Power to a12v only engel fridge

Submitted: Thursday, Jul 07, 2016 at 13:37
ThreadID: 132939 Views:3424 Replies:4 FollowUps:1
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Hi l have just purchased a engel 14 ltr 12 vlt only fridge lm wondering if I would damage it by supplying power through a projecter intellicharge battery charger . Any ideas thanks Rob

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Reply By: Allan B (Member, SunCoast) - Thursday, Jul 07, 2016 at 13:45

Thursday, Jul 07, 2016 at 13:45
That should be OK Rob.
Be sure to set your charger to the "Power Supply" mode which will deliver 13.8v output and does not proceed through the stages of charging.
That Engel fridge is rated at 3.9A so your charger should manage that.
Cheers
Allan

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AnswerID: 602171

Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Jul 08, 2016 at 09:47

Friday, Jul 08, 2016 at 09:47
The battery charger would have alligator clips which not an ideal means of connection. You would need to make up a patch lead to plug into the fridge.

I would be looking for an Engel power adapter with the correct plug to suit the existing socket on the fridge.

Bill


I'm diagonally parked in a parallel Universe!

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AnswerID: 602204

Reply By: kcandco - Sunday, Jul 10, 2016 at 09:04

Sunday, Jul 10, 2016 at 09:04
Hi Rob
I have tried this with a 3 way fridge drawing about 10 amps and my Projector 7 stage 25 amp charger, and it would not supply power directly to the fridge (in power supply mode). However as soon as I placed a battery in the circuit it worked (in power supply mode). I am pretty sure that in the operating instructions it states that a battery must be connected and then the load attached to the battery. I found that the charger started by putting out about 18amps and then reduced back to around 10amps. I am guessing because the battery was not fully charged when I started. Otherwise this ran fine. I had the fridge connected for 2 days and ran faultlessly. My next question is how small the battery would need to be. I have a 12AH in the shed and just tested with that in the circuit. Worked fine. Tried with no battery and charger displayed error
Cheers Kevin
AnswerID: 602267

Follow Up By: Allan B (Member, SunCoast) - Sunday, Jul 10, 2016 at 11:30

Sunday, Jul 10, 2016 at 11:30
.
Hi kevin. Unfortunately it seems that the Projecta series of chargers require a battery to be connected even when operating in "Supply Mode". This rather defeats the purpose of having a supply mode. Generally, the whole purpose of "Power Supply" mode is to operate as a power source of nominal 12v without a battery in circuit.
The Projecta instructions state....... "Power Supply mode is designed to operate as a float charge to maintain a battery when running a load or appliance from the battery. Power Supply will only operate when connected to a battery." Projecta should call this mode for what it is...... i.e. "Float Charge".
My 15A Ctek works fine in Supply Mode without a battery and I often use it as a 12v power source for various purposes including the Waeco fridge.
So my earlier advice to Rob was not entirely correct and I apologise Rob. I did not realise that Projecta differed in this respect.
Cheers
Allan

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Reply By: kcandco - Sunday, Jul 10, 2016 at 11:47

Sunday, Jul 10, 2016 at 11:47
Hi Alan I agree this is poor design by projector. Probably saved themselves forty cents by not including the electronic to do this. :( I tried the 12 amp battery because it is small and light and is a workaround for the projector problem, without the weight of a full size battery.
Regards Kevin
AnswerID: 602270

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