Goal Zero Yeti 400 Experiences?

[ChadHahn]

Domestic use Danfross BD35F compressors, which are very efficient compressors. They can draw as low a 2amp per hour. Depending on the ambient temperature and the temperature you have chosen the fridge to work too, then you can reliably run the fridge for weeks, assuming you have good daylight. The problem i found is that opening and closing meant consumption increased, and there are some known problems with that compressor model. IMHO it is still one of the best on the market, but if you are running it 24/7 in the Sahara Desert then your milage might be different.

When I was testing out the Yeti and Dometic in Tucson before the trip, the fridge would use 20 percent of the battery overnight in my garage. Charging with my 100W panels most of the day would keep the fridge going and the Yeti charged. This was just testing the system not opening or closing the lid on the fridge.

Chad

 

[snowblind]

Update @ the 3-Year Mark

Hey Everybody.

Here is an update from season number three with the Yeti 400. We just got back from 2 nights camping. The Yeti and my Whytner Dual Zone fridge moved from the air conditioned comfort of the Suburban to the 100º heat of the trailer. The end result was not pretty. It only took 3 hours to totally drain the Yeti. :-( Luckily I have an aux battery in the truck so I just ran the fridge off that and switched the Yeti to LED lighting duties.

It's not really a surprise that this happened. I definitely didn't baby the Yeti over the last few years. I hammered on it when camping and didn't always keep it properly charged. A replacement battery is <$100 and that should take care of the problem.




Matt

 

[fog cutter]

new to all this e-lectrics stuff. is this the type of load that a Yeti 400 is expected to haul? or just a maintenance type parts replacement? from what i've read about batteries, there seems to be a rated/ expected number of charges in its life cycle.

 

[snowblind]

new to all this e-lectrics stuff. is this the type of load that a Yeti 400 is expected to haul? or just a maintenance type parts replacement? from what i've read about batteries, there seems to be a rated/ expected number of charges in its life cycle.

A fridge is a reasonable load for the Yeti 400 with a good battery. The battery in mine is just no good anymore.

Running ANY battery down below 11 volts is bad for the battery and will reduce the batteries lifespan or kill it completely. To get the most power Goal Zero lets you use the battery down below 11v. They spec a "deep-cycle" battery to help with lifespan but if you suck the Yeti dead every time you use it you WILL shorten the battery lifespan.

I ran my Yeti dead MANY times and I also left it at a low state of charge for a couple of months. This is VERY bad for the battery.

Replacement battery from Goal Zero (Vision 6FM33HDX) is $80 @ http://www.goalzero.com/p/327/goal-zero-yeti-400-replacement-battery



Matt

 

[fog cutter]

seems like a fair price for a "heart transplant". apparently these yeti (yetuses?) can take some punishment.

 

[snowblind]

New Yeti 400 in da house!

Long story short... I went in to purchase a new battery for my 3-year old Yeti 400 and Goal Zero decided to replace it with a brand new YETI 400 for FREE!!! :Wow1::Wow1::Wow1: My situation was a little unique but this was definitely customer service waaaaay above and beyond what I deserved. Hats of to Goal Zero for taking care of the customer.




Matt

 

[GeoRoss]

Long story short... I went in to purchase a new battery for my 3-year old Yeti 400 and Goal Zero decided to replace it with a brand new YETI 400 for FREE!!! :Wow1::Wow1::Wow1: My situation was a little unique but this was definitely customer service waaaaay above and beyond what I deserved. Hats of to Goal Zero for taking care of the customer.

View attachment 302214


Matt

I have had a similar fantastic customer service experience with Goal Zero too. I was headed off to do field work and my old Sherpa 50 died two days before I was scheduled to go. I had a replacement the next day. A brand new Sherpa 50 with all the new connectors.

 

[Longtallsally]

A bit of a technical question. We have started using the Yeti as a local charge station in my office for phones and iPads and the like. Last night I plugged 2 iPads into the USB ports and it started acting all wonky- would stay normal, then stop charging both then come on again, etc. Battery was mostly charged and these were 2 relatively new iPads. I figured they were just asking for too much juice: ~20w or so.

Am I correct? I took one off the USB and put it on AC and it stopped, thus my thoughts I was just asking for too much.

 

[rcharrette]

Hi All, I have a few questions about the Yeti 400. Hoping you all can help. First off, we have a 27' Kodiak camper and a Yamaha 2000W generator. My goal is to keep the generator to power the microwave and other potential larger loads as well as charge the Yeti if solar charging can not keep up.
The Yeti 400 would be used to:
- Keep the power topped up on 3 MacBook Pro's that we use for work/school on the road.
-Keep power topped up on 3 IPads
-run the stereo a few hours a day.
1) When I'm at a campground with power I plug in my power cord from the camper to the power source. This charges my batteries and allows me to use the 110V plugs in the camper for computers etc. If I set up the Yeti outside can O just plug my camper into it and expect to get the same result's? Use of 110V plugs and battery charging on camper.
2)If we run the Yeti low can I leave it plugged to the camper and connect my generator to it to charge it faster?
3) Do I have to use goal Zero solar panels with it? I plan to buy just the power pack and get panels after.
4) What is the largest panel I can use for quickest charging?
I've been hesitant for a long time about Solar as we are a family of 4 working on the road and road schooling a 10yr old. We consume some power!

Thanks,

 

[snowblind]

A bit of a technical question. We have started using the Yeti as a local charge station in my office for phones and iPads and the like. Last night I plugged 2 iPads into the USB ports and it started acting all wonky- would stay normal, then stop charging both then come on again, etc. Battery was mostly charged and these were 2 relatively new iPads. I figured they were just asking for too much juice: ~20w or so.

Am I correct? I took one off the USB and put it on AC and it stopped, thus my thoughts I was just asking for too much.

Were the USB ports turning off or were the ipads signalling that charging was turning off? Were the tablet batteries are near full? I have never had a problem charging multiple tablets from the USB.

The specs say "5V, up to 2.1A (10W max), regulated" The latest Apple devices ship with a wall charger specced at "5.2V, up to 2.4A (12W max)" Yeti should be able to keep up fine.

I just plugged my 70% new droid phone in with other port empty and it's pulling 5W @ 0.4A.

Added a 100% ipad3 downloading updates and it's now 15W @ 1.2A

Removed droid phone and with 100% ipad3 downloading updates with other port empty it's now 10W @ 0.8A

The Yeti 400 can push out a lot of power but the USB on there is a little behind the Apple spec. Maybe plug a power strip into the inverter port and plug in the ipad chargers in there. From my experience phones draw about 7W max so you could keep them connected to the USB.



Matt

 

[snowblind]

The Yeti 400 would be used to:
- Keep the power topped up on 3 MacBook Pro's that we use for work/school on the road.
-Keep power topped up on 3 IPads
-run the stereo a few hours a day.

Sounds good. What sort of stereo? Portable or bigger?

1) When I'm at a campground with power I plug in my power cord from the camper to the power source. This charges my batteries and allows me to use the 110V plugs in the camper for computers etc. If I set up the Yeti outside can O just plug my camper into it and expect to get the same result's? Use of 110V plugs and battery charging on camper.

Yes and no. You could probably run some lights and other light 110V use but that would be inefficient and you don't want the Yeti trying to charge your camper batteries. The Yeti 400 is better viewed as a self-contained and portable source... You can have computer charging, stereo, lighting, etc in the camper, OR outside the camper, OR in the truck, OR in someone elses truck, OR...

2)If we run the Yeti low can I leave it plugged to the camper and connect my generator to it to charge it faster?

Most definitely. You would charge with the power brick via 110V output at the generator for a max of about 70W. Goal Zero sells a splitter that allows up to 4 charging inputs So you could plug in the 110V charger AND solar AND a 12V car input. Max combined charge allowed is 120W.

NOTE: I use direct 12V car charging and pull over 120W through a single wire. You may find it better to charge via the truck than the genni.

3) Do I have to use goal Zero solar panels with it? I plan to buy just the power pack and get panels after.

I went for 2 years with no solar panels. You only really need if you want to camp for multidays and not run the vehicle/generator. You don't HAVE to use GZ panels but they do have a special connector that makes it easy. Using other panels usually requires making some adapters.

4) What is the largest panel I can use for quickest charging?
I've been hesitant for a long time about Solar as we are a family of 4 working on the road and road schooling a 10yr old. We consume some power!
Thanks,

Yeti400 maxes out at 120W charging regardless of source.

You have to analyze your exact scenario to understand what benefits you can get from solar. You have a big camper that probably already has a couple of big batteries. If you usually camp in areas where the camper is in the sun then roof mounted panels make a lot of sense.

The Yeti 400 is a really good tool but for your needs you may be better to add a solar controller to your existing camper batteries. Something like this http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LBCVL4?keywords=Ctek dual&qid=1444925519&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 allows that. Combined with some USB outlets and you could have a built-in system in the camper that achieves a lot of what a Yeti400 does while maintaining all the normal "camper" conveniences.

On the other hand... If you are willing to use the Yeti400 just for charging devices and laptops and running some LED lights or other 12v items then I think it could serve you well. Just be realistic.

 

[Maxcustody]

I have to agree with the customer service from Goal Zero, OUTSTANDING!

Sent from my Roof Top Tent

 

[rcharrette]

Thanks for the response Snowblind. I really like the idea of the Goal Zero but it looks like for our purposes a dedicated solar system may be better. I really can't have the battery pack inside the camper and it looks like with the Goal Zero it would need to be in here.
Thanks again,

 

[createthis]

Yeti400 maxes out at 120W charging regardless of source.

Solar charge controllers don't really care about watts. That's marketing speak. They care about volts and amps. The Yeti 400 will handle 200W solar input in summer. Here's video proof: [video]https://youtu.be/SaEm77e9WPI[/video]

 

[mofo989]

Hi,

I recently got a Goal Zero Yeti 400. I wanted to know the current draw when the vehicle engine is OFF (that is when the alternator is not running and the voltage drops below the 14v min input). Their customer service, while friendly, was not helpful at all in answering this question. I found that indeed the Yeti input switches off at about 13.95 volts, and measured a current draw of 1.8mA in this "low" state. This is a TINY draw and so basically the 14v input threshold acts a perfect isolator from the starter battery of a vehicle. That is, you can leave the Yeti 400 plugged in to a vehicle 12v accessory outlet ALL THE TIME and you will never kill your starter battery.

Once the engine is started, the voltage becomes high enough to charge and it will draw upwards of ~9Amps (or 125 watts) automatically. No separate isolator needed. Note that the Yeti 400 manual says "Car charger (30W) 13 hrs" which seems completely incorrect since I pull 120W from the 12V car adapter accessory they sell. I called CS again about this, and they couldn't explain it but I think they are not knowledgable about the product rather than it being an invalid use case. This seems to be a great in-vehicle solution. My guess is the 30W/13 hours is an error from some other product. This setup should charger faster than the current-limited 5A wall charger, which is quoted to take about 5 hours.