Power · 12V fridges
How long will a 100Ah lithium battery run a fridge? About 2 days 19 hours to 4 days 9 hours.
That’s for a typical 40–60 L single-zone 12V fridge with no solar, using 80% of the battery. Worked out from 24 fridges’ official power figures with the same maths as our fridge calculator.
Calculated, not tested by Seekstead. Maker figures checked 6 October 2026.
The short answer
It depends mostly on the fridge.
- 40–60 L single-zone fridge: about 2 days 19 hours to 4 days 9 hours. The 8 fridges in that size range use 18.2–28.8 Ah a day by their makers’ figures.
- Small fridge, up to 30 L: about 4 days 4 hours to 6 days 23 hours.
- Dual-zone fridge freezer, with one side freezing: about 1 day 4 hours to 1 day 22 hours. Freezing uses far more power.
- A 100Ah AGM battery gives about 63% of those times, because only about 50% of a lead-acid battery should be used before recharging.
- With enough solar, it can keep going on sunny days. A 100W panel with 5 good sun hours puts back about 29.2 Ah, enough for 16 of the 17 single-zone fridges in our list on a sunny day.
By fridge
24 fridges on a 100Ah battery.
Each run time uses the maker’s own daily power figure, no extra for hot days, and no solar. Makers test at different temperatures, shown for each fridge, so compare like with like.
| Fridge | Size | Uses per day | 100Ah lithium | 100Ah AGM | Maker’s test conditions | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dometic CFF 12 | 13 L | 11.5 Ah | 6 days 23 hours | 4 days 8 hours | ambient 32°C, internal 4°C, 12 V DC | Dometic ↗ |
| Bushman Roadie SC15 | 15 L | 13.9 Ah | 5 days 18 hours | 3 days 14 hours | 25º ambient, 4º fridge, 12V system | Bushman ↗ |
| Dometic CFF 18 | 19 L | 15.8 Ah | 5 days 1 hour | 3 days 4 hours | ambient 32°C, internal 4°C, 12 V DC | Dometic ↗ |
| Dometic CFX5 25 | 25 L | 18.5 Ah | 4 days 8 hours | 2 days 17 hours | ambient 32°C, internal 4°C, 12 V DC | Dometic ↗ |
| myCOOLMAN 30L Transporter | 30 L | 19.2 Ah | 4 days 4 hours | 2 days 15 hours | average per hour; DC12V set at 5°C, 32°C ambient | myCOOLMAN ↗ |
| Dometic CFX5 35 | 36 L | 18.5 Ah | 4 days 8 hours | 2 days 17 hours | ambient 32°C, internal 4°C, 12 V DC | Dometic ↗ |
| Dometic CFX2 37 | 37 L | 18.7 Ah | 4 days 7 hours | 2 days 16 hours | ambient 32°C, internal 4°C, 12 V DC | Dometic ↗ |
| Evakool 40L Platinum Drawer | 40 L | 28.8 Ah | 2 days 19 hours | 1 day 18 hours | average over 24 hours at 32ºC, set on 2ºC | Evakool ↗ |
| Dometic CFF 45 | 44 L | 20.9 Ah | 3 days 20 hours | 2 days 9 hours | ambient 32°C, internal 4°C, 12 V DC | Dometic ↗ |
| myCOOLMAN 44L single zone | 44 L | 19.2 Ah | 4 days 4 hours | 2 days 15 hours | average per hour; DC12V set at 5°C, 32°C ambient | myCOOLMAN ↗ |
| Dometic CFX2 45 | 45 L | 20.6 Ah | 3 days 21 hours | 2 days 10 hours | ambient 32°C, internal 4°C, 12 V DC | Dometic ↗ |
| Dometic CFX5 45 | 46 L | 18.2 Ah | 4 days 9 hours | 2 days 18 hours | ambient 32°C, internal 4°C, 12 V DC | Dometic ↗ |
| Dometic CFX5 55 | 55 L | 20.9 Ah | 3 days 20 hours | 2 days 9 hours | ambient 32°C, internal 4°C, 12 V DC | Dometic ↗ |
| Dometic CFX5 55IM (icemaker on) | 55 L | 29 Ah | 2 days 18 hours | 1 day 17 hours | Ambient 32°C, internal 4°C, icemaker on (maintenance) | Dometic ↗ |
| Dometic CFX2 57 | 57 L | 21.4 Ah | 3 days 18 hours | 2 days 8 hours | ambient 32°C, internal 4°C, 12 V DC | Dometic ↗ |
| myCOOLMAN 60L single zone | 60 L | 19.2 Ah | 4 days 4 hours | 2 days 15 hours | average per hour; DC12V set at 5°C, 32°C ambient | myCOOLMAN ↗ |
| myCOOLMAN 105L single zone | 105 L | 33.6 Ah | 2 days 9 hours | 1 day 12 hours | average per hour; DC12V set at 5°C, 32°C ambient | myCOOLMAN ↗ |
| Dometic CFF50LPDZ | 50 L dual-zone | 42 Ah | 1 day 22 hours | 1 day 5 hours | 4°C fridge, −15°C freezer, 32°C ambient | Dometic ↗ |
| Evakool 50L Down Under II | 50 L dual-zone | 43.2 Ah | 1 day 20 hours | 1 day 4 hours | average over 24 hours at 32°C, one zone at 2°C, one at −16°C | Evakool ↗ |
| Evakool 65L Down Under II | 65 L dual-zone | 45.6 Ah | 1 day 18 hours | 1 day 2 hours | average over 24 hours at 32°C, one zone at 2°C, one at −16°C | Evakool ↗ |
| Dometic CFF 70DZ | 70 L dual-zone | 69.6 Ah | 1 day 4 hours | 17 hours | 4°C fridge, −15°C freezer, 32°C ambient | Dometic ↗ |
| Dometic CFX5 75DZ | 75 L dual-zone | 58.8 Ah | 1 day 9 hours | 20 hours | 4°C large zone, −15°C small zone, 32°C ambient | Dometic ↗ |
| Evakool 80L Down Under II | 80 L dual-zone | 48 Ah | 1 day 16 hours | 1 day 1 hour | average over 24 hours at 32°C, one zone at 2°C, one at −16°C | Evakool ↗ |
| Dometic CFX5 95DZ | 94 L dual-zone | 67.9 Ah | 1 day 4 hours | 18 hours | 4°C large zone, −15°C small zone, 32°C ambient | Dometic ↗ |
What changes it
Real camps use more.
Hot days and an often-opened lid
Makers test in steady conditions. Allow 30% extra for hot days and warm food added, and a 40–60 L fridge drops to about 2 days 3 hours to 3 days 9 hours on 100Ah of lithium.
How much of the battery you use
We assume 80% of a lithium battery and 50% of an AGM. Check your own battery maker’s figure; the Kings 100Ah lithium page has Kings’ own.
Freezing, shade and covers
A freezer setting uses far more than a fridge setting. Keeping the fridge in the shade, with a cover like the one on our Kings Escape 40 page, helps it cycle less.
Adding solar
What a panel puts back each day.
Panel watts × good sun hours × 0.7 (for real-world losses) ÷ 12 volts. Compare it with your fridge’s daily use above: a typical 40–60 L fridge uses 18.2–28.8 Ah a day.
| Panel or blanket | 3 good sun hours | 5 good sun hours |
|---|---|---|
| 100W | about 17.5 Ah | about 29.2 Ah |
| 160W | about 28 Ah | about 46.7 Ah |
| 200W | about 35 Ah | about 58.3 Ah |
Cloudy days can drop to a fraction of these, so the battery still has to carry you between sunny days.
Keep going
Related on Seekstead.
Calculator
12V fridge battery calculator
Pick your fridge, battery and solar for your own run time.
Open the calculator →
Guide
What size solar panel for a 12V fridge?
Panel sizes for 24 fridges, sunny and cloudy days.
Read more →Gear
Kings 100Ah lithium battery
Specs and fridge run times for this battery.
Take a look →
Gear
Kings Escape 40 fridge freezer
A 40 L fridge with its own power figures.
Take a look →Gear
Kings 200W solar blanket
How much it puts back for a fridge.
Take a look →
Our setup
My setup: a real camp power build
The 240Ah battery, solar and Starlink setup behind these pages.
Read more →How we work it out
From published figures.
Run time = usable battery (Ah) ÷ the fridge’s daily use (Ah per 24 hours at 12V). A 100Ah lithium battery gives 80 Ah to use and an AGM 50 Ah. Each fridge’s daily use comes from its maker’s official page, linked in the table; where a maker gives amps per hour, we multiply by 24. These are theoretical estimates, not tests: heat, battery age, wiring and how the fridge is used all change real run time.
Seekstead doesn’t earn from the maker links on this page. Our own product pages may contain referral links: how they work.