Fridge advice

[niclemaitre]

Hi there

I'm borrowing a fridge from a friend for an upcoming trip to the Cederberg. Normally he just runs it off the cigarette lighter socket but I'd prefer not to do that if I can avoid it because of the (very) thin wiring in my SFA. I'm planning on running wires directly from the battery to the fridge.

Can someone advise me as to wire diameter and the correct fuse to use? Also should I look at putting it on a relay? I'm planning on disconnecting should we stop anywhere for some time and plugging it in to AC power when we get to the campsite. This is a strictly temporary thing so I'm also not looking to make a huge wiring loom either.

The fridge is a Waeco, with power consumption of: 0.56 Ah/h at 20 degrees Celsius ambient temperature, 0.71 Ah/h at 32 degrees Celsius ambient temperature, both at 5 degrees Celsius interior temperature

[ForYota]

Thats not even 1 Amp an hour, I'd say 1.5mm wire and a 2Amp fuse should do the trick,
also, power up the fridge the night before departure so that way it wont draw so much energy from your battery when leaving your house.

Good luck and enjoy!

[CasKru]

it all depends on the type of fridge you are using. The ones with the compressors use at least 4 Amps. The one you are refering to sounds like it's a thermo-electric drawing less current. In that case, like Hennie said 1.5mm should do the trick but I would go for 2mm at least (I always over engineer).

[niclemaitre]

Thanks

[george]

with power consumption of: 0.56 Ah/h at 20 degrees Celsius ambient temperature, 0.71 Ah/h at 32 degrees Celsius ambient temperature, both at 5 degrees Celsius interior temperature

I think those figures are misleading. AFAIK the draw around 3Amps +/-.

[Polarbear2008]

Looks like the website specs for the Coolfreeze 50 compressor fridge. I must agree that those figures are for when it is running and NOT startup!

[george]

Looks like the website specs for the Coolfreeze 50 compressor fridge. I must agree that those figures are for when it is running and NOT startup!

Maybe it is an average power consumption over a 24hour period

[Polarbear2008]

George

I think you are right!