Vehicle fridge temperature impact in frunk

[Brewbud]

I am curious on how well this fridge works out. One of my biggest disappointments is the frunk size with regards to fitting my ARB fridge.

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[Dark-Fx]

This seems like a taxing situation on two small starter batteries (which are not designed for deep discharge)

The batteries in the Rivian are deep cycle.

 

[DJG]

I just got the Bodega delivered today and will try it out soon. Have you had a chance to mess around with it yet?

I’ve never had one of these coolers before, so trying to figure out the best way to utilize it. Is it bad to leave it plugged in while away from the car for a few hours?

Where are you going to plug it in in the R1T? One thought I had is to leave it plugged into the 110 outlet in the gear tunnel (since that seems to be the most insulated spot), and then open the pass through into the backseat to give ambient heat a place to go. Leaving it in the bed feels like it would just cook under the tonneau in the summer (maybe it’s fine in other times).

If in the GT, you should use the 12v plug instead of the 110. The fridge runs on 12v, so it is more efficient that way and uses less power.

 

[sac602]

Yeah, deep cycle makes sense since there is no engine to start! LOL. I realized that after I posted that comment. with that said, I would not be comfortable running a fridge on those batteries for an extended time so either 110 (if connected to the main battery pack) or a power bank between the rivian 12 v and cooler is prbably what i will eventually do.

Im taking a road trip from Sac to Los Angeles next week and will test out the Bodega and report back.

 

[NY_Rob]

If anyone's intending on purchasing the power bank above, My Capital One app found the same unit on Ebay for $100 less than Amazon and free shipping...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/374112210668?amdata=enc:AQAHAAAAkAGYcJQ4g8uWEsMOiWz4iai9714hoRtd5EI5rSK5PIWBDkTt8960QqBqJF38ZqHaYV5vkRa0KBWG+brOr7D45iq3l8jsvultbzkNuWagmUMMOwdQ/19T6ftL3S5F/3RAQLWCUzc+6u3e2OzoxPUjLqsaiSLIdxR8t9H5ebN51fkO2OF1bbC0bUoSiEJ3M9Zi9w==&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5337795679&toolid=10001&customid=025f3e3830b44e34821756c748b4c380

 

[DJG]

Yeah, deep cycle makes sense since there is no engine to start! LOL. I realized that after I posted that comment. with that said, I would not be comfortable running a fridge on those batteries for an extended time so either 110 (if connected to the main battery pack) or a power bank between the rivian 12 v and cooler is prbably what i will eventually do.

Im taking a road trip from Sac to Los Angeles next week and will test out the Bodega and report back.

The 12v batteries are backed up/supplied by the HV battery, so in effect using the 12v is the same thing. They should maintain a fairly constant voltage as a pass through from the main battery pack. The fridge will use less power via 12v than on 110v.

On the other hand, the 12v is only powered when the vehicle is on, so there is that to consider, particularly for camping.

 

[sac602]

If anyone's intending on purchasing the power bank above, My Capital One app found the same unit on Ebay for $100 less than Amazon and free shipping...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/374112210668?amdata=enc:AQAHAAAAkAGYcJQ4g8uWEsMOiWz4iai9714hoRtd5EI5rSK5PIWBDkTt8960QqBqJF38ZqHaYV5vkRa0KBWG+brOr7D45iq3l8jsvultbzkNuWagmUMMOwdQ/19T6ftL3S5F/3RAQLWCUzc+6u3e2OzoxPUjLqsaiSLIdxR8t9H5ebN51fkO2OF1bbC0bUoSiEJ3M9Zi9w==&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&campid=5337795679&toolid=10001&customid=025f3e3830b44e34821756c748b4c380

I have this exact one. works very well. recomend.

 

[Brewbud]

If your fridge is like my ARB, it will default to 110V ac input even if it is plugged into 12V dc. I sometimes plug it into my Rams 110V and my Goal Zero battery at the same time. When I am driving it powers from the 110V. When I turn off the truck it switches to 12V off the battery pack. I also use solar to charge the Goal Zero.

 

[Khaneric]

On the other hand, the 12v is only powered when the vehicle is on, so there is that to consider, particularly for camping.

This is EXACTLY why I used 110 for my Yosemite trip with the fridge in my truck. Truck was parked for 8+ hours and came back with everything nice and cold.

 

[ATL_Canes]

If in the GT, you should use the 12v plug instead of the 110. The fridge runs on 12v, so it is more efficient that way and uses less power.

But if I leave the car for an hour or two, can I leave plugged into the 12v? Or will it zap those? Would it be better left plugged into 110? This one comes with adapters for both plugs.

Apologies if this is basic stuff - it’s all new to me!

EDIT - Reading is also new to me apparently, as I see this conversation basically happened already.

 

[sac602]

But if I leave the car for an hour or two, can I leave plugged into the 12v? Or will it zap those? Would it be better left plugged into 110? This one comes with adapters for both plugs.

Apologies if this is basic stuff - it’s all new to me!

EDIT - Reading is also new to me apparently, as I see this conversation basically happened already.

So we drove from Sacramento to Los Angeles yesterday (in Lexus Nx hybrid - don't have a rivian yet...) we used the Bodega And it worked great. Had it plugged into the power bank via 110 (the 12v on that power bank turns off when it looses a power draw), then the power bank plugged into the vehicle 12v. This way when we stopped it and the Bodega cooler stayed on.

Cooler is noisier than my Iceco but not bad. If in frunk or under tonneau / bed it would be a non-issue. I'm used to larger plug in cooler (45l) so this is smaller but still decent size.

I set the freezer at 0 and fridge side at 30. At end of 7 hour trip it was close to that 6 degrees in freezer and 32 in fridge side. Frozen stuff solid. I was happy with performance. Packed solid with stuff.

One criticism of my setup is the power bank. It is the one listed in the link a few posts back... It works well but will auto-turn off the 12v if there is no draw. So, when the cooler gets to temp and the compressor turns off, the power bank turns off also. the 110 does not do this so I had to run the Bodega off the power bank 110. Even being plugged into car's 12v battery, it was the power bank was at about 65% when we arrived. We did stop for lunch for 40 min, but that was way more than I thought it would use.

In the rivian, I think the bed only has 110 (no 12v) and the 110 can be left on, so no battery pack would be needed, but but it would suck more energy converting from 110 to 12v. Probably not a big deal.

In frunk, since the 12v turns off, I think the battery bank is needed for when the 12v is off (car off) so cooler continues to run (when hiking, biking, stopping). With my test and my battery, (having to run the Bodega off 110 and charge via 12v) the bank would be dead in about a day or so of constant use.

So, either there needs to be a way to keep the rivian 12v frunk plug on all the time (easiest solution), or I would suggest a different battery pack that does not auto-turn-off thr 12v when there is no draw. If this was the case, the battery bank would be much more efficient and could go probably twice as long.

 

[Brewbud]

How much draw does the 12V battery pack need to stay on? I would think the fridge would still draw a bit of power for the sensors and screen or LED. I know my lithium Goal Zero had an issue where it didn't put out 12V once the lithium battery dropped down below 12V (normal for lithium). This would cause the fridge to turn off to save the battery even though it still had days of power left. Goal Zero came out with a regulated 12V adapter to prevent the fridge from shutting down. This allowed the battery pack to control when it shuts down.

 

[sac602]

Not sure, but the Bodega has a USB port. I put in a USB led. That was not enough draw to keep it on.

 

[Brewbud]

Not sure, but the Bodega has a USB port. I put in a USB led. That was not enough draw to keep it on.

Are you sure the fridge isn't shutting down first which then causes no load so the battery then shuts down?

 

[NY_Rob]

It's strange that the power bank turns off the 12v output at all. If you look at the Li-Ion cells that make up most of these small power banks they are connected in a 4S, 12-14.6v arrangement. Outputting 12 volts could literally come straight from the cells without any boost or buck conversion. All you would need is a low cell voltage cutoff device to disconnect when cells get below 2.6 volts. Outputting 12-14 volts is the easiest thing the power bank can do.

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