Wiring to refrigerator?

[MJRW]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]My batteries are on one side of van, refrigerator on the opposite side. Distance from battery would be 5' up + 6' across top + 5' down to refrigerator.[/font]

[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]So 16' to 17' total. Would 10 AWG be right?[/font]

 

[user 423]

This table should help:

 

[MJRW]

According to that table, the refrig I am considering (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075R1LH8D/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3AVI4F6S3UNB2&psc=1) which they claim is 45 watt, 3 amp,   I would be ok with 14 awg?  That seems small, maybe go 12 awg?

 

[user 423]

^
That's the same fridge I have and the DC power cord is 11' long and 16 gauge. Since you're going a little longer,
14ga. would be needed and 12ga. wouldn't hurt.

In my van I first ran 12ga. wire 8' from the battery (with separate fuse) across to a 12v receptacle and then I was going to use the DC plug but shorten the cord.

Then I decided to relocate the fridge closer to the fuse block and the cord will be shortened to about 4' and wired directly.

 

[highdesertranger]

it never hurts to go bigger. on second thought, it only hurts your pocket book. LOL highdesertranger

 

[abnorm]

The circuit length is TWICE the actual distance for computing voltage drop...……....there and back

 

[MJRW]

^
That's the same fridge I have and the DC power cord is 11' long and 16 gauge. Since you're going a little longer,
14ga. would be needed and 12ga. wouldn't hurt.

In my van I first ran 12ga. wire 8' from the battery (with separate fuse) across to a 12v receptacle and then I was going to use the DC plug but shorten the cord.

Then I decided to relocate the fridge closer to the fuse block and the cord will be shortened to about 4' and wired directly.

You have this one -- how do you like it?  I'm thinking (at that price) I might get two (one for just freezer & one for regular refrigeration). I still come out cheaper than one of the larger dual zone types. The freezer side of all these dual zone ones are so tiny.

 

[user 423]

^
This is my first experience with mobile refridge and it's been OK except the temp readout is inaccurate.

Kinda small capacity but then also doesn't take up a lot of space in the van.

You will want to add insulation. I just added a second layer to mine:



I'm hoping to get a cargo trailer and will probably get a larger Whynter or Dometic,etc.

 

[user 423]

The circuit length is TWICE the actual distance for computing voltage drop...……....there and back

Thanks for pointing that out.  How about this though:

You run pos. and neg. wires to the receptacle the fridge is plugged into. You also attach a wire from receptacle neg. to chassis ground nearby.

Resistance for the return should be very little. Right?

 

[DannyB1954]

Electrical wire charts show what is safe not what is effective. The difference being running that reefer on a smaller cord will not cause the wire to heat up and become a hazard, but the motor will have to work harder. The smaller the wire is, the more resistance to current it will have. This causes the voltage to drop as it passes through the wire. When a motor gets low voltage, it uses more amperage to try to compensate. Another thing is AC electricity flows through a wire easier than DC electricity.
I used 10 gauge on mine. It wasn't the capacity that concerned me as 10 Ga will handle 30 amps, it was the voltage drop that I did not want. Pay once, cry once. Going on the cheap usually bites me in the end , (and bottom).

 

[MJRW]

Right, I will be going with the 10g.

 

[B and C]

I bought my 10 Ga (probably 11 Ga (metric)) at Harbor Freight. That was the only place I found them with a 20 amp (versus 30 amp) plug.

 

[user 423]

What was the length? Also, since AC flows more easily and since these fridges run on both DC and AC, might it not be better to use smaller,cheaper wire and an inverter?

 

[highdesertranger]

Remember no conversion of energy is 100%. you always have losses in the conversion, the more conversions the more losses. run as much as you can off of 12v. when I had to run one of my refrigerators off of my inverter it took almost a full amp more to run and I have a very efficient inverter. highdesertranger

 

[user 423]

^
Yeah, I was just wondering since it's only a 45W fridge and it would only need what, a 100W inverter?

 

[DannyB1954]

You can also modify the wiring of the inverter to turn on with the reefer thermostat. This way half the time the inverter is not wasting electricity.
Also adding insulation to the reefer will help. Just don't enclose the compressor condenser area.

 

[maki2]

On portable refrigerators, some of them are very touch for voltage. Some of them come with very flaky plugs that don't make all that great of contact. So you can put in lovely heavy gauge wiring but a garbage quality plug and/or socket will make it not work properly for a good supply of power. The same can be said for low end quality fuse holders. If you want good results everything from one end to the other needs to be of good quality. Besides....its only money, but money well spent. Do the job right the first time by not cutting corners, but not going crazy with overkill either.

 

[maki2]

^
This is my first experience with mobile refridge and it's been OK except the temp readout is inaccurate.

Kinda small capacity but then also doesn't take up a lot of space in the van.

You will want to add insulation. I just added a second layer to mine:



I'm hoping to get a cargo trailer and will probably get a larger Whynter or Dometic,etc.

if you think about it you probably never had a temp readout on your home refrigerator and you got along without it just fine. If the food froze you knew it was too low and you turned the dial up just a little bit so it quit freezing the food and then you left it at that setting.

 

[user 423]

You can also modify the wiring of the inverter to turn on with the reefer thermostat. This way half the time the inverter is not wasting electricity.

If the inverter is off, how would the fridge circuitry/thermostat be able to operate?

 

[user 423]

On portable refrigerators, some of them are very touch for voltage. Some of them come with very flaky plugs that don't make all that great of contact.

That may be a problem with some I guess but the units are designed for automotive use which sees a fairly wide voltage range. That would include low discharged battery levels and higher voltages from alternators (or solar sytems) while recharging.

The 12V plug on the Alpicool is a pretty snug fit but vibration or a faulty receptacle could cause trouble.   That's why I'm wiring directly to a circuit on my system's fuse block.