Inverters & Battery Life Questions

[daveb]

I kinda like the Ford 6.0 battery boxes because they are metal. Not that a plastic type box wouldn't work though. I just take my van into rough places. The only issue is if Ford mounts other stuff in the way below the barn doors on a gasser and those boxes are sized for starting batteries. I'd think (not sure) they would mount right up to your frame.

[soloalpinist]

I went back and forth on extra solar panels, more battery or generator. During Overland in Loveland, walked by the Firman site and they had 3KW generator running on propane. Asked if I could pick it up (literally) and found the 90Lb weight acceptable (I am 66). They had 35% discount for attendees and like all purchases waited a week, then pulled the trigger (have run out of battery power before). Super easy to use, duel fuel, RV plug to charge batteries and run inverter, et al...don't want to be a commercial. Tested my power tools and the never used microwave and AC in van and no problems.

The real problem...wife gives me the stink eye when I showed her generator loaded into Van. I own RB51 in EB350 SMB. She says it blocks access and I showed her the handle and the wheels...the stink eye did not stop. Not to mention the dual stink eye when I first informed her I purchased a $850 generator...might be for sale at this time next year

[hbmarcus]

Can anyone tell me from experience can I power my ARB 50 fridge from my Optima yellow top house battery and if so how long would it last. Also could I run it off my Honda 1000 generator in a pinch. I also have a 1000 watt inverter hooked up to the optima, would it be better to connect the fridge to the inverter 110v or to the battery 12v.

[Fork-N-Road]

Originally Posted by hbmarcus

Can anyone tell me from experience can I power my ARB 50 fridge from my Optima yellow top house battery and if so how long would it last. Also could I run it off my Honda 1000 generator in a pinch. I also have a 1000 watt inverter hooked up to the optima, would it be better to connect the fridge to the inverter 110v or to the battery 12v.

From what I have read, you will use less power if you run the fridge off of 12 volts and bypass the inverter

Your generator would run the fridge.

Do you have room for a solar panel? I have a single 175 watt panel and it has been running my Dometic 95 24x7 for the last several months.

Do you have alternator charging for your Optima?

[hbmarcus]

Thanks for the info. Looks like I have the solenoid under my van battery (2003 E350 Quigley V10) that lets the alt charge the house battery when engine is running but won't draw from the van battery when engine is off and using the house battery. That seems good as I will use the 110v on the inverter for small things like laptop, small fan, phone charging and run the fridge on 12v directly from the optima house battery. Any idea how long the optima house battery will run just the fridge without needing a charge? Nothing on the roof so maybe solar is in my future.

[Charliesmom]

What is the capacity of your Optima battery and how much does the ARB 50 fridge draw? You'll be able to figure out pretty quickly when your battery will reach the 50% capacity and will require charging.
I had a Battleborn LiFePO4 100 AH battery in our previous teardrop trailer and a Norcold fridge that consumed 3.4 amp/hr when it was running. It was well insulated and would easily last 2-3 days without requiring charging via solar, generator or engine. When we had a 75 AH AGM battery, i would turn off the fridge at night.

[JWA]

As the OP for this thread I've been remiss in not thanking any and all who've contributed to my original questions etc. Naturally this has drifted a bit from its original premise but that's life here on Sportsmobile Forums. It seems to still be useful to others which is great.

I've finally built an inverter mounted on a platform with detachable single ought jumper cables that will be connected to my customers diesel tractors, aka "big truck". Those have 6-8 batteries already mounted so capacity isn't a question. My 80 amp maximum draw doesn't even raise a sweat for that array.

You've all be very, very helpful---I learned a lot and it definitely helped me choose the direction I eventually went!

[Charliesmom]

I went back and read this entire thread. It’s interesting, provocative and spot on. As JWA said, the thread “has drifted a bit from its original premise.” I don’t know how I missed this conversation the first time around in July. Well, yes I do… We were driving the van across the country from AZ to NYC, enjoying what this forum is all about.