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Depending upon what BMS and how it is set up that is most definitely more severe a problem with some and less so with others but the technology itself has its limitations at charging at low temperature. On my battery, the OEM BMS is set to 25 F at or below which it will cut off all charging...

Just pulled the trigger on the National Luna 52L Legacy Fridge/Freezer. I had kept delaying the decision on the fridge because I was hoping that Engel USA will bring their MTV line in 2020 but once they confirmed that nothing is planned for at least another year, the choice to go with National...

I went the very similar route with a 50 Ah LiFePO4 in a Milwaukee packout box. Was able to get a steel mounting plate so that it sits secure above my storage drawers in the trunk. John's point about disaggregating stuff is quite valid. I'm not short on space but if I ever get to that, I would...

I have a $19 Renogy 10A PWM (wanderer) that I use as a means to charge my in vehicle AGM and as a backup/secondary source to charge my LiFePO4 that has a dedicated MPPT charging it. I've had it for just a few days but it works though the CC won't accomodate 10 awg ferrules very easily. It has a...

So I just installed a PWM solar charge controller in my vehicle as a back up charging source for my solar panels. My main/aux battery unit is portable and has an inbuilt MPPT which will accept charge from the single roof mounted solar panel. When the aux battery is not in the vehicle, I want to...

I agree. Disregarding the current status of the Dometic vis-a-vis the recall in the US, I just don't see the plastic lid doing very well (in our case) with prolonged use especially moving it in and out of the rig etc. I would prefer the metal fridges and the ones with a solid reputation for...

Yeah I figured that some draw will be a result of the dual controls. However, I guess one could run both sides at the same temperature if one needed to be frugal. The 52L NL single control is also an option but I figured if I was going for that 50/52 form factor then the dual control looked...

Yes that would be probably what it will be used as 99% of the time it isn't in the car. This is why the 50L is more attractive than a smaller 35 or 40 L. For non-camping in car use, I meant just day trips and BBQ's etc..

Thanks for the great advise! I agree, I don't want to run a half empty fridge that's why tried to narrow down on the size range and kept it between 40 and 50 L. A 45L would probably be an ideal size but that's not an option with these two brands. 50L is probably slightly bigger than what we need...

I was leaning the NL50 way as well especially since here in the US the price difference between it and the Engel combi is only about $100 (+/- shipping if applicable) and neither really seem to go on any substantial sale (and both are sold-out or on pre-order) so it isn't about the cost...

I'm in the final phase of pulling the trigger for a fridge as well for my 4Runner. Given the current backlog and covid related supply chain disruptions I'm OK having to wait a month, two or even more to get my hands on a fridge as long as I can get in line. I'm picking up a used Alu Cab tilt...

Th charge controller will live inside the portable unit (so that I can solar charge it with a foldable portable panel when I'm using it away from the vehicle) so even if I physically turn off charging via the MPPT (using the app) I would still have to disconnect the PV connection into the MPPT...

Yes that is a good example. However in my case the disconnect could last weeks to months so I wasn't sure whether I'd have issues with a hot adaptor wire being present in my vehicle and any issues with it arcing given that the solar panels will be permanently mounted there. I'm considering a...

Right, and I guess that applies to those that can have charging turned off via the app as well. My intention here though would be to remove the aux battery box from the vehicle and leave the panels permanently mounted.

Thanks guys! I might just buy an affordable charge controller and use it to charge my starter battery when the aux battery box is not in the rig. At least I'm using the PV at that point to trickle charge my starter AGM.

Perfect! From an electrical perspective, do these PV continue to generate power even when not wired up? As in will the wires be constantly hot even when I'm not connected to the MPPT? I'm just wondering whether that is safe and something that folks do routinely.

When you mean panel first do you mean disconnect the PV from the MPPT or the panel side connectors? So here's my situation, My MPPT lives inside the LiFePO4 battery box that I'm building, and the PV will connect to it via an Anderson connector. I don't want the PV to be connected to my portable...

So would it be ok to simply disconnect the anderson plug connecting the PV to the MPPT? My victron MPPT has an ability to disconnect charging from the app, I guess doing that first would be logical? Or is it ok to just pop off the anderson plug connecting a 100 Watt pannel to the MPPT w/o the...

Sure will do. I wasn't even planning on an auxillary/second battery and wanted to replace my starter battery with a larger battery and just go with that :) . But the lockdown boredom meant that I needed a project and folks here and elsewhere were/are just a great source of inspiration and...

I'm building a 50 Ah portable unit right now as well. My box will be slightly bigger (than needed) because I wanted to have the flexibility to grow my bank in the future. I was able to get a blemished (barely notice the ding) Milwaukee 10 inch tool box for 50% off at my local hardware store and...