Dometic PLB40 battery

[dman93]

I currently have no demand for electricity in camp except a few watts to charge my phone or headlamp. But I’m thinking of getting a 12V fridge and have started looking at options. This new Dometic battery sounds interesting; not cheap but light and small for its capacity, and I assume being LiFePo I can deep discharge it so can use most of its capacity without need for solar refresh, enough for a few days at camp perhaps. https://shop.dometic.com/store/dometic/en_US/pd/productID.5284991700
One question I have is about connections ... the specs online are pretty sparse. It lists one DC input, an Anderson SB50 gray connector, but the pictures also show a small (6mm?8mm?) coax input as well. It also says it has a 12V DC-DC charger, would this be internal (ie plug in any 12V source) or external, specifically for that coax input. Also, it implies the Anderson is for solar only ... why would that be? Finally, I don’t see any off-the-shelf MC4 to SB50 adaptors. Obviously it’s easy enough to make one up, but why do they use the SB connector when most solar accessory vendors provide MC4 to PowerPole (PP) cables. Thanks in advance ... I searched around quite a bit but haven’t found much about this battery, not about the various connector types. Although I may not need solar, I’d like to understand the path to add it at some point.

 

[dreadlocks]

you can buy a 100aH battleborn for that price weighs about 30lb, 40aH is not going to run that a fridge all weekend in hot weather.. and if you need to restock you fridge with beer/drinks its not going to go all weekend in any weather.

my last setup I had 100AH of lead, tried not to use more than 60AH out of it w/my ARB 64qt fridge and it was a struggle.. usually went over that budget enough the battery didnt last long, I always set it up in the shade at camp but we really like our beer and restocking that inflated our power needs greatly.

now I have a 84qt engel, maxx air fan, and about 20w of LED lights on a BB lipo.. bit more load than last time, but I'm still firing up the generator after 2nd night out.. not saying you cant fit in that little budget, but for its price its expensive even for lithium.. and they dont even tell you much about it to justify the cost, rather spartan spec sheet.

 

[jonyjoe101]

it looks like the sb connector is where you charge from 12 volt adapter and also solar panel. It has a built in internal dc-dc charger. The coax input is where you charge with the wallwart.

 

[dman93]

you can buy a 100aH battleborn for that price weighs about 30lb, 40aH is not going to run that a fridge all weekend in hot weather.. and if you need to restock you fridge with beer/drinks its not going to go all weekend in any weather.

my last setup I had 100AH of lead, tried not to use more than 60AH out of it w/my ARB 64qt fridge and it was a struggle.. usually went over that budget enough the battery didnt last long, I always set it up in the shade at camp but we really like our beer and restocking that inflated our power needs greatly.

now I have a 84qt engel, maxx air fan, and about 20w of LED lights that are used infrequently.. bit more load than last time but I'm still firing up the generator after 2nd night out.. not saying you cant fit in that little budget, but for its price its expensive even for lithium.. and they dont even tell you much about it to justify the cost, rather spartan spec sheet.

The Dometic does include a solar controller, plus various outputs (USB etc) and what is essentially a battery box, so that does add value.

 

[dreadlocks]

not really, that only takes 8A input.. my BB takes 50A input.. much of the value of Lithium is it can be charged quickly, I can fill mine up from 5% SOC to 100% SOC in ~3.5h with about 35A of input... 8A is going to take you longer to charge than mine at 40% the capacity.. 8A is also a max of 100W of solar, I had 120W of solar panels and the only way I could run my loads indefinitely was if I managed to keep it in direct sunlight all day long.. any shade or overcast and I was using more than I was collecting.. most folks around here w/fridges on solar have between 200W-300W because rarely are conditions ideal unless your a desert rat.

you can get a 10A PWM solar charger and battery box w/USB & 12v outlets off the shelf for under $100 FWIW.. you could DIY for half that.

 

[dman93]

@DometicOutdoors why do you “like” my post but not answer my questions? Not much value add to be honest. Not to mention you liked another post which was (politely) critical of your product. Are you a human or a bot?

 

[Vanhalo]

Dometic PLB40 is on sale right now for $679

 

[Glapin]

Dometic PLB40 is on sale right now for $679

Where? I just went to their site and it’s showing full retail.

Thanks

 

[Vanhalo]

If you put it in your basket it changes the price. EDIT: actually I didn't even have to put it in my basket.
Also REI and other sites are selling it for $679
I bought mine @ REI so I could return it locally if I needed to.
It hasn't shipped yet.

 

[Vanhalo]

Also

Dometic PLB40 Portable Lithium Battery

**Requires Signature on Delivery** PLB40 Portable Lithium Battery The Dometic PLB40 Ah Lithium Iron Phosphate battery delivers high levels of mobile power – up to 40 hours of Dometic CFX 40W cooling on a single charge. Designed for powering powered coolers and other 12 V appliances while being...

www.mainlineoverland.com