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Bruce
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Bruce is offline
Wollongong, Australia
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 15,218
Bruce is male  Bruce has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
05-09-2017, 02:14 AM
1

Portable Fridge Runs OK

This morning I tested the portable fridge which was the main purpose for fitting the auxiliary battery.

It is a Dometic 240/24/12v 50 litre fridge. So far I have only run it on mains power to test it out in the house. Today it is running on battery power only.



Strapped it in place on the sliding top using webbing purchased from China for a few dollars - as you can see it is far too long and needs cutting to length.



Slide out the "floor" and the fridge opens fully for easy access.



It can be opened inside the back of the ute but obviously it is more convenient in this position.



Power connectors are easily accessible from the tray's gate.



Running off the battery for less than an hour got the temperature down to normal fridge temp with it empty. I will test it as a freezer later but I doubt I would use it as one on the road.


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Bruce's Avatar
Bruce
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Bruce is offline
Wollongong, Australia
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Posts: 15,218
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06-09-2017, 02:27 AM
2

Re: Portable Fridge Runs OK

I have changed the fridge lid so it opens from the other side which means I can open it while 'on the road' via the side hatch in the canopy and when it is slid out you don't have to lean over the tailgate to access the contents.

The fridge ran all last night to maintain 4°C but this morning the aux battery was fully charged so presumably the main battery was no longer fully charged however the car started easily.

The DC/DC charger will turn off when the main battery is down to 12.8v.

It has three charging modes:

Constant Current
(up to 25A) - until the battery reaches 14.4v
Absorption mode - Constant voltage until current drops to 3.8A
Float - Constant voltage at 13.7V

The voltages cut in, cut out voltages vary slightly according to the battery type setting.

Pretty pleased with it so far however the real test is to come when on the road with a slab of beer, milk, butter and cheese in tow.

This car doesn't have a modern "smart" alternator which only charges the main battery to 80% for which I am grateful. BTW nor does it have a DPF in the exhaust, a tribute to Australia's lax pollution standards.

swimfeeders
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Shropshire
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06-09-2017, 08:12 AM
3

Re: Portable Fridge Runs OK

Hi

You are certainly making a brilliant job of it Bruce.

Do you have a high output alternator?
Julie1962
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Surrey
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06-09-2017, 08:35 AM
4

Re: Portable Fridge Runs OK

That's brilliant ! I did say before you need to patent your designs they are better than some professional set ups I've seen.
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Bruce
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Bruce is offline
Wollongong, Australia
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06-09-2017, 09:36 AM
5

Re: Portable Fridge Runs OK

Originally Posted by swimfeeders ->
Hi

You are certainly making a brilliant job of it Bruce.

Do you have a high output alternator?
It's the old fashioned kind that all cars had before 2006 - fixed voltage I think. Apparently the new smart alternators charge to certain point then stop working in the name of fuel efficiency.

I was told they only charge the battery to something like 80 or 85% of its capacity but I don't know the full story in fact I only came across it when researching what I needed for this project.

This charger copes with these alternators with a wire that goes to the ignition so it only charges when the ignition is on. I just left that wire off because it is not needed on my vehicle. I understand it is because the main battery is not charged to full capacity it can drain it to the point where the battery has trouble starting the engine. As I say it only applies to cars made after 2006 and not to them all.

One bloke I spoke to says he puts his car on charge regularly to fully charge the battery because the alternator does not - whether that is really necessary I can't say.
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Bruce
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Bruce is offline
Wollongong, Australia
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06-09-2017, 09:39 AM
6

Re: Portable Fridge Runs OK

Originally Posted by Julie1962 ->
That's brilliant ! I did say before you need to patent your designs they are better than some professional set ups I've seen.
I'm afraid they are pretty common out here, I was probably one of the few not to have one when I drove round Australia. I thought my esky would do the job but it just wasn't enough (I kept running short of beer )
Julie1962
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Surrey
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06-09-2017, 10:07 AM
7

Re: Portable Fridge Runs OK

Lol only thing we really felt we needed a fridge for was butter. Milk we could use long life uht or powdered, but butter running out of the pack was just a pain or even worse when it was colder than a fridge and we made holes in the toast trying to butter it
Rathlin
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Garvagh, Co Londonderry
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27-12-2017, 08:54 PM
8

Re: Portable Fridge Runs OK

They are very common over here also
, caravan accessory shops sell them and most long distance truck drivers have them. I had one back in the 90s.
Virgo
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Yorkshire, UK
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29-12-2017, 08:01 PM
9

Re: Portable Fridge Runs OK

Wow, Bruce, that is a serious car fridge !

We bought a lesser entity a couple of years ago; we actually got a great deal from Halfords as it was the display model with no box (er, like we were going to keep it in the box !??). It has saved us so much more than it cost as we use it when travelling for milk and yoghurt for breakfasts when we are staying in hotels without fridges, which is almost all of the time here in the UK and most of Europe, and when we come back from France it is crammed with cheeses and other goodies. It sits behind the passenger seat and runs off the car battery along with the sat nav and dash cam while we travelling and gets taken into the hotel for mains use. It’s the previous incarnation of this.

http://www.halfords.com/camping-leis...ectric-coolbox
Bruce's Avatar
Bruce
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Bruce is offline
Wollongong, Australia
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 15,218
Bruce is male  Bruce has posted at least 25 times and has been a member for 3 months or more 
 
29-12-2017, 11:14 PM
10

Re: Portable Fridge Runs OK

Originally Posted by Virgo ->
Wow, Bruce, that is a serious car fridge !

We bought a lesser entity a couple of years ago; we actually got a great deal from Halfords as it was the display model with no box (er, like we were going to keep it in the box !??). It has saved us so much more than it cost as we use it when travelling for milk and yoghurt for breakfasts when we are staying in hotels without fridges, which is almost all of the time here in the UK and most of Europe, and when we come back from France it is crammed with cheeses and other goodies. It sits behind the passenger seat and runs off the car battery along with the sat nav and dash cam while we travelling and gets taken into the hotel for mains use. It’s the previous incarnation of this.

http://www.halfords.com/camping-leis...ectric-coolbox
It can be used as a freezer too. There are some of these portable fridges with two compartments - one freezer, one fridge but mine is one or the other.

I had a look at your Halfords fridge - I think that type use a Peltier solid state device which transfers heat from one side to the other. Unfortunately they are not much good in this climate to keep things like milk cool on a long term basis. We need a compressor cooler like your fridge at home, I have mine set for 3°C but it will go as low as -18°C.

It is actually one of the smaller models, only 50 litres; my daughter has a much bigger version for their camping trips but there are two of them too so they carry a lot more food. I basically carry cheese, butter, milk and perhaps something like ham - the rest of the space is taken up with beer.

Since adding a 100watt solar panel to the roof of the car I probably don't need mains power at all - that has yet to be tested.
 
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