Picked up a refurbished Yeti 400

[tbisaacs]

My mom always told me that it never hurts to ask. I emailed GZ sales and was able to get a refurbished yeti 400 for $299, free shipping!



I purchased this to compliment my 50qt ARB refrigerator. Like others, I immediately discovered that ARB 12v chord won't make contact with the GZ socket, so I ordered another and plan on making my own cord. 110v cord works find but costs a bit more power.

I agonized about going dual battery. I read the entire "Dual battery setup for $50" thread multiple times. Heck, my Suburban even has a spot for it. I ultimately decided against it because:

• I like the portability of the Yeti. I can use it my yard, on the trail, or in my wife's outback
• I don't know if I'll have my suburban forever (I hope I do!). I just didn't want to go wiring stuff in
• Yeti's built in charge controller and inverter is really convenient.

I plan on picking up 100w Renology panel + yeti adapter to keep the battery topped off when in camp.

 

[tbisaacs]

40% capacity after 12 hours.


I'm encourage by this setup considering I am not using the fridge in then most efficient way (not fully loaded, 110v) connection.

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[e60ral]

What is your ambient temp though?

I was considering doing this and adding another battery (btw, in case you didn't know you can double the capacity for less than $50 by chaining a battery) but ultimately decided to just replace my factory starting battery with a dual purpose deep cycle battery.

 

[tbisaacs]

50-ish degrees. My results are consistent with what others have reported:

With min temp differential draws 10.4 Watts or .87 Amps an hour = 250 Watts or 20.9 Ah a day.

Averages around 12 Watts or 1 Amp an hour = 288 Watts or 24 Amp hours a day with moderate temps.

With 50° temperature differential draws 16.8 Watts or 1.4 Amps an hour = 403 Watts or 33.6 Ah a day.

http://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/156616-Goal-Zero-Yetti-400-vs-ARB-50qt-fridge


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[e60ral]

That's a favorable condition, in summer you could see ambient temps up to 140F inside a vehixle. When you are running a 80 degree+ differential it will run the battery down much more.

A matching battery is only ~$40 on Amazon though so if you need more capacity you can just buy a few batteries and chain them

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[snowblind]

50-ish degrees. My results are consistent with what others have reported:

With min temp differential draws 10.4 Watts or .87 Amps an hour = 250 Watts or 20.9 Ah a day.

Averages around 12 Watts or 1 Amp an hour = 288 Watts or 24 Amp hours a day with moderate temps.

With 50° temperature differential draws 16.8 Watts or 1.4 Amps an hour = 403 Watts or 33.6 Ah a day.

Hey tbisaacs.

In real world use you will probably see about 1/2 the lifespan you're math indicates. Ambient temps will throw your calculations waaaaaaay off. It's not "How much does it use when it's running?" It's "How much is it running?"

My fridge pulls about 70 watts WHEN IT IS CYCLING. On a 50º day it may cycle for 5min/hour and therefore last for over 24hrs. On a 90º day it will cycle for 30-45min/hr and drain the battery in 8 hours.

The good news is that a 100w panel should provide around 50watts continuous charging and that should keep up with the fridge in most circumstances.

If I were you I would also add a dedicated charging wire for the Yeti off the main battery. I can max out the Yeti400s 130watt input limit no problem charging this way. That is about double what the wall charger can supply.





Matt

 

[tbisaacs]

Hey tbisaacs.

In real world use you will probably see about 1/2 the lifespan you're math indicates. Ambient temps will throw your calculations waaaaaaay off. It's not "How much does it use when it's running?" It's "How much is it running?"

My fridge pulls about 70 watts WHEN IT IS CYCLING. On a 50º day it may cycle for 5min/hour and therefore last for over 24hrs. On a 90º day it will cycle for 30-45min/hr and drain the battery in 8 hours.

The good news is that a 100w panel should provide around 50watts continuous charging and that should keep up with the fridge in most circumstances.

If I were you I would also add a dedicated charging wire for the Yeti off the main battery. I can max out the Yeti400s 130watt input limit no problem charging this way. That is about double what the wall charger can supply.

Matt

Hey thanks for sharing Matt. Super helpful to know real world experiences.

My next big trip is in June and I've mocked up one of these on my roof:

Renogy*Eclipse**100*Watt*12*Volt*Monocrystalline*Solar*Panel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B3TEM1E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_jz9azbQQ91PTS

And If times get tough, I've also got a new AGM battery (can't remember exactly but I think it's 60+ amp hrs).


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[tbisaacs]

Mounted a little different than expected, but finally added my 100w panel. I'm looking forward to trying it out at NWOR in a few weeks.

 

[Semi-Hex]

Could you tell me what type of mounting brackets you are using for the panel?

 

[rayra]

It's a good deal on a swell gadget, with lots of options. But you can put a dual battery in both vehicles for the same money

/I drove my setup across the street to a semi-abandoned house and plugged my weed whacker into my inverter and went to town on their overgrown weeds. Got tired of seeing their mess out my front windows. Portable 110V power if Fun!


eta that is a good question, it there some king of mechanical latch or engagement on the inner side? Looks like a friction fit from the outside, I don't think that will hold on the freeway.

 

[tbisaacs]

Could you tell me what type of mounting brackets you are using for the panel?

Some really nice aluminum brackets made by Renogy:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W49ZPPK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_eBaR2t9ALQjD8

They come with self-tapping metal screws that I screwed into the clamps from my old roof basket. Everything is very secure.


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[tbisaacs]

It's a good deal on a swell gadget, with lots of options. But you can put a dual battery in both vehicles for the same money

/I drove my setup across the street to a semi-abandoned house and plugged my weed whacker into my inverter and went to town on their overgrown weeds. Got tired of seeing their mess out my front windows. Portable 110V power if Fun!


eta that is a good question, it there some king of mechanical latch or engagement on the inner side? Looks like a friction fit from the outside, I don't think that will hold on the freeway.

Heh. I agonized about going dual battery Rayra. No question that it's more cost effective per amp hour. I stared at Jelorian's rig as well as the power center in your drawers.

But ultimately I went this route because:

- I wanted the option of using the Yeti in our other car, or power when camping away from the car (which we've done)
- I liked having plug and play charge controller and inverter
- I will very likely build or refurb a trailer this year. The yeti is transferrable.

Mounts are super sturdy and not friction fit. The inside of the panel has 8 mounting points with nuts, bolts and locking washers.


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[jscusmcvet]

I just picked up a Yeti 400 also. Looking forward to hearing your report after the NWOR.

 

[Tennmogger]

What kind of magical device can have 31 Watts input and put out 68 Watts? I want several of those to cut down my electric bill. Seriously, what do those numbers show?

 

[snowblind]

What kind of magical device can have 31 Watts input and put out 68 Watts?

They are called batteries. ;-)

I want several of those to cut down my electric bill. Seriously, what do those numbers show?

It shows a net power usage of 37watts.



Matt