12v or 110 for Engel Fridge

[stxSteve]

My vehicle has both 12v and 110v (via a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter) available, so . . . which should I use to power the Engel Fridge which can operate on either? Advantages - Disadvantages.

Thanks

 

[gabepari]

Considering the idle current and efficiency loss of the inverter, I would guess that it would be better to run the fridge on 12vdc.

Quick experiment with a meter would tell the whole story...


Gabe

 

[Martyn]

What Gabe said, plus I think you'd be taking the 110 volt AC and having it internally converted to 12vdc by the fridge. Double loss of efficiency. I've always recommended the fridges to be run off 12 volt.

Lots of people cool their fridges down prior to a trip by plugging them into 110 vac at home for 12 to 24 hours. I used to do this with the 3 way heat loss fridges but don't do it with compressor fridges. This may be in part because I typically fill my Engel with food and drink out of my home fridge.

 

[kingpin748]

12v. Anything else is a waste.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

x4 on the 12V, far more efficient particularly when the vehicle is turned off. Consider that your 2000 W inverter will pull a couple of amps at no load. 12V in the vehicle, 110 at home or when shore power is practical.

 

[talltony]

My Engel has a 240vac (uk/european model) compressor motor supplied by a built in inverter when on 12v.When on mains power a relay isolates the 12v circuit automatically.
I think the newer models utilise a switch mode power supply in place of the inverter.
So running on 12v uses the built in inverter and running on 110 uses your vehicle inverter.
Therefore it might be worthwhile trying it both ways and measuring the power consumption in each case.
I suspect that the Engel inverter/power supply will be more efficient than your 2000W vehicle inverter.

Tony