How to add batteries to a Goal Zero Yeti

In this article, I will explain how I doubled the battery capacity of my Goal Zero Yeti 1250 by chaining on an additional battery. I went from being able to run my Dometic cooler for only about 3.5 days up to 7 days on a single charge! 

If you have a skoolie, RV, or van and enjoy camping for long periods or have a remote cabin, this is a perfect option to extend your generator’s battery life.   

If you live or are traveling somewhere with little or poor sunlight, you will definitely run into situations where you need extended battery life. I come from the northeast, and many months of the year, we have conditions that force you to rely on your battery life for long periods due to the poor charging conditions. If you have a Goal Zero Yeti 1250, this article will show you exactly how to add on additional batteries.

The first thing you need to do to add a battery is to buy a connector cable and a 12V deep cycle battery.  You cannot use lithium-ion batteries. It must be AGM FLA deep cycle batteries. You also cannot a battery that is more than 175 amp, which Goal Zero states explicitly on its website. 

Now that that's out of the way, here are the instructions with accompanying pictures. You need to take off the backing of the Yeti 1250 as shown in the picture below. 

Once you have that piece removed, you'll find an opening where you can insert the connector cable. 

After you insert the cable, attach the other end to your battery. The red cable is for the positive side and the black is for the negative.

Once you have the cable connected to your battery, you’re basically done! 

Turn off the Yeti, plug in your connector cable to the back of your generator, and turn the Yeti back on. That’s it!

Congratulations, you have now doubled the run time for your Yeti 1250! You can keep the battery chained up to the Yeti and charge both at the same time and will be able to charge both simultaneously

Here is a video directly from Goal Zero that gives you a brief description of its over-connection devices for the Yeti 1250.