Dual Battery Setup or Portable Battery

[Punjabi408]

I just got a fridge for my 4runner and am thinking about either a dual battery setup or just get a battery pack for the rear for now. I did some research and still cannot decide.

1. Battery pack (easy will work for the fridge but not long term)

2. Was thinking about a Blue Sea ACR
a. Good value, but I have read that both batteries need to be the same type. I am trying to keep the stock battery for now.
b. I can self-jump start if I ever need to
c. I read that our alternators are not grate at maintaining batteries, so would eventually have to replace that.

3. The CTEK d250S with a permanent battery tender mounted and maybe in the future smart pass and solar.
a. More expensive but I can use my stock battery.
b. Cannot self-jump
c. Can add solar and smartpass later

I am looking for a system that I can slowly upgrade tell It finally meets my needs.

 

[mrblah]

pros and cons of different setups:

I've done all 3 setups, with currently a ctek under the hood, and I still have my old battery box. I prefer the battery box setup.


dual battery setup in engine bay:
1. puts everything under the hood
2. might have to move things around
3. not a temporary setup. You are stuck with camping around your car.
4. expensive
5. heavy, might make your suspension unhappy.
6. questionable installation if you aren't doing it yourself, or quite possibly questionable installation if doing it yourself..lol.

Dual battery setup but house battery in battery box:
1. cheaper
2. modular
3. takes up space in cargo area
4. can be removed from vehicle to power everything you ever wanted at a campsite, power outage, whatever.

single battery w/ jump pack
1. cheapest
2. still need an AGM for crank battery
3. you will drain your battery by accident at least once.
4. require a jump pack in case you do a number 3.

 

[Punjabi408]

I definitely don't want to stick with a single battery and jump pack. I already have a jump pack at least in case my battery goes back. How do you keep your battery box charged? Do you think that your setup of a ctek under the hood and a battery box would be the best combination. For under the hood i was thinking shrockworks battery tray with the air pump relocation kit and a custom mount for ctek.

 

[KWSRStorm]

I have a dual batt setup with stock batt and an optima with an acr. Biggest issue is the optima likes a higher voltage to charge. On a day to day i have no issue but once a month i charge the optima overnight with the small optima charger to maintain its overall lifespan but i dont think you NEED to do it. I think the oddessy batts are a little more needy than the optima in terms of maintaining.

Once my stock batt dies ill move the optima to the stock location and add a new optima in the aux spot.

I like that i have everything in the engine bay. 1 less thing to remember. Plus i get daily benefits like disconnecting the aux batt to charge tools, phones, and run lights and not worry about killing main batt.


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[Daohaus]

I like the idea of those goal zero portable battery with all the outlets etc built-in you can connect to it to charge would that be sufficient for your fridge?


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[JSparky]

I see 408 in your screen name, are you in the Bay Area?

 

[mrblah]

I definitely don't want to stick with a single battery and jump pack. I already have a jump pack at least in case my battery goes back. How do you keep your battery box charged? Do you think that your setup of a ctek under the hood and a battery box would be the best combination. For under the hood i was thinking shrockworks battery tray with the air pump relocation kit and a custom mount for ctek.

battery box just plugs into the cigarette lighter.

current dual setup is:
ctek w/ a modified bracket for a ARB compressor
shrockworks battery tray and pump relocation kit.


I don't know man. My battery box was way more useful for me, but having a dual battery setup is nicer because it frees up space in the back. Running a battery box, a drawer system, and fridge took up a large amount of usable space.

If i didn't have that stupid drawer system I have back in my cargo bay right now, I'd probably would have stuck to a battery box or a goal zero.

 

[Mack1611]

I'm thinking about doing the 2nd battery isolated by a solenoid. I do like the Redarc's DC to DC battery chargers, but I want to do this on the cheap...

DC to DC Battery Chargers - Dual Battery Setups | REDARC Electronics
Dual Battery Systems - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
Dual Batteries on the Cheap - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

 

[Punjabi408]

I am located in San Jose and Stockton, go back and forth. I also did look at the yeti 400 goal zero. People have said that the AGM model will run a fridge 12-24 hrs depending on settings. If I buy a goal zero it would be the 400 in lithium ion to keep it portable.

 

[Punjabi408]

I'm thinking about doing the 2nd battery isolated by a solenoid. I do like the Redarc's DC to DC battery chargers, but I want to do this on the cheap...

DC to DC Battery Chargers - Dual Battery Setups | REDARC Electronics
Dual Battery Systems - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum
Dual Batteries on the Cheap - Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum

If your looking for a good price DC to DC battery charger I have heard good things about Renogy 20A DC to DC Battery Charger https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Batte...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B07Q5VYPCF

 

[JSparky]

I am located in San Jose and Stockton, go back and forth. I also did look at the yeti 400 goal zero. People have said that the AGM model will run a fridge 12-24 hrs depending on settings. If I buy a goal zero it would be the 400 in lithium ion to keep it portable.

I’d recommend giving Kodiak a call, they can explain options in detail and provide excellent install services.

KODIAK INDUSTRIES INC.

 

[Roverguy1]

Quite happy with the c-tek D250SA I've installed. Bought a C4Fab battery tray (minimal wires to be moved) and mounted the C-tek on top of the fuse box. Easy run to under dash fuse box for smart alt wire. Biggest PITA was getting the wires from the rear pass door through the cargo area in the back without pulling all the trim off but it's done and a Blue Sea fuse box and 12v plug/2 usb/battery meter unit are mounted in the rear pass cargo corner and the ARB fridge is working great. The C-tek has an MPPT controller so when in camp, I plug in my 50w Renology panel.

 

[sn_85]

I like the idea of those goal zero portable battery with all the outlets etc built-in you can connect to it to charge would that be sufficient for your fridge?


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I am located in San Jose and Stockton, go back and forth. I also did look at the yeti 400 goal zero. People have said that the AGM model will run a fridge 12-24 hrs depending on settings. If I buy a goal zero it would be the 400 in lithium ion to keep it portable.

There's a known issue with the Lithium version of the Goal Zero units. From what I understand they 12V output on them are unregulated. So you won't/can't run a 12V fridge off the cigarette lighter without a work around. You need to run two adapters that GZ sells, an anderson plug and a 12v regulated converter. This is with all their lithium units, from 400W to the 3000W units. I have the GZ 400W Lithium and tried my Dometic 35L on it and true enough it didn't work via 12vdc. I never went around to get the adapters because I run a dual battery system but just wanted to test it out.

Yeti Lithium 12V Regulated Cable Yeti Lithium 12V Regulated Cable / Goal Zero

As well from what I understand the GZ 400W Lithium unit, I'm not sure about their other ones, is NOT LiFePO4 if that matters. I've seen some user reports of the GZ 400W Lithium and it seems to power a fridge for around 12-24 hours. Not the best IMO. I assume they probably just run a bunch of 18650 cells in a daisy chain.

A more expensive and better option is the Dometic PLB40. It uses LiFePO4 cells, is regulated, just as small as the GZ400W, has anderson plugs whereas the GZ400W doesn't, and from what I've seen can run a fridge 48-72 hours. The unit was specifically built to run their brand of fridges with the ability to charge electronics as a bonus. I think GZ adopted the opposite purpose, they built their units to charge electronics and people then tried to adapt it to run fridges since they already had them. I've even seen someone trickle charge their house battery off the Dometic after they ran the power down and it gave it enough charge to start after a few hours.

Dometic PLB40 : 40Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery

To this date I've found very little use for my GZ 400W Lithium since I already run a dual battery system. It's a nice unit for charging other electronics but if your intention is to run a fridge for a few days I'd look at other options, namely the Dometic PLB40. Too many limitations and work arounds with the Goal Zero units.

 

[Punjabi408]

Duel Battery

So I decided I am going to do a duel battery system. I am going with the Ctek d250s with shrockworks duel battery setup. Now just got to finish making parts list and ordering the remaining pieces.

 

[666HailSanta]

It depends on your application and environment - do you go out for single nights or weekends? Are you spending weeks out?

I live in Central TX which means my fridge is running 30-40% of the the time when we're in the summer months (aka 7 months of the year here). It draws roughly 2-3AH at that rate unfortunately. My wife and I also take longer trips out of state with some frequency, most lasting a week+.

Running a battery box or something like a Goal Zero wouldn't make sense for us because of the length of time we're out and our draw. Portability doesn't really matter to me because we're sleeping in a RTT and I wouldn't want to lug a heavy battery around to charge my phone away from the truck or something funky.

I'm running 2 AGM batteries - a 50AH Yellowtop and a 75AH X2 with a smart solenoid. It's charging from the stock alternator but I have put a voltage booster in to keep the batteries happy and charging between 14.1-14.6V. I've also got 100W of solar if we're camped out for extended periods of time to avoid cranking the truck.

Honestly, it's worked out perfect for us - just did two weeks around SW Colorado and had 0 electrical concerns.

 

[jrandom]

There's a known issue with the Lithium version of the Goal Zero units. From what I understand they 12V output on them are unregulated. So you won't/can't run a 12V fridge off the cigarette lighter without a work around. You need to run two adapters that GZ sells, an anderson plug and a 12v regulated converter. This is with all their lithium units, from 400W to the 3000W units. I have the GZ 400W Lithium and tried my Dometic 35L on it and true enough it didn't work via 12vdc. I never went around to get the adapters because I run a dual battery system but just wanted to test it out.

Yeti Lithium 12V Regulated Cable Yeti Lithium 12V Regulated Cable / Goal Zero



As well from what I understand the GZ 400W Lithium unit, I'm not sure about their other ones, is NOT LiFePO4 if that matters. I've seen some user reports of the GZ 400W Lithium and it seems to power a fridge for around 12-24 hours. Not the best IMO. I assume they probably just run a bunch of 18650 cells in a daisy chain.

A more expensive and better option is the Dometic PLB40. It uses LiFePO4 cells, is regulated, just as small as the GZ400W, has anderson plugs whereas the GZ400W doesn't, and from what I've seen can run a fridge 48-72 hours. The unit was specifically built to run their brand of fridges with the ability to charge electronics as a bonus. I think GZ adopted the opposite purpose, they built their units to charge electronics and people then tried to adapt it to run fridges since they already had them. I've even seen someone trickle charge their house battery off the Dometic after they ran the power down and it gave it enough charge to start after a few hours.

Dometic PLB40 : 40Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery

To this date I've found very little use for my GZ 400W Lithium since I already run a dual battery system. It's a nice unit for charging other electronics but if your intention is to run a fridge for a few days I'd look at other options, namely the Dometic PLB40. Too many limitations and work arounds with the Goal Zero units.

Great post!

When I inquired about this they sent me a free 8mm to cig adaptor and second tp run the fridge in "low voltage mode", I haven't seen any issues.

It looks like, as you mentioned, they have come up with a new solution. (ugh to add to the clusterduck of cablage)

This is a decent solution to keep your fridge through the dusk-night-dawn plus a little. I have found myself switching the fridge back to the truck power in the day and charging the GZ off of the inverter while I drive (with the occasional forgetting to turn the inverter back on after an ignition cycle)

It works okay with the little extra effort it takes.

I do agree it really depends on usage. I have had the GZ a couple of years now, there are better solutions coming out all the time.

 

[silverslug]

Great thread. FWIW, I just returned from a 28-day, 8-state, 5,500-mile trip throughout the NW. I ran 2 Jackery 160w Portable Power Stations ($129 each on Amazon) and an Alpicool C15 Portable Refrigerator 16 Quart/15 Liter ($160 flash sale on Amazon).

This set up worked amazingly well (for only $418) and allowed me to run the fridge 24/7 the entire trip. Fully charged after driving for several hours each day, I found I could run the fridge (and charge other devices) for about 5-7 hours on a single Jackery (depending on ambient temperature) and then just switch to the other one for another 5-7 hours. In the couple cases where I forgot to switch the Jackery's in the middle of the night, I found the fridge was still plenty cold when I woke up in the morning.

While it is a bit of a hassle to keep them charged and switch them out periodically, I am very happy with how this cheap solution worked out. I plan to add a solar blanket to the set up for my next trip to Utah this fall and see how that works for zero days when I don't drive or start the 4R for 24-48 hours.

 

[DabberAZ]

Super helpful, and non-electrical engineer solution. Thanks for posting and sharing. I just stumbled on the Alpicool when looking at thermoelectric coolers, never heard of it, and searched T-4R.org, and found not only a user of the fridge, but the set up. WIN! How do you like the fridge, it's certainly not huge, but good for key items? I'm a upland hunter, so a place to put a sandwich, cold one, and my harvested birds away from the AZ heat is a win (no need for ARB 60Qt, overlander). Thanks. DAB

 

[silverslug]

After running it on the road for a month constantly, I've found the Alpicool works great for 1 person and would probably be perfect for your hunting trips. I keep an ice cooler in the TR4 for beer and drinks, since the capacity is only 15L. They do make larger versions too.

 

[DabberAZ]

[MENTION=355709]silverslug[/MENTION] - Thanks, that sounds right up my alley. Anything that is a constant for quick trips to the field. Ice gets watery and that's no good for harvested birds and rabbits. Just need to keep them cool, and maybe a cold beer and sub sandwich for the field. Nice.


What & how much are you able to keep in it.