Wireless temp gauge for fridge? (1 Viewer)

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NLXTACY

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So finally got my Engel MT35 and I want to get the temp of the fridge somewhere on my dash. I borrowed another mudder's fridge on my last trip and the stupid DC plug kept getting loose and the temps would drop in the fridge. During summer this was not good. Now I want to make sure I can keep an eye on temps. Doing something with a KOSO could be a way but the length of the prob would need to be changes and that almost guarantees inaccuracy. Any suggestions?

I saw that Engel makes a wireless temp gauge but its ridiculously hockie looking:
http://www.sierraexpeditions.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=34
large_34_edtherm_wireless.jpg
 
I have used an inexpensive Radio Shack inside/outside thermometer. Works just fine. Small too.
 
I've run an Engel for 20+ years, never had a temp probe/display and can't imagine ever needing one. Hardwire power from the battery to the fridge area, get rid of the STUPID cig-lighter plug on the end of it and put a decent connector on there (Anderson etc) and be done with it.

Some(many) of you folk over think all this camping stuff :)

cheers,
george.
 
NLXTACY said:
And you can see from the dash? Or is yours mounted on the fridge?
Click to expand...

I think that keeping an eye on the temp is indeed an excellent idea. Never know when something can go wrong and losing potentially an entire fridge of food in the middle of a long trip in the desert is not great, even with having some emergency non-spoiling food supply (which is a good idea to have). Compounding the problem is that you may not know otherwise how long the food has been warming up so you almost have to throw it away if you can't afford to be sick, even if in reality it's still OK.

Mine has a transmitter that I put in the fridge and a receiver that you can put anywhere you want. It is probably 10 years old so I'm sure they are much smaller now but even these are not that big, the transmitter is the size of a deck of cards and the receiver a bit smaller, something like 2.75"x2.75". AA batteries IIRC. Transmitter is waterproof.

Oh, and a system like that can do other things, like easily measuring the temp under the hood or outside in the winter, or heck, tie up to the transmission and see your trans temp too... :) Probably not a good idea to use it for your grill temp though... :D
 
A like the connectors that NL uses for their fridges.. I been to a few washboard roads in DV and it has never come undone...but I guess anything is possible..
If that does happen I'll probably use either of these two connectors...

Marinco ConnectPro® 2-Wire Plug & Receptacle, 12VCPS2

or this one..

Scotty Electric Plug & Socket, 1125
The last one used the same male plug as NL...

Early warning or not If you are in the middle of no where for a few days and your fridge goes out... you pretty much SOL....with your perishable food... and warm beer :eek:
The only option you got from there on is to wing it with canned food only, or drive out to civilization...

The most I have driven without opening and looking at the fridge is 6 hrs... ;)

Good luck.....!!!
 
See now I am wondering if I can just get in there and change the type of panel mount connector to something that is a locking type. Like a LEMO or XLR or Anderson. :hmm:

And yes, on the fridge I borrowed we had no idea the plug had worked it's way lose until everything was ruined. Sucked hard.

MANUCHAO said:
A like the connectors that NL uses for their fridges.. I been to a few washboard roads in DV and it has never come undone...but I guess anything is possible..
If that does happen I'll probably use either of these two connectors...

Marinco ConnectPro® 2-Wire Plug & Receptacle, 12VCPS2

or this one..

Scotty Electric Plug & Socket, 1125
The last one used the same male plug as NL...

Early warning or not If you are in the middle of no where for a few days and your fridge goes out... you pretty much SOL....with your perishable food... and warm beer :eek:
The only option you got from there on is to wing it with canned food only, or drive out to civilization...

The most I have driven without opening and looking at the fridge is 6 hrs... ;)

Good luck.....!!!
Click to expand...
 
NLXTACY said:
Saying we over think camping is like saying we over think cruisers. No such thing :flipoff2:
Click to expand...

Oh, definitely way over thinking on both counts. I look at my setup when I'm in the oz bush camping for a few weeks and look at some of the paraphernalia that some folk here think that is needed to survive or be comfortable and it definitely has an amusing aspect to it :)

Anyhow, as I wrote, ditch the cig lighter plug and put a decent connector to a hardwired run from the battery. You'll have less voltage drop in the wiring and cig lighter plug/socket and get rid of power loss issue at the cig plug. I've never had the plug on the Engel end come loose or disconnected in tens of thousands of miles on corrugated roads and months of camping over many years.

If you're packing for a real camping trip, then relying on re-fridgerated food as the only source would be insane. I treat everything in the fridge as 'luxury' food - except the beer of course...

cheers,
george.
 
when you read the engel temp box it will say this is really poorly made in china.Half of Australia has a defective one in their shed.You can have mine if you want it
 
Ok so I have a thought about what do use for the power connector. LEMO.

The same one is rated to 10A and the larger one is rated to 15A. The two smaller are bulkhead connectors while the longer one is the matching cable connecting side.

Once connected it is NOT coming out. You have to pull back the sleeve to get it to unlock before you can pull the connector out.

image-195939691.jpg


image-1192420737.jpg


image-2851899177.jpg
 
Ok it's not wireless but it gives me an idea of accuracy and usability.

image-1117650195.jpg


image-624307942.jpg


image-1944360854.jpg


image-3575399748.jpg


image-2898242320.jpg
 
Last edited:
I'd rather have it wireless so the sealing isn't impaired.

About the connectors, the OEM cig plug on my Edgestar fridge is indeed prone to pushing out but the West Marine plug and receptacle I use now is perfectly fine. And I suspect a snipping of a couple coils of the overly strong coil spring would readily take care of that issue too.
 
Oh agreed on wireless. Needing something for now until I can figure out a solution that works with the same LCD so I can mount it in the dash.
 
I am not a big fan of wireless indoor/outdoor readouts so I got this thing: http://www.thehumansolution.com/exinteal40.html This thing has temp alerts which is great when the fridge becomes unplugged or something else happens. In my case, the temp knob on the Engel would get hit accidentally during camping. The alert feature is great for this application and the whole unit is rather small. I now remove the knob once we're on the road with the fridge.

Rarely does the power adapter comes out of my cig lighter and my plug is nothing special.
 
NLXTACY said:
Ok it's not wireless but it gives me an idea of accuracy and usability.
Click to expand...

:censor: you. You just cost me the price of one of these. Been looking for a decent outside temp guage that wasn't the cheap $5 made in china junk.

Now - does it pop into the retangular openings next to the rear seat heater switch too or is that too much to ask for? Will not be used for the fridge, will be for a real outside temp.
 
Brentbba said:
:censor: you. You just cost me the price of one of these. Been looking for a decent outside temp guage that wasn't the cheap $5 made in china junk.

Now - does it pop into the retangular openings next to the rear seat heater switch too or is that too much to ask for? Will not be used for the fridge, will be for a real outside temp.
Click to expand...

:flipoff2:

You will need to do very minor trimming to this piece to get it to fit into the OEM switch port. Almost like it was made for the 80 :D

For outside temp it's perfect. Getting another one for just this reason.

BTW, of course it's made in China. But it doesn't feel necessarily "cheap"...per se. It does work. It's within 1.4deg of my laser temp sensor.
 
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