alternative power supplies?

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If your main concern is to keep medications cool, then a small cooler style portable refrigerator might serve your purposes better for this trip. It would likely take much less power to run and since it is a top-opening, the cold air inside won't spill out when you open the door. A small one would also not need as much energy to cool and then to maintain that temperature. You may wish to check into one of them.
Here is a link for a Bodega 10 quart model which might be big enough for your medications and for a small amount of perishable food items. https://www.amazon.com/BODEGACOOLER-Refrigerator-Portable-Compressor-DC100-240/dp/B0CJ513NDQ

There are others which may have better specifications. Hopefully, one of these might be the answer to your need. Back when we still had the RPod and the propane refrigerator which did not adequately cool in hot weather, I found a Free Piston Sterling Cooler at our local ReStore. These were used to transport pharmaceutical items (not biological though). They only cool to 4C, but are very efficient. I should have gotten a couple more at the price they were selling. I have not seen any since. I could trust the FPSC to keep perishable items cool and safe for use when I could not trust the propane refrigerator to do so. 

Whatever you decide, do not get a thermoelectric (Peltier junction) cooler. Those are cheap. They use a lot of power and will drain your battery much faster than one of the small compressor powered coolers. They also share the same problem as the propane refrigerators in that they can only cool to about 40 degrees below ambient temperatures. The compressor ones do a much better job with much less energy use.

Edited by StephenH - 19 Feb 2025 at 4:56pm

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StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6429	Post Options Post Reply Quote StephenH Report Post Quote Reply Topic: alternative power supplies? Posted: 19 Feb 2025 at 4:37pm
	If your main concern is to keep medications cool, then a small cooler style portable refrigerator might serve your purposes better for this trip. It would likely take much less power to run and since it is a top-opening, the cold air inside won't spill out when you open the door. A small one would also not need as much energy to cool and then to maintain that temperature. You may wish to check into one of them. Here is a link for a Bodega 10 quart model which might be big enough for your medications and for a small amount of perishable food items. https://www.amazon.com/BODEGACOOLER-Refrigerator-Portable-Compressor-DC100-240/dp/B0CJ513NDQ There are others which may have better specifications. Hopefully, one of these might be the answer to your need. Back when we still had the RPod and the propane refrigerator which did not adequately cool in hot weather, I found a Free Piston Sterling Cooler at our local ReStore. These were used to transport pharmaceutical items (not biological though). They only cool to 4C, but are very efficient. I should have gotten a couple more at the price they were selling. I have not seen any since. I could trust the FPSC to keep perishable items cool and safe for use when I could not trust the propane refrigerator to do so. Whatever you decide, do not get a thermoelectric (Peltier junction) cooler. Those are cheap. They use a lot of power and will drain your battery much faster than one of the small compressor powered coolers. They also share the same problem as the propane refrigerators in that they can only cool to about 40 degrees below ambient temperatures. The compressor ones do a much better job with much less energy use. Edited by StephenH - 19 Feb 2025 at 4:56pm
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

mjlrpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 27 Sep 2016 Location: Massachusetts Online Status: Offline Posts: 1221	Post Options Post Reply Quote mjlrpod Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 02 Mar 2025 at 3:30pm
	The fridge is 12 volt and it will kill that battery in 2 days. Adding a 200 ah lifepo4 is your best option that will get you just about 7 days. T will cost about the same as portable solar panels.
	2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding

Suess Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 01 Mar 2025 Location: Ozaukee Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Post Options Post Reply Quote Suess Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 04 Mar 2025 at 3:29pm
	I also have a question about batteries and the 12 volt fridge. We have a 200 watt solar panel on our Rpod 203 but we may not always have sun. Been playing around with getting a 100ah but do you think that we should get a ah 200 instead?
	Suess

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6429	Post Options Post Reply Quote StephenH Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 04 Mar 2025 at 4:15pm
	Changing from lead-acid to Lithium Iron Phosphate isn't as difficult as it used to be as the converter in the new ones auto-detects the battery type and adjusts the charging parameters automatically. You will want to check the manual for the solar charge controller though to see if it needs to have any switches changed for the battery type. All else being equal, It is going to be better if you can go with a 200AH LiFePO4 battery. That is what we have.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS