Goal Zero ~ Yetti 400 vs ARB 50qt fridge

[itsmejme2016]

Does anyone else have issues running their ARB 50qt off their Yetti 400? I just purchased the this combo, and have ran into problems right away.
The fridge will not power on through the standard 12volt plug. I called and talked to Goal zero support (the same guy who ensured me this combo would work)
and they said its a known issue because of the Spike of the fridge when the compressor turns on and mentioned a surge protection of 120 watts and the outlet will shut off.
However, when this fridge "spikes" its not even half of that?
The fix is to by pass the 12volt cigarette outlet with the anderson cable, and this bypasses the display also. Which means you dont get to monitor the wattage your pulling from the system (which to me, is a big bummer)
Does anyone else have this set-up?
Is this what to expect?
Should i send it back?
Thanks in advance for your time and i look forward to your response.

 

[adam88]

I would think the Yeti 400 is too small to run that fridge. If I recall, the Yeti 400 is only a 33 amp hour battery. The arb fridge probably consumes about 2-3 amps an hour. The Yeti 1250 would make more sense, or replace the Yeti 400 battery with a lithium ion one if that's possible?

 

[biff]

The Yeti 400 should be able to power that fridge. There are tons of people running this exact (or damn near identical) setup.
I have a Yeti 400 + Dometic CFX 35 that runs with zero problem.

Unless there are "known" issues with the Yeti & Arb working together, something isn't right.

 

[itsmejme2016]

Thanks for the reply Biff,
Do you have your Dometic connected through the anderson cables or through the "cigarette" adapter?

 

[biff]

Thanks for the reply Biff,
Do you have your Dometic connected through the anderson cables or through the "cigarette" adapter?

12volt "cigarette"
The fridge pulls 30watts when the compressor turns on.

 

[rob mellor]

I run this ARB and yeti 400 combo and find it ideal. The yeti is plugged into the truck so it charges when driving. The nice thing is I can move the whole setup to the wife's Acadia to use for vacations and stuff so I'm not tied to one vehicle like I would be with a true dual battery setup in the Rover. The yeti 1250 would be too big and heavy to the point that it's not really portable. If I'm going to be parked for a couple days i run the yeti off the 100watt foldable panel and can camp indefinitely. For good pricing on GZ products see Cosco road shows or if you can sign up for Promotive.

One tip- DO NOT power anything through the anderson ports on the side. Those bypass the monitor and the battery low voltage protection so it can easily damage the yeti! Those ports are only for chaining 2 yeti's together to double your run times. One note on this, don't buy the GZ chaining cable. It's rediculiously overpriced and not long enough or flexible enough to be worth much. Roll your own with some powerwerx's 10ga zip cord and anderson power pole connectors. FYI I've never used the fancy crimpers, a needle nose has worked fine for the 15, 30 and 45 amp connectors.

I hate 12V cig plugs with a passion so I've gone through the process of removing them from anything I use a lot and fabing up the end to the 6mm connector on the yeti using GZ cable 98009. I cut off the alligator clips and put on andersons. Then I can quickly go between 6mm on the yeti or cig plug if I'm not using the yeti. Don't forget to add an inline fuse since you're removing the one in the end of the cig plug when using the 6mm GZ connection.

Here's the draw with the fridge just turned on and the compressor running. My 2 yetis both read a little different on the watts when it's running but both run the ARB no problem.

 

[itsmejme2016]

Thanks so much for the write up Rob,
Could you specify the size of your ARB please? I spoke with ARB tech support, and they use the same size compressor in the 37 & 50qt fridges, so the initial power "spike" would be the same. Did your fridge power on through the original "cig" plug
& socket?
I have also read about the bypass of the low voltage protection through the anderson cables. Thats funny that GZ would recommend powering the fridge this way and failed to mention this issue.
I bought this set-up (Yetti 400 & 2, 30 watt panels) through costco and was super excited about the savings and that excitement vanished quickly when my fridge wouldn't even turn on. Thanks to your post, and others, i know for a fact that this combo works and will return my yeti 400 and buy a new one.
Thanks for your time!

 

[rob mellor]

My ARB is a 50qt also. I've ran it using the original cig plug on both of my yeti 400's and have never had a problem with it turning on or running.

 

[Montana Cruiser]

My ARB is a 50qt also. I've ran it using the original cig plug on both of my yeti 400's and have never had a problem with it turning on or running.

Rob, what kind of runtime on the fridge are you getting out of the Yeti 400, it looks like those are only 33ah reserve. Can you safely run them down to zero without damaging them?

 

[rob mellor]

I haven't seen it published but when I was talking with a GZ rep down at their factory store she stated that when the display reads 0 there's still 20% battery left. I'm sure there has to be some sort of under voltage protection built into the battery monitoring and that's why it states right in the manual to only use the Anderson ports for chaining or you bypass this protection. I try not to let mine get this low. However, I have by accident 2-3 times and it doesn't appear to have done any damage to it. Usually it's plugged into the rover so it's charging when driving and if I'll be parked for the day there's 100 watts of solar feeding it. As you stated they're 33ah or 396 watt hours.

I can get about a day's runtime out of it in Utah in the summer if I really push it. This of course varies depending on ambient temp, how often it's opened and how full it's packed. When I was trying to decide if the yeti would be big enough I read lots of posts on here and found a couple with usage numbers:

With min temp differential draws 10.4 Watts or .87 Amps an hour = 250 Watts or 20.9 Ah a day.
Averages around 12 Watts or 1 Amp an hour = 288 Watts or 24 Amp hours a day with moderate temps.
With 50° temperature differential draws 16.8 Watts or 1.4 Amps an hour = 403 Watts or 33.6 Ah a day.

 

[kbahus]

Do you charge the Yeti through a 12v vehicle source or converted 110? Excellent info here as well!

 

[rob mellor]

I ran 10ga wire to the back of the rover and installed an anderson plug. https://powerwerx.com/powerpole-connector-chassis-mount-4 One side is 10ga and always hot, the other side I tapped into the factory cig plug and it's keyed to the ignition. This way I can run the fridge directly from the vehicle if I don't use the yeti and not have to worry about the wire size. I also made an anderson to 8mm cable so I can charge the yeti from this plug using the 10ga wire so it gets plenty of watts. The factory wiring might be fine for running a portable dvd player or something but to run the ARB or charge the yeti it's really not big enough, it barely works when the vehicle is running. When the vehicle is shut off so does the fridge, even on the lowest voltage setting. The stock wiring just isn't big enough to do the job.

When the yeti is low I can get the full 120 watts input using the 12V Anderson set up. If I was using converted 110 it wouldn't charge as fast since the AC adaptor supplied with the yeti only outputs around 80 watts. Another bonus is the yeti only accepts a charge when the input voltage is over 14ish volts. So even though the 12V anderson plug is always hot (so I can power the fridge with the truck off) the yeti will only charge when the vehicle is running. When I shut the truck off the yeti input still glows blue but it says "input low." It's nice to leave the system plugged in and not have to worry about the yeti draining my starting battery since I only have one battery in the rover. It's like having a dual battery system I can move from vehicle to vehicle.

When I'm using the ARB/Yeti in the wife's Acadia I charge the Yeti on DC also even though there is an AC outlet in the car. http://www.goalzero.com/p/39/8-0mm-12v-car-charger

 

[kramme]

I also have a Yeti 400 (actually 2 of them) and ARB fridge 50 qt. I have plugged in the AC cord to the Yeti for the ARB and that seems to work fine. Would that be an option for you to try? If anyone knows a downside to what I am doing let me know. It seems to run fine for at least a day or two depending on the weather. Which was the same as I recall when I used the DC which BTW sometime's does not work as you have pointed out.

When needed, I charge it with a 100 Watt solar panel if I am not driving around to charge up the Yeti.

This is a good thread you started by the way...

 

[kramme]

don't buy the GZ chaining cable. It's rediculiously overpriced and not long enough or flexible enough to be worth much. Roll your own with some powerwerx's 10ga zip cord and anderson power pole connectors[/COLOR]. [/COLOR]FYI I've never used the fancy crimpers, a needle nose has worked fine for the 15, 30 and 45 amp connectors..... /QUOTE]

my comment
Regarding chaining cables - I learned that the hard way and got the "newer version from GZ w/o the steal wrap and still it is not flexible enough to use. I also tried the one with the steel wire wrap and they said the new ones are flexible - ha no they are not! I like to have the batteries side by side. Anyone want to buy these the chaining cable from me let me know.


Meanwhile Rod or someone, if you can help me on what to buy to make my chaining cable or if there is some already made to buy (non GZ even better) I would love that help if you do not mind, I am not that techie on these kind of things so need a bit of hand holding.

 

[itsmejme2016]

Thanks everyone for the great info and sharing your experience with this combo. Goal Zero has offered to replace my Yeti 400, which i should be getting tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers that my new ones works the same as everyones else's, or im back to square one and have to work on a sustainable power source for my fridge. I will follow up mañana.