Question on thermostats.

With my fridge I do dial in a temperature. I assumed all fridges would be similar.

"So at night the fridge gets turned down, doesn't use as much power, but still keeps the contents at the desired temperature"....????..if the thermostat is set for 4C (the DESIRED TEMP) and one alters it ie turning the thermostat up or down changes the set point...So You Therefore Have A NEW Desired Temperature...dont you!!!!

Who had a big night ?

Banjo?

No 1

I guess I was thinking of the Engel. The thingy to adjust the temperature doesn't allow to dial up an actual temperature. You're right, if an actual temperature is dialled in then that'll hopefully be the result.

Yep - I know what you mean. During the day when it is warmer and you have a chance to recharge the battery I run the fridge at a lower (colder) setting to get things colder than they really need to be so when the evening comes the colder than normal items have a lot longer to warm up to the real required temp (say 4 degrees) before the fridge needs to cut back in.

Why - buggared if I know really - guess I am assured of the fridge staying cold all night in case the battery dies or something...does that all make sense..

Grrr!!!

That is what I do Andrew,

When travelling and the fridge is on alternator power or if running generator I bump it up a bit (4 lights on Waeco) to get a bit cooler while there is pleny of reserve power.

When just on battery power I run the weaco on 3 lights. To me this means that I am making the battery last just a little longer by running at a temperature that is still good for the fridge contents while not drawing quite as much power.

Might be marginal really but works for me.

As for turning it to less power at night - I can't see the logic in that! Unless it is REALLY cold ambient temp then the stuff in the fridge will be a bit warmer by morning and when you turn it back up to colder setting in morning it has to work harder to start the day. Unless you are planning on driving that day you are wasting your time.

Depending on fridge, and how thermostat and settings work, I would just think it best to leave it the same all the time. As I mentioned above just give it a cold boost while plenty of power available when driving or on generator.

Cheers
Muddy

I'm with you on the turn it off at night thing too Muddy, if its cold enough to be turned off at night, it won't cycle and will use bugger all power, if its a bit warmer, it will cycle a bit. A fridgie may shed some light on older thermostats, but with the electronic ones we have now, the fridge does what it has too to keep the stuff inside at the required temperature. Maybe the old ones were dodgey and set a sort of 'degrees below ambient' type setting, so during the day at 30 degrees, it had to be set at 26 below ambient, but at night at 20 degrees, 16 below ambient would be required. Its a bit OT, but the only explanation I can come up with for the adjustments to be needed.

Cheers Andrew

G'Day Dave,
the fridge is still going strong mate.

Yo Axel,

I think you have missed the point. We are not on about SAVING POWER just ensuring that we have a battery that is more charged than if we let the fridge run all nite. In actual fact we are saving "COLD" if you like...

I have conducted tests and it does work.

By using the energy to cool the contents down further when the energy is available is a form of storage of "cold" if you like. During the nite the fridge is NOT being opened and is running exclusively from the battery NOT the solar panel, Not the car alternator and NOT the portable gen if one carries such a device and so therefore the battery use is minimised than if left the way you suggest.

Try it for yourself...

Is it still bloody laughable?

I bought a fridge to keep the contents at a set temperature (or more accurately between two set temperature numbers) yeah I expect it to operate just like the fridge at home, without any intervention at all by myself at any time for any reason.

If you need to worry about the lack of 12v power simply get more 12v power or if the fridge can't maintain a set -1° to +5° or similar numbers then get a fridge that can.

If you have to change the fridge temperature numbers once initially set, then you have either an underperforming fridge or inefficient 12v power system.

A fridge should run as easily in the high ambient temps of the far North just as it performs in Melbourne in winter, after all this is Australia and we generally do most of our traveling in the hotter temperatures – don’t we ?

I believe the idea of turning the temp down when driving and then off at night indicates there is something "different" happening as I'm sure the fridge manufacturer's advertising blurb recommends you can set the temp and leave it there indefinitely because they are inducing you to purchase their “quality” fridge. I bet they don't “recommend” turning it down during the day and off at night, however they may suggest you can do that in an effort to save 12v battery power.

If the internal fridge cabinet temperature goes above 7° which is the highest recommended temp by WHO for the safe storage of food for human consumption, why would you risk food poisoning for your family or friends?

As to saving battery Amps by turning the fridge off at night, I think you will find that the fridge has to work much longer when you turn it back on, because the fridge cabinet may have warmed up during the night.

However, if the fridge cabinet did not warm up at night, then the fridge would not have turned on anyway, so it could have been left on all night without battery problems.

Crazy Dog , Tis not I who have missed the point , pray tell us all how turning your thermostat to a higher temp setting or turning your fridge off at nite saves power , I have done "tests " with both my 80lt waeco and my 15lt engle , the Waeco set at -18c in the freezer = 3c in the fridge and 7c inthe dairy section , at those settings it uses 62amps in any 24hr period , testing shows that even switching 'OFF" at midnite and restarting at dawn it still uses ????? 62 amps , no bull no fairy dust ,fridge runs thru a Steca solar regulator which tells me how much power Im using for any given time frame of my choosing , as stated in the previous reply ' DO YOU TURN YOUR HOME FRIDGE DOWN OR OFF AT NITE , COURSE BLOODY NOT ,so why do it to your 12v ,the fridge will look after your foodstuffs and beer all by itself at the CORRECT temp better than fiddling.

Hey guys guys keep ya shirts on..

I am not disputing anything you say about power etc but if you READ my post properly you will see that all I said was that we store cold by bringing the contents down lower than if just running on the stat all nite.

Less cycles during the night means less use of the battery during the nite and yes in the morning the stat will be adjusted again. THERE IS ABSOLUTLEY NO POWER SAVING WHATSOEVER.... Another way of saying is that if my 110lt WAECO cycles 10 times during the night to maintain 4 degrees does it not stand to reason that if I drive the contents down to say 1.5 degrees prior to the evening then it will take quite a while to get up to the stats cut-in point therefore reducing the number of starts during the night.

In any case you do it your way and we will do it our way.

I don't think the post was about who is right or who is wrong moreover why people do it...

Have a great day fella's

Grrr!!!

"I don't think the post was about who is right or who is wrong moreover why people do it.."

You're right crazy dog, I just wonder why people do it. I work in the heating and cooling game and wonder why people turn their heating system thermostats up when it gets colder outside. If you want 22C inside then you leave the stat set to 22 regardless but some of my customers can't/won't grasp that concept, similarly with fridges. I can understand people getting the contents down low whilst driving/using solar if battery capacity is an issue, although I find my food keeps better at a constant temp. I find some foods such as fruits and salads spoil quicker if they get close to freezing due to the high water content. As mainey said, if battery capacity is an issue look at addressing that problem first.