help wanted- what amp wire do i use?? installing waeco

Chris.
I just use a 10a , I know what all the experts will say but mine is a long wire to a switch and the to the rear wheere the fridge is , works all day, no problems, even have to turn the control back or the milk freezes up

Tis not the amperage that you should concern yourself about but the actual thickness of the wire , 6mm sq is the recomended minimum , that being the wire thickness , NOT wire + insulation , you will find that 6mm / 8mm sq fits the 50amp anderson plugs.

Chris,

It's not the amperage you need worry about.
The Waeco will only pull about 2-3 amps maximum when it's running flat out.

Voltage drop is the main concern and for this reason it is normal to use something like 6mm(2).

A 10 amp fuse at the battery end to protect the circuit and you will have no problem.

Go to Exploroz home page , click on caravan or camper then click on caravan and camper battery charging. Scroll down to tow vehicle, you will get some good ideas from the diagrams their.

If you use wiring that is too small you will get voltage loss and your fridge may not run the way it ought too.

Hi Chris
Use one of them fridges myself , great little unit.

Anderson plugs are probably an overkill.

I think a couple of other respondents have said that its the total voltage drop that counts and I agree with this.

It is particularly important in this fridge because it can draw 7amp continuous and even higher short term peaks.

These can upset the low voltage protection circuit.

You need to use wire with 4mm sq copper area for that 4m long run.(called 30 amp cable), or of course larger.
I run other things as well from the back of the car and just ran 6mm sq copper to rear, split the ends and soldered on 4mm cable which runs off to several socket.

The lead on the end of that fridge can plug into cig lighter or a Merit plug via the removeable red piece.

Merits are better and widely available.

Robin Miller

High amps are only required if you are charging a second battery and want it charged up in optimum time. I have a second battery in the back so I want the alternator to able to push a good flow. I also run the gennie through a regulated charger; same requirement. I dont think you will have any problems as long as the motor gets a good run every day. Its only a small fridge too so maybe every couple of days. Just keep an eye on the battery voltage while you are getting used to it.

Hope this helps

Owen

Hi Chris

Use 6mm2 cable. Twin core. Voltage drop is a problem and if you get a bigger fridge later you don't want to have to replace the wiring again.

Here is good quick formula.

Voltage drop equals (cable length (in metres) X current (in amps) X 0.017) divided by cable CROSS SECTION in mm.sq.



Waeco fridges are known to show 'ERROR' if there is voltage drop in the cable and the battery is below 50%.

Regards

Derek.

You may get away with smaller wire but 6B&S is regarded as the best way to go. Maybe compare it to tow vehicles. You can tow with a Commodore but it is much better to tow with a Cruiser. 6B&S is about 14mm2 and fits snugly into the Anderson plug terminals - just half fill them with solder and pop the wire in (use a butane torch about $13). With the proper wire you will not suffer voltage drop or overheating.

You may get away with smaller wire but 6B&S is regarded as the best way to go. Maybe compare it to tow vehicles. You can tow with a Commodore but it is much better to tow with a Cruiser. 6B&S is about 14mm2 and fits snugly into the Anderson plug terminals - just half fill them with solder and pop the wire in (use a butane torch about $13). With the proper wire you will not suffer voltage drop or overheating.

You may get away with smaller wire but 6B&S is regarded as the best way to go. Maybe compare it to tow vehicles. You can tow with a Commodore but it is much better to tow with a Cruiser. 6B&S is about 14mm2 and fits snugly into the Anderson plug terminals - just half fill them with solder and pop the wire in (use a butane torch about $13). With the proper wire you will not suffer voltage drop or overheating.

You may get away with smaller wire but 6B&S is regarded as the best way to go. Maybe compare it to tow vehicles. You can tow with a Commodore but it is much better to tow with a Cruiser. 6B&S is about 14mm2 and fits snugly into the Anderson plug terminals - just half fill them with solder and pop the wire in (use a butane torch about $13). With the proper wire you will not suffer voltage drop or overheating.

Have a look at this linkhttp://www.fridge-and-solar.net/more.htm

http://www.fridge-and-solar.net/dual_bat.htm is good too

thankyou all for you help, at least now i have a good idea of what to use. the main reason for using the anderson plugs are that we already had them to use with our 3 way fridge but after buying all the bits found out it wont fit in the car by about 1/2 an inch (not happy). once again thanks heaps it's great having this wealth of knowledge just a keyboard away. Chris.