Builds Big Red Toy (7 Viewers)

[cruisermatt]

Yeah you don't want your fridge turning on and off.... There are some foods I don't want warm. Even better would be dual battery and run the fridge on an "Auxiliary" battery and isolate that battery when the motor is off, this is how I run my winch.

 

[The Phoenician]

Yeah you don't want your fridge turning on and off.... There are some foods I don't want warm. Even better would be dual battery and run the fridge on an "Auxiliary" battery and isolate that battery when the motor is off, this is how I run my winch.

I have a dual battery set up. I was thinking of having an inverter so I can power electronics and the fridge. I'll have to see what will work better.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Yeah you don't want your fridge turning on and off.... There are some foods I don't want warm. Even better would be dual battery and run the fridge on an "Auxiliary" battery and isolate that battery when the motor is off, this is how I run my winch.

Agreed, this is the ideal setup. The "house" battery runs all of the accessories and is charged through an isolator setup.

 

[cruisermatt]

Is your diesel 24v or 12v? I've had the Painless Wiring kit installed for about 15 years now, it's good.

 

[The Phoenician]

Mine is 12v. I may be using the term inverter incorrectly. I'm basically looking to change the DC power to AC so that I can also power up my laptop and so on

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Mine is 12v. I may be using the term inverter incorrectly. I'm basically looking to change the DC power to AC so that I can also power up my laptop and so on

That's the correct term. You can, and need to, use an inverter to charge your 110v devices from a 12v source. My statement earlier today articulates that since your fridge runs off of 12v as well as 110v, plug it directly into a 12v outlet in your truck.

 

[The Phoenician]

That's the correct term. You can, and need to, use an inverter to charge your 110v devices from a 12v source. My statement earlier today articulates that since your fridge runs off of 12v as well as 110v, plug it directly into a 12v outlet in your truck.

Thanks for clarifying. In Iraq we used converters for everything so I thought I might be confusing the two and what they are used for.

 

[davegonz]

They do make DC-DC converters for laptops

 

[cruisermatt]

Always remember that less connections means less chance if failure, I'm assuming reliability is one of you main concerns.

 

[The Phoenician]

Always remember that less connections means less chance if failure, I'm assuming reliability is one of you main concerns.

Really its the only concern

 

[cruiserpilot]

How does it keep drawing power when the truck is off?

It draws off the battery, even with engine off if you have your 12V 'hot'. Should you have the fridge in your truck, plugged onto the
12V outlet, and you choose to have the 110V plugged in at the same time, the fridge should 'sense' the 110V and disconnect from
the truck power by itself. Only after you disconnect the 110V will it resume drawing power from the truck battery.

Are you planning solar system? In Texas it sure makes sense, and is not too expensive.

 

[The Phoenician]

I'm looking to eventually set up a small solar panel in the front basket. But that's further down the list of priorities

 

[The Phoenician]

Looks like the fridge won't make it in time for the beach trip . My status went from ordered to backordered. I called them up and it looks like they shipped the one I thought I ordered to another customer. So now I'm waiting to see if they can get another fridge. The silver lining is they are based out of Austin so I can pick it up on my way back from work.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

The Edgestar/Whynter fridge has a low voltage disconnect system. Even on 110 it will power down if the voltage goes below the factory parameters. IIRC, 11.1 volts on a 12V system it will disconnect to save the battery life. Make sure your rig battery is fully charged every night/ long stand-by period if there is not a constant 110V alternative plug handy.

J

 

[Mr Cimarron]

That sucks about the fridge Mike. Hopefully one pops back up before this weekend.

 

[Mr Cimarron]

Remind me this weekend and I'll show you how my fridge and solar tie into my rear fuse panel. Super simple but it was a pain running 4 gauge wire from the battery. I hate electrical but I'm getting more tolerant of how long it takes to do it right as I get older.

 

[The Phoenician]

Nothing major, it's been raining non stop. Managed to find an 8 gauge wire long enough to cut in half and run to the back of the truck. I installed an 1600 watt inverter over the sub woofer (it's velcroed on ). Too bad I don't have a fridge but at least this way I can run simple appliances when camping.

I have to hide the wires better, but it's functional.

 

[The Phoenician]

testing out my new camera.

 

[The Phoenician]

My Leb-Neck fish rod carrier.

More room in the garage and more junk on my rig

 

[cruiserpilot]

I like your rod holder there, but I'm not sure the zip ties are the way to go. Just saying.