Portable Fridges Feedback

Submitted: Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 at 11:55

ThreadID: 59085 Views:4738 Replies:5 FollowUps:5

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Portable Fridges

The debate over which fridge is the best on the market is one of the most contested discussions in the camping recreation. In this article we look at the range of features and the major issues to

snaggers

Apologies if this has been done to death already, I've just bought a 60l Engel, and am now looking at generators. I want to work out the wattage-sized gen I'll need to run all the bits we take.
I downloaded the specs, and it shows a Rated AC Amperage of 0.7A. Using a calculator off the net, I worked this out to a grand total of 168 watts to run the fridge. I know Engels are good, but that sounded low, so I emailed Engel to clarify, and got some half-arsed answer to call them to 'discuss generators', so here I am, seeking advice from real-world experts.

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Reply By: Notso - Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 at 12:11

Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 at 12:11

It's probably a lot less than that overall.

They only use around 4 amps max at 12 volts so that works out around 50watts.

There are losses in converting from 240 to 12 volts but usually only 20% or so.

If you want to use a genny long term you are best to get one of the Inverter style such as Honda, or one of the similar types.

I reckon you'd be better to muse the genny to charge a battery system rather than running your fridge directly from the genny.

Unless you want to run electric jugs, toasters, air conditioners etc a 1000 watt Honda would supply most camp sites.

AnswerID: 311603

Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 at 12:29

Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 at 12:29

"and got some half-arsed answer to call them to 'discuss generators'"

Maybe you got a salesman. Engel sell their own version of the "Kirpor" style Inverter Generator.

Some good advice given already to consider running the fridge off a battery system, then look at a way of charging the battery from time to time, either with a generator or a solar panel setup.

If you go the generator way, do not consider running the fridge, or charging the batteries, straight from the 12 volt output as it's unregulated. Therefore, you will need a good quality 240v/12v multi-stage charger as well.

A 100 watt solar panel may be a more cost effective and practical option to consider. At least you eliminate the possible abuse you may get from other campers, no matter how quiet the genny may be.

Bill.

Bill

I'm diagonally parked in a parallel Universe!

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AnswerID: 311607

Reply By: pville - Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 at 17:31

Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 at 17:31

I have a Leimack. Don,t think they are sold under that name any more . Trisan in Adelaide do the service etc . They are that far ahead of the rest its not funny . Mine is a freezer and i have been away for 4 months in wa. and nt. I set it on- 25deg. running on 12 volt on road and 240 volt at night .

AnswerID: 311642

Follow Up By: Member No 1- Monday, Jun 23, 2008 at 08:07

Monday, Jun 23, 2008 at 08:07

"They are that far ahead of the rest its not funny'...cough cough cough!!

FollowupID: 577694

Follow Up By: Mainey (wa) - Monday, Jun 23, 2008 at 12:49

Monday, Jun 23, 2008 at 12:49

pville,
having previously used the Liemack (50 Lt fridge/freezer) for a few years and presently the even more *technically advanced* Reefer PREMIER (70 Lt fridge/freezer) 12/240v fridge, I can say in all confidence the superior technical electronics advances and actual fridge *performance* in the Premier 12/240v fridge is even far ahead of the Liemack too !!

After all you buy a fridge either because it's with-in your (limited) "budget" ($999)
OR
because the fridge is required to do a specific job, even with it's high price ($2,250)

In my case it's to *quickly* freeze food and KEEP it frozen, while the food in the fridge compartment remains at a constant temperature.

Published tests were done way back in 1995 showing the Liemack was undoubtedly the fastest to freeze 12v fridge available in those early days.
However the more recently designed and far more technically advanced Reefer PREMIER would have to have been the *fastest* 12v freezer ever made !!

In the case of my 70Lt Reefer fridge/freezer, the fridge is set to maintain cabinet temperatures of +1° to +6° while the freezer cabinet stays at -18° simply because of it's independent all stainless steel cabinet construction and the much larger capacity Mitsubishi rotary compressor.

(now we can all have opinions, but the technical facts just can't be disputed, but I'm sure they 'will' be strongly challenged :-))
some actual pictures on my "members profile" do show my Premier fridge performance *numbers*
Yes, they use more current when running, but because they run for LESS time due to their much larger capacity compressor, they use just 2.8ah while maintaining the fridge compartment under 7° max, and they are also designed to RECHARGE the 12v battery system when running on 240v )

Mainey . . .

FollowupID: 577741

Follow Up By: Member No 1- Monday, Jun 23, 2008 at 17:35

Monday, Jun 23, 2008 at 17:35

cough cough cough
geeses mainey do we need to hear all this Krap from you again

FollowupID: 577805

Follow Up By: Mainey (wa) - Tuesday, Jun 24, 2008 at 11:01

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2008 at 11:01

""geeses mainey do we need to 'hear' all this Krap from you again""
Umm,
Richard, do you remember the last time we 'talked' on the phone?
(or should we keep the secret?)

I have only placed it to clarify YOUR post

If you believe you can actually 'prove' anything I have posted above is not 100% correct, please feel free to post a link to (what you think is) the correct relevant information.

Please let's not allow 'opinions' (yours or mine either) to be misinterpreted as the truth or facts.

Better still, please feel free to start a new thread, and not denigrate this thread in any way

all said very nicely and with-out any malice :-)
Looking forward to results - not arguments !

Mainey . . .

FollowupID: 577940

Reply By: Mike Harding - Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 at 18:28

Sunday, Jun 22, 2008 at 18:28

G'Day snaggers

0.7 X 240 is, indeed, 168 watts which is much more than your fridge would consume. That number is probably some sort of absolute maximum.

If you are intending to run the fridge 24 hours per day from a gen then almost any gen from a $98 GMC to a $2000 Honda will produce 168W with ease and have a bit left over for your hair dryer :)

The usual way to run these 12V fridges (wise people use 3 way fridges :) is to run them from batteries and then charge the batteries from; 1) your vehicle - 2) a generator - 3) solar panels. The advantage of doing it this way is that you don't need to run a gen all the time however you're now up for a few hundred (thousand?) dollars for an extra battery/charging system etc - my 3 way simply needs a $10 bottle of LPG (gloat :).

I'll leave it there because I suspect you may have a few further questions to ask now.

Mike Harding

AnswerID: 311657

Follow Up By: Outa Bounds - Monday, Jun 23, 2008 at 16:24

Monday, Jun 23, 2008 at 16:24

Great point Mike.
We ended up with that sort of set up for camping, running the fridge of the 2nd car battery and also purchased a battery charger (I went for a Durst BCS 1215B in the end - you probably still remember my threads asking for advice). So now we can use the Genny & the Charger to charge up batteries as required or in a pinch.

Even though we're not camping much any more, that 12v charger has still been useful at times! After all it doesn't hurt to top up the car batteries every now & then.

FollowupID: 577794

Reply By: Outa Bounds - Monday, Jun 23, 2008 at 16:15

Monday, Jun 23, 2008 at 16:15

Hi Snaggers,

We've got the same fridge as you, and also a Honda EU10i. We have only tested it for a short period and it didn't have a problem running the fridge. Ha we even tried it (during a long power outage) on the home fridge freezer, the Genny didn't seem to overload but the fridge / freezer wasn't really cooling anything, so not quite enough juice I guess.

Something I did find is that the 10i trips out if I try to boil the Kettle, understandable since the kettle is 1920 - 2280W, it can run it for a bit, till the wattage goes up too much obviously.

So my advice would be to consider what the primary purpose of the jenny will be and if you'll require it to run more than one thing at a time. After all I imagine running a small one at full throttle all the time will be noisier than a easier workload on a larger one, if that matters.

AnswerID: 311787