Question/conern about ARB fridge - for those of you using in hot climates

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ih88hi10

ih88hi10

10 Year
Joined
Mar 24, 2012
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6
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So I've been looking at gettin a fridge. I have a pickup truck and the only place I have room for one of these is in the bed. I have a soft topper so it would be out of direct sun and the rain but it would also get extremely hot in the back of the truck during the day.

Putting food that has to be refrigerated in a box in the back of hot truck in 95 degree weather defies everything I perceive to be common sense so I've got this confidence issue to work out first.

If there's someone using one of these in the back of a hot pickup, under a topper, when it's really really hot out, can you tell me if it really does keep cold the whole time? And by cold, I mean 37-41 degrees which I believe is safe temperature range for refrigerators. That's like an 80 degree difference over the ambient temperature in the truck and I've never seen a fridge do that before.


And there's also the issue of running power to the back of the truck. How are you doing that? Running the wiring under the truck and through the drain plugs in the bed seems like the most logical although I do have a wiring harness for towing. Maybe I can use that or does the wire need to be thicker gauge?
 
Have mine in the back of a blue 60 series Cruiser. Windows up on 100 degree day and no prob. with keeping things cold.
 
ih88hi10 said:
Putting food that has to be refrigerated in a box in the back of hot truck in 95 degree weather defies everything I perceive to be common sense so I've got this confidence issue to work out first.
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ya might want to seek professional help to boost your confidence, auto fridges have been used primarily in very hot climates around the world for the very reason its hot outside.
 
I left my Engel on freeze in July while in Vegas once. (dark green 80) Over night low was 97*, 116* day. Everything was frozen the next morning but my truck barely started. So yes it will work as advertised but have the battery power for extreme heat. If it was set on just refrigerate I probably could have gone 48 hours without a start up issue.
 
As per previous posts, an Engel will safely keep the contents COLD even in extreme ambient temps. What you will pay for though is the fridge will spend a lot more time running and therefore drawing down your battery.

The more you can insulate the fridge from hot ambient, the less it has to run and the longer your battery will sustain operation before needing to be recharged (either solar panel, running the engine, small generator etc etc).

There's not much that can beat a nice COLD beer on a HOT day (other than full body aircon)!

cheers,
george.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I know the ARB was developed in a hot climate these have been used for years in hot climates but I've only seen them used in vehicles where I assumed there was some air conditioning.
The truck will be running for most of the day, I just wanted to be sure it could handle the duty cycle.
 
Install a battery isolator and a 2nd battery. Run fridge off of 2nd batt.
 
I think the OP posed a great question: what would happen if UV from the sun heats up the fridge. I've had mine inside a hot 80 but never exposed to UV. I bet if you placed a simple blanket over it, kind of like those alum foil insulation blanket, that would reflect the UV and minimize running time (aka battery draw).
 
Mine sat at Pinnacles N.P. in direct sunlight on a 100 degree day and still had no problem keeping things cold.
 
UV light is not the issue. IR, Infra Red, light is the issue, and the fridge will be fine. If you are really worried, make a cover out of the reflective bubble insulation that covers the fridge, but leave the air vents uncovered.

UV light may weaken plastics and make the paint fade faster, but that's it.
 
alia176 said:
I think the OP posed a great question: what would happen if UV from the sun heats up the fridge. I've had mine inside a hot 80 but never exposed to UV. I bet if you placed a simple blanket over it, kind of like those alum foil insulation blanket, that would reflect the UV and minimize running time (aka battery draw).
Click to expand...

Most of the fridge manufactures make covers for the various models. I have one for my Engel. The Engel one is a heavy nylon cover with a reflective liner and some insulation between. Cut out for the air vents etc.. I think ARB has two options.

It made a difference as mine sits pretty high in the back and gets a lot of direct light through the windows. That would heat up the metal case and cause the compressor to run more. Everything stayed cold it just killed the battery faster.

If I were going to place the fridge in direct sunlight that would be a must for the ARB or any other plastic cased unit. The Engel and National Luna with metal cases should not have any UV damage but boy will they get hot making the cover a good investment there too.

The fridge is a big investment. But even my wife will tell you its the best money we spent on the Cruiser. Hands down.
 
I run one in the back of my f350 with a bed cover and it does just fine. I have a black soft cover and I have the canvas cover on the fridge which has a foil type liner.
 
I have one in the bed of my tundra with a hard black pickup cover. I had problems at first when I was running it off the main truck battery. On real hot days it would act like the truck battery was going dead and the smart chip would turn it off or give the error message. No issue at all while driving it but if parked long periods during the day this would happen. I believe it had to do with the size of the wiring I ran all the way back to to the bed. I have now installed a second battery in the bed in a marine box and plug the fridge into that. I have left it all day in 100 plus weather and no issues. Keep it at 29 deg. Drinks are on the edge of being frozen and you can keep frozen meet in the bottom for days without it completely defrosting. No issues what so ever. I have thought about adding a small solar fan to refresh the air under the cover but havent yet. As long as you have a good power source with proper size wiring it has no issues keeping things very cold.
 
I ran the power down under the cab and through the bed. As stated before it works much better with a second battery in the bed. I also have a solar charger that I set up to help keep it charged when camping or sitting for long term.
 
ih88hi10 said:
Thanks for the replies.

I know the ARB was developed in a hot climate these have been used for years in hot climates but I've only seen them used in vehicles where I assumed there was some air conditioning.
The truck will be running for most of the day, I just wanted to be sure it could handle the duty cycle.
Click to expand...

This might help you,it has a test on fridges running in the temps you envisage.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/expedition-builds/581477-7-fridge-freezer-comparo.html

Someone mentioned a good thick cable,this is so true.Forget that cig lighter crap. Your fridge will actually get colder with a good power supply direct from the battery.

I would also recommend you get the insulated cover for the fridge,makes for 4-5 c difference inside the fridge I am told.

One more important thing is that the fridge needs to be able to get rid of its hot air so a few cubic feet of space around the fridge fan is important.If it can be ventilated from outside the vehicle,even better.
If it cant lose heat,it cant get cold.Sounds weird doesnt it.

I follow these rules and my 2 waecos can freeze anything inside my alloy camper box in 40C heat.
Same BD35 Danfoss compressor as yours;D
 
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If you are going to run it from a single battery system direct from the battery might I strongly suggest that you hook it up through a voltage monitoring device. This way when the battery gets lw it will cut power to the fridge leaving you with enough power to crank from.
I own a15yr od engel and a Waco fridge and both are subject to extreme heat in the outback of Western Australia. I might add that I have had no problems from the engel at all.
 
The arb has a voltage monitor built in to it.
 
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