I’ll be going camping in the summer (about 90 degrees and 60 at night) and plan to run the Dometic using a Bluetti Elite 100 V2. I’ll be using one compartment as a freezer and the other as a fridge, and I’ll also have a 200-watt solar panel. I’ll be using the DC input only.
Do you think this setup will be sufficient to run the unit for about three days? I understand it will depend on factors like weather and how often the fridge is opened, but I plan to keep it in the shade and open it only when necessary.
In your opinion, will this small power station be enough, or would I need a larger generator? Any input—or guidance on where I should post this question—would be greatly appreciated. I haven’t been able to find anyone with a similar setup that isn’t also charging from their vehicle. Thanks in advance!
If you cant find someone with your exact set up to respond with first hand experiance, I would run some tests in the house with the cooler and the battery to get an idea of consumption at a constant temp. You can then run a similar test with the panel to see how much input you are getting and do some rough math on %usage and %input over 24 hrs to at least get you in the ball park. The goal being how much out put do you need and how much input can produce. You did not say if your panel was roof mounted or portable, in my limited experience (about 3 weeks with the panel on the roof) is its super easy and constant during the day but output is super variable based on conditions, sun angle, dirtiness of the panel etc. I have not seen over 150 w input on the roof with a 200W panel. Portable panels can be fine tuned for sun angle but a lot more work to keep messing with them and only producing when you are set up but get you closer to maxim efficiency/output for the conditions. Not an answer to your direct question but maybe this helps give you an idea and some tips for reducing the power consumption. I have a Jakery 1000V2 that has pretty close specs to your Bluetti. I am running a CFX 35 fridge so smaller and no freezer on DC output which is more efficient than the AC. All of the below is for this set up. Set at 34 degrees in similar climate to your description it runs for about 3 days in the back of the truck empty. If you look at the Dometic specs there is a pretty significant power usage difference even of just a few degrees for different temperature settings. Interestingly it draws down the battery about 25-30% for the first 2 24 hr periods in the first 2 days and the completely then drains around the 36 hr mark. I also have a separate small battery for the GFC lights etc which is something you would want to account for in your power need calculation. Other things that reduce consumption are to pre chill it and all items prior and keep it full and out of the sun, only open when necessary etc, this uses a lot less power for the first day or so. Things like frozen water bottles to start also help reduce the time it runs. My understanding is the freezer draws significantly more power than when in fridge mode and your cooler is larger so just based on that o would say you will be hard pressed to make up the difference with solar only but this is just gut feeling without understanding your expected out put and input.
I ran my test on the patio (in PHX) with 2 gallons refrigerated water (refrigerated load), opening the 55im several times during the day to simulate actual usage. ~90F day ~65F night. Over the course of the 3 day weekend my battery (much smaller than your setup, but then the fridge is too) was charged and in float mode by 1030 each morning.
9 day trip in Idaho and similar results, sunny to partly cloudy a couple days, flat 100w panel, same battery. SCC said it was in float mode by ~1100 each day. I ran my Starlink off Ryobi 18v batteries and charged them via usb on the same setup. I have LED lights in my GFC but those draw so little current.
The CFX fridges are pretty good at efficiency, but yeah do a test on with the setup, put a bit of chilled mass in the fridge to mimic what you would be using and just see.
I really want to see if I could/should run the fridge off usb-c PD. The input says it will take 24v, so yeah, that would be cool. But, I have too many other projects bouncing around in my head so I probably won’t get around to it since it works substantially adequate.
I would use ChatGPT to get your very close real world results. I described my specific gear in the chat and found that the information was accurate enough for me to have a little stress relief.