ARB Fridge Freezers vs GZ Yeti - Update: New GZ Yeti works great, GZ customer service is awesome

Photomom

I am trying trying to understand how the Battery Monitor is supposed to work.

I have a 50L Fridge Freezer and am running it from mt Goal Zero Yeti solar generator. I want to see how long I can run the ARB on the GZ battery in preparation for some travel we are planning so I’m doing some testing and experimenting.

What I’m finding is the ARB works for a few hours and then shuts off. I’ve tried it on both the Med and Hi battery monitor settings. The Check light does not flash as indicated in the user manual when the battery monitor shuts the fridge down. When I check the Goal Zero Yeti I find that the battery is at 100% and its voltage is above the voltage required for the ARB to resume operation per the manual.

This doesn’t seem to be working the way the user manual indicates, but the info there is a little sketchy.

Have you used the battery monitor function? Does the Check light flash if the battery monitor shuts the fridge down? Does the fridge start up automatically at some point?

I do have an email into ARB but I know some of you have practical experience.

Ratkity

I thought the Lo Med and Hi were the levels of battery usage. I need to find my manual!! Let me know what your experiments show. I have the same size ARB.

Photomom

Ratkity said:

I thought the Lo Med and Hi were the levels of battery usage. I need to find my manual!! Let me know what your experiments show. I have the same size ARB.

I am not sure the ARB’s battery monitor is working correctly so I can’t complete testing. All I know is the ARB is shutting off while the GZ still seems to have plenty of battery capacity.

Sharon_is_SAM

We have never had our battery so low as to test the ARB automatic shut off.  Is it possible the issue is the GZ -ARB pairing?

Photomom

Stood there and watched as the ARB compressor kicked on. There was a brief spike in the output watts shown on the GZ, and the fridge shut off. I still don’t see a flashing Check light on the ARB.

Hmm, new theory: Could the GZ be shutting down the 12 volt output because of a current spike? That would explain the ARB’s behavior. Will investigate tomorrow.

Luckyj

Yes it could.  Do not know enough about the GZ, but what kind of connectin do you have between the ARB and GZ.  Maybe the wireing does not support the starting amp tye arb need

Maybe you should do a general google web search about arb-goal zero.  Food luck.

jkjenn

Question: are you using the original 12v cigarette style plug with the Yeti or do you have the adapter? Mine was turning off when the compressor kicked in, too.

The standard ARB cigarette plug does not play nicely with the Yeti. I called Goal Zero and they sent me a 6mm adapter that solved my issue.

Photomom

jkjenn said:

Question: are you using the original 12v cigarette style plug with the Yeti or do you have the adapter? Mine was turning off when the compressor kicked in, too.

The standard ARB cigarette plug does not play nicely with the Yeti. I called Goal Zero and they sent me a 6mm adapter that solved my issue.

I have the 6mm adapter. The ARB did not power on at all using the cigarette style outlet and GZ sent me the adapter.

Photomom

jkjenn said:

Question: are you using the original 12v cigarette style plug with the Yeti or do you have the adapter? Mine was turning off when the compressor kicked in, too.

The standard ARB cigarette plug does not play nicely with the Yeti. I called Goal Zero and they sent me a 6mm adapter that solved my issue.

Jenn, in your testing and power management have you learned what the maximum current spike is when the ARB compressor comes on? There is very little info available for the ARB. The manual mentions 5.1 amps at 12 volts which is the neighborhood of 60 watts. The 12v output port of the GZ Yeti is spec’ed at 120 watts so there “shouldn’t” be a problem. 

jkjenn

Photomom said:

jkjenn said:

Question: are you using the original 12v cigarette style plug with the Yeti or do you have the adapter? Mine was turning off when the compressor kicked in, too.

The standard ARB cigarette plug does not play nicely with the Yeti. I called Goal Zero and they sent me a 6mm adapter that solved my issue.

Jenn, in your testing and power management have you learned what the maximum current spike is when the ARB compressor comes on? There is very little info available for the ARB. The manual mentions 5.1 amps at 12 volts which is the neighborhood of 60 watts. The 12v output port of the GZ Yeti is spec’ed at 120 watts so there “shouldn’t” be a problem. 

That 5.1 amps is at initial start up, not when the compressor kicks in. This is stra ge, sounds like the problem I was having so I am still curious about the connection. Have you tried unplugging the 12v cord from the GZ 6mm adapter and then tried, again?

Photomom

jkjenn said:

Photomom said:

jkjenn said:

Question: are you using the original 12v cigarette style plug with the Yeti or do you have the adapter? Mine was turning off when the compressor kicked in, too.

The standard ARB cigarette plug does not play nicely with the Yeti. I called Goal Zero and they sent me a 6mm adapter that solved my issue.

Jenn, in your testing and power management have you learned what the maximum current spike is when the ARB compressor comes on? There is very little info available for the ARB. The manual mentions 5.1 amps at 12 volts which is the neighborhood of 60 watts. The 12v output port of the GZ Yeti is spec’ed at 120 watts so there “shouldn’t” be a problem. 

That 5.1 amps is at initial start up, not when the compressor kicks in. This is stra ge, sounds like the problem I was having so I am still curious about the connection. Have you tried unplugging the 12v cord from the GZ 6mm adapter and then tried, again?

Unplugging and plugging the ARB from the yeti does not cause it to power on, however switching the 12 volt section of the Yeti off and on does. I suspect there is something in the Yeti circuit that turns the 12 volt outputs off if it sees a current spike greater than some value. 

The weird thing is the Yeti runs the ARB for several hours with the compressor coming on several times,with barely any drop in battery voltage. And then boom, the compressor kicks on and the Yeti turns the 12 volt output off. 

Photomom

Some additional info. I Set up the iPhone to capture video of the GZ Yeti display and caught an output current of 88 watts at one point. It seems the ARB does in fact spike current higher that the 60 watts. But that port is rated For 120 watts so it really shouldn’t be shutting down at 88. Also, I checked with my multimeter and it is definitely the Yeti that is shutting down and not the ARB’s battery monitor. Will pass this on to Goal Zero and see what they say. 

jkjenn

Photomom said:

Some additional info. I Set up the iPhone to capture video of the GZ Yeti display and caught an output current of 88 watts at one point. It seems the ARB does in fact spike current higher that the 60 watts. But that port is rated For 120 watts so it really shouldn’t be shutting down at 88. Also, I checked with my multimeter and it is definitely the Yeti that is shutting down and not the ARB’s battery monitor. Will pass this on to Goal Zero and see what they say. 

Yes, the folks at Goal Zero are pretty familiar with the ARB set up and should be able to help. I do not have an issue now that I have the right adapter and others with the Yeti 400 run the combo, as well.

jkjenn

@Photomom any update?

Photomom

I described what was happening to GZ support and they agreed it was a hardware problem. They emailed a prepaid shipping label and said to send the Yeti back and they’d send me a new one. When that one comes I’ll repeat the test and post results. It’s delayed now due to Snowpocalypse 2019. 

Once this is resolved I’ll get a solar controller and start figuring out how to hook that to the T@B. My T@B goal for this season is to add solar and improve our ability to camp without electric hookups. 

Ratkity

My mini Goal Zero lantern just arrived. USB charged. Replaceable battery (when eventually needed). Absolutely cute and small. So well built. I'm impressed with their products!

https://www.goalzero.com/shop/lights/lighthouse-mini-lantern-core/

Height without legs down is around 2 traditional apple usb chargers.

Best of luck @Ph@Photomom! I can't wait until you get it set up again with your ARB.

Photomom

The GZ lanterns look very nice but I prefer Luci lights since they can be charged with solar. We have 3 of them and they work inside the T@B as well as outside and at home for our frequent power outages. 

jkjenn

Ratkity said:

My mini Goal Zero lantern just arrived. USB charged. Replaceable battery (when eventually needed). Absolutely cute and small. So well built. I'm impressed with their products!

https://www.goalzero.com/shop/lights/lighthouse-mini-lantern-core/

Height without legs down is around 2 traditional apple usb chargers.

Best of luck @Ph@Photomom! I can't wait until you get it set up again with your ARB.

I have been using the old version of that and the micro. I have to tell you, if anyone is a minimalist, the micro is incredible. It holds a charge forever and is sufficient for basic lighting for the T@b. I absolutely love it. As a matter of fact, I broke mine (too many drops on concrete) so I bought a second one.

Photomom

I saw these at REI and think a couple strings of these would look great hanging from our T@B awning but at the price I’ll stick with the cheapo teardrop lights. 

https://www.goalzero.com/shop/lights/light-life-mini-4-pack-shades/

jkjenn

Photomom said:

I saw these at REI and think a couple strings of these would look great hanging from our T@B awning but at the price I’ll stick with the cheapo teardrop lights. 

https://www.goalzero.com/shop/lights/light-life-mini-4-pack-shades/

Yeah, a little pricey...I have used the colored  Luci lights to do the same thing. But I always look to see if they will drop in price.

Photomom

Update: Goal Zero sent me a prepaid shipping label ( :-) ) so I sent the Yeti 400 back and they sent me a new one on Tuesday. I charged it overnight and spent yesterday testing it with my 47L ARB fridge. 

The battery read 12.9v at start and the fridge was prechilled to 32F. Ambient temperature in the room was 68F throughout the test. I connected the fridge to one of the Yeti’s 8mm 12v ports using the free adapter that GZ sent previously.

I checked on things periodically but will spare you the details.

After 12 hours the fridge had cycled 9 times. Every time it warmed up to 38F the compressor and fan came on and ran until the fridge cooled to 32F. While the compressor and fan were running the fridge drew 55-60 watts and in between the circuitry of the fridge drew only 1 watt. Each cycle used less than 13 watt hours. Ended the test at this point. In that 12 hours the ARB had used a total of 115 watt hours. The battery voltage was 12.6v and the battery display showed 80% capacity remaining.

Conclusion: my Yeti 400 is a lead acid version with 200 usable watt hours capacity. We originally purchased the ARB for travel and we bought the Yeti to run the fridge when we stopped for a few hours or overnight. Based on this test, I believe that the Yeti will run the fridge for at least 18 hours at reasonable temperatures. 

Photomom

BTW, there was nothing wrong with the ARB battery monitor. The one fault with the Yeti is there is no indication when the 12v circuit shuts down - indicator light stays on, you have to check the port with a multimeter to know.

Photomom

Also, I contacted ARB customer support at one point during this process, they answered after a couple of weeks and said only that ARB fridges didn’t work well with GZ Yetis. Not so awesome.

jkjenn

Glad that you found GZ customer support to be so responsive. I have always been more than pleased when I have needed to contact them.

Blueespy

For our ARB 50qt, we use a LiPo 48-138W.  It's a bit expensive because it has a lithium battery.  It's the size of a brief case and doesn't weigh all that much.  So, while traveling the ARB and LiPo are in the back of our 2017 Jeep Grand Cherokee trailhawk.  The LiPo is plugged into the DC port that on the right rear panel.  I plug the ARB using the AC plug into the LiPo.  In this fashion, the LiPo is being charged and the ARB is powered.  On testing, the LiPo provided power to the ARB for almost 24-hrs.  To avoid a spike or power drain in the LiPo when we first connect the two, we try and cool the ARB so it's close to our required temp.  When we plug the LiPo, there isn't much of an initial drain.  Our LiPo came with solar panels plus an additional 100w panel.  Not a bad setup for us.