Keeping equipment alive in the garage

[mad85]

I have a Land Rover Discovery with a dual battery setup running a fridge. As I use the fridge almost every weekend, I prefer to keep it on and keep some essentials (beer) in it rather than having to fill it up every week. My problem is that in the garage the solar panels on the roof will not charge the battery and while the deep cycle gel battery can probably keep up for a couple of days, i prefer if there is a way of switching it to A/C (plug it in). I have tried using a trickle charger but that one is not designed to keep a battery charger while it is used. Which would be the best and easiest way of keeping the fridge on and the battery healthy?

 

[VanWaLife]

This might work for you. I use a 2amp version so I can leave all my USB devices in the car charging without draining the battery.

 

[mad85]

the fridge pulls around 5amp at 12v so the 10A charger should be man enough but im not sure how these intelligent chargers would work. my current charger gets confused when the fridge kicks in and decides its a bad battery and simply stops working. I was thinking instead using a charger which can work as a supply. not sure if that would damage the battery long term though

 

[Ozarker]

I think I'd pigtail power input to fridge, disconnect it from vehicle when inside, 110 v through inverter 12v and connect it.

 

[Ozarker]

the fridge pulls around 5amp at 12v so the 10A charger should be man enough but im not sure how these intelligent chargers would work. my current charger gets confused when the fridge kicks in and decides its a bad battery and simply stops working. I was thinking instead using a charger which can work as a supply. not sure if that would damage the battery long term though

Surge may damage a smart charger, I use a 15 amp inverter, 110v ac to 12v dc.

 

[mad85]

Surge may damage a smart charger, I use a 15 amp inverter, 110v ac to 12v dc.

yes i have the fridge factory transformer which i could plug into the main, but it is a bit of a hassle to unplug it every time i want to leave it for a few days. This car is my 'daily' (although i dont drive everyday, as i work from home)

 

[Ozarker]

yes i have the fridge factory transformer which i could plug into the main, but it is a bit of a hassle to unplug it every time i want to leave it for a few days. This car is my 'daily' (although i dont drive everyday, as i work from home)

The up side to that hassle is that it only takes seconds every few days, )

 

[chet6.7]

the fridge pulls around 5amp at 12v so the 10A charger should be man enough but im not sure how these intelligent chargers would work. my current charger gets confused when the fridge kicks in and decides its a bad battery and simply stops working. I was thinking instead using a charger which can work as a supply. not sure if that would damage the battery long term though

Is your current charger a dumb charger? My CTEK smart charger has a supply mode but I have not tried it.
My small fridge is behind the seat, the area where the frige is mounted is tight. I can switch the cords for the fridge from AC to DC, but I would prefer to find a workaround as well.

 

[AbleGuy]

This might work for you. I use a 2amp version so I can leave all my USB devices in the car charging without draining the battery.

X2

This is the one we’ve used the past coupla years:


I saw a van recently where the owner had permanently installed this under the hood. You just had to pop the hood and grab the plug to use it daily.

 

[mad85]

Its an alpicool 35l fridge. Doesn't have dual input unfortunately. Its fitted inside a drawer system so i need to take it off the car to put it on AC. I think the ctek on supply mode would probably work

 

[mep1811]

If I'm using the fridge at home I just plug into the A/C with an extension cord. Since your fridge is not dual voltage you could use one of these. I use one of these to run my 14 qt Engle in the garage.

 

[dstefan]

This is an AWESOME customizable charger. For your purpose, it also functions as a 12v power supply. Will charge Gel, LiFePo, AGM and FLA batteries s well.

Victron Energy Blue Smart IP65 12/15 120 VAC NEMA 1-15P Battery Charger

Part Number: BPC121531104R

www.solar-electric.com

 

[Toyaddict]

I have a 6 amp marine on board charger in my van. Works great for my needs. Solar controller throws code for over voltage if I use the charger while also making solar.

 

[mad85]

thanks for all the replies guys