Battery question

4

4RunnerKyle

New member
I recently bought an ARB 50qt fridge and while I know I need to look into other upgrades to ensure optimal running conditions such as thicker wires, transit bags, solar chargers, and the like... What is the biggest and most powerful battery I can run without upgrading to a dual battery set-up.... I've seen mentions of the sears die hard platinum 34, I've seen mentions of the optimas, I've also seen the mention of the interstate megatrons...I know they're spendy.. 150-200 but I would like to do this just once.

I also ordered the ARB wiring kit to enable a direct connection to the battery

I'm a complete noob when it comes to electricals

I currently run the top of the line 24F from NAPA... The premium one, I believe
 
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The biggest and my opinion better battery is the platinum 34, its what I currently have and have had it for over 3 years without a single problem. In your case with the ARB fridge I honestly recommend upgrading to a dual battery setup, its better in the long run plus doing the "big 3" to the wires of the batteries and alternator.
 
4RunnerKyle said:
I recently bought an ARB 50qt fridge and while I know I need to look into other upgrades to ensure optimal running conditions such as thicker wires, transit bags, solar chargers, and the like... What is the biggest and most powerful battery I can run without upgrading to a dual battery set-up.... I've seen mentions of the sears die hard platinum 34, I've seen mentions of the optimas, I've also seen the mention of the interstate megatrons...I know they're spendy.. 150-200 but I would like to do this just once.

I also ordered the ARB wiring kit to enable a direct connection to the battery

I'm a complete noob when it comes to electricals

I currently run the top of the line 24F from NAPA... The premium one, I believe
Click to expand...

How do you intend to use this? If you are going to be parked for extended periods with the fridge running, a dual battery configuration would be best. If your not, you can get by with the single battery. I personally would probably go for the dual battery set up. Also I don't know what the ARB wiring kit includes, but I find there is no "one size fits all" wiring set up. I prefer to taylor the wiring to the vehicle, and needs. Give us some more information on what you want to do, and you'll get a lot of good ideas on how to wire it. Myself, I love this sort of project.
 
On another note ARBs are smart and will shutdown before draining the entire battery, leaving enough to start the truck. But as stated by IBall above... how do you intend to use it?
 
IBallEngineer said:
How do you intend to use this? If you are going to be parked for extended periods with the fridge running, a dual battery configuration would be best. If your not, you can get by with the single battery. I personally would probably go for the dual battery set up. Also I don't know what the ARB wiring kit includes, but I find there is no "one size fits all" wiring set up. I prefer to taylor the wiring to the vehicle, and needs. Give us some more information on what you want to do, and you'll get a lot of good ideas on how to wire it. Myself, I love this sort of project.
Click to expand...

Thanks for chiming in.... I don't intend to become one of those people who will live off the grid for weeks at a time but what I'm thinking of is an casual to moderate over landing foray... 3-5 days at most... I'm thinking of getting a sears diehard 31M and a smaller 80 watt suitcase solar array with controller (solarland) for when I'm parked. The ARB loom is 20' of 8ga wiring that can be trimmed to fit. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of traveling in the search for a job as I'm a recent masters graduate and my field is somewhat specialized and somewhat difficult to find a job in. Obviously not an electrical engineering degree...

Budget, obviously a student one but I'm thinking 500 Max

It's a slow expedition build for sure
 
I run a stinger deep cycle battery spp1700 it direct drop into my oem spot. It's a $500 battery that is worth every single penny. Poke around the links in my signature and you'll see my setup.
 
4RunnerKyle said:
Thanks for chiming in.... I don't intend to become one of those people who will live off the grid for weeks at a time but what I'm thinking of is an casual to moderate over landing foray... 3-5 days at most... I'm thinking of getting a sears diehard 31M and a smaller 80 watt suitcase solar array with controller (solarland) for when I'm parked. The ARB loom is 20' of 8ga wiring that can be trimmed to fit. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of traveling in the search for a job as I'm a recent masters graduate and my field is somewhat specialized and somewhat difficult to find a job in. Obviously not an electrical engineering degree...

Budget, obviously a student one but I'm thinking 500 Max

It's a slow expedition build for sure
Click to expand...

I was going to recommend exactly that.
34M battery, although I would go with a 120W fold up solar panel though.
You should be able to get those for around $250 plus about $175 for the battery. A Marine Deep Cycle battery from Costco is probably cheaper and just as good though.

With 120W solar you should be able to run it indefinitely.
 
4RunnerKyle said:
Thanks for chiming in.... I don't intend to become one of those people who will live off the grid for weeks at a time but what I'm thinking of is an casual to moderate over landing foray... 3-5 days at most... I'm thinking of getting a sears diehard 31M and a smaller 80 watt suitcase solar array with controller (solarland) for when I'm parked. The ARB loom is 20' of 8ga wiring that can be trimmed to fit. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of traveling in the search for a job as I'm a recent masters graduate and my field is somewhat specialized and somewhat difficult to find a job in. Obviously not an electrical engineering degree...

Budget, obviously a student one but I'm thinking 500 Max

It's a slow expedition build for sure
Click to expand...

OK, let me give you some ideas. First let me remind you, no such thing as too much information. I'll assume your overland foray will involve overnight camping but not 5 days on one location. I looked up the 31M and here is what I found.

It is rated at 92 amp hours at the 10 hour rate. That means it can supply 9.2 amps for 10 hours.

In this case, your 50qt ARB fridge will draw around 2 amps, so technically it should run your fridge for about 45 hours. Now I said technically because the ambient temperature will affect how hard the fridge works thus altering the amperage draw. Also that is an average draw, it actually draws closer to 5 amps when trying to cool, which would bring the time down to about 18 hours.

So let's say you set up camp around 4 in the afternoon, you party that night and don't wake up until 8. Your fridge will have been running for 16 hours, and if the average amperage draw was in effect, you should be about 35% discharged. This should allow you to start your engine and start to bring your battery back to full charge.

But if you decided to stay camped you can now figure out how your solar panels will help. Assuming and actual 80 watts of output, we devide 80 by 12V and arrive at 6.6 amps. More than enough to operate your fridge, theoritecally. I caution that most of these things don't operate as advertised. But if yours gives you half the advertised capability you should still be OK. You can confirm the output with a decent DVOM.

Now let me remind you that the output of the solar goes to nothing without sunlight, and parking in the sun makes your fridge work harder. Also 35% discharge is alot, so you want to be aware of how low your battery gets if it is going to start your engine. In other words, get a voltmeter. Here is a link to a chart which indicates state of charge based on voltage.

Battery ?State Of Charge? Chart

So much more I can share here, but I prefer to answer your questions if you have any, as opposed to writing a book.

:der:
 
IBallEngineer said:
OK, let me give you some ideas. First let me remind you, no such thing as too much information. I'll assume your overland foray will involve overnight camping but not 5 days on one location. I looked up the 31M and here is what I found.

It is rated at 92 amp hours at the 10 hour rate. That means it can supply 9.2 amps for 10 hours.

In this case, your 50qt ARB fridge will draw around 2 amps, so technically it should run your fridge for about 45 hours. Now I said technically because the ambient temperature will affect how hard the fridge works thus altering the amperage draw. Also that is an average draw, it actually draws closer to 5 amps when trying to cool, which would bring the time down to about 18 hours.

So let's say you set up camp around 4 in the afternoon, you party that night and don't wake up until 8. Your fridge will have been running for 16 hours, and if the average amperage draw was in effect, you should be about 35% discharged. This should allow you to start your engine and start to bring your battery back to full charge.

But if you decided to stay camped you can now figure out how your solar panels will help. Assuming and actual 80 watts of output, we devide 80 by 12V and arrive at 6.6 amps. More than enough to operate your fridge, theoritecally. I caution that most of these things don't operate as advertised. But if yours gives you half the advertised capability you should still be OK. You can confirm the output with a decent DVOM.

Now let me remind you that the output of the solar goes to nothing without sunlight, and parking in the sun makes your fridge work harder. Also 35% discharge is alot, so you want to be aware of how low your battery gets if it is going to start your engine. In other words, get a voltmeter. Here is a link to a chart which indicates state of charge based on voltage.

Battery ?State Of Charge? Chart

So much more I can share here, but I prefer to answer your questions if you have any, as opposed to writing a book.

:der:
Click to expand...

Good stuff, a couple of things on my group31+solarpanel+arb experiences.

Unless it is utter blazing out, the fridge uses surprisingly little power. And people make blankets for the fridge which can push it even lower. So in general I think you are looking at a good three days on the group 31 if not more.

Also, I've been using a 150 watt solar panel and with that sitting flat on the ground, it 100% re-charges even on a fully cloudy day for what the fridge pulls out with temps around 85-90 during the day and 60 at night.

The 150 watt panel is TOO BIG to really carry around though, I'm going to slim down to a 100 watts.

But yeah in the end, always watch the battery V and do something about it when it gets down to the mid to low 11v range. (Go for a trail ride!) I still have it in my plans to put a V meter in the back near the fridge plug to keep an eye on it every time I get into it :)
 
2014 Warthog said:
Also, I've been using a 150 watt solar panel and with that sitting flat on the ground, it 100% re-charges even on a fully cloudy day for what the fridge pulls out with temps around 85-90 during the day and 60 at night.

The 150 watt panel is TOO BIG to really carry around though, I'm going to slim down to a 100 watts.

:)
Click to expand...

So how big IS that 150 watt panel? Got pics?
 
whoa!!! awesome information from everyone so far, a light is slowing going off in my liberal-arts trained brain and I'm starting to understand what's all involved here although I still have a long way to go here. Im feeling a little more confident in what I need to do to ensure a properly running system

I now have a ARB transit bag on the way, my cargo area windows are tinted, looking at the 31M battery and now I'm looking at this kit from Newpowa thats made by solarland

90W Foldable charging system 80w

SLP090F-12S-2.jpg
 
IBallEngineer said:
So how big IS that 150 watt panel? Got pics?
Click to expand...

I've got two and they are both slightly different:

Checking the batteries

THat picture also has my old 04 taco and my even older 86 truck in it! (All red of course)

I mainly use them for recharging telescope equipment batteries.

They are big and heavy. Awkward to pack inside and too big to fit on the rack up top.

They are ok on the scope trips, I have a packing pattern and everything is heavy. But for camping I want something easy to grab and toss in the back.

This is an awesome foldable panel but the price is insane:
Hi-Efficiency Foldable Solar Panel - 100-watt - Solar Panels, Foldable - Portable solar power solutions - off grid solar system, solar powered generators

A normal foldable 100 watt can be had for about $300
 
Kirkland (Costco) Heavy Duty for 96-02 4Runner.

It was $85, has a 5 year Costco warranty and is 860 CCA at 32F

Also I read online that consumer reports rated the Costco battery as best in its class when tested in 2013.
 
BrianSD_42 said:
Kirkland (Costco) Heavy Duty for 96-02 4Runner.

It was $85, has a 5 year Costco warranty and is 860 CCA at 32F

Also I read online that consumer reports rated the Costco battery as best in its class when tested in 2013.
Click to expand...

I have eaten Costco Batteries and they taste OK, but they don't last worth a darn! Now I'm talking RV 6Volt here, but still.

:pop2:
 
I went ahead and ordered the 90w solar panel from solar land.... Will pick up a 31M tomorrow from sears... With the sale and the coupons, I can get one for 192.89 which I think is a decent price... Also upgraded the direct connection from the ARB plug to the battery to 8 ga


I think this should work
 
4RunnerKyle said:
I went ahead and ordered the 90w solar panel from solar land.... Will pick up a 31M tomorrow from sears... With the sale and the coupons, I can get one for 192.89 which I think is a decent price... Also upgraded the direct connection from the ARB plug to the battery to 8 ga


I think this should work
Click to expand...

Post pics of how you use the solar panel, and the fridge. Be sure to use circuit protection on that 8g wire.
 
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