Questions about settings on Waeco 80 litre?
Submitted: Thursday, Sep 16, 2004 at 17:54
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troy35
hello,
Well I have just recently brought myself an 80 litre Waeco fridge and am quite pleased with it. A local upholsterer mate of
mine built me a heavy duty padded cover for it which also helps with insulation no doubt. I went away
camping along
the beach north of
Broome a couple of weekends ago and got to try it out for the first time. I used the freezer section to store the meat and put icy poles in for the kids but after the first 24 hours my battery was flat and I had to crank up my generator. I had the gennie running for around 5 hours which charged the battery but it was then drained down too much to start the car a few hours later. Im assuming my problem was caused by two things.
1. That I was trying to run the freezer section as a freezer which no doubt works
well when the ambient temp is mid 20's but not when its up around 30+
2. I only had the fridge pre-cooled for about 2 hours but thats due to the late morning phone call I got saying "Do you want to go
camping this afternoon."
Anyway I am curious to hear from fellow Waeco owners as to what you set your fridge at and if you run it as a freezer/fridge or just a fridge (And if so do you take out both dividers or just one?)Also how many days do you get out of your battery before it needs re-charging?
I had originally set my fridge to about 3/4 which I now assume was too high. I dropped it back to 1/4 and removed both dividers to try and save some
battery power but was worried it was set to warm. I ended up running the gennie again the next day which charged up the batterys by mid morning but when it was time to go in the arvo I had to get a jump start. Note that I was in my work vehicle which doesn't have a dual battery setup.
Next time I will run the fridge for twenty four hours before hand in the house and load the fridge the night before. What setting should I drop it down too once I get to the site and switch off the car?
I have a dual battery setup in my own car but everything runs from the main battery. Is it okay to do this and then just switch over to the second battery to start the car? Im thinking with the dual battery setup and the gennie I should get four days no problems, what do you think?
I look forward to hear from some fellow Waeco owners and your comments, advice and suggestions.
Thanks,
Troy.
Reply By: Member - David C (QLD) - Saturday, Sep 18, 2004 at 08:10
Saturday, Sep 18, 2004 at 08:10
Hi Troy,
I have the same unit and the first thing I did was determine what setting the 'Emergency switch' should be set to. This will determine what voltage the fridge will cutout at.
low - 10.4V
med - 11V
high - 12V
Mine is set at med to preserve battery life. Just mae sure that is not set to high as this mean only a couple of hours running time for the fridge. Next thing I did was install a inside/outside thermometer with the sensor at the top middle of the fridge compartment. This way I can adjust my settings easily. With this configuration (and the dividers installed for fridge freezer operation) I use a setting of 3 lights to maintain aprrox. 4 degrees C at an ambient temp if 25 degress C.
This creeps up to about 7 degrees if the ambient temp goes to around 30 - 35 degrees so just select another light so that 4 are displayed. Each light active makes approximately 4-5 degrees difference. I am not sure exactly what the freezer compartments temperature is but would presume it is around -5 as the icecream is not soft.
With the both dividers out to use as a fidge I only have 2 lights activated for around 4 degrees. Put all you water close to the freezer plate as anything close to this will still freeze (even at around 7 degrees).
I run a aux battery under the bonnet 75 aH lead acid and a 100 aH sealed gel in the rear next to the fridge. This combo has only just been installed and I get around 60 - 70 hours use without charging depending on ambient temp. I
check fridge ambient temp every couple of hours though and make sure there is plent of ventilation and no direct sunlight.
With the old config of just the 75 aH I would get around 20 - 28 hours before recharge depending on ambient temp.
With the new setup I will be taking notes on temps, settings and hours use to get a good indication of how to work with the Waeco to maximise running time.
Regards
David
AnswerID:
76893
Follow Up By: troy35 - Saturday, Sep 18, 2004 at 12:46
Saturday, Sep 18, 2004 at 12:46
David,
Wow thanks for all that information, thats exactly what I am looking for. Just a few questions though. When you say you run an aux battery under the bonnet and a 100ah sealed gel in the rear is this in adddition to your starting battery or is the aux battery under the bonnet the only one there? (Not sure if you run 2 or three batteries.)
I like the idea of being able to run it as a complete fridge with the dividers out on only two lights (Or maybe three lights here in
Broome where the ambient is about 30+). I would no doubt get 24 hours plus with only two lights running. I want to cryovac and freeze my meat before departure so it wont matter if it stays frozen or starts to thaw.
Also what type of thermometer did you use and how did you connect up the inside probe?
I currently use a 550 cca battery as my main but I do have a 750cca that I was going to swap over. How do I tell how many ah these batterys are as they don't seem to be marked in anyway. The 750 cca has a RC of 160 minutes. What exactly does this figure relate too?
The second battery has to be a small one N50Z size as that is all that will fit in my vehicle. Im not sure what type I should buy though, should I get a deep cycle?
Thanks for the advice,
Troy.
FollowupID:
336621
Follow Up By: Member - David C (QLD) - Saturday, Sep 18, 2004 at 14:48
Saturday, Sep 18, 2004 at 14:48
Hi Troy,
I have 3 batteries - the main vehicle battery and 2 aux batteries. I use a 150 amp electronic isolator between the main and the 2 paralled aux batteries.
The dual digital themometer was about $30 from Dick Smith.
Cranking batteries are not recomended in a deep cycle application as they are not meant to be discharged below 90% capacity. I would consider a dual battery setup to ensure reliable operation of the fridge.
Reserve Capacity (RC) is the number of minutes a fully charged battery at 26.7 o C is discharged at 25 amps before the voltage falls below 10.5 volts. To convert Reserve Capacity (RC) to Ampere-Hours at the 25 amp rate, multiple RC by .4167 This is a statement I found on the Net and am not sure what they mean 'at the 25 amp rate' but in the case of your battery (160 minutes) you might have 67 aH.
A search on the net or this site should help to answer some questions on battery selection.
Regards
David
FollowupID:
336627
Reply By: troy35 - Sunday, Sep 19, 2004 at 19:38
Sunday, Sep 19, 2004 at 19:38
thanks for the infor on batterys David and too everyone else as
well.
I did some experiments with my fridge using the 240v convertor. I set the fridge with the dividers in but the top one turned around so it drops down slightly.
Here are my results.
Time Lights Setting Freezer temp Chiller Temp Date
5.30pm 1 5 24 18th
7.30pm 2 3.4 14.6 18th
9.30am 2 4.5 13.6 19th
1.30pm 3 -3.7 10.7 19th
5.30pm 4 -7 7.6 19th
As you can see I am not getting a very good freezer or chiller temp. It seems
the gap between the freezer and chiller is too far apart. I think I would need to have the fridge on almost full lights just to get the chiiler down to around 4-5C. I would certainly expect a lower fridge temp at 3 lights.
What do you think???
I think I will run the
test again with the top bulkhead removed to see how I go. A freezer really is a luxury that I could do without if it means being able to keep the chiller section colder on a lower setting.
Troy.
AnswerID:
77051
Follow Up By: s-niper73 - Sunday, Sep 19, 2004 at 22:22
Sunday, Sep 19, 2004 at 22:22
Hi Troy, I have an 80 L Waeco too. Can't fault it. I have a dual battery setup (piranha) 75Ah. Lasts all night. 4 lights even if I turn the Turbo button on at the start of the night. I mostly stock the fridge at the end of the day before retiring and have cold drinks all day the next day. As for Freezing I leave both dividers in and crank it up flat out when I'm driving. I have never had a problem with starting (due to the Isolator). Never done any measuring of the temps as you have done, however keeps every thing cold or frozen so far.
Points to note: get a Deep Cycle 75Ah (At Least) battery conected with an isolator.
Never use your cranking battery to run a fridge (it will sulphate in very short time and die) If you have a Gennie get a 240V battery charger and charge the battery seperatly. run the fridge of the 24V adapter on 24 V at the same time. That way you are charging your battery in the shortest possible time and keeping the fridge running too.
I hope this helps
FollowupID:
336745