Refrigerator wired in?

[VanKitten]

i have read that it is better to cut the ciggy lighter end off the frige and wire it directly in.

Sounds good to me.   

So, as I am putting this rough-in wiring in now...should I get s blank electrical box to put in the wall for this?

Anyone have a picture of how they did the wiring?   Connectors?   Just tape and left on the back of the frige?

 

[John61CT]

Properly crimped connections rated above the maximum amps the wire will carry.

Better style Blue Sea twist lock outlets fairly secure and also compatible with standard plugs.

Merit style is nice.

I like Anderson plugs.

If you standardize on one of the last two types, there are adapters for devices with ciggie plugs.

 

[deadwood]

What are you wiring your other devices too? I have the Blue Sea 12 position fuse block wired to my battery. My fridge and everything else is then wired to the fuse box. Easy to add electrical items and make sure each one has the proper fuse for it.

Is your fridge permanent or something more portable that will come in and out. If it was portable I would keep the cigarette outlet and wire a 12v outlet to my fuse box. It's still properly fused then but keeps portability while still running on the house batteries. My fridge is permanent so I tossed the cigarette adapter and wired directly to my blue sea fuse box.

 

[SternWake]

If you do not need the fridge portable, wire its 12v directly to fuse block. If you need a connector upgrade the ciggy plug to a blueseas, and wire up a blue seas receptacle in a convenient spot fed with 10 awg from fuse block.

Or use anderson powerpoles instead of ciggy plug connector, keeping in mind that andersons have no internal fuse like a ciggy plug, and a 30 amp fuse for the 10awg is too high a rating for the 16awg that possibly came on the 12v cord provided with fridge.

 

[VanKitten]

The wiring is from a common buss to separate fuse panels..(one on each side of the RV).... all of that is complete.

From the fuse panel to the various devices....water pump, under cab lights, ciggy style chargers, and the Engel refrigerator.
All,of this wire it already connected and in the walls. And yeah..10gauge to the frige. It will be permanent.

So..I have all the boxes, etc for the rest...but at the wall for the wire to the refrigerator... just wondering what that connection is going to look like. I will cut off the ciggy charger (adapter) off the frige...wire directly to the wires from the wall..but...box? ??

This is still just the rough-in wiring. After I get all this done..then plumbing, insulation, final wall finish..then cabinets...then final..lights, chargers, etc. just planning for what I need to put in the wall now for the final connection to the frige.

 

[VanKitten]

SternWake

BLue Seas Receptacle?

Do you mean the ciggy socket?   

I am looking at having two bare wires.   On from the wall (going back to the fuse panel) the ofther on the frige after cutting off the ciggy lighter adapter.    ....  ??

 

[Almost There]

When I first installed the fridge and freezer units (Whynter 65 qt each), I plugged the 12V plug in to the Marinco outlets I had wired in the van - all are wired back to the Blue Seas fuse panel.

Within a month one of the plug ends from Whynter started acting up, not making a decent connection. I had to constantly be alert to when it failed to make contact by checking the temperature display light on the side of the fridge. I ended up running that unit through the 120V cord to a portable inverter plugged in to the Marinco 12V outlet.

When the second 12V power cord failed within a year I tried to get Whynter to replace the cords...haha....the units themselves were still under warranty but not the cords....   And here I was worried about voiding the warranties - they wanted $24.95 a piece plus shipping for new 12V cords...uh NO!

I cut the ciggy plug ends off the cords, removed the Marinco outlets and ran the wires through the housing for the Marinco outlets which protected the cords from abrasion on the wood. A friend and I crimped the wires in butt connectors.

I haven't been happier...seriously!!

I no longer have to worry about the plugs working loose while I'm driving, there's no heat/energy loss from the plug units and if I ever want to disconnect either unit I can simply unplug the cord at the unit itself.

My advice - Cut the damn wires near the ciggy plug, hard-wire them to the wires that you ran from the fuse panel and be done with it.

Just make sure that you've got positive and negative wired properly.

 

[SternWake]

My advice - Cut the damn wires near the ciggy plug, hard-wire them to the wires that you ran from the fuse panel and be done with it.

Just make sure that you've got positive and negative wired properly.

Excellent advice worthy of repeating over and over.

I also highly recommend one take Ciggy plugs and place on any surface on which the unloading of a 20 Lb sledge hammer is most satisfying.  Preferably while cursing and screaming in a rage at whatever knucklehead first designed a spring loaded electrical connector in the first place, and the persons who thought it was a good idea to keep using them as a worldwide standard.

 

[John61CT]

https://www.bluesea.com/products/1015/12_Volt_Plug_with_Dash_Socket

 

[MrNoodly]

I use one of these.

 

[Oberneldon]

RoamingKat,

Cutting the plug off is a "it depends" as some others have stated. My Engel uses a maximum of 2.6 amps and is rated for an average of .7 ah.

I left my plug on for the last 4 years of ownership without any problem. I use it 4 months straight 24x7 in my Prius and then use it in my Tacoma and back and forth. In both vehicles I use dedicated blue seas cig outlet to the battery and have used it successfully with standard vehicle outlets.

The Engel has a proprietary cig plug that comes apart and exposes a two bladed plug that will plug in more securely than using a cig outlet. I bought one and never needed to use it.

As most know a smart phone can charge at 2.1 amps via USB and the Engel maxes at 2.6 amps, so there is not much difference.

If you have an Engel and didn't want to use a cig plug/outlet you may consider the Engel outlet. It comes with the thermal fuse that you loose when you cut the end off that you should not loose when cutting the end off. This is why Engel makes it.

My experience is measured and real life. You may want to do your own testing with the fridge you purchase.

Brent

 

[VanKitten]

Ok...mr noodle...already have that done...finished the fuse panel a while ago. .... I am talking about the wires at the other end.

Ok..so..I cut off the ciggy plug. So..now I have the two wires (counting ground) coming out of the wall...and the two wires coming out of the refrigerator. I can figure out how to wire them together...np

Question is. Doesn't seem like a good idea to just having it hanging around on the floor or draped from the wall behind. Is there a box for this purpose? So the wires a run into s box nice and tidy?

 

[MrNoodly]

Ok...mr noodle...already have that done...finished the fuse panel a while ago. ....  I am talking about the wires at the other end.

Ok..so..I cut off the ciggy plug.   So..now I have the two wires (counting ground) coming out of the wall...and the two wires coming out of the refrigerator.   I can figure out how to wire them together...np

Question is.   Doesn't seem like a good idea to just having it hanging around on the floor or draped from the wall behind.   Is there a box for this purpose?   So the wires a run into s box nice and tidy?

The wires coming out of the wall go to the fuse panel. The wires from the fridge also go to the fuse panel. If the fridge wire isn't long enough to reach the fuse panel, splice more wire onto it, cover the splice with heat shrink or electrical tape, cover the whole wire with corrugated and split wire loom stuff, anchor it down and out of the way with zip ties or p-clips.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Question is.   Doesn't seem like a good idea to just having it hanging around on the floor or draped from the wall behind.   Is there a box for this purpose?   So the wires a run into s box nice and tidy?

One option is to put a couple of Anderson Power Poles on the wire coming out of the wall.  Then shorten the refrigerator wires and put power poles on them. 

If you want to make things neater - and the hole was already cut for a ciggy plug socket - you could neaten things up with this:

https://powerwerx.com/panelpole-panel-mount-powerpole-housing

 

[VanKitten]

That panel for Anderson power pole is exactly the right answer for me. Clean it all up at the wall

Thank you!

 

[Weight]

There are many sizes and types of plastic electrical boxes available. Many can be found at Lowe's or Home Depot or hardware stores such as Ace.

 

[Almost There]

That panel for Anderson power pole is exactly the right answer for me.    Clean it all up at the wall

Thank you!

That connector panel looks much more solid than the one I ordered. It was a joke and got sent back.

I had ordered Anderson pole connectors and a wall mounting bracket to do the same thing you're contemplating. It all got sent back.

In the process I found out that only the 45 amp connectors will accept 10 gauge wires. Both the 30 and 15 amp fittings are too small. 30 I think will take up to about a 14 gauge wire and the 15 doesn't want anything bigger than say 18.

Oh and you'll need a special crimping tool to crimp the wires IIRC.

 

[highdesertranger]

what's nice, is that with the 15, 30, and 45 amp power poles anyone will plug into another. in other words a 15 will plug into a 45. highdesertranger

 

[SternWake]

I saw the shape of the panel mounts for andersons, skoffed, and used a square file and some trial and error until I established a friction fit.

The anderson special crimper is really only required on the 45's, but can be used on the 30 and 15s too.

A regular dimple crimper is good enough for 15 or 30's, but the 45s have these ears which must be bent inward over the wire then compressed/crimped evenly, and this is not so easy to do right without their special tool.

A skilled person with a few different crimper dies can do the 45's without the special tool and make them appear correct, but do test and see if the wire can be pulled out with enough pressure. I've had a few not pass muster after a few dozen heating cycles from passing 40 amps.

I've taken to soldering after crimping without their special tool, but too much solder is not a good thing. Keep it well away from the U shaped portion of the business end of the contact, and try to add no thickness to the crimped portion or it will need to be filed down before it will 'click' inside the plastic housing.

I wish the 45's would accept 8awg without destranding the wire to 10AWG thickness, but Oh well.

The wires sticking straight out from the wall from connector, or straight out from behind it might not be so ergonomic depending on one's set up