Smittybilt Artic Fridge

Bobby Max

Bobby Max

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Hi all. New member, long time shadow follow. Looking to get some advice on running my fridge off of a stand alone deep cycle batter. Anyone have any experience with this set up? What I really would like to know is, how long can I run my fridge of a battery with that set up. Thanks. Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
When you say stand-alone, you mean not being charged while you're under way? I would put a digital voltmeter on it somewhere so you know battery state all the time.
Not sure if the smittybilt has the same ability to set operation for different voltage levels.
Can you set it up so you can at least recharge it while you drive?
 
Well I was thinking of charging the deep cycle batter at home and drop it into my tool box. Strap a 120v power inverter and use it to keep the fridge working. The smittybilt operates basically the same as the arb fridge.
 
The question is how long will that last... You could fairly easily run extra cables from your current battery to your deep cell and it would charge while running. Just make sure to set it up in parallel not series, otherwise you can fry your electronics with 24 volts.
 
Doesn't the smittybilt run on 12v? It's more efficient use of power if you don't have to run it through the converter. And it doesn't take a huge wire gage to recharge it during driving.
Just make sure it's very secure and the terminals are covered... I know, duh, but somebody had to say it.
 
It's a 120/12v fridge. Do not run off of an inverter. There is no need to and as mentioned in another post converting power from 12v to 120ac really taxes a battery.

How many amp hour is the battery? My guess is you get 1-2 days but if you run the battery down to low you will kill it.

Put a good battery in your vehicle and keep it topped up with a solar panel. 100 watts preferred.

Read this article:
http://www.arkportablepower.com/blo...reezer-and-battery-life-what-you-need-to-know

Also get on ExpedtionPortal.com and read threads in the power section. This topic gets discussed every week.

Feel free to critique my setup. I have had many iterations and have come to like this one.
I have the following:
X2/Northstar Group 27 91AH battery
ARB Wiring Harness (i.e. at least 10 gauge wire)
Renogy 100 watt solar suitcase
Jump box in case I kill my battery (pretty unlikely)

The Renogy suitcase is big and bulky but gives you the most bang for your buck. I also have a Powerfilm rollable 60 watt panel as well. At $500+ those are out of most peoples price range. The Renogy is a great setup. You just have to protect the charge controller because it is not waterproof.

For long base camp trips I can also bring my ArkPak battery box which has a smaller 55ah battery. The solar panel just gets moved to that to keep it charged up.

You can talk about Dual batteries, big batteries, batteries in series, I don't really care. At some point your batteries need to be charged up. Get a good solar setup and skip wasting gas while running your truck for over an hour to charge your battery back up.

Also, traditional batteries are not like what is in your phone, tablet, whatever. They don't run from 100% to 0%. A traditional deep cycle battery is at 50% charge or less at 12.3 volts. Keep taking a battery below that and as mentioned above you will kill it.

Will your setup work? Of course it will. Plenty of people do that but it isn't the best route to go. There are too many factors involved to give you accurate information.

How large of a battery?
How old is it?
What temperature do you want to maintain the fridge at?
How full is the fridge? The more full the more efficient they run
Did you pre-cool the fridge and food on AC power before your trip? 2 days is best
How hot is it in the vehicle where the fridge will be stored?
 
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Holy smokes!!! You answered my question and then some!!! Thanks for the info, I will run it off of a 12v. I've got a solar panel, but I'll have to upgrade to a large watt ratting. Thanks again bud!
 
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My Engel fridge will run 2-6 days depending on ambient temps before my group 31 battery will no longer start the truck. Although I have all the parts I'm yet to install my dual battery system. It's rare my truck does not move daily.

If your going to run a larger solar panel make sure you get a charge controller or you'll cook the battery.
 
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