Jay H
servicedriven.org
Well after wanting a fridge ever since I saw one at the last over land exp in amado I started looking. The top of the line engel and ARB offering sure seem nice but there prices are a long ways off of what I can afford. I wasn't totally sold on the edge star with its higher power consumption. This leaves Waeco but there still more than I can spend, that was until I came across this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-WAECO-12V-P...rigerators&hash=item35b45425c4#ht_6965wt_1185
This seemed like such a good deal so I went ahead and got one. Its an OEM model with DC only and mounting rails included. It also already has a connector on the end that looks like a Gm alternator plug/weather tech, available at an auto part store cheap. Perfect for mounting on my ply wood cargo shelf in the back of my vehicle. I will run a good oversized fused line from the battery straight to the fridge connector. Should avoid all the faulty cigarette lighter socket nonsense that causes problems with these.
At $334 with shipping I have gone for it. I am on the road so I had it shipped to a friend in Flagstaff, AZ and will be picking it up in a couple weeks. I cant wait to stop buying ice.
I have never used a 12V fridge before and I know people on here have been running them for years.
Here are my questions/concerns with using this thing in my vehicle. I did try to find answers by searching first. I really don't think I need a dual battery set up and don't really want the extra weight and complexity. We almost always drive at least an hour every day, more often 3 to 6 hours. Frequently when we stop somewhere for a long time I have access to AC power to plug it in. I know this thing pulls 45 watts when the compressor is on. I am told the compressor really only runs about 20 min for every hour. I can and will try to improve this with an insulated case. I know this thing will have a low voltage cut off but I still have concerns. I know car batteries don’t like deep cycling but what is an acceptable cycle for an ordinary run of the mill battery, 30%, 40% or 60% of charge remaining. I am ok with wearing out the battery a little bit faster than normal but I don’t want it to happen in only 4 months time. I know I can set the voltage cut off point – I am thinking the stock cut off point is for sure going to guarantee starting, but what about damage to the battery. Again I am ok with a little battery abuse but not a lot since I will be using thing every day for at least the next 4 months. I am really hoping I can run the fridge off battery power for 15 hours or so every day without killing the battery. I guess if I had to I could try to figure out a dual battery system but there is little room anywhere. I am not sure a cheap solar panel would do enough. Thanks in advance for good advise.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-WAECO-12V-P...rigerators&hash=item35b45425c4#ht_6965wt_1185
This seemed like such a good deal so I went ahead and got one. Its an OEM model with DC only and mounting rails included. It also already has a connector on the end that looks like a Gm alternator plug/weather tech, available at an auto part store cheap. Perfect for mounting on my ply wood cargo shelf in the back of my vehicle. I will run a good oversized fused line from the battery straight to the fridge connector. Should avoid all the faulty cigarette lighter socket nonsense that causes problems with these.
At $334 with shipping I have gone for it. I am on the road so I had it shipped to a friend in Flagstaff, AZ and will be picking it up in a couple weeks. I cant wait to stop buying ice.
I have never used a 12V fridge before and I know people on here have been running them for years.
Here are my questions/concerns with using this thing in my vehicle. I did try to find answers by searching first. I really don't think I need a dual battery set up and don't really want the extra weight and complexity. We almost always drive at least an hour every day, more often 3 to 6 hours. Frequently when we stop somewhere for a long time I have access to AC power to plug it in. I know this thing pulls 45 watts when the compressor is on. I am told the compressor really only runs about 20 min for every hour. I can and will try to improve this with an insulated case. I know this thing will have a low voltage cut off but I still have concerns. I know car batteries don’t like deep cycling but what is an acceptable cycle for an ordinary run of the mill battery, 30%, 40% or 60% of charge remaining. I am ok with wearing out the battery a little bit faster than normal but I don’t want it to happen in only 4 months time. I know I can set the voltage cut off point – I am thinking the stock cut off point is for sure going to guarantee starting, but what about damage to the battery. Again I am ok with a little battery abuse but not a lot since I will be using thing every day for at least the next 4 months. I am really hoping I can run the fridge off battery power for 15 hours or so every day without killing the battery. I guess if I had to I could try to figure out a dual battery system but there is little room anywhere. I am not sure a cheap solar panel would do enough. Thanks in advance for good advise.