Please don't hate me - looking for advice about powering a fridge.

Thanks for your reply, Mark.

Yes, we have looked into a 3-way fridge, but decided that although it might suit us at the moment, we are likely to take longer trips involving more moving around as our kids get older. I probably should have mentioned that in my original post! I'm guessing it's a bit cost-prohibitive to get a 3-way now and something else later.

Hello Jan,

no worries, no one hates you :)

Your idea of having two batteries alternately powering your stationary fridge has merit.

To quickly re-charge the one you take along on your day trips, the battery ideally should be of the spiral wound AGM type.
This battery type is specified to re-charge rapidly from 0 to >90% within 40 to 50 minutes, from a car/4WD alternator.
No other battery type charges this quickly.

Since they're not too heavy with 18.5kg, and have a nice set of carry handles, these are ideally suited for carrying around.
They're spill proof, no liquid sloshing around inside, and can be operated in any position.

There's more info to be found here


Or, check out my profile.

cheers, Peter

Hi Peter,
Just a reminder that whilst you are welcome to respond to consumer posts you are not at liberty to post links to your business website into Forum posts as you've done above with the link to "more info to be found here". Your auto-footer will do that for you by adding your logo and link to your profile so as you've done, just get them to go to your profile to access your site etc. Note - we track visits from your profile to your site so you know the volume of referals.
Thanks!
MM

Peter,

I don't want to criticise your knowledge of batteries, etc. and believe you offer good advice in general.

However, in this case, the problem as I see it is that Jan has mentioned a 70 litre fridge, which is going to draw considerable power.
My own experience with an Exide Orbital spiral wound battery wasn't all beer and skittles, so to speak.
With a capacity of 50Ah it didn't provide capacity for more than one day before requiring charging.


Jan,

A dual battery system is the best solution possible to provide for your needs.
It then gets down to the configuration that best suits you.

Priority number one is to protect your starting battery from being drained by heavy power devices like fridges.
Priority number two is to use a deep cycle battery to run the fridge, enabling a lower and more constant power drain than a starting battery without damaging the battery.
This basically means you need an Isolator between the primary battery and any auxiliary battery you have connected to the vehicle's charging circuit.

There are several options and configurations to choose from, but to keep it simple for you, my recommendation is to buy a Sidewinder Flyer battery box, which has a built-in isolator, heavy duty cables to connect in to the vehicles charging system and power sockets mounted on the box to plug your fridge into.

The Flyer is available from Derek Bester (Sidewinder.com.au) who is an advertiser on this site and costs around $395.00.

The next option is to install a battery of your choice into the Flyer and an AGM battery of around 100Ah capacity will give you a reasonable power source before requiring recharging from the vehicle alternator while driving, or charging from a solar panel, or 240 volt source if available.
An AGM battery is also safe to mount in confined areas, such as the rear cabin space of your vehicle, or inside a caravan or camper.


Bill.

Hi Bill,

thanks for your thoughts.

But please read again, the clear conditions the OP gave:

"We don't want to install a dual battery system"

"I wondered if two portable batteries would be a good idea - that way we could have one powering the fridge at camp, and a second could recharge while doing any day trips. Does this sound feasible? Ridiculously expensive? A bad idea?"

So the dual battery system option isn't on the table at this stage.

And the answer is YES, one battery can be used to power the fridge while the other one is being re-charged on a short day trip.
And the most economical way of doing this, requires only one 50Ah spiral wound pure lead/tin battery to keep the 70l Evakool cold.

Since the day trips won't involve long hour driving it's paramount to put as much charge as possible back into the battery in this short time frame.
And for that, you want a spiral wound pure lead/tin AGM battery - they're simply unparalleled in this department (and a few others).

Now to the numbers:

looking at the Evakool web site, they specify 1.4 amps average under 32 degree conditions for the smaller model.
Make it 2.4 amps for the 70 litre model.
That's 60Ah in a 24 hour period.
So one 50Ah battery alone will do this, as long as it receives a one hourly charge from the alternator, in the morning AND in the evening. The fridge will stay cold during these battery-less times, no worries.

And if the OP want's to purchase two of these batteries, then a single alternator charging session of 1.5 hours per day will be sufficient.

And if a day trip is on the agenda, there is the option of taking one battery along for re-charging while the other one takes care of the stationary fridge.

Everything else like isolation switch, solar panel and regulator, and tuning the more complex system, spending more money and time to get it actually working, is optional.

cheers, Peter

Hi Michelle,

a very special hello to you!

I must have gotten carried away by Jan's seductive style of asking for some technical advice or something.

Appreciate your subtle way of achieving things tho.
We'll take better care next time.

Hugz Peter.

Hi Peter,

I understand what you are saying, but what I was attempting to have Jan understand is that regardless of whether a vehicle is not worth the effort of installing "the traditional" dual battery system, there are excellent alternatives that can be purchased and transferred for one vehicle to the next, ad infinitum.

My biggest concern when reading Jan's post was that the fridge to be used is a 70 litre jobbie and would be fairly hungry on power. As Jan also mentioned they desired to be stationary for "a few days", the ability to recharge a battery is somewhat lessened, unless the drive was of significant length and time.

Of course this also introduces other options some of us have implemented, such as generators to provide 240v power to run a charger, or if you are adverse to this option as I am, a solar panel solution to add back sufficient voltage to maintain the portable battery system for an indefinite period.

There are several different options that people choose to suit there own needs, but in my opinion, the ability to have two batteries, one running the fridge, while the other is being charged by driving around, day after day, does not provide a practical solution.

Hopefully, Jan will read all input to her post and hopefully make a practical solution that suits her requirements and have a better understanding of the real needs of a truly practical system.

I am fortunate enough to have two portable power pack systems at my disposal and both of which can be supported by an 80 watt solar panel or the vehicle's alternator as required. I arrived at this current solution after many years of "trial & error". One could say that I have 2 batteries, but I do not alternate them as Jan has suggested she plans to do.

The main auxiliary power system I have is the Sidewinder Flyer, with a 100Ah AGM battery to run the fridge while on the move. As this power pack (ie battery) is quite heavy, it is not removed from the vehicle, but the fridge can be connected to it if required, or, I could remove it if necessary as it is not permanently fixed or hard wired to the vehicle. It is plugged into the charging cable by Anderson connectors and simply strapped to a support cradle in the rear of my vehicle.

As I prefer to remove the fridge when at camp, I also have a 75Ah Thumper battery system, that I use to run the fridge when it is removed from the vehicle.
This power pack is generally the one that has the solar panel connected to it to maintain the battery power, while the fridge is connected and running.

Both power packs have the ability to be charged from the vehicle's alternator while on the move, so I have a practical and reliable solution.


Cheers,
Bill.

You could certainly do that, yeah. But as you say you still have the issue of powering it for the duration of your stay. This means either a generator running 24/7 (and a decent generator will start at $1000) or a battery system with solar panels which would cost more but at least would be silent and wouldn't need petrol. Just don't camp places the sun doesn't shine :-)

Or alternatively a combined generator/battery system.

The 3 way fridge running on gas is the most cost effective but in hot weather simply won't be able to pull down to temps that a compressor fridge can.

Well if you get the evakool 70ltr fride, put in the divider, and only use one half of the fridge as a fridge, use the other half to put in cooking pots, breakfast cereals etc, you get the idea.

Use our 47ltr as a very small fridge using the freezer section only sometimes. Works very well, and great on power.

T

'Efficient' enough to freeze overnight if you leave it on a high setting, and as long as the fridge is not left in the sun or constantly opened during a hot day it will be fine (40-50l - don't know about the efficiency of larger capacity camping fridges tho').

Woops missed the rest of your query, sorry. Finch & Chescold are both good brands, and yes the convenience for long stay camping is worth the investment IMO, even over a 5 year period.

Hi Jan

Been using a Waeco 3 way for 4 yrs, my camping mate has a Waeco and a Primus. All 3 have worked great every time we get away. We normally camp in one spot same as you, 3 -10 days at a time. Absolutely no problems and cheap to run.

Make sure you run it on 240v for 2-3 days before you leave, put frozen or cold food and drinks in it during this time, and keep it in the shade whilst camping.
The Waeco doesn't have temp control, it just keeps getting colder :)) We often take a leg of lamb (frozen beforehand) with us for the camp oven and this works like an ice brick which helps, no doubt.

Cheers, Dave

Another vote for the 3way from me. Been using a Finch for 25 years & still going
strong. Now running on 240v while car is running & gas or 240 when not. It seems to me the cost of a 3way is less than the gear needed to run a compressor
type when camped for more than a day or two......oldbaz.

Jan,

I have to give my input here also.

I have used a 3 way fridge many years ago in a Hiace campervan and it was....umm....not all that good.

A compressor fridge is still the best option, providing you have implemented an adequate 12 volt battery system to support it.


Bill.

i have just been camping for a week or so with my brother and sister in law. he has a 12v/240v engel/waeco... not sure which... he seems to spend hours each day running a gen/running the ute to charge the battery etc. (i admit to knowing nothing about this stuff)... i just took my 3 way out of the ute... put on a 9 ltr gas bottle and forgot about it for the week except to go for a stubbie or to get food out of the freezer... for one i am very happy with the gas when just sitting, and i dont mind hooking it up for an overnighter either.... seems a no brainer to me but then lots have told me i have no brain.....

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Hi again Jan

Had a contact in the ice industry, got cheap dry ice for a while. He left the area, and I found out dry ice was about $30 a block. Need to get it from cryogenic supplier... at least you do around here. Handle with heavy gloves.

We had a 100 ltr cool box (much too big for our needs) and had to put 5 blocks in it. Didn't last all that long (4-5 days from memory) so it wasn't cost effective. Only need a few trips at that price and you can buy a compressor fridge, battery and solar :))

Cheers, Dave

Dave,

A very good analogy to the practical (not) use of dry ice and its cost effectiveness as a solution.

I have also tried "dry ice" in the past and it just doesn't add up.


Bill.

Our power plant is a 100 amphour AGM Deka Intimidator battery in battery box - with other 12 volt plugs for lighting