How and when does the 12v battery get charged?

[Phlier]

Any updates on this?

I plan to head out this weekend to go car-camping with a powered cooler/freezer. It has built in “battery protection” which I plan to use in the lowest setting in hopes the the DC-DC Charger will top of the car’s AGM before the cooler shuts off...

GO Series

I will probably use the 12v extension cable it comes with to keep the cooler powered and outside of the vehicle during the day (where I assume it will be more temperate).

I always keep the cabin overheat protection on so based on this thread I hope that’s enough to keep the 12v outlet on continuously. I would guess the cooler uses no more than ~30Wh between the compressor cycling on/off.

Camp Mode will definitely keep the power running to the 12v connector and the USB ports. You access Camp Mode in the same manner that you access Dog Mode.

The problem is that you now have the A/C running after activating Camp Mode. Is it possible to have Camp Mode on (allowing you to power stuff), without the climate system engaged? Something to test out later today, I guess.

 

[n2mb_racing]

Sentry mode should keep the 12V on all the time. It seems that some of the recent software keeps the 12V on all the time, even without Sentry mode. So, should be ok. You don't need to keep the climate control on. I would keep cabin overheat protection on all the time, since it is probably keeping our screens from being destroyed.

 

[camalaio]

Camp Mode will definitely keep the power running to the 12v connector and the USB ports. You access Camp Mode in the same manner that you access Dog Mode.

The problem is that you now have the A/C running after activating Camp Mode. Is it possible to have Camp Mode on (allowing you to power stuff), without the climate system engaged? Something to test out later today, I guess.

Even if you can't fully disable the climate control (which would be weird), you can set it to Low temp, 1 fan, and turn off AC. Basically this is just setting it to pull fresh air with the lowest fan setting (which I wish there was a simpler way to do), and draws very little power.

 

[Itsuo-DC]

Any updates on this?

I plan to head out this weekend to go car-camping with a powered cooler/freezer. It has built in “battery protection” which I plan to use in the lowest setting in hopes the the DC-DC Charger will top of the car’s AGM before the cooler shuts off...

GO Series

I will probably use the 12v extension cable it comes with to keep the cooler powered and outside of the vehicle during the day (where I assume it will be more temperate).

I always keep the cabin overheat protection on so based on this thread I hope that’s enough to keep the 12v outlet on continuously. I would guess the cooler uses no more than ~30Wh between the compressor cycling on/off.

I can report that everything went swimmingly. I can't tell exactly what did the trick but the cooler was powered the entire time without any problems. One thing I will mention is the cooler itself obviously puts out heat not a ton but it could be a factor depending on your circumstances.

The Bluetooth app for the cooler indicated that the 12v "battery" was always at 100% with a voltage of ~13.3v; often from distances of over 50ft away and through the car!

 

[Itsuo-DC]

I can report that everything went swimmingly. I can't tell exactly what did the trick but the cooler was powered the entire time without any problems. One thing I will mention is the cooler itself obviously puts out heat not a ton but it could be a factor depending on your circumstances.

The Bluetooth app for the cooler indicated that the 12v "battery" was always at 100% with a voltage of ~13.3v; often from distances of over 50ft away and through the car!

With the exception of the temp, this voltage and battery level was always the same across all the conditions I had the cooler on: driving, in the car locked up, in the car on Camp Mode, etc.

 

[n2mb_racing]

I can report that everything went swimmingly. I can't tell exactly what did the trick but the cooler was powered the entire time without any problems. One thing I will mention is the cooler itself obviously puts out heat not a ton but it could be a factor depending on your circumstances.

The Bluetooth app for the cooler indicated that the 12v "battery" was always at 100% with a voltage of ~13.3v; often from distances of over 50ft away and through the car!

Fancy cooler!