Kings Battery and Fridge

[Glenno327]

Howdy,

New to the forum sorry if I have posted this to the wrong area. Seeing as couldn’t travel over seas decided to do some work on the car and go camping around Australia. I agree I did go the budget side and get a lot of gear from 4x4 Supacentre. Which I was actually surprised that nothing really got damaged over the 10 days I was out over Christmas.

My only issue I had was my Fridge. I would only get roughly 15 hours out of my fridge off their 138AH Deep Cycle Battery. Admittedly I was running it on -18c on Max setting and would only get to -1c at best. Does this sound right? If I have to I will get solar panels I was expecting to get atleast 3 days. Battery would drop to 10-8v after 15 hours then I would get E1 on the fridge (Not enough voltage).

Hoping someone could shed a light on this or had similar issues. Thanks everyone.

 

[CTL]

Welcome to Earth.
The Kings 138Ah battery is probably more like 120Ah so keep that in mind when doing calculations.
The Kings fridge will not have the most efficient motor/compressor/insulation so keeping it closed, out of the sun and not constantly putting hot stuff in it will help.
Running at -18 will use up that battery really quick. Running at 3-4 as a fridge should at least double your battery time.

 

[Triton14]

Howdy,

New to the forum sorry if I have posted this to the wrong area. Seeing as couldn’t travel over seas decided to do some work on the car and go camping around Australia. I agree I did go the budget side and get a lot of gear from 4x4 Supacentre. Which I was actually surprised that nothing really got damaged over the 10 days I was out over Christmas.

My only issue I had was my Fridge. I would only get roughly 15 hours out of my fridge off their 138AH Deep Cycle Battery. Admittedly I was running it on -18c on Max setting and would only get to -1c at best. Does this sound right? If I have to I will get solar panels I was expecting to get atleast 3 days. Battery would drop to 10-8v after 15 hours then I would get E1 on the fridge (Not enough voltage).

Hoping someone could shed a light on this or had similar issues. Thanks everyone.

Depends on what model you got as they have different compressors & they all have different current draw??
I noticed some(more exy models) have the Secop compressors which should be pretty efficient..

But CTL is correct, many battery brands are under the Ah stated which I have written about before, its unregulated industry so its all BS imo, the better brands(yes you have to research them) will give you the more realistic Ah rating, its all based on what an AGM weighs.

Also you should not be discharging the AGM battery past 50% which is 12.05v as this will significantly decrease its like, if you have been constantly discharging down to 10.8v then this is why it could be not giving you much time as well.

I went with a dual zone, at least that way its not all being kept at -18 so should get longer use out of a charge.

Also I would be getting a battery monitor as well.

 

[Bru9]

Unless your fridge draws some huge amperage your battery isnt even close to 138ah it should supply 6amps for 10hours until roughly 50% so something major wrong, also voltage graphs dont mean much, each battery is diff and will need a proper voltage profile built up so under load voltage of 12v is just a ball park at best, a quality agm can routinely be taken down to 80% just fyi. All the mystery will be cleared up if you actually measure the real world consumption of the fridge in average worst case scenarios. That is simply the only way to know anything of any meaning, all fridges are very different. If you have any care whatsoever about a quality of setup and ease of mind, first get something actually good like a full river agm, no personal exp here but they get consistent good reports from folks.
So about solar, the issue is the extra cost of panels can easily be spent on larger capacity. For example I setup a 45l fridge to 200ah lithium coz the extra cost was cheaper than panels and that size got the fridge through the desired timespan.
The issues are simply coz you brought cheap rubbish I'm afraid it's a common mistake people dont want to accept you gotta spend big on 2way fridges. It ain't easy.

 

[Swaggie]

Was your fridge full of stuff , If not I use water in containers to pull the temp down…
Especially if it’s just a couple of days run..

 

[cam04]

How are you keeping it all charged to get to camp? If it is just a cigarette plug somewhere in the car the battery will be half buggered before you get to camp which will perfectly explain the remaining run time. Cold beer on 12v is a fairly large wheel to spin and there are no shortcuts. You need to commit and get it right or buy a decent fibreglass esky that gets to a week using ice.

 

[reel]

Further to Glenns question, and being a novice is it ok to run a fridge (40-50 litre) on a lithium battery only and top it up with say a kings 6 panel solar blanket when at camp?.

 

[Triton14]

Further to Glenns question, and being a novice is it ok to run a fridge (40-50 litre) on a lithium battery only and top it up with say a kings 6 panel solar blanket when at camp?.

It's a good question as I have heard many say they you need a charger or in this case a controller that suits the charge profile of a Lifepo4 battery as its different to a gel/lead acid/agm.
Yet this blog says you can use traditional chargers on their batteries.

Charging Lithium LiFePO4 Batteries from Solar Panels

Question - Can Amptron LiFePO4 batteries charge from a standard commercial solar module or does it require a special module? And is there a need for a controller? Response - The battery can be...

www.amptron.com.au

 

[CTL]

It's a good question as I have heard many say they you need a charger or in this case a controller that suits the charge profile of a Lifepo4 battery as its different to a gel/lead acid/agm.
Yet this blog says you can use traditional chargers on their batteries.

Charging Lithium LiFePO4 Batteries from Solar Panels

Question - Can Amptron LiFePO4 batteries charge from a standard commercial solar module or does it require a special module? And is there a need for a controller? Response - The battery can be...

www.amptron.com.au

Maybe, last two paragraphs from that article

Thus, there are advantages for the lifespan of the batteries to be charged through an LiFePO4 charge profile, and if you want to get the full capacity out of the battery, you will need a charge controller with an LiFePO4 profile.
To sum all of this up, yes you can charge our Amptron batteries with standard commercial solar panels, but a charge controller will be needed. As for charge controllers, an MPPT charge controller will definitely be the preferred option unless lowering cost is really necessary, and as for MPPT charge controllers, it is preferable to use an MPPT charge controller that can charge the battery with an LiFePO4 profile.

 

[Triton14]

Maybe, last two paragraphs from that article

Thus, there are advantages for the lifespan of the batteries to be charged through an LiFePO4 charge profile, and if you want to get the full capacity out of the battery, you will need a charge controller with an LiFePO4 profile.
To sum all of this up, yes you can charge our Amptron batteries with standard commercial solar panels, but a charge controller will be needed. As for charge controllers, an MPPT charge controller will definitely be the preferred option unless lowering cost is really necessary, and as for MPPT charge controllers, it is preferable to use an MPPT charge controller that can charge the battery with an LiFePO4 profile.

My bad, I was at work & didnt read the whole thing

I dont know of to many MPPT controllers that have the LifePO4 profile but then I have never looked into it.

Edit: I'd like to know if my Victron 100/20 has the capability to charge LifePO4 batteries??

 

[CTL]

My bad, I was at work & didnt read the whole thing

I dont know of to many MPPT controllers that have the LifePO4 profile but then I have never looked into it.

Edit: I'd like to know if my Victron 100/20 has the capability to charge LifePO4 batteries??

Yep, it does

 

[Komang]

Smart solar controller victron via BT can change battery profile.
Not sure you can charge 20A unless you using 300watt plus panel it mean as big as your house solar panel or two 200watt panel.
The max current victron deliver only when it bulk charging (your battery less than 80%)
So position and position the key where you install it as it will bulk charging mainly in the morning at camp (not driving/dcdc charging) as all power drawn at night.

 

[sharkcaver]

Yep, it does

and lots of others do to.

 

[Triton14]

Yep, it does

I just joined the victron community & asked the question & your correct.
You can alter the charge profile manually.
They didn't explain how to do it but it's good to know that it's possible.
Will have to look into it further.

 

[Swaggie]

I just joined the victron community & asked the question & your correct.
You can alter the charge profile manually.
They didn't explain how to do it but it's good to know that it's possible.
Will have to look into it further.

Open your Victron app , Click Top left corner where the 3 bars are,Click on Demo Library, The go down the list and click solar chargers (not the 48v I marked in my case anyway) , pick your solar charger from the list,click on the top right corner on the cog,click on battery in the settings or any of the options.
This is only Demo mode so it doesn’t affect your settings at all…..

 

[Komang]

Easy done as long you not touch street light function on if you using load on your victron

 

[Triton14]

Open your Victron app , Click Top left corner where the 3 bars are,Click on Demo Library, The go down the list and click solar chargers (not the 48v I marked in my case anyway) , pick your solar charger from the list,click on the top right corner on the cog,click on battery in the settings or any of the options.
This is only Demo mode so it doesn’t affect your settings at all….. View attachment 72862 View attachment 72863 View attachment 72864 View attachment 72865 View attachment 72866 View attachment 72867 View attachment 72868 View attachment 72869

That's an awesome demo.
Thanks heaps for that swaggie.

 

[callmejoe]

Just me but if I'm camping and living of a battery the last thing I want is a freezer.
I would consider if possible changing how you are storing your food and even adjusting the menu to be able to do without a freezer...
Some examples,
Prepare your food that can be froze before hand. Then just put them frozen into a normal fridge (4'C give take). Yes the food will still slowly defrost but still prolong it's "shelf life". Or which I do Cryovax. Works very well for us. I get the butcher to cryovax my meals in prepared packs, then freeze ( optional) at home. They just live in the fridge once I'm on the road. I can live this way for a 1mth. Some items defrost quicker then others like mince vs a roast so I do plan our meals around that as well.

 

[Swaggie]

That's an awesome demo.
Thanks heaps for that swaggie.

no worries mate Great idea to mess around in the app

Cheers

 

[reel]

Unless your fridge draws some huge amperage your battery isnt even close to 138ah it should supply 6amps for 10hours until roughly 50% so something major wrong, also voltage graphs dont mean much, each battery is diff and will need a proper voltage profile built up so under load voltage of 12v is just a ball park at best, a quality agm can routinely be taken down to 80% just fyi. All the mystery will be cleared up if you actually measure the real world consumption of the fridge in average worst case scenarios. That is simply the only way to know anything of any meaning, all fridges are very different. If you have any care whatsoever about a quality of setup and ease of mind, first get something actually good like a full river agm, no personal exp here but they get consistent good reports from folks.
So about solar, the issue is the extra cost of panels can easily be spent on larger capacity. For example I setup a 45l fridge to 200ah lithium coz the extra cost was cheaper than panels and that size got the fridge through the desired timespan.
The issues are simply coz you brought cheap rubbish I'm afraid it's a common mistake people dont want to accept you gotta spend big on 2way fridges. It ain't easy.

Hi Bru, excuse the stupidity but being a newbie and a fossil I’m trying to get my old head around your post.
So in simple language are you connecting the fridge (what capacity & brand) direct to a lithium battery with no solar panels for charging ?. What solar is best, blanket or one fixed to the roof and what min size?.