Our answer
On our planning profile the Goal Zero Yeti 500 runs a chest freezer for about 14 hours, or 11 hours if you keep a reserve back.
The checks behind this answer
Stored energy is the final check, not the first. Voltage, continuous output, and startup demand must clear before runtime means anything. Missing published evidence stays marked unverified instead of being treated as a pass.
| Check | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Voltage | Clears | A chest freezer runs on 120V and the Goal Zero Yeti 500 supplies 115V AC. |
| Continuous output | Clears | A 110W running load sits inside the 500W continuous rating, leaving about 355% headroom. |
| Startup demand | Clears | The 900W start sits within the published 1,000W peak. |
How the number is built
A battery holds back some of its rated capacity, and converting to household AC costs more on top. Of the 499.2Wh rated here, roughly 395Wh reaches the outlet under a conservative planning model.
That energy meets an average load of 29W, which applies a 25% duty cycle to a 110W running draw. Holding back a 20% reserve for battery age, cold, and a longer outage leaves 11 hours. These are calculations, not measurements from a test.
What we could not verify
These gaps are in the published evidence, not in the arithmetic. Each one is a reason to check before you depend on this pairing.
- Neither manufacturer publishes how long the surge is held, so the margin above continuous output cannot be verified against a duration.
Before you rely on this
These limits decide whether this appliance belongs on a portable battery at all.
- A full freezer holds a safe temperature for about 48 hours unopened, and a half-full freezer for about 24 hours. Keep the lid shut and treat backup power as extending that window, not replacing the check.
Replace our assumptions with your own
A full freezer holds temperature far better than a half-empty one, and a freezer in an unheated garage in winter may barely cycle at all. Both change the energy figure substantially.
Read the nameplate or data label for voltage and rated amps or watts, then run the appliance through a normal cycle on a plug-in energy meter for 24 hours. Use the measured watt-hours in the calculator instead of the default on this page.
Continue through this cluster
Use the next page that answers your unresolved constraint
Evidence used on this page
Important fields are tied to a specific source. Manufacturer claims, government guidance, calculations, and planning assumptions remain separate.
- Goal Zero YETI 500 specifications
Goal Zero
Published specification table covering capacity, chemistry, lifecycles, inverter output, solar input window, weight, and warranty.
official product page
- Certified residential freezers
ENERGY STAR
Annual energy use for chest and upright freezers by capacity. Used to derive average draw, not startup behaviour.
government data
- Food safety during a power outage
FoodSafety.gov
Supports the four-hour closed-refrigerator and 48-hour full-freezer guidance.
government guidance
- Calculation and compatibility methodology
Power Station Station
Defines the capacity, efficiency, reserve, duty-cycle, voltage, continuous-output, and startup checks applied across the site. Planning defaults are visible on every page that uses them.
planning assumption
Published specification table: inverter output and waveform, every DC and USB port with its rating, the solar input window and current limit, AC charge input, and expansion.
official product page