12 volt REFRIGERATOR

[adamant]

i am thinking on picking up one of those 12 volt fridges to use at our camp on the weekends.

the unit i am looking out Draws 2.5 amps at 12 volt. i have two trogens t 105's .

is 2.5 amps a lot of draw?

ant

[windstuffnow]

   The T105's are 225 amp/hr batteries.   I usually only draw them down to 80% which means you can use the top 20% or 45 ah.  So 45ah/ 2.5a = 18 hours worth of keeping things cold.  If you took it down to 70% you'd have 67.5 ah to work with or 27 hours of cooling. or 50% would give you 45 hours.

    The deeper you cycle them the shorter the life span.

.

[DanG]

Once the refrigerator and contents are cold you might see cycles of 10 or 20 minutes out of each hour, the 2.5 amp draw is only while running. Having all the items pre-chilled, direct from home refrigerator or store coolers will stretch out the run time further, as will keeping door opening to a minimum. The 18 hour figure might stretch out to 24-36 or more hours even when starting it warm and using batteries only.

Having the unit run off car battery power on the way to the camp or using home AC and DC convertor to do the work of getting fridge and contents down to near freezing before going on batteries would stretch run time w/o deep discharge also.

Are you talking about a true "dorm" style small steel refrigerator or a 12V cooler?

[ghurd]

A better discription of the 'fridge may help.

A 2.5A 'solid-state' or Peltier type cooler really won't do much cooling.

[adamant]

thanks guys

ant

[orochi8]

Pelier coolers are notorious energy hogs, but Im sure it will get the job done. You might consider a simple ice chest if you are only going to be using it intermitantly. Dry ice realy isnt all that expensive when you think of how much energy a small fridge sucks up over time, and so long as you only open the ice chest when you absolutely have to, it will last pretty darn long.

-Orochi

[steak2k1]

I recently posted a Q on this same subject.  I had an Igloo and for sure it is a power hog.  (Thanx to those that pointed out a much better idea). I sold it and bought a "Danby" 4.3 cu ft small fridge from the Home Despot.  $168 CAD + the Gouge n Screw tax of 7%.  

Igloo = 12V @ 4-5A  for approx 50-60W/hr.  or 4-5Amp hours continuously.

Danby = 120Vac @ 1.2 Amp for approx 140W but as mentioned it only runs about 5-10 minutes depending on ambient outside air temperature.  I find it a much better solution for my tent trailer camping.  (does require an Inverter however if dry camping)...but it has a freezer and that is a real bonus.!  Making icecubes in the bush is kinda Kewl.!

rgds,

stk