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Topic: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer (Read 467 times) previous topic - next topic
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Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Greetings,

We just took delivery of an ARB 50-quart, 12-volt portable fridge/freezer, along with a heavy duty, 10-guage wiring loom that includes a 2-prong, flush-mount socket.

I plan to mount the socket close to the planned location of the unit, which will be between the driver and passenger seats, but back a bit.  It would be most convenient to connect the socket to the chassis battery.

Does connection to the chassis battery sound okay, or would it be better to connect it to the house battery?  We have two 100 watt solar panels on the roof, with a Solar Boost 3000i controller that I notice dumps excess current to the chassis battery, so this should help. 

I've been testing the unit at home, and it seems pretty efficient even when we set the target temperature to well below freezing.  It consumes about 30 - 35 amp hours per day.   We also bought a Jackery 518 watt-hour (~41 amp hour) portable power station with the matching 100 watt portable solar panel.  The idea would be to offload the coach battery during the nighttime hours with the power station, which will work as long as there is enough sun during the day to recharge the station.

Yeah, well, somethin' to do ...

Best Regards,

Tim


2014 Mid-Bath
2014 Honda CRV toad
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #1 –
I recommend you connect it to the coach batteries, which you can do with a fuse connected directly to the coach battery terminal of the battery isolator, as far as access goes. It will get power from the alternator while driving, and excess solar during the day not needed for either battery set will directly power it also.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #2 –
"We also bought a Jackery 518 watt-hour (~41 amp hour) portable power station with the matching 100 watt portable solar panel."

I am lusting for either a Jackery or Goal Zero portable power station - each has its charms.  My main goal would be to provide reliable power for hubby's CPAP machine overnight without hitting the smaller coach battery (not expandable, sadly) in our Pleasure-Way Class B smaller unit.

Would love to hear of your experiences with your Jackery.  It's not clear to me that a solar panel will provide a "top up" on a daily basis, if the unit itself is in use very much.  But I like that the unit can be charged continuously from a 12-volt plug while driving.

Anyone else have one of these "silent generators"?

   Virtual hugs,

   Judie

Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #3 –
Julie,

Solar batteries are changing yearly.
I don’t have one but they do interest me.

Here’s a YouTube from October 2019 https://youtu.be/fSBkrMPV8JA William Prowse is very knowledgable and has many very informative Solar and solar battery videos.

If you get a chance to watch his videos, he may offer you some valuable insights.

Kent

2015 27' RB "MissB.Haven"
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #4 –
Tim, I agree with Steve--do NOT connect the ARB fridge to your engine's battery. That's not a deep-discharge battery, and it doesn't pack a lot of amp-hours. There's too much risk of discharging it, and then you're dead in the water.
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #5 –
Quote from: Andy Baird  - 
Tim, I agree with Steve--do NOT connect the ARB fridge to your engine's battery. That's not a deep-discharge battery, and it doesn't pack a lot of amp-hours. There's too much risk of discharging it, and then you're dead in the water.

Andy

Didn't you have a solar panel on your Forester to run your refrigerator during shopping trips?

My brother did this, mounting a 100-watt panel on his truck's camper shell that charges a series 27 deep-cycle battery, used to power a Dometic refrigerator stored in the inside the camper.

Tim might consider storing the refrigerator and battery in their toad and rigging a way to temporarily mount the solar panel to the toad's roof, during camping trips, removing it when at home.
With longer, isolated camping trips in the future, having a second refrigerator/freezer is appealing. Well frozen ice cream, out on a day trip, is even more appealing.

Larry

Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #6 –
Steve and Andy,

Thanks, you guys - glad I checked.

Steve, you mentioned that I should connect to the isolator.   Please confirm that this is the component that the Lazy Daze manual refers to as the "DC Power Contactor" (Diagram 5 at the back of the manual).  It is located under the hood on the drivers side, immediately behind the coolant reservoir (here is a photo of the same unit: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.supplyhouse.com/images/products/zoom/586-108111-3.jpg).  The larger, main terminals receive 4 guage wires from the chassis battery, while the smaller ones connect back to the house battery via smaller wire (10 guage?) - I'm assuming that these are the terminals to receive my fridge wires.  Please confirm.

Larry, the whole rationale for the extra fridge is to extend the time between store visits.  This is something we were thinking about even before the pandemic, but now it's especially relevant.  We also thought about keeping it in the toad, but instead opted for the convenience of keeping it inside the coach, and this is why we decided to try the portable solar panel and power station combination to somewhat offload the house batteries, most likely overnight.  We can take the power station and the panel out to the toad during the day to collect power, securing the panel on the roof rack; then in the evening, take the power station into the coach and plug it into the fridge.

We'll see how well this works.  Eventually we intend to add two or three more solar panels to the coach system, at which point the portable solution will no longer be needed for this, but I'm sure we'll find other uses for it.

Best Regards,

Tim

2014 Mid-Bath
2014 Honda CRV toad
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #7 –

"Tim might consider storing the refrigerator and battery in their toad and rigging a way to temporarily mount the solar panel to the toad's roof..."

Or permanently! I can't begin to tell you how handy it is to have a fully independent 24/7 solar-powered fridge in the car. It means ice-cold drinks anytime you want them; ice cream and frozen food that stays solid even if the nearest grocery store is an hour or two away; a way to keep your food cold while defrosting your Lazy Daze's fridge; and a backup fridge if the LD's fridge gives up the ghost, which they all do sooner or later--usually at the worst possible time.

"Didn't you have a solar panel on your Forester to run your refrigerator during shopping trips?"

Yup. A 100 W panel, feeding a Victron 75/15 MPPT controller, charging a group 27 AGM battery, powering a 40-liter compressor fridge. It's still there and still working 24/7, although the Forester is now in the hands of a friend. I had a similar setup on my F150 and F250 pickups, with a 140 W panel powering a 50-liter fridge.

On my Outback, because I have a Yakima Skybox 16 on the roof, there was only room for a 45 W panel. That works OK in the summer, as long as I'm parked in the sun. The fridge is set to 34° F and stays within two or three degrees of that around the clock. (An inexpensive Bluetooth wireless thermometer lets me monitor it remotely.) But for times like now when the car is in shade for part of the day, I added a 50 W portable panel, the kind with a built-in stand. That gives me 95 watts total, and so far that has never failed to fully charge the group 27 AGM battery every day.

As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #9 –
Thanks Tim. That contactor is a relay that LD replaced the diode isolator with. Older pre '60's relays were often unreliable. This is a much newer design and shouldn't cause any problems. Time will tell. The 10 ga. wire going to the house batteries should be good enough to power your 'cold' box. And it will run off of the house batteries, not the chassis battery. It will run off of the alternator with engine running.  RonB
RonB (Bostick) living in San Diego
Original owner of "Bluebelle" a '99 TKB
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #10 –
Quote from: Tim&Florence  - 
Steve, you mentioned that I should connect to the isolator.  Please confirm that this is the component that the Lazy Daze manual refers to as the "DC Power Contactor" (Diagram 5 at the back of the manual).  It is located under the hood on the drivers side, immediately behind the coolant reservoir.  The larger, main terminals receive 4 guage wires from the chassis battery, while the smaller ones connect back to the house battery via smaller wire (10 guage?) - I'm assuming that these are the terminals to receive my fridge wires.  Please confirm.

Tim, the smaller terminals are energized by the alternator when the engine starts - they should not go to the coach batteries. One of the larger terminals will go to the chassis battery and the alternator, the other large terminal will go to the coach batteries. Using a voltmeter, compare the reading on the two large terminals with the engine off, measured to ground. The one with the same reading as the chassis battery will connect to that battery, the other is the one you want to use.

Steve
2004 FL
2013 Honda Fit
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #11 –
Steve,

I measured the voltages on the contactor, and it's clear which terminal I need to use.

There is an unused spot in the dash, in between the two cigarette lighter sockets - there is a round plastic cap there, obviously meant to be removed and filled with another 12-volt socket.  I think I will utilize that spot or my fridge socket.  Now I just need to figure out how to route the cable through the firewall and get it to that spot.

Thanks for all the help.

Regards,

Tim

2014 Mid-Bath
2014 Honda CRV toad
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #12 –
Just an opinion but I skipped the power outlet, purchased a hardwire type power cord from Engle (not cheap) put an inline switch in and went directly to the cooler.
Harry 2006RB
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #13 –
"I skipped the power outlet, purchased a hardwire type [12 V] power cord... and went directly to the cooler."

Good idea. These refrigerators are sensitive to low voltage, so avoiding the notoriously flaky 12V cigarette lighter outlet is a good idea. I did the same in my vehicle refrigerator installations.
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #14 –

All -

Okay, project finally complete.  Thanks to several of you who came to my aid (especially Steve, Andy B., Ron B.), I was able to get this done correctly, and I am now not quite as clueless as before.

As mentioned earlier, I had this 10-guage wire loom from ARB (Amazon.com: ARB 10900027 ARB Fridge Freezer Wiring Kit And Threaded Socket...).  I connected the positive wire to coach battery terminal on the contactor, and the negative to the ground terminal just behind it. This is shown in the first photo below.

I was able to route my 10-guage cable from the contactor down through the engine compartment, basically following the same route as the existing cable that goes to the house battery.  I put the new cable inside a 1/2'' split wire loom and zip-tied it to the house battery cable in several places along the way.  Upon reaching the underside of the driver side door step, I routed the new cable up through an existing small hole.  Prior to this I had removed both the plastic door step cover and also the small plastic cover just in front of the driver's side door near the parking brake foot pad.  I routed the cable along the bed of the door step, then up behind the parking brake foot pad, up behind the dash near the steering column and finally to the right, bringing it into position behind the unused hole between the two existing 12 volt sockets.  I had previously removed the interior engine cover doghouse to enable the work behind the dash.

Description of photos:

  • Shows ARB positive and negative wires attached to contactor.
  • Used old speaker wire to pull the ARB cable through its route, dropping down behind the brake fluid reservoir.
  • Removed small plastic cover near parking brake foot pad (doghouse cover has been removed, far right.
  • Wires running through bed of door step.
  • New cable snaking up behind parking brake foot pad.
  • New ARB socket between two existing 12 volt sockets (doghouse cover back in position).
  • ARB fridge/freezer in position, plugged into new socket.

We're now seeing how this performs.  Last night at 8:15 PM, the Victron battery monitor showed -7.1 amp hours, and this morning at 6:30 AM it showed -19.2 AH.  I just checked it again at 9:45 AM and it's at -12 AH.  Not bad - we should come up quickly once the marine layer burns off.

By the way, we returned our Jackery Solarsaga 100w portable panel: it stopped producing output.  It was sort of overpriced anyway.  We're going to try a 100 w panel from Rockpals.  I will report the test results.

Thanks Again,

Tim


As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
2014 Mid-Bath
2014 Honda CRV toad
 
Re: Installing a Dedicated 12-Volt Socket for a Portable Fridge/Freezer
Reply #15 –

Well, done, Tim! Three comments about portable solar panels:

1. Unfortunately, all portable solar panels are way overpriced--typically two to three times the cost per watt of rigid panels. Unless you absolutely must have backpacker-style thinness and weight, why not just buy a rigid 100 W panel for half the price? You can probably stow it behind the passenger seat, and it'll be far more durable. Prop it up with a stick, or a folding footstool.

2. If you still want a fold-up panel, keep in mind that portable solar panels based on polycrystalline and/or (especially) flexible panels--as many of the thinner portables are--are much less reliable then ones based on rigid-framed panels hinged together. The former are tempting because they're generally thinner and lighter... but compare warranties before you buy. You can pretty much judge how durable a panel is going to be by the number of warranted years.

3. I've bought a lot of different brands of panels over the years for three RVs. For what it's worth, Renogy panels have never failed me.

As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"