Power for ARB Fridge

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Simple DIY battery bank with solar...View attachment 103250View attachment 103251View attachment 103252

I like your set up and hope to be able to achieve something similar for my LRD2. Just need more knowledge on the subject. So far the difference I see between what you have and what I want is that I want a two isolated battery system.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Easy set up without overthinking i like it!
...ive been racking my brain, since theres so many options, mostly overkill. After speaking with Jason from @SwellRunner, he uses a 100w panel and 1 agm battery for fridge and starting the rig..hes been using that system for over a year with fridge in the rig full time. I just bought a fridge made by Costway..all good reviews. I paid $339.00. I plugged this into an older 12v battery i had sitting around saturday 5pm..voltage was at 12.9 now today monday morning voltage at12.3. Im convinced i can get away with 100 solar panel and 1 agm battery for my particular use. Good luckView attachment 104949View attachment 104950

I'm like you. Thinking on it for months now and the simpler the better as I see it. It doesn't make sense to me to run the ref off the car battery system when you have a separate battery and a separate charging system be it solar or portable generator. I have both but intend to use only the 100w solar portable unit.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

Easy set up without overthinking i like it!
...ive been racking my brain, since theres so many options, mostly overkill. After speaking with Jason from @SwellRunner, he uses a 100w panel and 1 agm battery for fridge and starting the rig..hes been using that system for over a year with fridge in the rig full time. I just bought a fridge made by Costway..all good reviews. I paid $339.00. I plugged this into an older 12v battery i had sitting around saturday 5pm..voltage was at 12.9 now today monday morning voltage at12.3. Im convinced i can get away with 100 solar panel and 1 agm battery for my particular use. Good luckView attachment 104949View attachment 104950

How do you like the Stakol, what size is it ? Are you replacing it with the Costway ?

 

[Brewbud]

I use a Goal Zero Lithium 1000W and a Renogy folding solar panel to power my ARB 63qt and some other items. It works very well and it is easy to move from vehicle to vehicle. The 1000W was overkill for the fridge but I like having a built-in 1500W continuous inverter. The Goal Zero doubles as a back-up power system for the home PC system. During red flag warnings the local power company can cut power to our area. That would suck on a work from home day.

 

[diabetiktaco]

I run my fridge off an 80AH Bosch AGM 94R battery. No dual battery or power packs here.

 

[Chingon_Grandpa]

How do you like the Stakol, what size is it ? Are you replacing it with the Costway ?

So far so good..i did a lot of research prior to buying. There more good reviews then bad. I got the 41L its pretty deep, says can hold 50 cans. I looks like it can hold enough food for a 2 3 day trip maybe more if you only load food and minimal drinks at a tine...i couldnt see paying so much money for a fridge..

 

[Chingon_Grandpa]

I run my fridge off an 80AH Bosch AGM 94R battery. No dual battery or power packs here.

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Do you run frige full time? Also, no solar to keep topped off?

 

[diabetiktaco]

Do you run frige full time? Also, no solar to keep topped off?

Not full time but I'll go a week at a time. If I keep it running when I'm home I'll plug it in through a garage plug just to keep the battery fresh. I've went more than 24 hours without starting the truck to charge it and started right up. I work for an auto parts company so the battery wa $121 which was obviously way cheaper than other options.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I use a Goal Zero Lithium 1000W and a Renogy folding solar panel to power my ARB 63qt and some other items. It works very well and it is easy to move from vehicle to vehicle. The 1000W was overkill for the fridge but I like having a built-in 1500W continuous inverter. The Goal Zero doubles as a back-up power system for the home PC system. During red flag warnings the local power company can cut power to our area. That would suck on a work from home day.

Yes, I agree the inverter is a necessary thing. Glad to know that a 1500w sine unit will do the job. I have been trying to find that out for weeks now. Harbor freight had them on sale 10 days ago for $34 and I failed to buy one not knowing if it was big enough.

 

[RoarinRow]

This is just to test the fridge..im checking to see how long it will take to drain the battery on each setting. So far its been 30 hours on low....this is by no means my setup lol...but thanks though! [emoji1]

Well, you've got the fridge, that's half the battle lol.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

I run my fridge off an 80AH Bosch AGM 94R battery. No dual battery or power packs here.

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I don't think your system would work for me. When I camp out it may be for up to 14 days without starting or driving my car. I'm not a weekender that only needs elect. for a couple of days. My solar and back up gen are necessary for my needs. I want to be basically a mobile off grid system. If I'm remote enough I may even leave my Travel trailer for a few days for a short visit to someone, the grocery store or pharmacy. Your set up would be fine for your needs as I see it. Thank you for your input. Lanlubber

 

[Reaper_st84]

Easy set up without overthinking i like it!
...ive been racking my brain, since theres so many options, mostly overkill. After speaking with Jason from @SwellRunner, he uses a 100w panel and 1 agm battery for fridge and starting the rig..hes been using that system for over a year with fridge in the rig full time. I just bought a fridge made by Costway..all good reviews. I paid $339.00. I plugged this into an older 12v battery i had sitting around saturday 5pm..voltage was at 12.9 now today monday morning voltage at12.3. Im convinced i can get away with 100 solar panel and 1 agm battery for my particular use. Good luckView attachment 104949View attachment 104950

Yeah a 100w will be good, awesome set-up.

 

[diabetiktaco]

I don't think your system would work for me. When I camp out it may be for up to 14 days without starting or driving my car. I'm not a weekender that only needs elect. for a couple of days. My solar and back up gen are necessary for my needs. I want to be basically a mobile off grid system. If I'm remote enough I may even leave my Travel trailer for a few days for a short visit to someone, the grocery store or pharmacy. Your set up would be fine for your needs as I see it. Thank you for your input. Lanlubber

I hear ya, it's not for everyone..

 

[Ruben Z]

How was that install of the Genesis system? While I dont have a ARB fridge I did use their wiring kit direct to battery for my ENGEL. You can see how I put one here on my blog Engel MT45-Platinum Review - My Jeep Wrangler Project

I didn't use a 2nd battery yet but I'm slowly opening up to the idea of it.

 

[gschlossnagle]

The Genesys install was pretty straightforward. On the JL its a no-cut/no-drill install. Took me maybe 3 hours by myself including running a wiring loom for the ARB power hookup back to the cargo area.

The system has performed well, though I did have an issue just this past weekend when I drained the secondary battery down very low. I /think/ (Shane from Genesys is on vacation, want to confirm with him), that when the batteries de-isolated that the effective voltage in the system became low enough that it put the vehicle into a low-voltage condition which disabled power steering (very uncool). 10 minutes of idling seemed to fix the issue, but it was concerning and I want to understand it better.

 

[Ruben Z]

The Genesys install was pretty straightforward. On the JL its a no-cut/no-drill install. Took me maybe 3 hours by myself including running a wiring loom for the ARB power hookup back to the cargo area.

The system has performed well, though I did have an issue just this past weekend when I drained the secondary battery down very low. I /think/ (Shane from Genesys is on vacation, want to confirm with him), that when the batteries de-isolated that the effective voltage in the system became low enough that it put the vehicle into a low-voltage condition which disabled power steering (very uncool). 10 minutes of idling seemed to fix the issue, but it was concerning and I want to understand it better.

Does your ARB fridge have a low voltage fail safe? I know my Engel I can set the Voltage settings when to cut off so battery doesn't drain below a certain setting.

 

[gschlossnagle]

Does your ARB fridge have a low voltage fail safe? I know my Engel I can set the Voltage settings when to cut off so battery doesn't drain below a certain setting.

It does (I actually ended up getting a Dometic, but it has one as well). Given that it was on the second battery, I set it to the most hungry setting (where it doesn't switch off to 10.1V) and I think that was the culprit.

 

[Raul B]

I ran my arb with an Arkpak. It would max out at 3 days before it needed to be recharged.

 

[Aaron Niemi]

I got the same fridge and ran it off my starting battery it worked fine until the fridge died (only lived about 3 months, they refunded me quickly though).

But when I used it I was moving quite a bit not staying in one place. I don't think I could have gone more than 24 hours without the fridge shutting off due to low voltage.

Since then, I've put in a AGM battery and 100W Renogy panel and 20amp Renogy Rover controller and I've got it so the house AGM battery charges when the starting battery is full while I'm moving. This setup has been ideal as it keeps the house battery topped off in the sun and while moving. My house battery has stayed charged.

 

[Lanlubber In Remembrance]

How was that install of the Genesis system? While I dont have a ARB fridge I did use their wiring kit direct to battery for my ENGEL. You can see how I put one here on my blog Engel MT45-Platinum Review - My Jeep Wrangler Project

I didn't use a 2nd battery yet but I'm slowly opening up to the idea of it.

You cant go wrong but be sure to buy your second battery soon and match it to the one you already have as I have been instructed. Same brand, close to same age, same amp hr. rate and kind (marine-golf etc.) of battery.