Just battery be fine?

basing110

Observer
I have a 05 4runner and wired 8ga from battery fused to the back storage area and recently picked up a 50qt indel b. My stock lead acid battery 24f just took a crap. I have not run the fridge in the truck yet.

My commute to work is 35 min each way so 2 times a day and it usually sits on my weekends. Average temp is upper 70s in my area.

I am thinking of getting a x2power 27f agm battery with 105 Ah rated as a single replacement. With the driving i do would i be able to run the fridge in the vehicle at all times and possibly bring it back up to full charge after my commute?

I dont want to end up with a dead battery and have to find someone to jump start me or end up frying the battery prematurely. The reason going with that battery and not a grp 31 is the 5 year no questions asked full replacement since my vehicle had the factory option of a 27f battery. If i went grp 31 it would be a 3 yr warranty i believe.

I have thought about solar but cant spend the extra $3-500 for awhile
 

SoCal Tom

Explorer
The fridge should have a setting for auto shutdown, put it at the highest setting and it will shutoff before the battery is too low to start the engine. Or carry a portable jump starter. 100w of solar would be under 200$


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

comptiger5000

Adventurer
If you park the thing near an outlet at home, install a battery charger and a shore power hookup on the 4Runner or a way to easily connect an external charger. Hook it up to charge when you're home so you don't have to worry about the battery being drained over the weekends and it spends more time topped off instead of being cycled. Then the fridge only needs to run on battery while you're parked at work, which should be no issue.

Adding solar would be a good option as well.
 

john61ct

Adventurer
No matter your charge sources, get a pair of Duracell 6V flooded GCs from Sam's Club or Batteries +

Will last a **lot** longer than anything 12V from big box or automotive.

To maximize longevity, you want to get back to 100% Full if not every day then as often and quickly as possible.

Shore power makes that **easy**.

Driving - assuming a good alt/regulator setup - will only get the bank to 70-80% unless you drive all day long, 3-5 hours after that point at lower amps is required to get to 100% Full.

That's what's good about solar, an hour or two of dino juice in the morning, then just a couple panels for the rest of the day, can boondock til the cows come home.

There are specialist battery chemistries that don't need to get to 100%, but they cost a lot more than a couple panels.
 

basing110

Observer
Looking at solar chargers I've been thinking of getting the victron mppt 75 15 and a Bluetooth dongle so I can monitor what the solar is actually doing the only issue is I'm not sure what panel to use because I wanted to be super flush with the roof of my car or maybe a foldable one will work underneath my front windshield?
 

whitenoise

Adventurer
I have run a far cheaper 96Ah single AGM in my 100 series under these exact conditions, with a much larger fridge. The only time the battery goes soft (i.e. 12.1V or under, still enough to start but not great for battery life) is after the weekend. You might be fine with the smaller Indel (read this though) and what appears to be a better quality AGM (the weight is a good indicator), but I would supplement your setup with a small 25 or 50w flexible solar panel that will help with battery life on the weekends. I wired a small SAE connector that is accessible at the front bumper, so I can plug in my panel as needed and move it around to maximize sun exposure throughout the day (mounting a solar panel permanently to the roof means you can never park in the shade).
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
Since nobody has asked....

It sounds like you are using the fridge at your place of work, am I reading that right?
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As others have said, the Indel-B has a voltage cutoff switch, you can set it to the highest cutoff and this may protect your battery - but at the cost of letting your food spoil. .
What are you using the fridge for? Is there any possibility of 120vAC power at work? Whenever we camp I always carry extra outdoor extension cords, so if we are at a location that has 120v AC power, I run an extension cord to the fridge, that way it's not running on my battery.
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There are a lot of variables when it comes to how much power you needs. For example, back in 2015 when I still had my 4runner with it's factory battery (probably a ~55ah) the wife and I went to Niagara Falls (Canadian side.) We parked in the sun and spent the whole day walking around and seeing the sights. By the time we got back to the truck, the fridge was showing the dreaded ER message (error: This is the message that displays when the voltage drops below the cutoff amount and the fridge shuts off.) I opened the fridge and the temp inside that showed on the cheap fridge thermometer was 55, so as a precaution we threw out our perishables. Other times I've seen the ER message but when I checked the temp was only at about 40 (we normally set the fridge at 32 or 30.) Since it was showing 40 degrees I figured the food was OK so we didn't throw out the milk or cheese.
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If the stuff you're keeping in the fridge is non-perishable (soft drinks and such) then obviously this isn't as important an issue. Nevertheless, if you're going to be running the fridge while you work, a portable jump starter is a good idea anyway (heck I have a dual battery and I still carry one.)
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Another reason for a portable jump starter, it might not be for you . Say you run into someone who needs a jump start, no need to maneuver your vehicle close to theirs and mess with jumper cables, just take the portable jump starter over and start them right up.
 

Nd4SpdSe

Adventurer, eh?
On my Xterra, I run dual batteries (but no fridge) but they're split with an isolator, so I can drain the 2nd battery without affecting the primary starting battery. If the starting battery is dead, I can boost with the secondary with a switch override. If they're both dead, then I darn messed up, haha!
 

basing110

Observer
Thank you guys for the replies. I may end up getting a jump starter anyways as a back up. Still thinking of some type of solar.. Will a 100w foldable work underneath the front windsheild glass?

I really just like the idea of having the fridge just in my car and running for cold drinks and food. Got kids and i go all over the place to keep them entertained and being able to just have stuff in the car at all times would be a huge convenience. Cold water before and after hiking ,themeparks etc...

I dont want to run a dual battery just due to the cost of it all..plus i also have a sequoia for big trips and would like to do a similar setup like the 4runner and just move the fridge to that vehicle for trips in that.

Dual battery kits and solar in 2 vehicles would be alot of money compared to just a single battery and solar in both.
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
Thank you guys for the replies. I may end up getting a jump starter anyways as a back up. Still thinking of some type of solar.. Will a 100w foldable work underneath the front windsheild glass?
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Hmmmm...interesting idea. I never thought of putting the panel under the windshield glass. I'm assuming the tint in the glass would attenuate the solar energy at least a little bit but I'm not sure. I may have to try that and see if it works.
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I really just like the idea of having the fridge just in my car and running for cold drinks and food. Got kids and i go all over the place to keep them entertained and being able to just have stuff in the car at all times would be a huge convenience. Cold water before and after hiking ,themeparks etc...
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Understandable. So here are a few considerations that you'd have to factor in: How long (longest) will your vehicle be parked in the sun with the fridge running, vs. how long driving? What is your alternator output? And will you be putting perishables (milk, cheese, meat) in the fridge? All of these variables will factor in to whether your setup will work.
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For example, if you know you'll be driving 4 - 5 hours, you have a decent output alternator (say 120+A) and you only plan on keeping non-perishables (which means you can set the fridge temp at, say, 40 degrees and the voltage cutoff to "high") then you're probably good to go on whatever battery you're running now. OTOH, if you know you'll only be traveling an hour, then sitting for 8+ hours in the hot sun, have a marginal alternator, and need to keep cheese and milk in the fridge, then it likely would not work. So these are all the variables you have to take into consideration.
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I dont want to run a dual battery just due to the cost of it all..plus i also have a sequoia for big trips and would like to do a similar setup like the 4runner and just move the fridge to that vehicle for trips in that.
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Dual battery kits and solar in 2 vehicles would be alot of money compared to just a single battery and solar in both.
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Having gone through the dual battery setup last year, I agree with you. It's expensive and very involved.
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Not to toot my own horn or nothin' :eek: but you might want to take a look at my thread here: http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...v-power-socket-quot-Poor-Man-s-Goal-Zero-quot I'm basically trying to do something similar, i.e. create a portable system that will let me run a fridge without having to go through the hassle of a dual battery setup.
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As far as the battery goes, if it was me I'd say to hell with the warranty and get the biggest honking battery that will fit in the battery compartment. Then get a decent jump starter for $125 or so and call it good.
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Incidentally I picked up a folding 100w solar kit for around $200 and I've used it several times - seems to work fine. Here is the link to the one I got:
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XWL79L7/ref=sr_ph_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505920009&sr=sr-1&keywords=hqst+100w
 

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