camping with bar fridge

[Oupa Stig]

Going to Moz in December - 4x2 only but will convoy with Wrangler for inevitable sand recoveries
$1 000 000 question- advice appreciated:
Have barfridge 220v, 0,6Amps, 50Hz, single phase, 72W motor.
Need to keep drinks cold, small amount of meat frozen (fridge has freezer section)
Can I run this off an inverter of my KZ battery?
What type / size inverter would work?
Where can I buy such an invertor, at what cost?
How long will it run the fridge before I need to charge battery up again?
I am somewhat challenged financially, but that's not going to stop me from taking my KZ to the bush
and having a cold beer when I get there. Planning to be there about a week.
Have read some of the other threads, glad to see how everyone supports each other!
My KZ has 200k km's on the clock, reached that stage where it helps if guys who know
More than me can give advice on maintenance etc....

[pietpetoors]

You will need a big inverter, think 1500watt. Although the motor can run on a 1000watt inverter, the startup current it needs to get started is too much for a 1000watt inverter

Another thing is a bar fridge's compressor was not designed to travel. The idea will work but your fridge is not going to last very long

[cprinsloo]

You will need a big inverter, think 1500watt. Although the motor can run on a 1000watt inverter, the startup current it needs to get started is too much for a 1000watt inverter

Another thing is a bar fridge's compressor was not designed to travel. The idea will work but your fridge is not going to last very long

Also, an inveter's efficiency is anything between 50% to 90% depending of quality of inveter and load drawn. So you can expect to get much less out of the battery compared to a 12v compressor fieezer. How will you recharge the battery? (And how will you start the bakkie if you forgot to switch off the freezer and the battery is flat?)

[Oupa Stig]

Tx for info gents. Will pad compressor of fridge thoroughly while traveling to minimize
the bits that fall off...
There will be several other vehicles on site to help with jumpstarts, but if I can only run the thing
for a few hours before recharge required it might have to be back to basics - frreze meat in
wet newspaper, fill all the coolboxes with dry ice and drink warm Oros.... A friend is taking 2 solar
Panels with batteries along and has 12v freezer, but there's going to be quite a crowd and his
freezer might not be sufficient - we're basically checking all our options, but are somewhat
mamparras with the techy stuff for longer trips. That's why I'm asking - a wize man learns from
his mistakes, a genius learns from the experience of others....

[Johan Kriel]

That bar fridge will draw something like 12 to 13 amps from the battery thr' the inverter. So a 100Ah battery will not last very long. (100/12 = 8.3 hours) but then its completely discharged. To maintain that fridge you need something like 800 Watt panels, but the fridge would not make it thr' the night, so best to get a small 220V gen set, 500 to 800 watt will be sufficient, or a 12V fridge

[cprinsloo]

Tx for info gents. Will pad compressor of fridge thoroughly while traveling to minimize
the bits that fall off...
There will be several other vehicles on site to help with jumpstarts, but if I can only run the thing
for a few hours before recharge required it might have to be back to basics - frreze meat in
wet newspaper, fill all the coolboxes with dry ice and drink warm Oros.... A friend is taking 2 solar
Panels with batteries along and has 12v freezer, but there's going to be quite a crowd and his
freezer might not be sufficient - we're basically checking all our options, but are somewhat
mamparras with the techy stuff for longer trips. That's why I'm asking - a wize man learns from
his mistakes, a genius learns from the experience of others....

Unfortunately, to get ice in the bush is quite an expensive lay-out.
Some figures: 72 w @12 v = 6 amp
Moz is hot so it will run all the time = 6Ah.
Your KZ battery = 70 Ah???, lets say 50 % discharge (optimistically) = 35Ah, so 6 hours if 100% eff, let's say 70% then approx 4 hours before batt is depleted, and those batts don't like deep discharge, so you'll start to damage the batt.

Above is VERY approx, with huge assumptions. My opinion, do not rely on this option.

B.t.w.: welcome to the forum.

C

[Family_Dog]

The fridge motor will heat up as well when using a MSW Inverter. Not really a good idea.


-F_D

[Oupa Stig]

I suspect one of the better solutions would be to save up for a 12v freezer with some solar
panels & spare battery - next year's wish list. For now I'll have to vacuumpack meat, open
coolbox once a day for that day's meat, and bum some fridge space from my friend for a cool drink.
Tx for the info - otherwise I might have unknowingly spent a lot of money on something that was to be a
temporary fix only.
& tx for welcome to forum - I am here to learn!

[Mud Dog]

Welcome Mickey!

From the above comments ..... damaging the battery / overheating the bar fridge motor / perhaps straining the inverter (especially when the battery voltage starts to drop off) ..... puts a very negative spin on the idea with some possible costly consequences.
I think it would therefore be more prudent to sell the bar fridge and get a 12v fridge / freezer. A dual battery system would also go a long way to improving functionality, but you could get away without it by just running the unit while travelling and for brief periods while camped (switch off overnight to conserve battery) .... perhaps letting the motor idle for an hour here and there to replenish the battery (not the most efficient IRO fuel consumption, but it would work).

[Toynatic]

Been there done that, a very clever oom at CampWorld convinced me a few years back to buy a 220v fridge with an Inverter to save R1300 vs a 12 v unit. Well after burning 2 inverters (also bought from the oom) and messing up my battery, I had to buy a 12v fridge and new battery.

So save for the right equipment, and rather buy some ice cold "2M" from the locals shops in Moz this time around.

Also don't take to much food and drink stuff in, they made us unpack and taxed our group almost R2k at the border.

Enjoy Moz.

[DassieHassie]

enjoying all the clever member's advice!

Save up and buy once will be the best in my opinion

[Hoppy]

Buy some "dry ice", wrap it in newspaper and put it in the coolbox on top of the other stuff (mustn't get wet), we had a basket for it, will keep vacuum packed meat frozen for about a week, used to camp like that, will work better than the bar fridge idea.

[Deonpretorius]

Hi look in the camping colum theres a 80liter 12v 220v for sale

[cprinsloo]

You can perhaps go for a 12v/220v/gas freezer as well, for the short term.

Something like this:

http://www.zeroappliances.co.za/GEV70.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have no idea what they cost. They are not as effiecient as a 12v compressor freezer, but they can run on gas. They are very heavy on amps @ 12 v. They must be level to operate, you'll have to put it in the shade, a 12 v fan on the cooling fins will also help. It's called an absorption freezer, can make ice if the ambient temp not too high (like in winter).

I had an Edesa, gave me good service. Maybe look in the classifieds.

Good luck,

C