Budget fridge + powerbank combo

[GroovyGeek]

Would like to add a fridge to the back of my Bronco so I would have cool water and drinks and also food such as meats and cheese for a few days. I sleep in the back of the Bronco so ultra quiet is a must. It is for me only, so small footprint is also highly desirable. I will not install on a slider, this will be strapped to the D-rings and secured against sliding to my molle side panels --- I would like to remove it easily when I need the space.

I have more or less decided on a Setpower RF25 + an Ecoflow Trail 300DC battery. The Setpower is one of the quietest on the market and very well reviewed. The Ecoflow Trail 300DC is one of the highest capacity DC-only fanless batteries. It should easily power the fridge for about 8 hrs, so I get at minimum of 10-12 hrs of safe-ish temps for things like salami sticks and hard cheeses. I rarely spend more than 1 day in a particular location, so recharging while the engine is running is almost a given, and when I am going to be stationary I have a 60W solar panel should charge the Ecoflow in 5-6 hrs.

The whole setup will be that the Ecoflow is permanently connected to the cigarette lighter in the back, and the Setpower is permanently connected to the Ecoflow. The Ecoflow is charged when I drive and automatically powers the fridge when I am parked. Will add a Victron adjustable power shutoff set to 12V as a fail-safe. A 10ft AWG14 cable will give me around 0.3V drop from the cigarette lighter, so that will be a safe 12.2+V cutoff at the battery

Does anyone see serious flaws in my logic? This is for light weekend warrior use, don't need to last in on washboard for weeks at a time. And most of all, being quiet at night is THE primary requirement.

Feedback and critique most welcome.

Thanks!

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[Nibroc99]

Would like to add a fridge to the back of my Bronco so I would have cool water and drinks and also food such as meats and cheese for a few days. I sleep in the back of the Bronco so ultra quiet is a must. It is for me only, so small footprint is also highly desirable. I will not install on a slider, this will be strapped to the D-rings and secured against sliding to my molle side panels --- I would like to remove it easily when I need the space.

I have more or less decided on a Setpower RF25 + an Ecoflow Trail 300DC battery. The Setpower is one of the quietest on the market and very well reviewed. The Ecoflow Trail 300DC is one of the highest capacity DC-only fanless batteries. It should easily power the fridge for about 8 hrs, so I get at minimum of 10-12 hrs of safe-ish temps for things like salami sticks and hard cheeses. I rarely spend more than 1 day in a particular location, so recharging while the engine is running is almost a given, and when I am going to be stationary I have a 60W solar panel should charge the Ecoflow in 5-6 hrs.

The whole setup will be that the Ecoflow is permanently connected to the cigarette lighter in the back, and the Setpower is permanently connected to the Ecoflow. The Ecoflow is charged when I drive and automatically powers the fridge when I am parked. Will add a Victron adjustable power shutoff set to 12V as a fail-safe. A 10ft AWG14 cable will give me around 0.3V drop from the cigarette lighter, so that will be a safe 12.2+V cutoff at the battery

Does anyone see serious flaws in my logic? This is for light weekend warrior use, don't need to last in on washboard for weeks at a time. And most of all, being quiet at night is THE primary requirement.

Feedback and critique most welcome.

Thanks!

Only thing I can think of is that the solar panel likely won't charge the fridge that fast in reality, especially if the fridge is running. Plus, taking into account days that aren't 100% sunny or whatever the case. If the fridge has a freezer built-in, it might be useful to have soime ice packs in there just in case you do have a power failure. Always good to have a power backup of some kind (could even just say that your backup is the bronco) to keep things cool. But if the fridge were to fail, then some ice packs would be good insurance.

 

[HBTFD 2.0]

A running refrigerator is going to produce heat. Will the extra heat be uncomfortable while sleeping in the Bronco? Do you have a solution to vent the heat outside the cab

 

[GroovyGeek]

A running refrigerator is going to produce heat. Will the extra heat be uncomfortable while sleeping in the Bronco? Do you have a solution to vent the heat outside the cab

That is an excellent point that I had not considered. Most of the time I would need a fridge while sleeping in the car is in yhe desert Southwest during winter and early spring. Days ate warm enough to need a fridge, but nights are usually cool.

 

[CalvinT]

Would like to add a fridge to the back of my Bronco so I would have cool water and drinks and also food such as meats and cheese for a few days. I sleep in the back of the Bronco so ultra quiet is a must. It is for me only, so small footprint is also highly desirable. I will not install on a slider, this will be strapped to the D-rings and secured against sliding to my molle side panels --- I would like to remove it easily when I need the space.

I have more or less decided on a Setpower RF25 + an Ecoflow Trail 300DC battery. The Setpower is one of the quietest on the market and very well reviewed. The Ecoflow Trail 300DC is one of the highest capacity DC-only fanless batteries. It should easily power the fridge for about 8 hrs, so I get at minimum of 10-12 hrs of safe-ish temps for things like salami sticks and hard cheeses. I rarely spend more than 1 day in a particular location, so recharging while the engine is running is almost a given, and when I am going to be stationary I have a 60W solar panel should charge the Ecoflow in 5-6 hrs.

The whole setup will be that the Ecoflow is permanently connected to the cigarette lighter in the back, and the Setpower is permanently connected to the Ecoflow. The Ecoflow is charged when I drive and automatically powers the fridge when I am parked. Will add a Victron adjustable power shutoff set to 12V as a fail-safe. A 10ft AWG14 cable will give me around 0.3V drop from the cigarette lighter, so that will be a safe 12.2+V cutoff at the battery

Does anyone see serious flaws in my logic? This is for light weekend warrior use, don't need to last in on washboard for weeks at a time. And most of all, being quiet at night is THE primary requirement.

Feedback and critique most welcome.

Thanks!

I'd go with the 100 W panel. As @Nibronc stated the 60W panel is marginal. The Victron is probably not needed since I understand the Bronco 12v port shuts off about 30 minutes after you turn off the ignition. Leaving the Bronco in accessory causes it to complain. Also the Victron LVD is unidirectional. You'll have to make sure current never flows into the Bronco or you'll burn out the Victron. It does not have an internal blocking diode.

You could gain a little by designing a system using a Victron MPPT controller and separate battery, but it would cost you much more and wouldn't be as portable.

 

[GroovyGeek]

I'd go with the 100 W panel. As @Nibronc stated the 60W panel is marginal. The Victron is probably not needed since I understand the Bronco 12v port shuts off about 30 minutes after you turn off the ignition. Leaving the Bronco in accessory causes it to complain. Also the Victron LVD is unidirectional. You'll have to make sure current never flows into the Bronco or you'll burn out the Victron. It does not have an internal blocking diode.

You could gain a little by designing a system using a Victron MPPT controller and separate battery, but it would cost you much more and wouldn't be as portable.

Thr XT60 port on the EcoFlow is by definition unidirectional so there is no way to flow current into the Bronco. And the Victron will be there as cheap insurance rather than primary control. My PowerPoint timeout is set to 75mins to allow me to run LED strips in the back at camp.

Yes, a 100W panel wiuld be better but I already own a 60W for my hiking and drone photography, so it will have to do.

 

[CalvinT]

Thr XT60 port on the EcoFlow is by definition unidirectional so there is no way to flow current into the Bronco. And the Victron will be there as cheap insurance rather than primary control. My PowerPoint timeout is set to 75mins to allow me to run LED strips in the back at camp.

Yes, a 100W panel wiuld be better but I already own a 60W for my hiking and drone photography, so it will have to do.

Reading both Setpower and Ecoflow documentation leads me to think you're planning on connecting the Setpower to the 12V Car Outlet on the Ecoflow. So you don't need to worry about the Ecoflow battery feeding back into the Bronco. But connecting the solar panel and the Bronco to the XT60 port isn't a good idea. If the engine isn't running the panel will try to feed power into the Bronco as well as the Ecoflow.

Victron is very clear, I quote from their manual.

Pay attention to the correct orientation. The SBP is designed to allow current to flow from IN (battery) to OUT (load) terminals only. Reverse currents from OUT to IN terminals are strictly forbidden and will damage the device. If you wish to use the SBP as a disconnection for a charge source, you must orient the unit in the system so that the current is flowing in the intended direction, IN to OUT.

 

[Deadpool392]

Why not just unplug the ecoflow at night? That’s what I do when I am camping out of the back of the Bronco. I actually unplug the fridge from the Bronco and into a backup battery for the night.

 

[23OBX2.7]

Ice block in cheap cooler last three days I imagine in a decent one would last 4-5.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Why not just unplug the ecoflow at night? That’s what I do when I am camping out of the back of the Bronco. I actually unplug the fridge from the Bronco and into a backup battery for the night.

Given how absentminded I am I want to make it a zero hassle setup. The setup is intended to be

cigarette lighter -> Victron -> Ecoflow -> Setpower

That way the battery always charges when the engine is running and there is double redundancy on the connection to the Bronco battery - the timeout of the powerpoint and the Victron. If I manually swap between the EcoFlow and the Setpower I will forget to reverse the setup before driving at least 80% of the time.

Reading both Setpower and Ecoflow documentation leads me to think you're planning on connecting the Setpower to the 12V Car Outlet on the Ecoflow. So you don't need to worry about the Ecoflow battery feeding back into the Bronco. But connecting the solar panel and the Bronco to the XT60 port isn't a good idea. If the engine isn't running the panel will try to feed power into the Bronco as well as the Ecoflow.

Yes, the intent is
cigarette lighter -> Victron -> Ecoflow -> Setpower

The solar panel will be pulled out only occasionally as needed and in that case it will connect to the EcoFlow through a USBC port via a slimQ, which can take the full 60W output of the battery and convert it into a USBC PD.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFW8G3DD

Alternatively I can run an XT60 to the Ecoflow which will replace the XT60 connection from the XT60 from the Bronco. As you correctly point out, if I run an XT60 splitter there is a high chance that the solar panel will start pumping current into the Bronco and fry the Victron

 

[GroovyGeek]

Ice block in cheap cooler last three days I imagine in a decent one would last 4-5.

That is a very valid solution, but where is the fun in that, not pissing money away on an unnecessarily complicated solution?

 

[23OBX2.7]

That is a very valid solution, but where is the fun in that, not pissing money away on an unnecessarily complicated solution?

LOL more for forged monoblock wheels or massive sound system upgrade!

 

[HBTFD 2.0]

That is a very valid solution, but where is the fun in that, not pissing money away on an unnecessarily complicated solution?

Buy a rigid frigid cooler if you want to piss away sone cash. An Rtic for 1/4 the price will meet your needs. Both are silent.

 

[CalvinT]

The solar panel will be pulled out only occasionally as needed and in that case it will connect to the EcoFlow through a USBC port via a slimQ, which can take the full 60W output of the battery and convert it into a USBC PD.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFW8G3DD

I don't think the slimQ will work in the way you think it will. The slimQ seems to rely on an external power supply. A detail Amazon leaves out.
You won't be able to use it to charge the Ecoflow.

Also there's this little detain in the Ecoflow documentation.

 

[GroovyGeek]

I don't think the slimQ will work in the way you think it will. The slimQ seems to rely on an external power supply. A detail Amazon leaves out.
You won't be able to use it to charge the Ecoflow.

Also there's this little detain in the Ecoflow documentation.

There was never a plan to use both the XT and the USBc port to charge the EcoFlow. It was always going t be either or.

I have double checked the documentation of the SlimQ and cannot see any mention of it requiring a power supply beyond the input from the solar panel
https://slimq.life/products/dc-to-usb-extender-for-150w-240

This is 2nd generation product that can turn any DC input 5V-24V into a full PD 3.0 USB C output.

On many (most) solar panels, the USBc PD ports typically deliver half of the spec'd panel power. For example, 60W panels can deliver the full 60W on the 12V 2.1mm jack port, but only 30W (some models 45W) on the USB-c port. My goal with the SlimQ is to feed it with from the 2.1mm jack on the panel and (hopefully) deliver something approximating 60W USB-c PD on via the SlimQ output. The panel and SlimQ arrive tomorrow, we shall see if it works.

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