Charging battery while running fridge

[orangejeep1]

I have a Jeep JK with an Optima AGM H6 Yellowtop that I use with a fridge. I would like to be able to plug the battery into shore power when available to keep it topped off. I have read that I can do it with a non-smart charger. I have an Optima 400 charger. Is it safe to use that one? If not, can anyone recommend a non-smart charger?


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[dreadlocks]

what fridge is it, is it a dual AC/DC fridge? If so just wire up onboard smart charger and fridge together so when plugged into shore power the fridge switches off DC and your charger can do its thing w/out the fridge screwing with it.

you dont want to leave bank on a dumb charger unattended, its gonna cook yer batteries.

 

[john61ct]

yes if by "non smart" you mean "has no drop to Float V" and "never stops until you manually stop it"

no way, avoid like the plague

Many chargers are "too smart" but basic 3-stage intelligence is a must have.

The best ones let the user make fine adjustments to the profile, allow the fancy features be disabled, have temp compensation with a temp sensor wire, or even separate voltage sense wires, etc

 

[Red90]

Why do you not want a smart charger?

 

[orangejeep1]

My fridge does AC/DC but I don’t have a neat way to run an AC wire out. Just crack a window.

If I run a smart charger such as an Optima 400 while running the fridge, will I be reasonably safe from damaging anything?


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[john61ct]

Your questions imply fears that are completely irrational.

Either you've read false information, or misinterpreted something.

What is it you fear might happen?

There is no reason to use AC for the fridge.

There is no danger of damaging anything running the fridge while charging at the same time.

No idea about that charger, but all good chargers are "smart chargers".

Do not use "non-smart" chargers for anything.

 

[orangejeep1]

Your questions imply fears that are completely irrational.

That’s good to know. Was erring in the side of caution. Just plugging in my charger is an easy solution.

Cheers!



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[67cj5]

The most simple way around this is to buy the Dometic PLB 40 Lithium power pack and plug it in to the Vehicles cigar socket and plug your fridge in to the PLB then you don't have to mess with the Vehicles electronics, Also when the ignition is off the PLB will still run the fridge,

I was so impressed with the PLB I bought another one just for luck,

 

[Dometic]

It's great to hear about your PLB40 experience. We use them ourselves, and they make our trips off-grid less a lot less stressful.

DOMETIC
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shop.dometic.com
Use promo code Expedition20 for $25 off your order of $75+

 

[67cj5]

It's great to hear about your PLB40 experience. We use them ourselves, and they make our trips off-grid less a lot less stressful.

DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
shop.dometic.com
Use promo code Expedition20 for $25 off your order of $75+

The PLB 40 is cheap insurance when it comes to powering "Must Have" Items even more so with more Modern Vehicles that rely more and more on On Board Computers that throw up error codes at the slightest possible thing,

With my new vehicle build the PLB 40 has taken the worry out of it and can be completely removed in Seconds along with the PLB 40's 12v and the Solar and 240v charging methods,

I'd like to see a PLB 80 and a PLB 120 and I have a few Ideas that Dometic could add to the larger models.

 

[Tenchi64]

The PLB 40 is cheap insurance when it comes to powering "Must Have" Items even more so with more Modern Vehicles that rely more and more on On Board Computers that throw up error codes at the slightest possible thing,

With my new vehicle build the PLB 40 has taken the worry out of it and can be completely removed in Seconds along with the PLB 40's 12v and the Solar and 240v charging methods,

I'd like to see a PLB 80 and a PLB 120 and I have a few Ideas that Dometic could add to the larger models.

my suggestion would be to drop the price just a tad. good product otherwise.

 

[67cj5]

my suggestion would be to drop the price just a tad. good product otherwise.

As the PLB 40 is quite new on the market I would expect the price to drop once the initial surge of sales has passed, I paid $774.78c each for the Two I bought, That might sound a lot but when you factor in the cost of buying a lithium battery and a Charger to suit along with paying someone to wire it all up the cost balances out but the PLB is totally portable and can be used in the home during power outages or in off grid situations, The PLB has limitless uses,

I was so impressed with the first PLB I bought another one the next day, So even on Dull days I can charge one while the other is in use, I tested mine in 70*f temps running my ARB 47L and it easily managed 3 Days, Next I will test it using my Dometic CDF-18, I think it should go for 4 or 5 days at leased.

 

[camodog]

I just ordered a PLB40 and Solar kit this week. I can’t wait to get them delivered and hooked up to the fridge.
Trip to Moab at the end of March and will be the maiden voyage for the set. So exciting

 

[67cj5]

I just ordered a PLB40 and Solar kit this week. I can’t wait to get them delivered and hooked up to the fridge.
Trip to Moab at the end of March and will be the maiden voyage for the set. So exciting

I like how you can plug a solar panel up to 150w or 10Amps direct in to the Anderson Socket without using a charge controller and the fact it has a normal 12v output Cigar Socket as well a Screw In Engel / ARB 12v Socket as well as 2 USB sockets.

 

[Dometic]

The PLB 40 is cheap insurance when it comes to powering "Must Have" Items even more so with more Modern Vehicles that rely more and more on On Board Computers that throw up error codes at the slightest possible thing,

With my new vehicle build the PLB 40 has taken the worry out of it and can be completely removed in Seconds along with the PLB 40's 12v and the Solar and 240v charging methods,

I'd like to see a PLB 80 and a PLB 120 and I have a few Ideas that Dometic could add to the larger models.

Send us a private message with your thoughts and I'll get them over to the product management team. They are always looking for feedback that could be considered for future product iterations.

DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
shop.dometic.com
Use promo code Expedition20 for $25 off your order of $75+