67cj5
Man On a Mission
Yeah that's what I am saying, These fridges just don't use that much power, Your ARB47/50 does exactly what mine does,,
CFX-35W
- Thread starter deadly99
- Start date
67cj5
Man On a Mission
Yes they will give you a General reading over a certain amount of time but I wanted to know what the ARB was doing minute by minute and log the changes in power usage and temperature variation,
The Duty Cycle of these fridge/freezers can be changed by the user just with common sense, after 640+ hours testing and rising as we speak I have found that these fridges being smaller than a domestic fridge are much more responsive to change and you can predict their cycles within seconds, and their temperature zoning is has much finer tolerances , In a domestic fridge depending on the size I have taken as many as 24 different temp reading with Only 4 or 5 readings (Area's) being suitable for storing food and it is normal for the temp range to vary as much as 10/12*c/20*f, where fridges with internal fans give you and even temperature distribution, Which does not help when it comes to storing foods that need to be stored at different temps to other food,
These 4x4 Fridges regardless of the brand are so much more accurate when it come to temperature control and food placement and because of that their power usage is much lower, the claimed power usage by these companies are quoted at a fairly high level even though they are quite low figures, the truth is they are much lower than the figures claimed.
Never heard of a 4x4 fridge. The portable 12V compressor type is used for marine, teardrop trailers, big RVs/caravans, converted Sprinters, tent camping etc.
I am making no reference to any mfg specs, I agree for AH per 24-hour consumption would be useless.
Measuring instantaneous Amps can be useful For Science, but the bottom-line AH per 24-hour consumption is the critical number for the OP question.
I have seen some units go lower than 20AH per day, but only in optimal conditions that afaic happen only very rarely IRL.
Custom thick-walled boxes are of course much more efficient than the portable units, use of TXV and holding plate technology taking advantage of daily "excess free" energy production, all can keep that AH per 24-hour consumption number low as temp diffs rise.
In any case it is very easy and cheap for anyone to directly benchmark their own setup in various real life conditions using an AH-counting meter
and make their battery bank sizing decision based on objective hard data.
I am making no reference to any mfg specs, I agree for AH per 24-hour consumption would be useless.
Measuring instantaneous Amps can be useful For Science, but the bottom-line AH per 24-hour consumption is the critical number for the OP question.
I have seen some units go lower than 20AH per day, but only in optimal conditions that afaic happen only very rarely IRL.
Custom thick-walled boxes are of course much more efficient than the portable units, use of TXV and holding plate technology taking advantage of daily "excess free" energy production, all can keep that AH per 24-hour consumption number low as temp diffs rise.
In any case it is very easy and cheap for anyone to directly benchmark their own setup in various real life conditions using an AH-counting meter
and make their battery bank sizing decision based on objective hard data.
67cj5
Man On a Mission
Engel were the first True 4x4 off road fridge/freezers and then ARB rebranded Engel as their first version and then they bought out their own design model which is the blue and grey models most folks have, NL were the other major player but they can be over priced in SA, but in the rest of the world they seem to charge 2.5X the price for them with wild claims that are just untrue, They are beautifully made but the fact is they use a lot more power even though they use the exact same compressor as the ARB's, Waeco's and Indel "B" and many other generic brands so there is no point in paying such a premium for the NL models,
Engel is the true Pioneer that started it all with some of their fridges still running 40+ years later, and they do have a loyal following in Australia, Personally I prefer the ARB Blue and Grey models because they use less power and have many modern features, Then the Waeco's are the next best for power consumption and then the Engels,
All 3 of these 4x4 fridges were designed and tested in the Outback of Australia and they use between 0.5 Amps per hour and 0.93 Amps per hour,, One of the best results that I have recorded from my ARB 47L is a grand total of 8.40009805273 Amps in a 24 hour period,, Using less than 0.661 Amps per hour with the lowest to date being 0.516 Amps per hour, but with correct loading I am sure lower current levels are possible.
rickc
Adventurer
Hi all: an interesting thread; we all run our fridges differently which is why it's good to share some detailed anecdotal facts regarding battery run-down times. I think most people just want a rough idea of how long a fridge will run on a non-charging system so that they can size fridges/batteries according to their plans for use. I have to laugh at myself; most of my camping is just me but occasionally the kids come too so I chose a Dometic CFX75DZW. It only arrived a week ago and I have not tested it on the road yet but it is HUGE! For week long, single spot camping trips it will be perfect but it dwarfs my Colorado long box.
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67cj5
Man On a Mission
Congrats Rick on the new Toy, Mate That is a monster for one person aye, While I was testing the ARB47L/50QT I managed to pack enough frozen food in there for 61 meals, That's 2 months solid worth of food,
This week I bought a Dometic Tropicool TCX 35 Cooler,, It uses 12v/24v/230v and for the price and what it can do I think it is the best Bang for the Buck when it comes to Coolers, This thing even cycles like a fridge does and I have tested it down to -0.2*c/31*f, and Dometic claim that it will go 30*/86*f below the Ambient Temperature, This is a very clever Cooler, and it behaves much better than I expected.
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A cooler uses no electricity.
Except the "chip coolers", Peltier tech which only work while driving in low temps (i.e. the svck)
The Dometic / ARB / Engel etc aka Danfoss-style 12V compressor units are portable fridges or fridge / freezers.
This will help reduce confusion for those starting out, seeking basic information.
Except the "chip coolers", Peltier tech which only work while driving in low temps (i.e. the svck)
The Dometic / ARB / Engel etc aka Danfoss-style 12V compressor units are portable fridges or fridge / freezers.
This will help reduce confusion for those starting out, seeking basic information.
jadmt
ignore button user
do you think the TCX 35 is better than the ARB 50 if so why? I am in the market and going to buy this week. Thanks.
67cj5
Man On a Mission
The Thermoelectric Cooler I just bought they claim that it can cool to 30*c below the ambient temperature and it has settings for 0*c to 16*c, I have been testing it out this week and for what it is I think it is pretty impressive, IE in 22.4*C ambient temp it was reading -0.5*c which is about 31*f, It cycles on and off just like a fridge does, when you first turn it on it cools down fast in something like a Turbo mode and then it will cycle just like a fridge and when it is cycling it uses it's ECO mode or if you want it to cool right down you just have to set it to the MAX then it will cool fairly fast in the turbo mode then it switches to the ECO mode and just maintains the lowest Temperature, Also at the push of a button the 7 cold setting can become 7 Heat settings from about 45*c to 65*c.
As coolers go it is about the best one on the market, The most impressive thing is it cycles like a fridge depending on the setting and the fact that it can go below 0*c, Although they claim that it is set to turn off or go in to the ECO mode once it gets to 0*c it actually goes a little below that at -0.5*c/31*f, in the cycle mode it can use as little as 1/2 an amp because it shuts of completely and fires back up in the ECO mode and it has AC current priority which is a nice feature, It is Ideal if you already have a fridge freezer and you want to use it as a freezer because you can use this cooler as a fridge and if the weather gets too hot then just add a couple of those Blue Ice bricks and it works fine,
This is the first 12v Cooler I have found that can go down to 0*c/32-31*f.
67cj5
Man On a Mission
Not really, The ARB 50 Is about the best Fridge Freezer on the market and it will use as little as 0.62 Amps on a regular bases, The TCX 35 is a great Cooler and it is the best I have found when it comes to 12V coolers, It behaves like a fridge but it is "Not" a fridge if you get what I mean. It has some nice features and they claim that it can go down to 30*c below the Ambient temperature which I would like to see when the weather warms up so far I tested it in 22.4*c/72-73*f and it went down to -0.5*c/31*f which is impressive for a 12v Cooler because most of them manage between 6*c to 10*c with the Average being about 8*c/46.4*f so the fact that it does cool 8*c/15*f lower than others on the market means that folks on a tight budget could make good use of the TCX series,
The TCX 35 is quite big but not as long front to back as the ARB 50QT but the height and width are close., Which was a surprize when it turned up because you can get a lot in there, For what it is It is a good product, Not cheap but it does the job better that any other cooler on the market and it is a lot cheaper than a Fridge Freezer, Because I have the ARB I can keep a couple of Blue Ice Bricks in there to help the cooler out of really hot days, 8 Hours ago I turned it off and put in some of those blue Ice Bricks inside and my temp gauge read -1.5*c to -2.0*c and it is still reading -0.1*c so it seems fairly thermally efficient considering that I shut it off over 8 hours ago, most coolers would be reading about 10*c by now maybe more, Oh and it only weighs 22Lbs/10.47kgs where as the ARB weighs just under 50Lbs/22.5kgs.
Hope that helps.
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jadmt
ignore button user
ok makes sense. Looks like the ARB is more what I want. thanks.
67cj5
Man On a Mission
Yeah I think so, If you use the ARB as a freezer you can always use a cooler as a fridge later if you need one using them bricks, But to be fair nothing out there will replace a good fridge freezer.
i have a cfx40. Its ran the battery down in a ford edge (with a flaky battery) in about a day and a half sitting outside in ~100F georgia heat. In a 4runner and frontier, both have sustained about 2 days with no issues. i have no problems leaving it for 24-36 house on the engine battery.
OK, so it is a Peltier chip cooler.
Unless it's say a quarter the price of a compressor fridge the same size I would not bother.
Just way to many AH consumed, and when it gets above 35° is when I really need it to keep the food safe.