Fridge/Freezer need dual batteries?

[Salem Cruiser]

I'm planning to put a Fridge/freezer in the back of my 60 for use on long expeditions. I was hoping that I could get some advice on what my options are. Should I install dual batteries? Is one enough? The fridge will run 24/7 while on these extended trips.
Also, is it better to run it as a 12v or wire it up for 120v. Thank you for any and all help.

 

[REKCUT]

It depends on which fridge. It is always safer to run a second battery but I have the new arb fridge and it has a low battery shutoff so it cant run the battery down. The cheap coleman models will drain a battery in about a day if you dont run your truck. I keep it in my Tundra quite a bit with one battery and dont have problems but my cruiser has dual batteries.

 

[Salem Cruiser]

I plan on the new ARB fridge as well. Do you run it off a 12v Acc. plug? Sounds like I might be all right if I have a pretty good battery in a single battery set up.

If I do decide to go two battery, what is a good way to go? I read some articles on the Hellroaring system, and people seem to like that. Just a little hesitant to start messing with wireing.
Thanks for the reply!

 

[ntsqd]

I have an older ARB and it kilt a battery dead over a period of two days. I was careful about checking battery voltage every couple of hours and even ran the truck for ~20 mins to bring the battery back up when it read low. Still woke up to a no-crank dead battery. Good thing there were others in the campground or it would have been a long walk in western Death Valley NP.

My plan for the 60 is a simple marine battery bank switch combined with a Voltage Sensing Relay. I have both, just need to get them installed. The VSR will hold the second battery out of the system until the primary battery has reached a full charge. It then connects the secondary battery to the charging system. When you turn the engine off the voltage drops enough to cause the VSR to separate the batteries again. The marine switch still allows me to self jump-start or combine the batteries for any other reason. Winching is not high on my priority list, so needing to open the hodd to combine batteries for that is not a big deal.
Whole lot simpler system for less $$ than the HR part. Can find the VSR at Del City Wire in their relays section.

 

[Thylacine]

The main problem isn't battery capacity but available charge.
I've had engels in the back of my cruisers for over 20 yrs now (usually powered by two marine service hybrid batteries of around 100Ah capacity). This lets me run for up to three days at camp (depending on ambient temp, fridge usage, etc) before needing to charge batteries but still enough to start vehicle.
BUT then you're looking at *hours* of driving to replace this. Hard to give accurate figures but probably up to twelve hours driving requireed.
Other alternatives for recharging are gensets or solar, both having pro's and con's.
Given good sun, two 80-100W panels will allow self-sufficency.
I use a little 1KVA Honda genset myself.
Happy to go further into specifics if you'd like.



ed

 

[nuclearlemon]

for overnight, i'd do it. if you plan on longer stops, i'd get a second battery.

my waeco is in my 80 with single battery and it's just fine for long overnights (14-16 hours or so)

 

[rusty_tlc]

....
Also, is it better to run it as a 12v or wire it up for 120v. Thank you for any and all help.

It's better to run it on 12V than use an inverter to get 120V and convert it back to 12V. Inverters are very inefficient.

On the subject of dual batteries, I ran dual batteries in my GMC for years. I used a simple mechanical relay powered from an ignition hot circuit combined with a thermal breaker between the relay source and battery. This system is extremely robust and inexpensive to implement. Replacement parts are available almost anywhere on the planet if you do need them. Any RV parts store will have everything you need for around $40.

 

[hicruise55]

Had my new ARB fridge/freezer on quite a few trips now, I run a single Optima, few years old, and have the "low voltage sensor" set on "low" protection and have had absolutly no problems. The only problem was kids rushing their uncle passing out popsicles after camping for days!

 

[lostworldexpedition]

We have been living out of our 60 for over a month now. We use an Engel 45 that has been running non stop since we moved into the truck. I set up a dual battery system with a simple voltage sensing solenoid, when the alternator puts out a "charge" both batteries get charged. The "house" battery is a group 31 deep cycle marine AGM and our fan, lights and fridge have yet to put a dent on it's charge level.

 

[sandcruiser]

it depends largely on ambient temps

we had our ARB running in La Jolla, CA for several days with no problems. Two days in Baja (Todos Santos) ran the spare battery down to nearly nothing. And we even ran the truck for 15 minutes in the morning and evening to help top off the batteries.

"Running the truck to top off the battery" doesn't work. At idle it takes hours to get any significant charge into your battery. Look at it like this: if you have a 60A alt, at idle you might produce 10-20 amps beyond the needs of the engine (computer, ignition coil, relays, lights, stereo, etc). If you apply 10A to a battery for an hour, you don't get 10amp hours of battery time, due to internal resistance and other inefficiencies. You get less. So if you have an 80 amp hour battery that is at 50% charge, you are looking at more than 4 hours of running to top off the battery. Driving will charge the battery a little faster (higher rpm=more juice) but it still takes time.

One thing that does work better--- if you do turn the truck on for any reason (re-parking to get the fridge out of the sun, for example) then do let it idle for an extra couple of minutes, but be sure to crank the fridge to "coldest" while you are doing that. That way you are storing energy as cold as well as storing energy in the battery. Just be sure to turn the fridge back to a warmer setting when you are done.

All in all-- you'll probably find that a spare battery is a good investment if you plan to live out of the fridge for any length of time. A solar panel, while $$, is also a very good investment to keep the battery(ies) charged up. Even if the panel(s) can't supply enough to run the fridge, they will extend the life of the battery that you are using.

 

[MDH33]

I tried using a single battery with my Engel 45 for about a month. I've been on the road 4-5 days a week camping all summer. The single battery was not sufficient.

Heres what I did - write up on ExPo