Car Fridges

Mmmm....that appears to be a re-badged Waeco.

Yes, I believe so, for $399 I nearly went and got one for a spare / use at home as an extra freezer type of thing.
But already have 45lt, 25lt, 11lt fridges, I think the missus might draw the line at another.

Right, re-badged is the way to go. And buying on special. There was a Ridge Ryder for $499 in Auto Barn at Christmas.

I'm looking for a 40 litre or so.

You're not wrong about lack of under-bonnet space in a Forester. I agonised for quite a while about the what and where of fitting an auxiliary battery in ours. In the end, I used a telecomms industry type AGM (Yuasa UXF100-12, although the shape is pretty generic), which fits on side under the passenger seat and is easily secured there in what is otherwise potentially wasted space. Also keeps the weight low down.

Sounds like an excellent solution!

Well it works for me. Who knows, may even suit other vehicles ...

Seat in normal position.

Seat in full forward position.

I am an absolute cheapskate and planned to have a jumpstart in case the fridge flattened the cranking battery. Meaning, I will mostly use it while driving and not camping.

My plan was to plug it into the cigarette lighter socket, but read that the wiring is too long and too thin. So, the second plan was to get thicker wiring and plonk the fridge on the back seat.

Would thicker wiring damage the cigarette lighter socket? I ruined two in two previous Hyundai Excels by plugging in those 12-volt kettles.

A jump-starter is one alternative to an aux battery. (I use both).

The problem with the existing ciggie-lighter outlet approach is that your poor fridge is going to lose power when you stop for fuel/lunch/pit-stop etc and then be playing catch-up. If you install one directly from the battery, you avoid that problem but get back to the risk of flattening the cranking battery. Trade-off.

BTW "plonking" any fridge on the back seat is a disaster waiting to happen. Last thing I want in an accident is a fridge through my back or skull.

Getting a bit away from your original question, but ....
You didn't say what vintage your Forester is. On my 07 SG I replaced the rear seat with a 12mm ply "platform" braced and bolted securely to existing mounts. The Engel (a 70's vintage MRFT514) is secured to that with a ratchet tie-down.
Bare "Platform"
Engel on platform

While you obviously can tie the fridge down on the existing seat, having it horizontal and on a firm (non-squishy) surface is obviously preferred.

A fridge that works only while driving is useless in the Top End. Meat and milk will go off.

Fridge and battery have to be well secured or secured behind a cargo barrier in the back. Also make sure there is a fuse at the pos terminal on the second battery as a short can cause a fire, and make sure the battery terminals are well covered and insulated.
Factory cig sockets can be inadequate - with time and a bit of corrosion they can develop resistance and get hot. Engel will draw 2.8A so is less likely to be a problem. Waeco draws 5A (cycles less often) and has an inbuilt low voltage cutout so might cutout earlier than you'd like.
A separate fused circuit for the fridge will mean you can use any connector you like. Anderson plugs are cheap and very secure, so I cut an anderson plug into the fridge lead and on the end of the thicker wire from the battery. 6mm automotive cable is a good choice from battery to fridge.

Rodney you have to find out how many amps the fridge uses and buy a lighter socket or better still a merit plug to suit and use the correct size wiring and fuse as well then you won't have any problems with it nothing to gain by being a cheap skate if you don't set it up correctly because it will cost more to do it again. Also you will be shortening the life of your battery by letting it go flat so if it happens often enough it may be more costly in the long run. Starter batteries are also not the best battery to leave your fridge running on for long periods of time they are different to deep cycle.
I expect you only use it to keep drinks cold as mentioned anything else would spoil overnight if you use it a bit in the long run it's better to use a dual purpose battery like a Supercharge Allrounder they are not expensive Auto Barn stock them as well. Replace your starter battery with the biggest one that fits in it's place and you'll be able to easily run a fridge overnight or 2 nights depending on the size of the battery and fridge current draw I done that for a few yrs. It's pretty simple to set up at not that expensive and you won't need to turn the fridge off every night, turn it back on in the morning wait for it to cool down load it up and do it again that night which gets very boring especially if there is no need to if you set it up correctly.

The prices of those fridges in the comparison were all over $1000. While liking the idea of an Engel with digital thermostat, I travel lightly and not so frequently and will probably buy a Ridge Ryder next time it is on sale at $499. Or another re-badged brand.

Do you think the re-badged fridges are of the same quality as the good brands when both might come from the same factory in China?

You have already declared that you are an absolute cheapskate. Unfortunately to a good reliable supply for cold drinks and food, cheap means unreliable. Your cigarette lighter MIGHT work...more often than not they dont. Really...dont be such a tightarse and get a quality setup. No good showing up at the pearly gates with even a cent!!!

Rod you can't just say you are ok to flatten your main starter battery (or 2nd one for that matter) as you will damage it in short time.
Better to get a small 2nd AGM battery, say 80 amp/hr min, and locate safely with the fridge in the back, wire up HD 6B&S dual core with VSR isolator and charge from alternator.

At the very least, if using main battery only, run fused HD ciggy connection straight from the battery to a double point in the back, and buy a decent little 100w solar panel (with controller) to connect up to the battery when at camp.

That should keep up with the fridge during the day keep battery fully topped, and overnight should be fine for a good battery to still start you ok . . . Or to be sure main battery is not compromised, shut the fridge off at night, get down to -5 or so first, leave for half hour, pull the plug and don't open it again for the night.

You don't want to have headaches with food / drinks on a tour, just set it up right and relax.

Honestly, you can't do a cheap fridge set up properly. You need a decent fridge, a deep cycle battery which are at least $250 upwards, quality wiring and some type of isolator to prevent your starter battery going flat leaving you stranded.

In Darwin, for years and years before our Engel and when we had a RAV4 we used a Tropical Icebox esky, which have well insulated thick panels. We would freeze ice cream containers of ice and this would keep us going for 3 or 4 days. If you mix the ice with salt you can make a slurry which keeps every super old. Alternatively, if you want a less messy option dry ice is good. But block ice will last a surprisingly long time.
And with your food, throw a frozen roast into the esky, this will give you a feed and help keep your beer cold. And keep your fridge as full as possible as this helps keep everything colder.
If you are rarely traveling these days, then pulling over a throwing a bag of ice in when you refuel is probably the most cost effective way for you.

It sounds like you shouldn't have asked for advice from people who are willing to help if you have already planned on trying to burn out another socket or burn your car to the ground because you claim to be a cheapskate. So when you buy your cheap fridge and turn it on and off every day don't complain if it plays up because you're not using it how it was meant to be used that may also cost you more in the long run.

Not everyone is flush with cash so I can understand people wanting to get away on a shoestring, but playing roulette with a cheap fridge hooked up to a ciggie lighter could end up being false economy. Travelling up north, as mentioned, you need your fridge going. You only need to lose a couple of fridge loads of food and drink from a flat battery and you are already up for a battery and a fridge restock. I still reckon in your case you're better off with a good quality cooler box/esky.
Playing on the safe side, if you do a battery on a remote road well your car and food is not much use to you.

Whew, on second thoughts maybe a 40 litre Engel would be best because it draws less current than the others and has a good reputation.

And a good jump starter.

And direct line from the battery/alternator.

Still thinking about the spare battery.

My background is hitch-hiking so actually spending money, even though I'm now loaded - is like letting the dentist pull out another tooth.

Thanks, everyone.

Hi Rocco

You have made a very wise decision and should have countless years of trouble free use from your trusty Engel.

On another issue, a vast majority of viewers here are "city slickers" and think that all fridges are created equal, or a cheap fridge is better than a dearer one. I deal with lots of true bush people that live and work in our remote location across out great nation.

Next time people head bush, they should ask them what fridge they use in the back of station vehicles, covered in dust, diesel and a favourite sitting place for station dogs........

You will not find any cheap plastic, no name fridges in a true mans working world, they want a fridge that works in our extremely hot remote location , will not let them down, and will just keep on working, year after year. And that fridge is the one you have purchased.

Facts are facts and Engel have been making car fridges for over 50 years and were the original in car manufacturer of vehicle fridges.

Cheers


Stephen

What if a close friend or neighbour has had a good run out of a particular brand of fridge and you go camping with them a few or several times a year etc lots of people on here would be in that boat is that advice not worth taking just because you don't actually own it but you know how it performs ?

Hi Batt's,

I'm assuming the OP has no close friends or neighbours on the Forum. Purely up to them to take the advice or not.

Regards