Official FRIDGE Thread (1 Viewer)

[McDuff123]

Does anyone that has a single zone wish they went with a dual?



Few questions - I like the approach.

What did you use for a dedicated 12V port? Something already in place or from scratch?

Considering a similar approach as you, but would need a from scratch power supply with nothing currently in place in the 80.

Do you charge the Jackery from the truck while driving or only solar?

Why not go for the single 500? No option to charge up?

-I wired in a Blue Seas 12v port, fused off the engine start battery. It has a 12v cigarette-style port that I swapped out for the ARB 12v receptacle. Very easy and sturdy (ie it wont vibrate loose). It also has a USB port and volt meter.
-I can charge the Jackery from the truck, and can even use it as a “pass through”, where it simultaneously receives a charge and delivers power, but I try have them both charged fully (using house AC) before I leave on a trip.
-I decided I liked the redundancy and utility of 2 smaller charging stations. I can use one for other purposes elsewhere at camp, or loan one out, while still having power to my fridge. I like the portability also…in an ice storm last year, I set up a sister with one while we used the other. Packing is easy, as they’re quite small and fit in nooks well. And, at least when I bought them, they were the least expensive as far as $ per watt.

 

[spazzyfry123]

-I wired in a Blue Seas 12v port, fused off the engine start battery. It has a 12v cigarette-style port that I swapped out for the ARB 12v receptacle. Very easy and sturdy (ie it wont vibrate loose). It also has a USB port and volt meter.
-I can charge the Jackery from the truck, and can even use it as a “pass through”, where it simultaneously receives a charge and delivers power, but I try have them both charged fully (using house AC) before I leave on a trip.
-I decided I liked the redundancy and utility of 2 smaller charging stations. I can use one for other purposes elsewhere at camp, or loan one out, while still having power to my fridge. I like the portability also…in an ice storm last year, I set up a sister with one while we used the other. Packing is easy, as they’re quite small and fit in nooks well. And, at least when I bought them, they were the least expensive as far as $ per watt.

Something like a 10 AWG direct from battery to the cargo area? I see some Blue Sea panels include a 15A breaker, too.

 

[McDuff123]

Something like a 10 AWG direct from battery to the cargo area? I see some Blue Sea panels include a 15A breaker, too.

Exactly.
Give some thought to which side of the cargo area you want to mount everything…for me, my fridge lives on the Passenger side, because the inputs and LED screen are then facing me and the lid opens to the outside of the truck.
So the Blue Seas port is also on the P side.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Exactly.
Give some thought to which side of the cargo area you want to mount everything…for me, my fridge lives on the Passenger side, because the inputs and LED screen are then facing me and the lid opens to the outside of the truck.
So the Blue Seas port is also on the P side.

I also will be putting mine on the passenger side. There is an existing ash tray that I can convert to power on this side and I already have my Alu-Cab tilt slide installed on my drawers on this side. Been using a cooler, but I'm tired of the ice mess.

Now to decide single or dual...

Thanks!

 

[McDuff123]

Something like a 10 AWG direct from battery to the cargo area? I see some Blue Sea panels include a 15A breaker, too.

Exactly.
Give some thought to which side of the cargo area you want to mount everything…for me, my fridge lives on the Passenger side, because the inputs and LED screen are then facing me and the lid opens to the outside of the truck.
So the Blue Seas port is also on the P side.

 

[spazzyfry123]

View attachment 2792402

View attachment 2792403

Looks clean! I also have the Rugged Bound drawers.

What have you done for cable management? Anything in place to facilitate the slide action? I'd hate for a cable to get caught.

 

[McDuff123]

Looks clean! I also have the Rugged Bound drawers.

What have you done for cable management? Anything in place to facilitate the slide action? I'd hate for a cable to get caught.

Re: Rugged Bound, I’m very happy with them. Price and quality are both very good. The best part of the whole experience though was working with Theo…he takes customer service to a new level!

As for cable management, I just (try to) make sure I’m not pinching or snagging as I pull the tray out, or push back in.
If you find a nice solution, please post!

 

[saucebox]

ARB 50. Can’t believe how efficient it is. Works great to keep ice cream frozen for MTB practice as well.

View attachment 2688109

Nice setup—what table is that?

 

[spazzyfry123]

Re: Rugged Bound, I’m very happy with them. Price and quality are both very good. The best part of the whole experience though was working with Theo…he takes customer service to a new level!

As for cable management, I just (try to) make sure I’m not pinching or snagging as I pull the tray out, or push back in.
If you find a nice solution, please post!

Couldn't agree more on Theo. Dude's tha bomb! Couple small hiccups that were fixed beyond expectation and resolved others I didn't even know were a problem!

I like what @SNLC did on John's build for cable management. Simple, cool, effective.

Builds - 1997 FZJ80 to HDJ80 1HD-FTE + H152F

Cheers

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[chudly]

interesting with the insulated cover... i will try it out.
i also got the cable management reel thing but haven't installed it since i move my fridge in and out pretty often ... think of a solution for that

 

[spazzyfry123]

interesting with the insulated cover... i will try it out.
i also got the cable management reel thing but haven't installed it since i move my fridge in and out pretty often ... think of a solution for that

You should still be able to utilize it. Just unplug the power cable (which is inside the cable carrier) at the fridge side. Leaves that solution "permanently" in the truck, and just pick up another power cable for wherever you are using the fridge outside of the vehicle.

If I'm understanding you correctly?

 

[peesalot]

20 year old engel finally quit, went on the cheap/fast as I was leaving for a trip when I discovered the engel wasn't what it used to be, sat outside for 20 years. So I got an Aspenora 42qt, happy with it for the price , it was 345 when I got it, not now. Anyway, it has survived 3 or 4 trips crawlin around all weekend in the 40 and the only issue I found was the hinges need to be epoxy'd in, they come out instantly and the magnet close is lame. if the top is in the sun at all it warps thus defeating the magnet closer and ruining the lid, the glue that holds operating panel also lets go in the sun. I taped the panel with clear tape and put latches on the lid and have it shaded, works.

 

[Karate Chopped]

I'm running a 75L Kickass dual zone. Had it for about 9 months now, and its been great. I spend most of my days on the road for work, and it allows me to carry food with me from motel to motel and not rely on takeaway dinners.

Admittedly I bought the wrong model. I should have bought the next model up which is better at surviving being in the tray full time.
To help protect it from heavy weather, and give it some shade in summer, I mounted my solar panels above as a basic shelter. Now I never have to worry about keep my aux battery charged, and the fridge never drops out.

I've had to do some mods (glue some extra magnets into the cover to hold it down) and I'm in the process of building a frame to mount it to permanently rather than some ratchet straps. I have steered away from a solution that locks my fridge behind a cage because I want to be able to open and close it without fumbling for keys. Sure someone might steal a 6 pack of beers or a salad, but who cares?

 

[e9999]

wouldn't care about the salad, but a six-pack? Hell no!


You must be the popular guy on the work site or at the beach, though!

 

[Karate Chopped]

Its bloody handy after a long run or hike in summer, to pull up a chair have a couple of cold drinks and an icrecream!

After reading this thread I got motivated to finally mount my fridge properly. Built a mounting frame to sit the fridge on that gets it out of any water that puddles in the tray.
Taking a but of a punt and chose to bolt the frame down using 11xM10 nutserts into the aluminium tray. Normally I would use a backing plate because I'm not convinced the ally tray is thick enough to bolt in to, but I was too lazy to pull off the wheels and mudguards just to mount backing plates. So I'm hoping 11 (one of the bolts didnt line up and I CBF taking it all off to re drill it!) will be enough to distribute all of the forces. Only time will tell.

Then to made up stainless wire rope tethers to tie it back down onto the frame. This allows me to get a nice snug hold of the fridge, and some adjustability to position the fridge to one side.

Its all locktite down, and tightened with tools. I figure if someone really wants to steal it they could, but my defence philosophy is just make it a little bit hard and most people will leave it alone. I just want to prevent oppotunistic thieves.

I might do something funky with the spare wheel side, and mount the spare in a cradle. I haven't decided about that yet.

 

[ChaoticSquare]

I had started a thread elsewhere about which fridge to get. Ended up finding a barely used National Luna 60 for a steal of deal. Picked it up last week, spent the week wiring (and finding a battery that fits), and took it out for the last 4 days. I have a LX470, so the second battery needed to go in the back with the drawer system I have. Only battery that fit was the Lion Energy, which was more than I wanted to spend, but didn't have the time to build my own.

 

[Lo2aY]

Why no insulated cover?

My experience has been that the insulated cover keeps in more heat that it guards against.
As long as the metal skin isn’t in direct sun, it radiates heat that would otherwise be captured by the cover.
I have an ICECO cover for my fridge, but am running more efficiently now that I don’t use it.
YMMV…

I have a similar experience. I use Engel fridges and National Luna in my trucks. The compressors cycle more when the insulators are installed. Meaning more electrical consumption as the fridges try to maintain the desired temperature.

I think what's happening is that the heat is getting trapped between the insulator and the fridge body.

This may vary with different insulator designs. But I've been running without insultations now.

Sorry no pictures to share

 

[e9999]

if the insulation blocks the vents or somehow redirects the outlet hot air flow in the gap between insulation and fridge, yes, that could be a problem. Otherwise, not so likely, IMO.

 

[Karate Chopped]

Its very controversial topic, using the jacket or not.
My engineer brain says that it should work to prevent heat energy transfer from the outside air into the chamber. But also my engineer brain says if the jacket absorbs heat, then it will lag shedding the heat once the sun goes down. I'm sure in reality from a thermal perspective it does little, after all we've all tried to keep beer cold in one of those cooler bags from the bottle shop and it never works.

Which then leads me to think that ill fitting bags, will inhibit the air flow from the fan. If that was the case, then I would expect to see the compressor switch and stay on for longer, rather than a higher switching frequency.

But I dont think anyone has any irrefutable proof or explanation, and I would take a punt its probably a combination of both heat absorption and heat discharge, influenced by installation location, etc.

Me personally, I use the bag to protect it from being knocked and shat on by birds. Since its not truly weather proof, I feel like it needs another layer of protection from the elements.

 

[coleAK]

My teens started a business using our base camp set up as a starting point (and my 200). It is a “food truck” and art operating out of an eze-up. Dometic CFX3 95L DZ, 300 w of 24v solar, 1kwh battery w/ 3k inverter, on demand hot water, 4 burners, pizza over,…

I’ve had the fridge for 3 years, used it hard, now in a commercial capacity. Can run it for ~2-3 days with no solar on duel fridge mode. With solar even on an overcast day can make enough to run the fridge and not touch the battery. Under full sun can run the fridge and fully recharge the battery in ~3-4 hrs. Had a smaller ARB fridge before this and the Dometic is rock solid.