Anyone using a Dometic PLB40 in their Tacoma?

lithium batteries require at least 14.25 volts for a absorption charge.

 

That’s AC which requires an AC adaptor. So then power is going DC from the battery to AC to the outlet then back to DC. That’s a lot of power loss. Keeping straight DC the whole way is more power efficient and easier to work with, especially with dometic plug ins have threads to keep secure.

 

Via AC: while in park you get enough power to charge, but when driving you can not get enough power to charge it.

 

Hey @Dometic I've got a solar charging question.

Was looking into setting up a permanently mounted solar panel on my roof to supplement the charge on my PLB40 for trips where I don't drive that much in a day, or where I'm away from the vehicle for a day or two. I came across this article which is saying that if the solar charge is lost or interrupted, say going through a tunnel or at night, then the PLB40 will go into an error mode, and won't resume charging once the sunlight resumes. Is this true? I called Dometic and the woman I spoke to said that they "don't recommend solar charging, although some people have made it work. I can only tell you what it says in the manual." Is it worth researching solar charging here for my intended use?

 

@Dometic

Few people here with this same inquiry. Can we please get a response?

I have the plb40 with

$800 CFX3 45 -Liter Portable Refrigerator and Freezer, Powered by AC/DC or Solar

CFX3 45 and renogy 100w. I need this battery to be able to charge during the day while hooked into solar, not charge when the sun is down, then start charging again in the morning when the solar voltage is high enough.

as of now, I have to reconnect in the morning to get the beeping to stop. This is not ideal, and is a major design flaw.

I go on multi day backpacks, and need the contents of my CFX3 45 to remained cooled while away from the vehicle.

If this isnt an option, I’m going to have to switch to a different product.

 

So you have to reconnect it in order to get the beeping to stop, and while it is beeping there is no charging taking place? Your experience sounds like what I had read elsewhere, which totally negates the ability for the unit to be solar charged in my opinion. I won't even consider making a setup in this case. It seems like @Dometic is purposely avoiding the conversation since they've been on the site posting about their recent sales.

 

The beeping can be silenced, but in order to restart the solar charging, it seems that the SB50 connector has to be unplugged from the PLB, then plugged back in(when the sun is out of course).

very strange operation.

 

Couldn't care less about the the beeping, since I won't be there to hear it anyway. But needing to reset something in the system for it to charge come morning won't fit how I would intend to use it.

 

Sorry for the delay. We aren’t ignoring the conversation. We’ve been traveling and haven’t had good data access.

We do recommend using the PLB40 with solar panels. They work great. Note- the PLB40 was designed primarily as a dual battery alternative though.

As this user states though, when the sun goes down, the PLB goes into error mode and begins beeping to alert the user it is not charging. The beeping will continue for 1 minute, but the user will need to reset the PLB to make it charge again.

We will address this in the future, but with this model this is the way it functions.

 

Ok thank you. I'm glad I read up on it a little before jumping head first into buying pieces to build a solar setup. Just FYI, you should relay to the people at marketing that this really should be noted online and especially in the user manual. That's a pretty big discrepancy between how I thought it would work and how it actually works. If it is meant to be a dual batter alternative this "feature" surely removes it from that category.

 

I don’t know who is on your r and d team, but this is a horrible design mistake, and a blatant oversight. Unfortunately I’ll have to switch to a different brand.

also, @Dometic , the beeping continues incessantly, not just for one minute, until the unit is silenced.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I’ve already pushed it over to the marketing team.

Solar tech for overlanding has evolved quickly in the last several years. Our next iteration of the PLB will take a lot of this progress into account.

We understand the current PLB40 might not meet your specific use case. Hearing this type of feedback helps the product team determine how best to evolve this and other products so we appreciate the feedback.

 

Thanks. For me, it isn't the end of the world. The unit does the job I needed it to do when I bought it. When I started thinking about how the manual said it was solar capable, I started dabbling in researching what it would take to do so since I thought it would be nice to have but isn't necessary based on how I use my setup 99% of the time. I could however see how the marketing mislead those who had bigger plans in mind.

 

Dometic!
I have the

$800 CFX3 45 -Liter Portable Refrigerator and Freezer, Powered by AC/DC or Solar

CFX3 45 (game changer, LOVE IT!) and am about to purchase the PLB40. I planned to use it with Solar. I see the issues with doing so and hear you are going to address them in the next model. Any hint on when something like this will be released? This product seems like the best thing for me, but with these solar issues maybe not? How long would I have to go without if I wait for the improved model??

Anyone else have a suggestion of a different brand that basically does what this PLB40 should do? I loved the longevity of the lithium iron and the built in solar charger and wanted to stick with Dometic but...

 

Shooting from the hip here because I’m not up to speed on what’s current but you could also look at Jackery.

 

Bump for Dometic...

 

I've reached out to the product manager, but I believe he is traveling.

I've not heard any mention of a pending update to the PLB40 that would land in the near future.

If I get information indicating otherwise, I'll be sure to post a follow-up.

DOMETIC
mobile living made easy
dometic.com
Use promo code TacomaW20 for $25 off your order of $75+

 

@Dometic This post is a bit old, but is this still a limitation with the PLB40? Wanted to see if it had been addressed with newer models. I don't have a permanent solar setup on my truck, but if I have panels out and it gets cloudy or something, will the unit still beep/stop charging with the only way to fix it be a reset/restart?

 

Mine was purchased in 22 season with REI bucks. It does squawk at me if solar charging is interrupted. But usually this because I am not paying attention and the sun has long since moved somewhere else or something like that. All i do is move the panel and were back in business. No fuss. So for me this is more a feature than a bug in that a) it seldom occurs, b) when it does its giving me valuable/actionable feedback, and c) its a no fuss fix. Kinida just plays out as "hey stupid the sun moved". Overall super pleased with this little lunchbox battery. Hardwired into my switch pro so that I can program that switch to be hard off when ignition off but on when ignition on - or just operate from the button itself of course. If i dont want it I just pull the battery in 2 seconds. Runs the CFX 35 for 48hrs ish. 120w little Amazon cheapo blanket puts about 25% back in about 2-3 hours with the fridge running. Ideal for what we do. Flexible, functional, idiot proof, right-sized for a family of 4 truck camping. I dont get the solo camping youtube bros with the 65L dual zone filled with a lifetime supply of gatorade and ice cream bars. WTF even is that lol.

Good luck!

 

Right on, appreciate the input. We just got a

$760 CFX3 35 Portable Refrigerator and Freezer - 36L - Powered by AC/DC or Solar Portable Refrigerator, Smokey Gray

CFX3 35 at a smoking price, and it's the size we wanted. Just 2 of us for 2-3 days typically so figure more than enough space for the food we pack, beer on ice in a separate cooler. I initially wanted the PLB40...just also recognize that with cloud cover, there's often periods of time where the sun goes away for a few to like 15 minutes and don't want to spend my day listening to beeping and having to constantly reset the thing. Other power stations I've researched will just operate seamlessly with no user interaction. Wasn't sure if it was that sensitive or if it's really just happening when the sun goes down for good and there's been no light for a while. I see you're in CO too, so I know you know what I mean about the clouds rolling in. Also glad to hear you get about 48 hours as that's the timeframe I'm shooting for with no solar/charge.