Will this work?

hdhp

Active member
Will a solar charger that is rated at 330W and 81000Mah (81AH) run a 12v fridge? I think it will And how long will it run it?
It uses 60-70W and 45W in eco mode. I hope that is enough info... I am trying to pair up the two and I do not have a unlimited budget. I also know that I will need a solar panel set up. No I am not going to buy a Jackery charger or solar panel not in the budget. Also I am only going to use this on weekends..... ThankYou
 

Rbertalotto

Explorer
I'm confused, how are you going to use a solar charger without a battery or a solar panel? You will need at least a battery to maintain a constant voltage for the refrigerator. And then some way to keep it charged. A solar panel and a charge controlled will do that for you. I use 120w folding panel with small, $20 charge controlled and a 110 ah AGM battery and run my ICECO 45L refrigerator indefinitely. Check it out here...www.rvbprecision.com
 

hdhp

Active member
I'm confused, how are you going to use a solar charger without a battery or a solar panel? You will need at least a battery to maintain a constant voltage for the refrigerator. And then some way to keep it charged. A solar panel and a charge controlled will do that for you. I use 120w folding panel with small, $20 charge controlled and a 110 ah AGM battery and run my ICECO 45L refrigerator indefinitely. Check it out here...www.rvbprecision.com
[/QI
My Bad I meant to say a Solar Generator
 

hdhp

Active member
I'm confused, how are you going to use a solar charger without a battery or a solar panel? You will need at least a battery to maintain a constant voltage for the refrigerator. And then some way to keep it charged. A solar panel and a charge controlled will do that for you. I use 120w folding panel with small, $20 charge controlled and a 110 ah AGM battery and run my ICECO 45L refrigerator indefinitely. Check it out here...www.rvbprecision.com


I went to your website I like it!
I did something similar with my old Truck on the roof rack to power some LED lights. I used a separate battery I think it was a 50 AH AMG battery and a 5w solar panel. It worked great! However, in this case, I think I would rather get a Solar Generator (Portable gas-less). The cost for the generator and solar panel is about the same or less by $50. With 81 AH I should be ok to run this fridge. Any thoughts?
Thank you
 

Rbertalotto

Explorer
The average compressor refrigerator uses about 4ah on average. With 80ah battery, you do not want to use more than 50%. So that means you have 40ah to play with. So you would be able to run the refrigerator for 10 hours. Enough to get through the night and then you would need to recharge. This all depends on the refrigerator you get and how often you open it and where you are storing it.
 

hour

Observer
The average compressor refrigerator uses about 4ah on average. With 80ah battery, you do not want to use more than 50%. So that means you have 40ah to play with. So you would be able to run the refrigerator for 10 hours. Enough to get through the night and then you would need to recharge. This all depends on the refrigerator you get and how often you open it and where you are storing it.

I think if he uses a trendy "solar generator" then it'll be some flavor of lithium and allow much more than 40ah to play with, possibly the whole 80ah depending on the marketing of the product...

I'd trust a usable 80ah with the fridge specs mentioned for a 3 day weekend trip. Be mindful of specs for whatever battery you get to ensure it can charge from your car (period), and at a rate high enough to cover fridge load so you arrive at camp fully charged. And be sure to pre-chill the fridge and contents the night before off AC power. If the battery is about dead when it's time to go home, start charging it from the car again and keep the fridge running even if only 10 watts are making it to the battery as the rest goes to keeping the fridge cool. Can deal with it when you get home.

After that inaugural testing trip you can size solar or decide if you even need it. Maybe park in the sun and open the fridge a lot to simulate worst case scenario. If you're cutting it close you could probably just toss a few frozen water bottles in on top and still avoid having to buy/haul solar.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
You might want to double-check those specs. 330W does NOT equal 81AH at 12v.

330w / 12v = 27.5a So that's your REAL AH rating @ 12v.

The people who make those "solar generators" (which is a silly name - it's a battery with a solar controller and some other geegaws attached) use "Milliamp hour ratings" based on things like a phone or computer - something like 5v or 3v or something. Not 12v.

Many of them are set up to charge from a 12v power port (AKA cigar lighter). Note that they will be limited to a max of about 10A and I think many of them are fused at less than that - 7.5A maybe.

Why don't you post a link to the "generator" you're planning on getting so we can see the specs for ourself? Most likely such a setup would work fine for weekend camping trips.
 

hdhp

Active member
Thank you for your reply!
I have learned some things since I posted the question...

1st. I will need the "Solar Generator" to have 12V output regulator to keep the fridge running and not fall below 11V output

2nd. The "Solar Generator" I was looking at does not have a 12V output regulator.......

3rd. I am going to have to Buy a Jackery "Solar Generator"

Now, what one do I need to run this


12v fridge.

The 240

Or the 500
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SM5HBK...colid=YATFMSG6A3HF&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
IMO "more power is always better" but if you can't afford it, it doesn't really matter if it's "better." "Better" for me and "better" for you is not the same thing.

A lot of the answer depends on how you use it and how you travel. If you are spending most of your day driving (IOW, alternator running) then you can plug the fridge into the 12v outlet of the truck and not use the battery pack at all (or better yet, have the battery pack plugged into a 12v outlet to keep it charged up) and use the battery pack after you shut down the truck and camp for the night.

OTOH, if the way you camp is to drive to your destination, park beside the lake and sit there for 2 days without driving anywhere, then you might need more capacity from your battery pack.

BTW that is also a circumstance where an inexpensive 100W folding solar panel can help a lot. If it's sunny where you are and you're not going to be moving for a while, a 100w solar panel attached to your truck battery can keep it topped off even if the fridge is constantly running.

Keep in mind that long before these battery packs were invented, many people (including me) used to just plug the 12v fridge into our vehicle all the time. Yes, I did run the battery down enough to kill the battery a couple of times, but for the most part it worked fine (and in both of those cases, I was literally sitting, parked, for over 2 days without starting the truck.) Obviously in this case it makes sense to make sure your vehicle has the most powerful battery it can, and that the battery is in good health.

Other factors that will come into play are how cold you keep the fridge, what you keep in there (if you keep frozen stuff at the bottom, for example, it will stay colder longer without having to use as much power), how often you are opening it up (might be smart to get a plain cooler with ice for drinks, that way you're not opening the fridge every 15 minutes to get a drink) etc.

Don't focus on the TOOL (in this case, the battery pack), focus on the JOB YOU NEED TO DO. That is, you need to keep a fridge cold for X number of hours. A battery pack may do that. Or a 100W solar panel attached to the truck battery. Or a dual battery on the truck. Or just a new, high quality battery on the truck might be sufficient to do what you need done.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
BTW I don't know what a "12v output regulator" is. I've never heard the term and I'm pretty sure I've never used one.
 

hdhp

Active member
IMO "more power is always better" but if you can't afford it, it doesn't really matter if it's "better." "Better" for me and "better" for you is not the same thing.

A lot of the answer depends on how you use it and how you travel. If you are spending most of your day driving (IOW, alternator running) then you can plug the fridge into the 12v outlet of the truck and not use the battery pack at all (or better yet, have the battery pack plugged into a 12v outlet to keep it charged up) and use the battery pack after you shut down the truck and camp for the night.

OTOH, if the way you camp is to drive to your destination, park beside the lake and sit there for 2 days without driving anywhere, then you might need more capacity from your battery pack.

BTW that is also a circumstance where an inexpensive 100W folding solar panel can help a lot. If it's sunny where you are and you're not going to be moving for a while, a 100w solar panel attached to your truck battery can keep it topped off even if the fridge is constantly running.

Keep in mind that long before these battery packs were invented, many people (including me) used to just plug the 12v fridge into our vehicle all the time. Yes, I did run the battery down enough to kill the battery a couple of times, but for the most part it worked fine (and in both of those cases, I was literally sitting, parked, for over 2 days without starting the truck.) Obviously in this case it makes sense to make sure your vehicle has the most powerful battery it can, and that the battery is in good health.

Other factors that will come into play are how cold you keep the fridge, what you keep in there (if you keep frozen stuff at the bottom, for example, it will stay colder longer without having to use as much power), how often you are opening it up (might be smart to get a plain cooler with ice for drinks, that way you're not opening the fridge every 15 minutes to get a drink) etc.

Don't focus on the TOOL (in this case, the battery pack), focus on the JOB YOU NEED TO DO. That is, you need to keep a fridge cold for X number of hours. A battery pack may do that. Or a 100W solar panel attached to the truck battery. Or a dual battery on the truck. Or just a new, high quality battery on the truck might be sufficient to do what you need done.

I agree 100% and I am not just saying that! The 240W SG is in my budget. However, the 500W is not. That being said I am going to get the 240 W SG. Would I need a charge controller for the 100w SP If I was going to charge the battery in my 4Runner?

Like you said I may never need to use the SG to run the fridge. However, I do plan on using the SG for other things besides just my weekend trips so that is another reason I am going to get one.

I do drive about 2-3 hrs to my location and I do plan on having the fridge plugged into 12V outlet on the drive. Also, the fridge will be pre-cooled and the SG will be fully charged before I leave! I hope lol. If I leave from work I can use an extension cord and use some free 110 to keep the fridge cold until I leave!

I really do not want to go the dual battery rout.

As for the regulated 12V output.... When the SG starts to decrease its capacity say from 100% to 50% to 40% the 12V output will still be 12V. (Or close to 12v) I read that these 12V fridges will not run on less than 11V.
The better Solar Generators ( AKA Jackery) have a Regulated 12V output. (So I read)

I hope I make sense.

Thanks for your time

HDHP
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
It's likely the 240 will work fine. Like I said, if you are driving you can just plug the fridge into your vehicle's power socket.

I'm guessing the Jackery will also charge from the 12v power socket. You could have them both plugged in while you drive, which means when you get to your destination, the Jackery will be fully charged.

I don't know what year your 4runner is, mine was an '07 (I also owned a 99) on both of my 4runners the 12v power outlets were not powered when the ignition was off, but on my '07 I was able to modify the power outlet to "always on" with a jumper. There is a writeup on the 4runner forum on how to do this.

If you're set on the Jackery, though, you don't need to do that. Like I said, plug the fridge into the 12v power port when you take off on your trip. When you get to your overnight stop, unplug from the vehicle and plug into the Jackery and it should have no difficulty powering the fridge all night. When you get ready to leave, just switch the plugs again and plug in the Jackery to charge up.

I made something similar except much cheaper. Mine isn't nearly as fancy as the Jackery but it only cost me about $165 and it has 90AH. Of course, it uses a lead battery so it weighs 80lbs!

But as we say in the Army: "If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid."

For your uses, the Jackery 240 is likely to be a perfectly adequate solution. Honestly I wish they had been around in 2012 when I got my first fridge. If they had, I likely wouldn't have killed my battery a couple of times on long stays in one place.
 

hdhp

Active member
It's likely the 240 will work fine. Like I said, if you are driving you can just plug the fridge into your vehicle's power socket.

I'm guessing the Jackery will also charge from the 12v power socket. You could have them both plugged in while you drive, which means when you get to your destination, the Jackery will be fully charged.

I don't know what year your 4runner is, mine was an '07 (I also owned a 99) on both of my 4runners the 12v power outlets were not powered when the ignition was off, but on my '07 I was able to modify the power outlet to "always on" with a jumper. There is a writeup on the 4runner forum on how to do this.

If you're set on the Jackery, though, you don't need to do that. Like I said, plug the fridge into the 12v power port when you take off on your trip. When you get to your overnight stop, unplug from the vehicle and plug into the Jackery and it should have no difficulty powering the fridge all night. When you get ready to leave, just switch the plugs again and plug in the Jackery to charge up.

I made something similar except much cheaper. Mine isn't nearly as fancy as the Jackery but it only cost me about $165 and it has 90AH. Of course, it uses a lead battery so it weighs 80lbs!

But as we say in the Army: "If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid."

For your uses, the Jackery 240 is likely to be a perfectly adequate solution. Honestly I wish they had been around in 2012 when I got my first fridge. If they had, I likely wouldn't have killed my battery a couple of times on long stays in one place.

I have a 2005 4Runner 4.7L and I did the "Always on 12V mod".
You have some good ideas that I have been doing and some that I will definitely try! Thanks for all the great info Martinjmpr!
 

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