12v fridge wiring

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Hi,

We recently bought a 12v fridge which I've fitted to the van and connected to the starter battery via a Smartcom relay and it all works fine whilst driving / the engine is running.

However, what would be the best way to then have the option to connect to 240v when on hook-up - presumably via an invertor of some sort? Otherwise all the food gets warm and ruined unless running the engine the whole time (very expensive!).

Cheers,

Chris

[grumpyoldgit]

No gas?

[orangebooboobearcrew]

No - no gas, purely a 12v fridge....

[1664]

If the fridge is 12v only - no 240v mains facility on it aswell as no gas, then your only option is to get a 240vac -12vdc power supply capable of supplying at least 10amps and run it while hooked-up. Really limits your choices having no gas

[bigherb]

You need to check the power consumpion of the fridge, but you would need something like this.
http://www.towsure.com/product/1598-230 ... er:_5_amps" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[AngeloEvs]

What type/make of fridge is it? Just curious it being 12V only...

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your responses so far.

The fridge is a Vitrifrigo fridge and having read the instruction manual (which is in badly translated Italian) I cannot see that there is any other running option other than the 12v one. My other half bought the fridge from Kustom Interiors to fit the new units we had made but did not realise that you couldn't run from 240v (apparently) but only from 12v - hence whilst engine running. As I have since pointed out to other half, this does really limit usage but she didn't know bless her... The fridge has a separate compressor which has the power supply to the fridge and only has connections for positive and negative 12v supply.

Looks like we might have dropped a very expensive boo-boo here then by the sounds of it (fridge was about £450!)



Cheers,

Chris

[1664]

No no no no no - don't panic. You may well have made a very good choice . IF it's a 12v compressor type fridge (you can just hear it running when it's switched on) then it takes next to nothing electrically compared to the absorption type fitted to most vans.

I hired a camper in New Zealand that had one fitted and left it running throughout the entire holiday with no flat battery issues (although I was driving the camper every day).

Have a look at the paperwork specifications that came with it and find the power consumption figure - probably be very low. Or post a picture of the figures up and I'll try and decipher it

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Nice one 1664!

Yes it is indeed a compressor fridge.

I think I have got mixed up as when I have been reading through the notes on the forum, everyone has been saying that fridges should always be wired up directly to the starter battery which I did via my Smartcom to avoid flattening the battery. Clearly, this relates to 2 or 3 way fridges not compressor types so I have got my wires crossed (literally! ). I didn't realise that these compressor fridges use a lot less power and can therefore be wired up to my leisure battery - d'oh!

I've just spoken to the guy we bought the fridge from and he was really helpful and confirmed what you said about drawing loads less power - said he ran one recently for a whole day and it only drew 0.3 amps.

Few - that's a relief. I am gonna wire up via leisure battery hopefully this week if I get chance and see how we get on....I'll keep you posted.

Many thanks again - this forum is ace!

Chris

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Just a quick update as promised...

Sorted it now - rewired fridge to now run from leisure battery via the secondary fuse box rather than from starter battery via Smartcom. Also put an illuminated rocker switch into front of bed box so can switch the supply off from the leisure battery when van is parked up for long periods - and it all works, yeah!

This wasn't without problems though! I managed to electrocute myself 3 times and set on fire the wire leading to my dash mounted led! Luckily managed to disconnect the leisure battery before this became a proper fire but there was lots of smoke coming from the dashboard which was a bit scary and I was looking frantically for the fire extinguisher!! Sorted it now though - needed rewiring from Smartcom fridge output - now used to light led on dash so that I can see when Smartcom is switched on in case fuse has tripped...

Thanks for all your invaluable help again! Looking forward to trying the fridge out in the field on our next trip...

Chris

[grumpyoldgit]

Let us know where you are going so I can give you a wide berth.