do have plans I'm drawing that includes additional lighting on my truck, power storage, chargers, (etc) because my work background has made me a bit of a vehicle electronics nerd. But its not a necessity right now and I don't want to allocate the funds to that particular frivolous expense yet - so it's just a dream for now.

I've been meaning to post up my fridge install in a thread at some point. I did mine in such a way that I minimize the fridge running off the truck battery without immediately needing additional on board power, while providing myself infrastructure that would be helpful in the future if I add a variety of onboard electronics.

How long ya think a Coleman electric cooler would last power-wise with a stock Jeep system?
I have a good 2 day show coming up and would likely load it up very early Friday (5am) and need it for all day Friday and all day Saturday until about 11pm.
Inexpensive one since it's only used a couple of times a year - Power Chill 5644
VERY curious - it runs constantly, never shuts off.

 

[ChrisNLA]

How long ya think a Coleman electric cooler would last power-wise with a stock Jeep system?
I have a good 2 day show coming up and would likely load it up very early Friday (5am) and need it for all day Friday and all day Saturday until about 11pm.
Inexpensive one since it's only used a couple of times a year - Power Chill 5644
VERY curious - it runs constantly, never shuts off.

Now that is a load I wouldn't trust.

So, I believe my Iceco APL55 (a 58 quart dual zone fridge) pulls about 1.7A when running. I don't remember exactly, but it's written right on the front of the fridge. But - it doesn't run all the time. I know that this week with my truck parked 9 hours a day at work (fridge mostly in direct sun) my voltage has been dropping from roughly 13-12.9V at 7AM (right after I shut off the truck) to 12.7V at 5PM when I leave. I have it set to maintain 42* as it only has cold drinks in it right now.

Edit: Next week I'm turning the temp down to 36* as if I'm using it for food storage and seeing how power consumption is then. That will be a harder test.

My cheaper ($240 on Amazon), smaller (35QT) Alpicool fridge wasted more power than this one does, but I still trusted it to be fine overnight - and it could still hold 37* in the 120* heat of the cab. My Iceco has literally double the insulation, and much more efficient compressor....but it cost almost four times more.

A quick Google search leads me to believe the PowerChill being a thermo electric cooler (not true fridge) pulls around 4A constantly, so almost three times what my fridge pulls with no breaks.

Without direct experience I'd trust it a very short amount of time, and well short of what your requirement is.

 

[Glad Jeeper]

Here is my 2 pennies worth and our setup JTM.

We have an Iceco as well. I have a Jackery 1000 plugged into the JTM 110 outlet, it charges the Jackery as we are driving. I have the Iceco plugged into the Jackery either the 12v outlet or 110V outlet. It works great. When we turn the Jeep off the power is off at the jeep outlet. I unplug it completely when we are stopped for overnight or long periods of time just for piece of mind.

If we are set up for a couple nights dispersed camping we use the solar panels to charge the jackeries and run the fridge.

When we pull an overland trailer I put a Jackery 290 in the jeep same config. and the Jackery 1000 to the trailer to maintain the freezer temperature. Been doing this for 12-18 months and it works awesome.

If we are just doing an out and back jeep trail for a day I just plug the Iceco into the jeep 110 outlet since I installed the Trailer brake controller in the one and only 12v outlet in the JTM.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Here is my 2 pennies worth and our setup JTM.

We have an Iceco as well. I have a Jackery 1000 plugged into the JTM 110 outlet, it charges the Jackery as we are driving. I have the Iceco plugged into the Jackery either the 12v outlet or 110V outlet. It works great. When we turn the Jeep off the power is off at the jeep outlet. I unplug it completely when we are stopped for overnight or long periods of time just for piece of mind.

If we are set up for a couple nights dispersed camping we use the solar panels to charge the jackeries and run the fridge.

When we pull an overland trailer I put a Jackery 290 in the jeep same config. and the Jackery 1000 to the trailer to maintain the freezer temperature. Been doing this for 12-18 months and it works awesome.

If we are just doing an out and back jeep trail for a day I just plug the Iceco into the jeep 110 outlet since I installed the Trailer brake controller in the one and only 12v outlet in the JTM.

Simple. I’m surprised the 1000 is all that’s needed. I was looking at something like that in the 2000w + range with panels.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Now that is a load I wouldn't trust.

So, I believe my Iceco APL55 (a 58 quart dual zone fridge) pulls about 1.7A when running. I don't remember exactly, but it's written right on the front of the fridge. But - it doesn't run all the time. I know that this week with my truck parked 9 hours a day at work (fridge mostly in direct sun) my voltage has been dropping from roughly 13-12.9V at 7AM (right after I shut off the truck) to 12.7V at 5PM when I leave. I have it set to maintain 42* as it only has cold drinks in it right now.

Edit: Next week I'm turning the temp down to 36* as if I'm using it for food storage and seeing how power consumption is then. That will be a harder test.

My cheaper ($240 on Amazon), smaller (35QT) Alpicool fridge wasted more power than this one does, but I still trusted it to be fine overnight - and it could still hold 37* in the 120* heat of the cab. My Iceco has literally double the insulation, and much more efficient compressor....but it cost almost four times more.

A quick Google search leads me to believe the PowerChill being a thermo electric cooler (not true fridge) pulls around 4A constantly, so almost three times what my fridge pulls with no breaks.

Without direct experience I'd trust it a very short amount of time, and well short of what your requirement is.

I believe 4 amps is about right.
A solar panel of about 100 watts - IF it's putting out MAX output, the full 100 watts, at 13 volts that's well over 4 amps. So if I had 100-200 watts of solar, that would be enough to run it during the day but I'm in the middle of putting mowing equipment away, in my shop and not using a calculator and didn't even turn all the lights on to stash stuff so I could be lightyears off!

 

[ChrisNLA]

I believe 4 amps is about right.
A solar panel of about 100 watts - IF it's putting out MAX output, the full 100 watts, at 13 volts that's well over 4 amps. So if I had 100-200 watts of solar, that would be enough to run it during the day but I'm in the middle of putting mowing equipment away, in my shop and not using a calculator and didn't even turn all the lights on to stash stuff so I could be lightyears off!

Lol! Sounds about right. A couple panels can produce a good amount of power in ideal conditions.

 

[legacy_etu]

Simple. I’m surprised the 1000 is all that’s needed. I was looking at something like that in the 2000w + range with panels.

I run the same hookup (12v) to the Jeep but I run a Jackery 550 and back it up with a solar panel powering my Engel mr040. Works great and the Jackery 550 will Power it for over a day before it Needs charging in high 80 degree heat. Just to give you an idea on run times for different size Jackerys. The Engel is a high efficiency unit though.

 

[jeventures]

I am running the same Optima battery in place of the stock starter battery. My fridge is in the bed plugged into a cigarette outlet I’ve wired to the factory Aux switches. Fridge goes about 2.5-4 days depending on weather (with truck off) before getting low voltage and turning off the fridge. Truck still starts easily. I carry a charged jump pack JIC but I’ve only ever used it to help other people. I don’t dog on the guys with full dual battery set ups because they may need more power than I do. If the main power draw is a fridge I find my money and truck bed space better spent on beer and gas than dual battery stuff. This has worked from vehicle to vehicle over the years…drop in a high amp hour optima, get the power to stay on with truck off, and enjoy cold food and beverage.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

I am running the same Optima battery in place of the stock starter battery. My fridge is in the bed plugged into a cigarette outlet I’ve wired to the factory Aux switches. Fridge goes about 2.5-4 days depending on weather (with truck off) before getting low voltage and turning off the fridge. Truck still starts easily. I carry a charged jump pack JIC but I’ve only ever used it to help other people. I don’t dog on the guys with full dual battery set ups because they may need more power than I do. If the main power draw is a fridge I find my money and truck bed space better spent on beer and gas than dual battery stuff. This has worked from vehicle to vehicle over the years…drop in a high amp hour optima, get the power to stay on with truck off, and enjoy cold food and beverage.

I’m one of those that spent time considering a duel battery setup thinking this was necessary but I’m now realizing it isn’t for the wife and I and the one component (65L fridge/freezer needing a power source). I’m not powering anything else and make coffee on the stove. I can see our camping life changing next year with getting a power station and panels.

So, there’s a couple things I know now.
-My high amp Optima DH7 battery can run the fridge for 10 hours before voltage drops to the 12.4v range.
- The fully charged (13v) stock battery is now on 27 hours and fridge is still running and battery is now at 12.39v. Battery protection is set to LOW as I don’t care to have it as a booster backup. I’m going to be at this overland expo in Alberta and I’d lay all my chips down that someone would be able to boost me if my truck won’t start.

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