blue65vw Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 Am I able to replace my original fridge from my 86 Conquest with a mini fridge (like for a dorm) and use while driving Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halonut Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 yes, but you'll have to run your generator to power it which isn't very cost efficient. straight electric is fine if you park where you can have shore power and wait til your connected to put stuff in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmh139 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I replaced mine with a mini fridge from Wal-Mart and run it off the 1000 watt inverter I installed. Runs fine going down the road, alternator keeps up with charging the battery fine. I've ran it for 4 hours while driving. Was a perfect solution for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChairmanMeow7 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 (edited) I am planning on putting a mini fridge in as well. I bought one from Wal-Mart for $98 and I got an 800 watt (continuous) , 1600 watt surge inverter from Trravel Centers of America. The inverter cost $49 , but I got a $20 mail in rebate coupon , so the inveter only cost $29. Not a bad deal , and I think TA is running this sale through the month of June. I also installed a 160 amp alternator (when mine went) , so it shouldn't be a problem keeping the battery charged while I am running. I plan to wire the inverter into my converter , so when I plug into shore power , it won't drain the battery. Actually on 2nd thought , I should just plug it directly into an AC outlet when plugged into shore power , thus eliminating the need to run the inverter constantly. Yeah , that's a better idea.... I'm also considering installing a solar panel to help keep the battery charged when I am parked. But , I usually don't stay parked for more than a day , so I don't think I'll have a problem with battery drain. Edited June 24, 2008 by ChairmanMeow7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary t Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 WHen I got my Encore the frig had been remove so all I had was a hole we put a large DC colman cooler there it sits pu on end like a frig and has a shelf in it , wired it in to the DC power with a switch to turn it off its a little smaller than a frig but on our trip it worked just great we let it run all the time .its made to plug into the lighter dose not draw much juce abour 3 amps or so Kept every thing cold even in 100 + weather . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nibs Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 As a full timer for 10 yrs now, and for 8 yrs in a sailboat previously, I dont think you can beat propane for refrigeration if you do any dry camping at all. That three amps to run the fridge is 3 X24 or 72 amps per day or 862 watts per day a big (for a toyota) PV panel of 120 watts will only reliably deliver about 800 watts daily on sunny days in the south, then if you discount efficiencies and all the other losses you pretty much need to run a gen set or be plugged in unless you are driving. If you are gonna run a gen set, please dont camp in places where people want to sit outside & listen to birds and breezes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajadulce Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 The problem with those 110 refrigerators is they require a ridiculous amount of juice to keep running which you will have no way to sustain other than a generator constantly recharging your batteries. Even your 3way type fridges are only designed to operate DC while in transit. Those fridges don't use a fan/compressor and so the DC draw is also extremely high and unsuitable for non-propane use. Propane is the best all around source for those away from shore power as nibs describes. Recently, however I replaced my dometic 3way fridge with a marine 12v fridge after it gave out. My reasoning was that I wanted something that could go more than 4 weeks without refilling the 5 gallon propane tank. On a few occasions running out of propane meant breaking down camp and abandoning a great beach or simply going without refrigeration. So in my situation, the 12v fridge works great. My particular Norcold fridge however averages about 40 watts or about 4 amps of draw. This pretty much negates all my solar gain on 2 of my 5 panels, but in the long run I guess it's worth it. Basically the fridge is on 24/7 365 days a week and I just forget about it. @ Gary: 3amp coleman setup is quite impressive. Any pics, model#, info etc? I would be interested in checking out the specs for a friend who has a small 4x4 pickup/shell setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary t Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Found the Colman cooler on Ebay its a 40 qt Coleman thermo electric cooler 22x15x17 I think the model is 5644-707W . I tried to attach a photo of it not sure I did it right Saw one on Ebay today they are arouns $100 after shipping . Worked great for us . Always had shore power at night so do not know how ling it will go on the battery . Dosen't seem to draw much there is no thermostat so you do not want to leave it running all the time in cold wether . My brother has a simlar one on his boat and has frozen stuff in the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nibs Posted August 21, 2008 Share Posted August 21, 2008 There is a new small 3 way fridge for sale in the RV section classifieds at CASANET.NET Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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