How long can a well charged 12v keep the fridge going, anyone know?
I've never done this before but was planning to nip unto van tomorrow evening, stick the fridge on via 12v supply with a view to filling fridge Friday and departing for our half term break on Saturday morning.
If it is the normal 3way fridge fitted to your caravan it only works on 12v from car battery while you are towing with engine actually running, it does not run from caravan battery. If caravan is parked you need run fridge on gas or mains hookup.
Ahh yes, I remember now.. Thanks for reminding me, only thing is the display on it the other day suggested I could be running off the battery, maybe that was just the digital display and it was not actually running of leisure battery
It is possible to kid the fridge into thinking it is connected to the car by jumping two of the wires in the 12s plug, but at about 120 watts, the power consumption would be 10 amps at 12 volts, in theory, 8.5 hours from an 85 aH battery. However, as the voltage falls, the current increases and thus the discharge rate increases and effectivness of the fridge decreases, the wiring gets warm due to the increased current and it loses more power. In practice, about an hour and the battery voltage will have dropped to a point where the fridge is no longer able to function efficiently.
Cheers Dave, I'd kind of figured the display on 12v battery was just that ..the display and was not actually operating the fridge on the battery. Do you think it's safe to leave the gas on working the fridge whilst in the storage compound overnight?
I have on occasion left the fridge on gas in storage for the night. It should be pre-cooled for a long journey. As long as the flue isn't obstructed and the vents clear your ok. Its only like leaving it on gas when you go out for the day.
I have left my caravan on gas in the street once or twice when we were planning an early start. Whether it is safe, it's safer to leave a fridge running on gas in an unoccupied caravan than it is with an occupied one and people do that all the time. The storage compound people probably wouldn't like it, but it's easy to forget to turn the gas off after trying it. Personally I'd go in and "test" the fridge then forget to turn it off.
Just put freezer bricks in the fridge do drop the temperature overnight . Cold weather won`t cool it much unless you leave the door to it and the caravan open , the insulation is too good . Make sure your stuff is well chilled or frozen before you stuff the fridge as much as possible and your 12volt will do the job (if you use it) .
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Topic: Fridge on 12v
