Fridge / Cooler 12v/120v Freezer/fridge

I am considering a refrigerator/freezer. These have truly amazing LOW electrical drain. ARB claims about 1.75 amps an hour (feedback on Amazon supports that claim). Not cheap but it buys extended off grid camping.

My question is – if you have a fridge/freezer, how many amps is your battery?
Also how big is your refrigerator/freezer inside? Any measurement is fine - quarts, liters, (length width height), cubic inches, heads of lettuce etc.
Do you run off grid or only on shore power?

Off grid freezer video
Most energy stingy models I could find are

ARB 50 quart Video
ARB 37 quart
Engel 40 quart Video

Thanks
-Cosmo

 

Cosmo,

We use ice and coolers, but we know folks who use the AC fridge coolers. Most common is the Dometic brand and folks seem pretty happy with form and function. I looked up the size that fits a 550 and 560, it's the Dometic 33 Quart, details below.

33 Quart AC/DC Refrigerator/Freezer - AC/DC-Smart Space Saver. Equipped with high-tech danfoss compressors, these functional yet economically-priced appliances offer everything you would expect from a professional cooling unit. 22.8" L x 15.1" H x 14" W capacity 33 quarts weight 33 pounds. Input power 45 watts features 12/24 volt DC / 110 volts AC. Detachable lid (hinge at the rear) simple, secure top lid lock Interior light Soft-touch, +50 & #0176F to 0 & #0176F, variable via electronic thermostat. Electronic thermostat and 3-stage battery monitor, low voltage protector adjustable for consumer or starter battery with slide regulator and electronic fuse with automatic reverse polarity protection. Standing height for standard 1.5-liter bottle, extremely quiet running, UL approved, standard accessories DC connection cable, detachable carrying handles, grid divider.

Hope this helps

 

Doug, Amber,

Thanks this helps a lot. I am currently using a 48 quart cooler and calculating and recalculating how much of the space is taken up by food and how much it taken up by ice and water.

My biggest concern is how much food the fridges hold. I think I am going to construct a box that matches the interior space of the 33 quart as a starting place and see what it holds!

I did use a hot glue gun and attached Reflectix reflective bubble wrap on my cooler and it seems to have extended the ice longevity.

THANK YOU FOR THE INFO.


-Cosmo

 

we've had a dometic cf-35 for two years now. Fits nicely in the galley. It's a good unit as I expect many folks on this forum will attest. Definitely smaller capacity than the cooler but no ice and no water to deal with. It'll freeze if you want it to or not if you set the temp higher. You have to find the temp that suits you by trial/error (i.e freezing some veggies). We also keep the old coleman cooler (with cooler cozy) in the TV. Good place for extra drinks or larger items. I also freely admit that I like ice with my whiskey.

The power usage is the real question. We managed to pretty much kill the original AGM battery by using the dometic, but we did several extended (multiple weeks) trips with mostly dry camping. It also turns out that our TV doesn't charge at a high enough voltage to fully charge a deep cycle battery. So even driving from campground to campground we still weren't getting a completely full charge. From reading other forums I suspect this is common in modern vehicles. Even with the teardrop plugged into shore power when not in use, it apparently wasn't enough to keep from eventually diminishing the capacity of the battery.

We also use an 85 watt solar panel which I would guess did pretty well in the sunny west but not so much in the shadier east. I'd really like to put two 50 watt flexible PV panels on the top of the 'drop. That way I'd get good charging going down the road. They're pricy though.
Amazon.com : Go Power Solar Flex 50 Watt Panel : Patio, Lawn & Garden

I read Doug/Amber's post about their installation of the trimetric battery monitor about the time I was wondering what to do about my depleted battery. I studied up on it a bit and bought a trimetric to go along with the new Trojan 24 AGM battery. I've just returned from my first trip with the monitor and the new battery, and while I had a site with an electric hookup, I ran dry a fair amount of time to both begin conditioning the battery as well as gather some data, which is the whole point of the monitor.

The dometic is rated to draw 6 amps at 12 volts when it's running but it's efficient so it doesn't run nearly all the time. The old waeco manual, for example, says it should run 12% of the time with an inside temp of 41F and an outside temp of 68F. That rises to 17% with an outside temp of 89F. You can figure the amp-hours used easily from that data.

What I found with the trimetric was that the unit drew a max of 4.95 amps and sometimes only drew 3.9 amps. Not sure what's up with the variance in current draw.

I think the data from aa monitor such as the trimetric is essential if you're going to live off one relatively small battery. If you're always staying at sites with hookups then don't worry about it. If, however, you like to get *out there*, and visit national parks for example (or Newfoundland!), then you really need to know what's up with your battery. Or you'll be buying a new one frequently.

So Cosmo, I don't know if all this rambling helps with your question about fridges but I think you just have to consider how you're going to get power to it if you're going to get one.

Robert Dickson
Carrboro NC
112 nights

 

THANK YOU ROBERT!
This is right in line with what I am looking for.

I have been to Newfoundland on a 10 day supported camping bicycle tour and I would love to go back and do trailer camping. We rode our bicycles up the Viking trail along the entire coast. What a spectacular place. Second only to Iceland in some ways. No wonder the Vikings landed there. After seeing Newfoundland I went to Iceland on my next vacation to see the living Vikings.

I do want to get out there and the freezer/fridge would be a help with the quality of food!

As you guessed correctly - off grid is my interest. In preparation I picked up 3 solar panels very similar to yours. Mine are 100 watts each or 5 amps each at the 17 volts they produce I also installed a Flexcharge model PV14 solar controller which I love It uses pulse charging which is very kind to the battery.

I was unaware of the Trimetric. Thanks for the tip. It does look like a nice monitor. Right now I monitor battery voltage for battery life. I am getting to know my battery much better now. I don't have the stats this monitor provides but I have measured the draw on each device that uses electricity so I am doing pretty well on the estimates. Temp is a variable on battery life and charging rate I still have to get familiar with.

I agree here in the east coast trees and trees + clouds are a challenge. With the panels I have treeless will be easy.
The Dometic has a good track record. Only nit is it uses a lot more energy than the ARB which only pulls 1.75 amps. I may just have to try throwing it on the wall and seeing what sticks. Meaning - try it.

In another forum a clever person said to use this Haier HC17SF15RB 1.7 Cubic Feet Refrigerator/Freezer It only draws 1.75 amps on AC. But when you throw in an inverter and larger battery you end up drawing about 168 watts on 12V or 14 amps (too much for my battery capacity). Too bad, That fridge only costs $90 but its a good solution for an on grid camper.

Thanks so much for your very useable information.
-Cosmo

 

Just bought the Dometic CF35 refrigerator/freezer and after cruising through the forum regarding usage I still
am not clear on a few things. If I'm connected to shore power can I plug the Dometic into the 110 receptacle
in the galley, the 12V receptacle or do I need a separate line (ext. cord) from the Dometic to shore power? When not
connected to shore power then connect to the trailer 12V I'm assuming. When I want to use my solar and am
connected into the CI trailer solar connection where is best receptacle to plug the Dometic into? Also, my TV has
two plug in receptacles, the 12v (cig. lighter) plug in and a "regular" 110 type. Which is best to using while towing
the trailer? A lot of seemingly simple questions but I want to be sure I'm not confused on the basics and keeping
my battery from being discharged to quickly.

 

When you are on shore power, you should use the 110 plug in the galley. Apparently using the 12volt while on shore power is hard on the battery. When not on shore power use the cigarette lighter plug in the galley. I keep the fridge in the galley while towing plugged into 12 Volt as my TV charges the battery during towing through the 7 pin.

Hope that helps!

Randy

 

Thanks, Randy for the clarification. That is what I understood things to be.

 

Cosmo, if you are using 3 100W solar panels, I can't imagine you would have any trouble running a fridge and keeping your battery happy. I have the Dometic and I get along pretty well with just a 100W suitcase solar setup. Been on week long trips with it and haven't run down the battery yet.

 

Regarding solar use to run the Dometic, just plug the solar into the CI trailer connection and away you go?
I've got 3 30 watt panels and Cary seemed think I'd be ok in keeping the battery charged sufficiently with them
off the grid.

 

You should get a digital voltmeter that plugs into the cigarette lighter receptacle in the galley and ensure that you don't run the battery down below 50% or about 12 volts. Doing so is hard on the battery


Amazon.com: INNOVA 3721 Battery and Charging System Monitor: Automotive

 

Randy, thanks for the info. I have a voltmeter. Came with my trailer. I'll keep the attached
chart handy though. I'm sure there will be some trail and error over time.

 

I have ARB fridge in my car. My fridge’s average DC power consumption is 0.7 to 2.3 amp/hour. My fridge will use approximately 55.2 amps per 24-hour period.