ARB Fridge/Freezer Performance Question

el taco loco

el taco loco

Observer
Greetings,

I have a 50 qt. (47 liter) ARB Fridge/Freezer which rides in the bed of my '13 Tacoma DCSB. I had the local Leer cap dealer install a triple 12v outlet (a Leer accessory kit) in the rear passenger side corner of my cap to plug the fridge into. This outlet is wired directly to the battery, and the wire looks to be about 16 or 18 gauge. I should add that the truck is 10 months old, has under 2500 miles on it and has the original battery.

I went through a process of setting up and testing the the fridge with the truck in the garage, and it ran 24 hours before the built-in battery protection circuit, set at medium (11.4v cutoff) activated and shut the fridge down.

So, this past weekend, I took the truck out with all of my expedition gear on board, including the fridge. We drove for about four hours at low-moderate off-road speed, then onto the highway for an hour to an hour and a half to home.

Upon arrival at home, I saw that the fridge's battery protection "check" light was illuminated. This indicates that the battery charge had dropped to, at most, 11.4 volts and the protection circuit had done it's job and shut off the fridge.

This puzzles me because we were running the vehicle at highway speed for 60-90 minutes. Wouldn't the alternator be busy maintaining the battery's charge level, regardless of the 5.1 amp draw from the fridge?

So if the fridge draws 5.1 amps when running on a 12 volt supply, I wonder whether the power wire needs to be larger...say 10 or 12 gauge?

Conversely, if plugged in to 110v, the draw is only .75 amps. The Tacoma's 110v outlet is right there in the same corner of the bed. I wonder whether that would be a better power source when under way, then switch to 12v when camped overnight?

Thanks for any help you may be able to offer!
 
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M

moodywizard

Adventurer
Too small of a wire probably, measure at the fridge and at the battery. I thought the ARB fridge used less than 5 amps, I remember reading around 2 to 3.
 
dstock

dstock

Explorer
The ARB power kit is 8 gauge. I used 10 gauge from under the hood to the back of my Jeep with no drop in voltage. 5.1 amps is way too high, 2-3 is correct. Swap out your wiring and you should do much better.
 
el taco loco

el taco loco

Observer
Thank you for your replies.

I have done a bit more research online, consulting the chart of American Wire Gauge (AWG) and rated Ampacities, and the data indicates the following:

An 18 gauge wire is rated at a maximum of 2.3 amps for power transmission, whereas a 10 gauge wire is rated at 15 amps. The chart also indicates that a 10 gauge copper wire connected to a 12 vdc source will see a voltage drop of 1.75% over a 20' run.

Ok...on to power draw -

The manual states this under "rated current": 12 VDC - 5.1A.
The product description info at ARB's site states this: Average DC power consumption: 0.7 to 2.3 amp hr.

I am not certain what to make of all of that. So which is it...5.1A or 0.7A - 2.3A? I must be misinterpreting the terminology.

If the ARB's amperage draw is 5.1A when connected to 12 vdc as the manual suggests, then the 18 gauge wire (rated 2.3A) installed by the topper company is grossly undersized for the task. If, on the other hand, it is 0.7A - 2.3A, then why am I having any issues at all?
 
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4x4junkie

4x4junkie

Explorer
5.1 amps is probably for when the unit operates in fast-cool-down mode (max compressor speed). Under normal conditions it may be closer to 3-4 amps, which when averaged together with the periods the compressor is not running, you arrive at the 0.7-2.3 amps figure. Since the compressor's current cycles on & off, you have to size the wire for when it is running.

My suggestion would be #10 AWG wire for the socket in your truck bed.

Powering the fridge off a 110V inverter would be very inefficient however. This introduces conversion losses within the inverter, and again in the fridge as it would just be converting the 110V back to 12 VDC again.
 
el taco loco

el taco loco

Observer
I found some 10 gauge, stranded wire at HD. I don't think it is the perfect thing for this application, as it is pretty stiff. The package does say that it is gasoline and oil safe. I'm trying to determine whether it's stiffness is mostly due to the type of insulation on the wire or not.

Is there such a thing as wire that is made specifically for automotive applications? Would that be more flexible and thus, easier to route? If so, would some sort of auto supply store, like Pep Boys or NAPA be the best source?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
A

AndrewP

Explorer
My favorite power wiring for trucks is the marine wire that West Marine sells for wiring boats. It's tin coated copper strands with fuel/water/heat resistant insulation, and the wire is covered with an additional sheath kind of like romex for your house. It's about the best wire you can buy. Just be aware that the color conventions are different. Red is +, and ground is yellow. I've bought it here:

https://gregsmarinewiresupply.com/Z...Path=4&zenid=975c76165068677245e48dbcd57d4345

You can also buy it for more from West Marine.
 
moabian

moabian

Active member
Ditto on the wire size being the problem. Your Leer dealer should have known better...if you told him the planned use for the outlet. I've used numerous fridges in several vehicles (now using the 63-qt ARB in the JKU) and usually use either 8 or 10 gauge wire made for car stereo applications. I wire them through a switch on the dash and use a wireless temperature sensor to monitor the fridge temp from the driver's seat. A good source for wire might be any local car audio shop...though I usually get it from Amazon.
 
Utah KJ

Utah KJ

Free State of Florida
Remember that in a DC circuit, there's just as much current running through the ground wore as the power wire. Poor grounding schemes is usually the most common mistake when people who install caps do electrical too. Just because it's metal, doesn't make it a good ground path... especially in truck beds.

I have 12 awg power and ground Makita-spooled from my battery to the cargo area of my 4Runner and have no issues with operating an ARB fridge at the medium batt setting.
 
el taco loco

el taco loco

Observer
Utah KJ said:
Remember that in a DC circuit, there's just as much current running through the ground wore as the power wire. Poor grounding schemes is usually the most common mistake when people who install caps do electrical too. Just because it's metal, doesn't make it a good ground path... especially in truck beds.

I have 12 awg power and ground Makita-spooled from my battery to the cargo area of my 4Runner and have no issues with operating an ARB fridge at the medium batt setting.
Click to expand...

Just a thought...Since the 18 awg is already in place at the battery, would it be advisable to simply utilize it as a ground wire rather than dragging the entire thing out and replacing it with a larger wire. Again...only as a ground. Reason is that I had to run all over town just to locate 25' of 10 awg and that was prior to reading your post. Now that's all I have...25'.
 
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