Battery and fridge

Trevor.
As a general rule it is far better to keep anything mechanical running, and this is probably moreso with refrigeration.

As far as batteries their life depends on charge cycles and more importantly the depth of those charge cycles.

I have a 40 litre compressor fridge in the back of my ute and it is never switched off. When I am travelling it is used as a deep freezer, otherwise just to keep some drinking water cold and to place the cold shopping into.

I have not founf this to have any detrimental effect on battery life, and have operate in this manner for at least the past 15 years, the last 4 being with Lithium battery.

Regards
Athol

Running your fridge 24/7 is fine and with 2 house batteries and a solar panel, provided the panel is of a good size such as 140 watt plus then this will keep your batteries pretty well fully charged. Lead Acid batteries, which I presume you have, last much longer if they are kept fully charged. So by the looks of it by all means leave the fridge on, and don't worry that you'll damage your batteries by keeping them fully charged.

My Evakool Tripmate 50ltr is 15yrs old and runs 24/7 in the back of my Triton Tradie from a 160W solar panel. Fridge has been running permanently for last 6-7 years without any issues using a Projecta DC/Solar charger. My permanent beer fridge at home and travelling.

.
Hi Trevor,

Your solar controller only sends power into the batteries when they need it. If the battery is fully charged the controller just floats the battery and will not overcharge it. As the fridge takes power from the battery, the solar controller will replace it.

The fridge will not suffer from being run 24/7. Nor will it be harmed from being shut down for extended periods. So it's your choice.

I have had an Engel in my vehicle for the last 15 years and is if off more than on. Never any issues.