Question regarding powering fridge........

[Jevy]

Hey everyone,

I am a kayak fisherman that is planning to fish/camp several weekends this year. I have an Iceco 45L fridge that I am wanting to power. I currently have a DIY box with a 100AH Litime Mini battery. I am primarily only concerned with powering the fridge for 3-5 days on average. I have a Hyndai Santa Cruz and have looked into adding a DC to DC charger but I'm a bit intimidated by the complexity of the install. I am considering two things:

1. adding a second 100ah battery in parallel to make sure it will last several days or

2. buying a 200w portable solar panel system to charge the system while parked

Am I heading in the right direction here? I wish I had a way to monitor the existing battery's state of charge but I have not been able to figure out exactly what's needed. Do y'all think I need to add the second battery or just do solar or both? I'm trying to stay on a budget and can really do only one or the other at this time. The panels I'm looking at are on sale and include a charge controller as well.

Thoughts???

 

[NatersXJ6]

If you can stay in the sun the panels will win out no problem. I have 200W with an MPPT on the roof of my Jeep and run a fridge and several other full-time power accessories off of the 100 Amp-hour? Might actually be 90? starting battery for years at a time with no concerns or issues at all.

I just got off a plane from an 8-day trip away and the fridge is still cold and the Jeep started with no complaints.

Although parked in the sun, I understand that we had several rainy / cloudy days while I was gone.

 

[jonyjoe101]

for lifepo4 batteries you need a coulombcounter to track its state of charge. Resting voltage of the lifepo4 is about 13.1 volts between 20 and 90 percent. The coulombcounter will count how many amps you use instead of relying on voltage. I recommend the tk15 coulombcounter, I been using them for years, you can get the 50 amp model for about 40 dollars on amazon.
The fridge will use about 20 amps every 24 hours when set to 40 degrees, the colder you set it the more amps it will use.
Years ago I use to run a 43 liter fridge off of a 75ah agm battery and a 120 watt panel, I did it for about a year 24/7. Your 100ah lifepo4 should work even better, no need for a second battery. You just have to replenish the 20? amps you use every day to keep it topped off.

Picture of tk15 coulombcounter

 

[Vicdog]

Depends on outside temp also. I have used a 100 watt portable at the airport before and kept my battery full. I’d go solar panel.

 

[jonyjoe101]

The wattmeter can also be used instead of coulombcounter, they count amps used but some only count up to about 64 amps and then reset. They are cheaper and easier to wire.