Dometic PLB40 Portable Lithium Battery, 40 Ah - Portable Power Bank

I've only had the PLB40 for a little while but I already love this baby. I wanted a backup battery to run the Dometic CFX50 that I didn't have to worry about maintenance-wise for a decade or longer. I already have multiple inverters, I don't need one built into the battery so I'm fine with it not having an AC output. And I wanted the DC inputs to be flexible and the DC outputs to be regulated, which they are.This little LiFePO4 battery with its flexible input sources and regulated DC outputs is just perfect. I did a little initial discharge test and at house-ambient temps (70F) and the CFX50 set to 40F (std refrigeration temp), soft drinks and starting from an already-cooled steady state, the battery will run the unit for 2 days of normal use and still have 25% capacity left at the end of that.One thing I especially like is that the battery's 12VDC input for charging won't pull more than 100W from a vehicle's 12VDC output and thus not overburden that or other power sources one might plug into it. It's a 'don't have to worry' amount of current.The LiFePO4 chemistry means the I generally don't have to worry about maintenance, safety, or cycle life. The battery itself should last a very long time (usually the electronics built into these batteries fail before the battery chemistry itself does). But, of course, I've only had it for two months... so time will tell. Also the failure mode for this battery chemistry is typically just steadily-degrading capacity. I have high expectations.-- UPDATE FEBRUARY 2021 --I am happy to report that the battery has been completely maintenance and trouble-free. Its gotten some use from the CA power safety blackouts in 2020 as well as took a few trips running my Dometic cooler. The only thing I would say is different now is that there quite a few other LiFePO4 battery 'generators' (they call them) out there with roughly similar capacities that are a whole lot cheaper. Battery costs have gone down drastically, but these name-brand special-purposes devices are still being sold at a hefty premium. Maybe checkout a Jackery of one sort or another instead... but keep in mind you need to find the right cables when hooking things up.Remember that these battery systems work best with DC-to-DC. DC output from battery system, DC appliance. Anything you run through an inverter will burn energy a whole lot quicker due to the inverter's high idle consumption.-Matt

Despite what all reviews may say, this battery pack did not get me through a weekend trip off the grid. That being said, it did work hard at powering my Dometic CFX 55.I wanted to stress test the battery and found that even with the cooler battery protection on HIGH, and the temperature at 50 degrees F, and driving for an hour or so, that I left my campsite Sunday morning with a low battery alarm. I used the cooler/battery above 6,000 feet, average ambient temp mid 70s.Without the driving I did on the trip, that topped off the battery level, solar, or some other means will need to be used to supplement the battery life.UPDATE: Currently using a Goal Zero Boulder 100 to augment the battery. To properly interface with the solar panel I purchased an 8mm to SAE and a SAE to SB50 Anderson cable as recommended by Dometic customer service. The Boulder 100 kept my PLB40 topped off, charged two phones, and a GPS unit.The product is sleek, lightweight, easy to use and has great informational videos online.

I got this to run my fridge freezer in my Jeep. It kept it running when we camped overnight - no issues. Without it, running a single battery, the fridge freezer would shut off to protect the battery. Decided to go this route instead of going to the expense to add a second battery because this makes it possible to run the fridge freezer in other vehicles. Worked flawlessly.

At room temp, Powered off, this battery lost power at 5% a day. Specs from dometic state it should discharge at 5% a month when not in use. At the price would expect betterSpoke with Dometic but all they did was send a copy of the user manual I already had. Have returned the battery. Very disappointed with dometic products (had to return a power cooler also)

Excellent quality.

For the most part I like this battery. Keeps my SnoMaster LP66 charged while driving. It never drops below 99%....however when left hooked to the 12v car battery it will render it dead.It desperately needs a shutoff when the battery drops down below a certain level.If I bypass the PLB40 and hook the fridge directly to the car's 12v power supply the fridge is smart enough to power itself off before your battery dead. Other manufacturers have this feature in their batteries.recharges quickly....via AC ....I hooked it up @8:24am and it was fully charged @ 12PM (28% to 100%)So don’t hook it up to a 12v outlet that stays on when you turn the engine off.I still have the battery and I learned my lesson.UPDATE: I still use this battery 24/7. A 100w solar panel will keep it charged indefinitely with a 40l fridge. I use an Engel fridge now with a 2 pin 12v power cable. This frees up the the standard 12v socket on the Dometic. I get 24hrs of battery time with the Engel. I do not let it fully deplete. Lowest has been 15%.I would buy it again.

first off I only had it for a few weeks so far. Battery turn out to be very good, better than expected .I’m getting about 48 hours out of one charge with my cfx65dz set at 16f. The PLB40 took about 5 hours to fully charge from wall plug. Will do a follow up in a few months but so far so good.