IAm_Not_Lost
Member
Hey all,
New to this forum but not new to forums in general, have used this place for a long time to help with research and information and decided it was finally time to give back.
I have been using a Dometic CFX 35 for the past year now and wanted to give everyone the exact run cycles and consumption that it has been typically using. I did my testing using two different multi-meters for accuracy, and each has a clamp for measuring amperage as well. I do have an insulating/protective cover on my fridge.
I live in Arizona so the normal temps throughout much of the year are pretty hot. In real conditions during the hot part of the day (90+ degrees) this fridge consistently runs for 7 minutes at 3.5 amps and then has a no-run period of 28 minutes. This is for a fridge setting of 34 degrees F. That puts the cycle at 35 minutes, so basically it runs for about 12 minutes an hour at 3.5 amps. This puts it's average hourly draw at 0.7 amps. That is in hot weather on a pretty low setting (I like my drinks COLD), so I would bet you could get that to 0.5-0.6 amps pretty easily in cooler temps. As far as I know that is lowest actual amp draw per hour that I have seen in a fridge this size. It goes without saying that those measurements are after the fridge has been brought to temp and contents are cold (like during your initial drive).
The CFX line is a little nicer than the older Dometic fridges; better molding, better lid, easy control panel, normal low voltage settings, interior LED, exc. The only negative I have observed is a slight clunking from the compressor when you hit bumps. Apparently this is common because under their FAQ's they address it as normal. I find it mildly annoying. Otherwise fridge works great.
I have used a couple of different dual battery charging systems and my latest is the Ctek D250S DC to DC charger. For a while I used a typical VSR from TrueAM' and that worked fine, but of course didn't ever really want to charge my AGM battery much above 80% charge or so. My Frontier has a startup voltage of about 14.2, and then settles into around 13.8, so it doesn't really put out a high enough voltage for the VSR to give the battery that final charge. The Ctek works well, simple, 5 stage charger, delivers a max of 20 amps and boosts the voltage to around 14.4 depending on temperature and battery type. Also is an MPPT solar charge controller so all you need to do to use your solar panels is plug them onto the Ctek. Seems to work as advertised, typically delivers 19.7 amps to my aux battery in hot middle of the day conditions, and then slowly decreases amps as battery get's closer to full charge. Some users report that if you mount this in your engine bay it gets too hot and doesn't perform well; this seems about right as the manual says that it prefers temperatures under 120 degrees F, so something to think about.
Well, thanks for reading this write up, hopefully it will help some folks down the road. I typically keep my battery in a Minnkota battery box (best $50 bucks ever), which I place in a rolling tool box along with the Ctek. The fridge is sometimes in the cab on a slider and sometimes in the bed of the truck, just depends on the trip. Thanks again!
New to this forum but not new to forums in general, have used this place for a long time to help with research and information and decided it was finally time to give back.
I have been using a Dometic CFX 35 for the past year now and wanted to give everyone the exact run cycles and consumption that it has been typically using. I did my testing using two different multi-meters for accuracy, and each has a clamp for measuring amperage as well. I do have an insulating/protective cover on my fridge.
I live in Arizona so the normal temps throughout much of the year are pretty hot. In real conditions during the hot part of the day (90+ degrees) this fridge consistently runs for 7 minutes at 3.5 amps and then has a no-run period of 28 minutes. This is for a fridge setting of 34 degrees F. That puts the cycle at 35 minutes, so basically it runs for about 12 minutes an hour at 3.5 amps. This puts it's average hourly draw at 0.7 amps. That is in hot weather on a pretty low setting (I like my drinks COLD), so I would bet you could get that to 0.5-0.6 amps pretty easily in cooler temps. As far as I know that is lowest actual amp draw per hour that I have seen in a fridge this size. It goes without saying that those measurements are after the fridge has been brought to temp and contents are cold (like during your initial drive).
The CFX line is a little nicer than the older Dometic fridges; better molding, better lid, easy control panel, normal low voltage settings, interior LED, exc. The only negative I have observed is a slight clunking from the compressor when you hit bumps. Apparently this is common because under their FAQ's they address it as normal. I find it mildly annoying. Otherwise fridge works great.
I have used a couple of different dual battery charging systems and my latest is the Ctek D250S DC to DC charger. For a while I used a typical VSR from TrueAM' and that worked fine, but of course didn't ever really want to charge my AGM battery much above 80% charge or so. My Frontier has a startup voltage of about 14.2, and then settles into around 13.8, so it doesn't really put out a high enough voltage for the VSR to give the battery that final charge. The Ctek works well, simple, 5 stage charger, delivers a max of 20 amps and boosts the voltage to around 14.4 depending on temperature and battery type. Also is an MPPT solar charge controller so all you need to do to use your solar panels is plug them onto the Ctek. Seems to work as advertised, typically delivers 19.7 amps to my aux battery in hot middle of the day conditions, and then slowly decreases amps as battery get's closer to full charge. Some users report that if you mount this in your engine bay it gets too hot and doesn't perform well; this seems about right as the manual says that it prefers temperatures under 120 degrees F, so something to think about.
Well, thanks for reading this write up, hopefully it will help some folks down the road. I typically keep my battery in a Minnkota battery box (best $50 bucks ever), which I place in a rolling tool box along with the Ctek. The fridge is sometimes in the cab on a slider and sometimes in the bed of the truck, just depends on the trip. Thanks again!
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