Dometic PLB40 Portable Lithium Battery 40Ah

It will both be charged and power devices at the same time, Alex, the inputs for charging on the rear and the outputs are on the front. ~ Ben

G'day Luc,

Ultimately yes, especially if you've left the battery 'on'.  It will turn itself off automatically after 24 hours if there's no charge input or output, but as a general rule if you are putting it in storage, turn it off before you do.
Be aware that all batteries will degrade in storage without use, so its very important to read that operating manual & follow any instructions to ensure long-term health of your battery.

In the case of the PLB40, Dometic state clearly that the battery must be fully charged atleast every 6 months if in storage - we'd recommend checking every 4 months as a good habit - if you don't do this, your battery will likely degrade beyond repatriation.
Most people would head away on trips more frequently than this, and charge the battery or have it plugged into solar...this is just info that is important if you are wanting to store or not use the battery for several months at a time.

G'day Travis,

According to Dometic, the CFF 45 draws just under 1Ah on average when set to fridge temps.  A quick google shows the RedArc panels have a max output of 6A, so in clear sunny weather you'll consistently be getting more power in than going out which will have you covered keeping the Rover topped up.  You've got 32Ah from the Rover before it needs charging, so that should more than cover you overnight & give you a bit of grace if you have cloudy weather.  The Rover can also charge whilst driving in theory, so that gives you another option if the sun isn't great.
Hope that helps!

G'day Dennis,

It depends on the size of the Anderson in your vehicle Dennis, the 50A size just refers to that what that terminal is rated to for continuous output, & doesn't relate to the PLB40 itself.
If your vehicle's output is a 50A Anderson size, then you would obviously have a 50A terminal on each side.
If the output is a different size, you'll just have the corresponding terminal on one end and 50A size on the other for the power pack.

G'day Luke,

As far as I'm aware the 2 pin fitting is specific to Engel fridges, and all Engel cables have the 2 pin connector in the 12v cigarette end, you just screw the outer casing off.
We don't have any Engel Anderson to 12v cables, and I can't say I've ever seen one, but if you are in anyway handy you could grab either the Type J Chord or the Type C Chord and chop the fridge end off and replace with an Anderson Plug

G'day Ant,

Both of the 12V DC Outputs on the PLB40 are rated to 15A.

G'day Saidur,

We don't currently have any stock to double-check the country of manufacture for you, however, Dometic doesn't currently manufacture in Australia. 

G'day Judith,

The PLB40 has a built in battery management system, so you'll need to connect it directly to your panel, rather than through a regulator/controller. The PLB40 takes a standard Anderson connector, so you can plug your solar panels directly into that input. The PLB40 is a much lighter unit as it uses Lithium rather than Lead Acid.

G'day Lea,

The PLB40 can be charged from any solar panel that has an output of 8 – 25 V DC and a maximum charging current of 10 A. In general, this will usually be panels of around 120-180W, with some 200W panels also being suitable. The PLB40 has a built-in battery management system, so ideally a solar panel without a regulator will be the best option, or a panel that you can disconnect the regulator from the circuit. Hard Korr make a 150W panel that will suit, or you could use the Companion 120W Solar charger.

G'day Charlie,

The CFX-28 will draw approximately 1 amp per hour, depending on the fridge temperature, outside air temperature and a few other factors. The PLB 40 is 40Ah, which will give you approximately 20Ah of usage, so around 20 hours. We'd recommend having a way to charge the battery to ensure it is getting topped up while the fridge is running. It's definitely worth having a read of this handy blog for more tips on powering your setup.

G'day Dave,

I think we got our Lead Acids mixed up with our Lithium batteries here sorry.
Ideally a traditional Sealed Lead Acid battery shouldn't be discharged more than 50% to avoid damage, a Lithium battery however can theoretically be discharged further, providing the full number of rated Ah.
That being said, I have personally seen instances of certain Lithium chemical composition battery voltage dropping at around 50% discharge.  Whilst there is information around suggesting you can drain lithium batteries full capacity, there is mixed information on how that affects longer-term life cycles & possible other repercussions.
It all gets a bit technical beyond that, and we'd be interested in any further information you may have here.

G'day Sally,

The unit is supplied with a DC charge cable that connects a cigarette socket to the Anderson charge port on the battery. You should be able to charge direct using and Anderson to Anderson lead if you've got an Anderson outlet in your boot.

G'day Phil,

Yes you can use the PLB40 to run the Travelmate 80, however, you're not going to get more than a day of run time out of it, so you'll need to ensure you have a way to recharge the PLB40 to continue to run the fridge.

G'day Glynis,

If you head over to the operating manual which is available for download on our product page, options for solar are outline on page 10 & 11. There is some information about charging using solar with or without a solar controller, whether or not it will charge will depend on the panel and controller itself.

G'day Ted,

The PLB40 comes with a 12 month warranty period. There isn't the option for an extended warranty at this point in time.

G'day Anne, 

The PLB40 is a sealed unit, so unfortunately we don't think there is any way you can replace the internal battery.

G'day Phil,

The Bushman Fridge has the standard 12V cig-plug cable so you'll use this to plug straight into the PLB40.

G'day Shannon,

Unfortunately, the PLB40 is not designed to be chained together with another battery.

G'day Warwick,

I've just had a look at the user manual and the instructions list that the battery pack can be charged via a solar panel of 8-25V with a maximum current of 10A, which sounds to me like it should work with your setup. It would be worth having a quick read of the user manual that can be downloaded at the bottom of the Details & Specs section to ensure you'll have everything you need.

G'day Gareth, 

Thanks for your enquiry. Good news! The Dometic PLB40 Portable Lithium Battery 40Ah does come with an AC charger.

G'day Dennis,

I've just double-checked the instruction manual and Dometic specifically states that the Anderson socket is only an input, so, unfortunately, you won't be able to use it in both directions.

G'day Andy,

Whilst Dometic do not give a time frame for charging via a DC power source, it does say that the maximum charging current is 8Amps. Therefore, this would take about 5 hours at maximum capacity charging from a "Flat" battery, BUT this is dependant on the charge being provided by your cars 12v outlet.
Upgrading your wiring wouldn't be a bad idea, however probably a bit overkill for this unit, and the benefit probably wouldn't outweigh the cost.
In short, somewhere between 6-8hrs to charge a flat PLB40, but your fridge generally would use less than 50% of the stored juice over a 12 hours period, so that would cut down your overall recharging time.