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I currently have a 12V Deep Cycle Marine Battery hooked up to a 1,000W (2,000W peak) Inverter, this should run my fridge no problem, however the runtime wouldn't be terribly long.

I also have a 700W propane generator (900W peak), I don't believe it can support the startup of the fridge, so my question is can I use the battery charger hooked up to the propane generator to provide additional run-time to the marine battery while it powers the fridge?

Thanks!

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  • \$\begingroup\$ It's the consumption of the fridge that determines how long it'll run, not the peak rating of the inverter. The inverter will only consume a small proportion of that power itself. \$\endgroup\$
    – Finbarr
    Commented Jan 20, 2021 at 15:01
  • \$\begingroup\$ What's the power taken by the fridge? \$\endgroup\$
    – Andy aka
    Commented Jan 20, 2021 at 15:37
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    \$\begingroup\$ I mentioned the peak of the Inverter to confirm that it could cover the initial start up of the compressor, my generator is only 700W and couldn't handle the startup. Let assume the fridge takes 600W running, 1800W startup. \$\endgroup\$
    – user177916
    Commented Jan 20, 2021 at 16:32

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Maybe, though it's likely to be a very inefficient use of the propane. You can get fridges that run directly off propane.

If it's a smart battery charger, then it may be confused by the varying load on the battery. This will cause the battery voltage to go up and down unexpectedly. Smart chargers work out where they are in the charging cycle by monitoring the battery voltage.

The charger is only putting out 60W maximum. Is that going to be enough to do anything useful? A 1000W inverter is likely to draw a current, even when the fridge thermostat is off.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks! It's more hypothetical in the case of a power outage, my generator alone couldn't handle the startup draw of the fridge, so I started wondering if I used a combination of it to charge a battery (to last longer) to power an inverter to power the fridge. \$\endgroup\$
    – user177916
    Commented Jan 20, 2021 at 17:54

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