I bought a small Whynter portable freezer from Home Depot. It requires 110V AC, draws a miniscule 79W and 1.1A. So I bought a Black & Decker 500W battery power station (Model PPRH5B) that has an inverter that can supply AC power to the freezer. I made sure that the battery capacity for wattage and amperage are above the requirements of the freezer. But as soon as I plug the freezer in the AC outlet on the battery, the battery fault LED comes on and the fridge doesn't run. The freezer runs just fine when plugged into a wall outlet.I could've bough a 12V freezer than runs on cigarette ligher outlet, but they cost upwards of $600, meanwhile this freezer+battery combo only cost $275, except that it doesn't work...Any suggestions on why this could be happening would be appreciated

The inrush (start up) current draw for a compressor based refrigerator/freezer can be considerably higher than the running current draw. You need more inverter. Most likely in the 1500W to 2000W range to start the freezer.

It's simple79w is about 0.7 amps at 120v but that is 7 amps at 12vThe killer is the compressor start up probably a surge of about 60 amps dc to provide 6 amps 120a.c. To start the compressorThat's why I have a 1200w inverter to run my 100w residential fridgeCompressor start is around 900wEven if you got it started you would only get an hour or two of freezer run timeIt's going to draw 7 amps from the battery while runningI doubt that battery is larger than 10 amp hrsYour not the first one to miscalculat 120v power use to 12v powerYou won't be the last one eitherYou might be able to return the battery stationPut that money toward buying a 600w inverter, that is 600w continuous 1000 surge, you need to be able to hold that 600w until the compressor spins up and is running, were taking one l or two secondsNot milliseconds that most inverter surge ratings areConnect that inverter to your RV batteriesThat 500w connected to a small battery won't work

Found this in the product overview."Additionally, the 12 Volt power supply option allows for a wide range of applications from home use to field use to in-vehicle use."I looked it up on Home Depot - for some reason I can'd post a link, says the site is down.

drifter_wayfarer wrote:I could've bough a 12V freezer than runs on cigarette ligher outlet, That won't work well either, unless you have big thick wires feeding that outlet.

As mr wizard said even if it did run it you would not get even an hour of runtime. More to this electrical stuff than you would think so it is best to ask the question before one makes purchases.Sam

Can't run a portable freezer on B&D battery station

40 Replies

drifter_wayfare
Explorer
Jan 22, 2017
I think we're sold on dry ice. We found a place nearby that sells it.

Thanks everyone for all your comments. I learned a lot from this discussion, even though I didn't end up using the battery/inverter solution
marcsbigfoot20b
Explorer
Jan 21, 2017
I have both an Engel 45 quart and a Whynter/Edgestar 86 quart. I can plug both of them into the cig lighter and run them as long as the vehicle is running. Not running you will get an hour both or maybe 2 if just the small one, and still start the car. The nice part is you can also transport non frozen stuff.

Dry ice is the way to go if it is only frozen stuff unless you cant obtain it easily.

Here is a review I did years ago on power draw from these coolers.
https://www.amazon.com/EdgeStar-Qt-Portable-Fridge-Freezer/dp/B0012EKHJM/ref=cm_aya_orig_subj
filrupmark
Explorer
Jan 21, 2017
We have a 1000 watt inverter from Harbor Freight. We run a 4.3cu Ft refrigerator with no issues at all . I mounted the inverter close to the battery bank and ran 14-3 Romex to a dedicated receptacle. Works great.
TurnThePage
Explorer
Jan 21, 2017
One last plug for the dry ice. It's cheaper and more reliable than ANY electric based solution. It's used daily to ship frozen goods all over the globe. It's readily available in most places. It's simpler to use. Etc, etc, etc.
DrewE
Explorer II
Jan 21, 2017
Is your vehicle a pickup truck? If so, probably the least expensive way to power the freezer for a quick trip would be a little gasoline generator. The 900W harbor freight two stroke would probably do the trick just fine. It won't be especially quiet, of course, but that's of little concern on the highway. There are, of course, several much better small generators for more money. If you do use a generator, don't start it under load with the freezer plugged in.

(I still believe it's entirely an unnecessary complication to have a running freezer for this short of a trip.)
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Jan 21, 2017
Re-Reading or perhaps first time reading

"I only need the freezer for a 2 hour trip"
Are you saying you can plug in, then unplug drive for only 2 hours and plug in again?

If so then I have a recommendation for you

Do exactly what I described above. Do not worry about the unit on the road, Nothing will thaw in that short a time Unit should keep food cold for a minimum of SIX hours so long as the door is closed (Tie it closed or latch it) and more typically 8 or more. For 2 hours, Don't even worry about it.

Oh, I have a Xantrex Prosine for my house. the freezer however is an ENGEL runs off 12 volts, all of 3 amps of 12 volts,, that's all just 36 Watts. Small though.
drifter_wayfare
Explorer
Jan 21, 2017
Actually, not sure if I can buy a Tripp-Lite PV1250FC as was recommended on this forum. I just noticed it's an inverter too, not a battery station, so it would need me to connect it to car's battery, which I am trying to avoid, since I am not a very handy person.
drifter_wayfare
Explorer
Jan 21, 2017
Getting back to this topic.

I got a recommendation for Tripp Lite PV1250FC, which I can consider buying.

But I am hoping I can find something a bit less expensive. The Xantrex inverter wont work for me, since I am not very handy with stuff like connecting it to car battery etc.

I tried to find a larger battery station, bigger than my Black & Decker PPRH5B, as was suggested on this forum. Schumacher didn't seem to have any. I found a Duracell Powerpack Pro 1300, seems bigger, but not sure. Would appreciate if someone could take a look to see if this would work?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009YR00MI/ref=psdc_318336011_t3_B00BR1TO80

Any other battery station recommendations would be appreciated

Thanks
BFL13
Explorer II
Dec 18, 2016
I agree with the above for cooler and dry ice or just ice or those blue frozen things. However, DW always comes first!

Depends on your battery bank set-up and its location in the rig, but I would be able to (and would) just grab a couple batteries from the rig and use them to power the inverter for the trip. Put the batteries back in the rig afterwards.

I would even use the rig's big inverter, which can be portable. You can use fat wire with those 600 amp parrot clamps for everything! Works great when I have done it. (Swapping between the 5er and the truck camper)
DrewE
Explorer II
Dec 18, 2016
After two hours in a cooler, the frozen stuff should still be sufficiently frozen, with no additional ice or dry ice. To ease your wife's mind, maybe buy a little container of ice cream; if it's still reasonably firm when you get home, everything else is still frozen too.

(This time of year in Ohio, all you need is a rooftop carrier on your car to keep stuff frozen indefinitely!)