Portable Power Bank + Fridge

Fellow fridge friends,

So I've been reading, researching, and come to the conclusion that a second battery is not worth installing just for a fridge. Rather, a portable power bank is the way to go (for my specific use case). We just want a less expensive way to power a fridge off a portable power pack: Jackery 1000 or something like that.

Interested to hear from y'all on just charging the Jackery off the 12V plug in the back of the 4R while driving. At most we will sit a day or two but the fridge draws 2.5ah so thinking a 50ah unit would do the trick.

Or something like this Renology 200ah battery!

What has been your experience with a portable power bank and fridge?
Better to just hard wire the DCDC charger to a house battery in the back of the truck?

I know the ah calculations and expected times. Wondering about real-world experience on this. Appreciate y'all!

 

Following

 

I have a plug in cooler and use a battery pack that is plugged in while driving and use a solar panel when we are camping. Game changer, we love the setup, best part is, I can keep ice to use in my drinks in the freezer side.
Edit: have an Ecoflow 400 watt panel, and river power bank. And BougeRV 12v portable cooler.

 

This is what I did and some of what to consider while making your decision:

I built a 100ah battery pack (solar chargeable) just to power my Engel fridge (perhaps a few other things if needed).

I also ran a constant 12v socket to the cargo area, right next to the outlets. This gives me two options for keeping my fridge powered.

If camping/ exploring in some warmer climates, your fridge will be running a lot more.

Overcast mornings and evenings along the coast slow down solar charging.

If you’re driving every day, it is possible you could just run off of your primary battery.

I wanted to learn more about solar charging so I researched it and made my own (very simple) unit. It cost far less than a Jackery and way more storage capacity. But, it took FAR more time putting it all together, making a mount for the solar panel, etc. than simply just ordering a Jackery.

Now that I’m on the other side of this project, I think a DC/DC charger would be great and I might even do it. But, again, I wanted to take the opportunity to learn more about solar.

 

Ecoflow Delta plugged in while driving and Ecoflow 160w solar panel alternate. When camping I have my Dometic fridge plugged in constantly with other sources drawing various power... never let me down and have yet to feel the need for full dual battery setup. (pending a winch decision haha)

 

Best value power pack for the money right now. LPF cells so it's safer than Li-Ion packs.

https://www.pecron.com/products/pecron-e600lfp-1200w-portable-power-station-lifepo4

 

Here's my solar panel, battery & frig setup. These panels can be wired in series/parallel! Make sure the solar panel you buy can be linked in series/parallel or it's not worth buying! 2nd thing to check for is how many watts your battery can intake for recharging from a solar panel. You can charge the battery in the truck but that's typically while you're driving & not at camp.

This guy taught me everything I know ---> https://www.youtube.com/@Jasonoid

Best Panels around! 120 is great and can be wired in series/parallel.

$170 BALDR 120W Portable Solar Panel for Jackery/ECOFLOW/Flashfish/ROCKPALS Power Station Generator, Foldable Solar Cell Charger with USB Ports & PD Output for Camping, Off Grid Living. Black…

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08LKXQTC9?th=1

This battery has had a redesign but it has the best price @ the 500 range. Its max recharging solar panel intake is 80/88 watts - somewhere around there. This battery can recharge while in use.

Portable Power Station 505Wh Solar Generator 500W (1000W Surge) Lithium Battery Solar Powered Generator for Camping Off-Grid Outdoors Blackout Home Use, OUKITEL P501 Power Station 500W(No Solar Panel)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWTLBZK4?th=1

I bought this frig 2/3 years ago on Black Friday for $450. IceCO has the best compressors on the market. I would recommend this frig company. The Secop compressor has a 5 year warranty.
https://icecofreezer.com/products/iceco-vl45-portable-refrigerator-freezer

This setup can last me 3 days if I'm using the frig as a frig & not a freezer. This frig can be both, just not at the same time. It is not dual zone.

3 days in the hot ass summer too!

 

I have a Jackery 500 and Set Power AJ40. I am able to pass through charge the Jackery while running the fridge when the truck is running. While camped, I can get almost 48 hours of run time on the fridge with the Jackery 500. I have been satisfied with this set up both for cost and run time.

I also have a few GoPower DuraLite 100 Watt solar panels, they fold up thin and if I stay at camp for more then two days I am able to charge the Jackery while parked without running the truck. Just remember if you purchase a solar panel to charge your battery bank, bypass the charge controller on your panel as the battery banks have a built in controller.

 

Hi @Matt83, when you say 'pass through charge' the jackery 500 while the car is running. What does that mean? Trying to power my Snomaster 12v fridge but don't want to spend a fortune. Wasn't sure if I need a 1225DCDC Redarc to do that or if I can just do what you're doing. Appreciate your help.

 

How long does that last before recharge?
How long does it take to recharge when driving?

 

I'm just confused as to if I need a DCDC charger from the starter battery to inside the car to charge a portable battery or if I can just use the stock 12v in the back. Any help is appreciated.

 

What @Matt83 is probably alluding to is charging the Jackery with the car while simultaneously powering the fridge. There are a handful of types out there that dont charge and power at the same time. Lots of the big names - Jackery, Ecoflow, Renogy, Goalzero - you shouldnt have this problem to begin with.


As for DCDC charger, thats kind of your prerogative depending on how deep you want to get into all this. Id personally venture that lots of people dont get a full fledged DCDC charger and just route a dedicated fused power cable to wherever in the cabin to power accessories. Where its definitely a good idea is when youre accommodating vehicle charging and solar and maybe more (house connection from an RV campground for example); then you want something smart and capable of coordinating power in to one or more batteries out.


Lastly, the thing to pay attention to for that trunk area DC plug is power draw. That plug is physically a long way from the engine bay and may only power up to 100W (for example, idk what the 5th gen is rated to). While your Renogy power bank is probably never drawing the 8.5A max equivalent there, if you plug something else in it just might trip the fuse. Food for thought

 

I power/charge the Jackery through the 12V DC outlet in the cargo area of the truck anytime it is running. I have the fridge plugged into the 12V plug in the Jackery. So whenever the truck is running I am charging the Jackery and powering the fridge. When the truck shuts off, the Jackery battery is powering the fridge. No adapters needed.

 

I usually don’t spend more than one night at the same camp site. If I do, I am out exploring the next day and then back to the same camp site with a fully charged truck battery. I have a BougeRV 23 qt fridge. I don’t have a second battery or a lithium battery pack with solar cells. When the fridge is in ECO mode it only draws 4 amps an hour. After 30 hours plugged into the truck battery, the voltage drops to 12.1 v . There is no noticeable difference when I start the truck at 12.1 volts. The fridge does have a low voltage shut off set to 11.4 volts and it has never shut off. So for me, a small fridge and just the truck battery is all I need.

 

I usually charge my Jackery 500 from the 120V AC inverter, through its power brick. That way it charges faster at 24V, approx 3.25A, for an input of 78W. You just have to remember to push the button to activate the inverter.

If the Jackery is nearly topped off during a long drive I charge from the DC port instead at 13V x 3.25A for an input of about 42W.

 

honestly can’t tell you, as I either have the solar panels hooked up at camp, or it’s plugged into the runner when we are traveling. I also have a 2nd battery pack, that I am now using when traveling, and then the big one when we are at camp. I try to ensure they are both full before we leave, but if not, then a charge while driving. And yes, this charges and runs my cooler.
Edit:As I think about it, I do recall having a couple days with crappy solar charging and we made it about 2 days at camp.

use what’s there, no need to add other stuff, unless you go vehicle batteries.

 

You don't need a second battery for 3 days of fridge use.

I've installed three lead acid batteries and have a jackery. It's supreme overkill and a waste of money. But, for me worth it. I have cold drinks 24/7. The calculator is right.

Also, the refrigerator is useful because not having to worry about ice is good, but there are a lot of ways to get food to stay cold for days that don't involve dropping a thousand bucks on a battery system and fridge (more like 2k).

My two cents. I didn't read all the posts, just the op.

 

Truly appreciate all the insights. I've decided against the second battery and gone with an Anker 767 powerbank. At 1002wh, it will last almost a week without re-charge, fits behind the driver's seat, is portable, and was on sale for 949$ on Amazon!

Thank y'all for saving me a lot of time, headache, and cash. It's reassuring to hear your experiences and learn from you.
-Raimie

 

Thank you! This helped make my decision to do likewise so much easier.

 

Ecoflow has been coming out with some interesting new products. I’m kind of crushing on the Glacier fridge. Can be had with its own ~300wh battery, accepts solar, ac and dc. If you don’t already have a power station, but simply need a versatile unit, it could be worth a look.

Cheers

 

Ecoflow is what I have for panels and power bank. The panels are not built out like some of the others, but they specs seem to be the same, and the one I have has worker great so far.

 

The Aspen30 12v refrigerator has outperformed my needs and expectations. Full of drinks and food - it only uses 30 watts when the compressor is running, so only 30 watts every 15 or 20 minutes on Eco mode. Less at night, a bit more in the warm afternoon hours. In ICE mode, the watts go up to 50 or 60, depending on the day.

 

Anyone looking at sizing batteries may find this chart useful. It shows average 12V power consumption for the full line of (very efficient) Dometic CFX fridges. It also gives you a feel for how much consumption changes with the temperature inside your vehicle. The good news is it's somewhat self correcting if you use solar. Hot sunny days consume a lot more power but you can also generate more solar...

 

Nice. This is the new battery I just bought, currently on sale for $299
PECRON E600LFP Portable Power Station 1200W 614Wh LiFePo4

 

Update, a 1000 amp hour battery + fridge lasts forever when charging when the truck is on. Couldn’t be happier.

 

My fridge drains a 768wh pack in about 5 days, driving 90 minutes a day and slow charging from the 12v port. We'll see how it does with a fixed flat 200w panel instead.

 

I got the Ankar 1024 Wh unit.

The grid is so soft in TX our power reliability is on par w/ Nigeria, (Thanks government abbutt...).

Just had another outage last night...

So the portable power station and a 200 W solar panel keep my medical devices, my modem, my laptop and phone up and running.

I don't have a fridge in the 4R, though I thought about it. Didn't want to shell out $$$ for a backup power system I could only use in the truck.

Li Batt Power Packs have made "house battery" systems obsolete in 4Runners...

 

An old thread, with a couple of recent updates … still chime in for those that haven’t committed. I ended up buying a SetPower PT45 (45L) fridge on a Black Friday deal, additionally separately getting an EcoFlow Delta 2 Max (2048 Wh / 2400W inverter). Been testing the fridge out at the house with food in it (non dual zone) and I’m amazed at how efficient it is averaging 21W/hr. I think now I could’ve got away with just the Delta 2, as I will be using a Victron 12/24 converter to recharge the unit as I drive, copying YouTube channel Tinker’s Adventure set up (power to the solar port). The good thing is that leaves us with more options for cooking with the power station I did get (induction cooking element, kettle, Nespresso machine).

 

Keep us informed on how this goes.....I want to put together a similar setup.

Especially interested in a wiring diagram. He said he was going to post one, or do a video, but I never saw anything.