Goal Zero Lithium 1000 > Dual Batteries or >Single Group 31?

[TeCKis300]

^Yes! As much as I've shared my like to a modular secondary battery, it's truly hard to over speak how flexible and awesome this thing is. Being able to bring the power to where it's needed. Whether that's the car, tent, travel trailer, or house. I've been using mine everywhere: blender, cell booster, angle grinder, microwave, heated blanket, coffee pot, etc.

I use a RockPals 100W folding solar panel with mine when camping. I has the right plugs already. I haven't bothered with the MPPT upgrade.

​

I have a Honda eu2200i gas generator that's been sitting bored since I've had my GoalZero.

 

[TheGrrrrr]

For those on Overland Bound, I posted a review of my setup here: Costway 54 Quart Fridge on SUAOKI G500

Almost a year later and still going strong. After moving from my Range Rover to the Land Cruiser this month, I replaced the stock battery with the X2 27F AGM as that is what I had in the Rover... after reading this thread it sounds like I may have screwed up going with AGM as my primary battery. Time to use the search function and find out how bad I screwed up.

 

[TailGator]

I'm glad to see some activity in this thread! After a summer of experience with my setup, I have a few comments/learnings to share about my setup (GZ Yeti 400 Lithium, ARB 50, 120W Powerfilm panel).

1) Overall, I love the setup. Great ease of use and portability.

2) I mounted the Yeti on its back, with the outlets all pointing up toward the ceiling. This made the panel easily legible and accessible and simplified cord management, especially for the fridge cable, which protrudes quite a bit. It also reduced the footprint I needed to reserve for the Yeti. I wasn't sure the battery would be happy on its back for extended periods of time, but everything seems to be fine after three or four months in that position.

3) If I had it to do over, I'd go for a bigger Yeti. The 400 works like a charm, but was only good for about two days of fridge draw without recharging, and there were a couple times when I really would have liked at least another day of reserve power.

4) The ARB has an automatic shutoff that engages when the DC supply voltage drops below a certain point. With the shutoff switch on its lowest setting, the Yeti would discharge to about 10% before the fridge would shut off. Great! However, I had a moment of stress when I started recharging the Yeti but the fridge never came back on. The reason is that once the ARB shuts off, it won't switch back on until it detects a DC supply voltage of 11.1V or higher, which is higher than the Yeti Lithium supplies even when it's 100% charged. Happily, the simple solution was to plug the fridge into the Yeti's AC output. Using AC power resets the DC shutoff circuit. Once the Yeti was back to 15% or so, I switched back to DC and all was well again.

5) The Yeti Lithium DC charging cable is well worth the $40. WIth it, I could recharge at 120W from the cigarette lighter on my dashboard. I used it whenever I needed faster charging than the 60W available from the cargo-area AC outlet.

 

[TailGator]

I'm glad to see some activity in this thread! After a summer of experience with my setup, I have a few comments/learnings to share about my setup (GZ Yeti 400 Lithium, ARB 50, 120W Powerfilm panel).

1) Overall, I love the setup. Great ease of use and portability.

2) I mounted the Yeti on its back, with the outlets all pointing up toward the ceiling. This made the panel easily legible and accessible and simplified cord management, especially for the fridge cable, which protrudes quite a bit. It also reduced the footprint I needed to reserve for the Yeti. I wasn't sure the battery would be happy on its back for extended periods of time, but everything seems to be fine after three or four months in that position.

3) If I had it to do over, I'd go for a bigger Yeti. The 400 works like a charm, but was only good for about two days of fridge draw without recharging, and there were a couple times when I really would have liked at least another day of reserve power.

4) The ARB has an automatic shutoff that engages when the DC supply voltage drops below a certain point. With the shutoff switch on its lowest setting, the Yeti would discharge to about 10% before the fridge would shut off. Great! However, I had a moment of stress when I started recharging the Yeti but the fridge never came back on. The reason is that once the ARB shuts off, it won't switch back on until it detects a DC supply voltage of 11.1V or higher, which is higher than the Yeti Lithium supplies even when it's 100% charged. Happily, the simple solution was to plug the fridge into the Yeti's AC output. Using AC power resets the DC shutoff circuit. Once the Yeti was back to 15% or so, I switched back to DC and all was well again.

5) The Yeti Lithium DC charging cable is well worth the $40. WIth it, I could recharge at 120W from the cigarette lighter on my dashboard. I used it whenever I needed faster charging than the 60W available from the cargo-area AC outlet.

One more thing to add. Last night, we lost power at the house because a tree fell on a nearby power line. I quickly set up the Yeti/Fridge combo in the kitchen, and it has allowed us to keep our perishables cold. Very nice in a pinch and another vote for going the portable route. After 12 hours, the Yeti is still 80% charged, so I think I'm good for a 2-3 day blackout. I have a Honda 2000 generator that will come into play if I need to recharge before they get the lights back on.

 

[DenverLX]

I really have a hard time understanding why so many people here feel the need for so much power or the need for a fridge. I go rafting 30-40 days a year (often for 7-10 days at a time) and us rafters have to go down rivers for as long as 20+ days without any outside power or supplies. I just did the Grand Canyon and had plenty of leftover ice in my cooler after 17days in (Aug was 100+ degrees). These fridges are exceptionally expensive, large and have small capacities. For half the price you can buy a good cooler or two, learn to pack it right and manage it and have plenty of ice for your camping trips.

As far as power needs, I bring extensive camera gear, lights, gps, phone, huge Bluetooth speakers, and more down rivers and can manage to keep all of them charged the whole time with a few $40 anker batteries of amazon and sometimes a cheap china solar panel.

I just read these threads and can't figure out why people need this much power and why people need fridges. I keep a lithium jump pack thing, and a couple of Anker battery things in my truck and Im probably in $250 bucks and I can bet I will camp longer and with more toys than anyone ever needs and be fine.

So out of all these options that cost upwards of a grand, I would just think about why you need it in the first place, us river folk get along just fine with out car batteries or fridges.

 

[Itsky]

I really have a hard time understanding why so many people here feel the need for so much power or the need for a fridge. I go rafting 30-40 days a year (often for 7-10 days at a time) and us rafters have to go down rivers for as long as 20+ days without any outside power or supplies. I just did the Grand Canyon and had plenty of leftover ice in my cooler after 17days in (Aug was 100+ degrees). These fridges are exceptionally expensive, large and have small capacities. For half the price you can buy a good cooler or two, learn to pack it right and manage it and have plenty of ice for your camping trips.

As far as power needs, I bring extensive camera gear, lights, gps, phone, huge Bluetooth speakers, and more down rivers and can manage to keep all of them charged the whole time with a few $40 anker batteries of amazon and sometimes a cheap china solar panel.

I just read these threads and can't figure out why people need this much power and why people need fridges. I keep a lithium jump pack thing, and a couple of Anker battery things in my truck and Im probably in $250 bucks and I can bet I will camp longer and with more toys than anyone ever needs and be fine.

So out of all these options that cost upwards of a grand, I would just think about why you need it in the first place, us river folk get along just fine with out car batteries or fridges.

Please share your cooler secrets! Ice for 17 days!? When I used a cooler, 2/3 of the capacity would be taken by the ice and it only lasted a few days.

 

[tbisaacs]

For half the price you can buy a good cooler or two, learn to pack it right and manage it and have plenty of ice for your camping trips.

I hear your point. Speaking for myself, I'm willing to pay for convenience instead of "learn(ing) to pack right" or managing ice. I realize others may not and don't mind managing coolers and ice and careful packing so your food doesn't get wet.

 

[DenverLX]

Please share your cooler secrets! Ice for 17 days!? When I used a cooler, 2/3 of the capacity would be taken by the ice and it only lasted a few days.

I will say cooler strategy is a big deal in the rafting world. Lots of methods, theories and secrets people swear by but Ill tell you mine. Prepping food/ice for 16+ days and 16+ people take a lot of time. I would think doing half of the following and you will be fine for car camping.

First I freeze absolutely as much food as possible before a trip. I also precook when possible, eliminate as much packaging as possible, and vacuum pack whatever I can. I also make all my own block ice, store bought ice just isnt good, too much air. I use gallon or two gallon Ziplocks or Tupperware and fill with water and feeze (lowest setting on freezer). This gives me large blocks of Ice that pack nicely too. I also precool my coolers for a day before a trip. Start with alot of store bought ice in the cooler. Sometimes I put ice and water in the bottom of my cooler and put a bunch of dry ice in the coolers baskets and it will freeze a layer of ice across the bottom of the cooler.

I try and organize my coolers. Depending on trips and how many coolers, we might have coolers that get duct taped closed and are marked to be opened on Day 6 for example. Sometimes I have a freezer cooler and a fridge, sometimes I make a freezer section with a divider and a fridge section on the other side. The biggest thing is not opening the cooler execpt when absolutly needed. Every meal has a "shopping list" that is planned. So dinner night 3 has 3 items inside a certain cooler, these items should be next to each other and the cooler is opened for only a minute.

Most of us use cooler covers over the coolers for extra sun protection and a seat, I also cut up some foam peices that fit inside the cooler on top of the food to add a little extra insulation. When the coolers are out we try to shade them if possible, or put wet towels on them (obviously in a car they are shaded and a wet towel is not practical).

 

[40Man]

I have a high quality cooler, that holds ice longer than pretty much every other cooler out there (Orca), but it can't get close to 17 days on hot days, even if I filled the think to the bring with only block ice and didn't open the thing. The advantage to being on a cold river is you can anchor the cooler in an eddy when you are stopped, which increases cooling time and ice retention tremendously.

That said, until I retire, I won't have need to have a cooler last me more than 5 days camping, which the Orca will do great. I use the cool box for immediate access items on road trips, and the cooler can stay shut until I get to the camping spot.

I also have a good jump starter, and like having plenty of power, but a goal zero is beyond my needs. For home use, I'd prefer my duel fuel generator.

 

[Markuson]

I really have a hard time understanding why so many people here feel the need for so much power or the need for a fridge. I go rafting 30-40 days a year (often for 7-10 days at a time) and us rafters have to go down rivers for as long as 20+ days without any outside power or supplies. I just did the Grand Canyon and had plenty of leftover ice in my cooler after 17days in (Aug was 100+ degrees). These fridges are exceptionally expensive, large and have small capacities. For half the price you can buy a good cooler or two, learn to pack it right and manage it and have plenty of ice for your camping trips.

As far as power needs, I bring extensive camera gear, lights, gps, phone, huge Bluetooth speakers, and more down rivers and can manage to keep all of them charged the whole time with a few $40 anker batteries of amazon and sometimes a cheap china solar panel.

I just read these threads and can't figure out why people need this much power and why people need fridges. I keep a lithium jump pack thing, and a couple of Anker battery things in my truck and Im probably in $250 bucks and I can bet I will camp longer and with more toys than anyone ever needs and be fine.

So out of all these options that cost upwards of a grand, I would just think about why you need it in the first place, us river folk get along just fine with out car batteries or fridges.

Because we aren’t in a kayak...or backpacking...where even a cooler doesn’t work.
I used to go backpacking every summer in the total wilderness for up to two weeks...so not even a cooler was feasible. But... -We’re in a huge truck...and not dealing with stuff becoming ice-water soup is awesome. And NOT having to carefully plan to freeze, thaw and conserve the cold is awesome.

If you mostly just want beverages...coolers are great...because a can or bottle submerged in ice water is no problem. But you’re still stuck dealing with sloshy ice...potential leaks...and a big wet mess.

In a vehicle capable of carrying a fridge/freezer.....why pretend I’m backpacking or rafting?

Heck, I usually have ice cream or popsicles in my freezer side, and believe me...they are appreciated in 100 degree+ weather in Moab.

You could also say to an RV traveler...that they shouldn’t need a queen size mattress to sleep on...because we slept on the ground while kayaking or backpacking...but that would be kinda silly.

 

[Sandroad]

I will say cooler strategy is a big deal in the rafting world. Lots of methods, theories and secrets people swear by but Ill tell you mine. Prepping food/ice for 16+ days and 16+ people take a lot of time. I would think doing half of the following and you will be fine for car camping.

First I freeze absolutely as much food as possible before a trip. I also precook when possible, eliminate as much packaging as possible, and vacuum pack whatever I can. I also make all my own block ice, store bought ice just isnt good, too much air. I use gallon or two gallon Ziplocks or Tupperware and fill with water and feeze (lowest setting on freezer). This gives me large blocks of Ice that pack nicely too. I also precool my coolers for a day before a trip. Start with alot of store bought ice in the cooler. Sometimes I put ice and water in the bottom of my cooler and put a bunch of dry ice in the coolers baskets and it will freeze a layer of ice across the bottom of the cooler.

I try and organize my coolers. Depending on trips and how many coolers, we might have coolers that get duct taped closed and are marked to be opened on Day 6 for example. Sometimes I have a freezer cooler and a fridge, sometimes I make a freezer section with a divider and a fridge section on the other side. The biggest thing is not opening the cooler execpt when absolutly needed. Every meal has a "shopping list" that is planned. So dinner night 3 has 3 items inside a certain cooler, these items should be next to each other and the cooler is opened for only a minute.

Most of us use cooler covers over the coolers for extra sun protection and a seat, I also cut up some foam peices that fit inside the cooler on top of the food to add a little extra insulation. When the coolers are out we try to shade them if possible, or put wet towels on them (obviously in a car they are shaded and a wet towel is not practical).

For your river-running, this is a great solution. But, your description of cooler management is exactly why I love the convenience of my Waeco DC fridge. I just plug it in, load the food, and go. When I priced out the equivalent sized Yeti, it was too close to the same cost to make dealing with ice worth it. Equivalent capacity is the operative term because even large ice coolers lose a lot to ice. I grew up picking soggy food out of ice coolers while camping and don't miss that at all (though I know avoiding it is possible if you're careful). In my LC, at my cabin, at remote campsites, and in my camper trailer I'm a solid convert to high-efficiency compressor DC refrigerators.

 

[TailGator]

I really have a hard time understanding why so many people here feel the need for so much power or the need for a fridge. I go rafting 30-40 days a year (often for 7-10 days at a time) and us rafters have to go down rivers for as long as 20+ days without any outside power or supplies. I just did the Grand Canyon and had plenty of leftover ice in my cooler after 17days in (Aug was 100+ degrees). These fridges are exceptionally expensive, large and have small capacities. For half the price you can buy a good cooler or two, learn to pack it right and manage it and have plenty of ice for your camping trips.

As far as power needs, I bring extensive camera gear, lights, gps, phone, huge Bluetooth speakers, and more down rivers and can manage to keep all of them charged the whole time with a few $40 anker batteries of amazon and sometimes a cheap china solar panel.

I just read these threads and can't figure out why people need this much power and why people need fridges. I keep a lithium jump pack thing, and a couple of Anker battery things in my truck and Im probably in $250 bucks and I can bet I will camp longer and with more toys than anyone ever needs and be fine.

So out of all these options that cost upwards of a grand, I would just think about why you need it in the first place, us river folk get along just fine with out car batteries or fridges.

Fair enough, but "need" isn't really the underlying concept for me. It's more about enjoyment and making the outdoors easier, more fun, and more frequent for my gang. If some gear makes a difference along those lines, then I look at it as money well spent. Getting away from ice-management has been freeing. I also bought the Wrappon Green toilet for similar reasons. As you can guess, we're pretty low on the roughing-it scale.

 

[LXCruza]

+1 on the GZ @Itsky. I ran an ARB50 on the non-lithium 400 for 11 days a few summers ago by supplementing with 100w solar. Great portable plug-and-play option. I now run a single AGM 27F with a renogy voyager solar controler. The 27F has 2x the usable amp hours as the yeti. If it goes sideways, I have a noco jumper.

@tbisaacs, I'm contemplating my battery setup and am torn between a portable 400 power supply OR an AGM 27F battery upgrade with a jump starter. My consumption is a small/medium fridge + a few accessories (cooling fan, heated blanket, electric kettle, etc ...). Is there any downside to AGM battery upgrade other than the need to jump start it here and there? Is having Solar backup a "must"?

 

[tbisaacs]

@tbisaacs, I'm contemplating my battery setup and am torn between a portable 400 power supply OR an AGM 27F battery upgrade with a jump starter. My consumption is a small/medium fridge + a few accessories (cooling fan, heated blanket, electric kettle, etc ...). Is there any downside to AGM battery upgrade other than the need to jump start it here and there? Is having Solar backup a "must"?

Ive since added a lithium goal zero to my camp kit and no longer run my fridge off of the 27f. The goal zero is just way more flexible. I do still carry 100w of solar.

There are lots of strongly held opinions on AGM batteries under the hood-I won’t rehash here. But mine has been totally reliable.

is solar a must? Depends on how you intend on using. With all of those accessories your battery would be near the voltage cutoff when you wake up in the morning after sitting in camp all day. You’d have to start your truck and let it run for a while to bulk charge your battery. Repeating that discharge cycle with a conventional battery will impact its life span.

 

[raincityrider]

I have updates on my kit too. I upgraded to a Fleetrite Group 31 for like $160. at RWC Group (you can get it with regular car posts there too) I mounted it with the Slee mount. I also carry a 4000w Noco GB150 for emergencies (FYI, this doesn't do you any good if it is in your drawers and you electric rear door is closed... now located between the rear seat and drawers) But this still didn't let me run the fridge off of the car w/o killing the battery as it is not wired as a house battery and the draw from the key being on drains the battery.

We pull a Dog House trailer that is wired with a crap 46ah flooded battery that was not sufficient to run the fridge overnight let alone for dayds off grid. So in a mad dash to prepare for a 5-7 day trip I put 2 Group 31 batteries in the trailer and bought a 200w Renogy suitcase solar panel and 30' of wire. I'am going to get another 15' there were a couple spots I wanted more distance. The panel actually filled the batteries on the afternoon of day 5. I love the Renogy panel! I think my plan is to do our next trip with just one of the batteries hooked up the the system. It will be car camping so no worries of getting stranded.

I may still add a house battery for solo trip w/o trailer. Would need to upgrade the alternator to charge both batteries?