Powering a Fridge with SP9100 Q's

I reached out to switch pros and asked them if I could power a fridge that uses a max of 60w @ 12v which equates to 5amps. Obviously the

$659 SP9100 Switch Pros SP-9100 8-Switch Panel Power System With Concealed Mounting Hardware

SP9100 can handle beyond that level of power usage and they answered yes. I asked which gauge wire would be best and they were vague and replied that 10ga would be more than sufficient.
My question though, is would I be able to use the power cables supplied by the fridge company? They have a cigarette lighter power cord and an standard outlet that could power the fridge from the bed of the truck.
Here is where I am getting hung up: the size of the wire coming off of the switch pro is like 14/16ga (I forget precisely) but if I am running wire from my engine bay under the chassis to the bed to power the fridge, won't I need wire of at least 12ga because of the power loss over distance? Or would the stock wiring work if I cut off the cigarette adapter and soldered the power to SP9100 and ground to ground?
Does is matter that the wire on the SP9100 is a smaller gauge and then I connect it with a larger gauge to run it to the bed? Does that make sense?

Thanks for any suggestions. I've searched around on here and still am obviously confused.

 

I wouldnt run a fridge off a switch pro. Yes, itll do it, but would be much better/easier to run straight off the battery using a blue sea 12v plug panel and the 12v cig plug wiring harness. Plus it gives you an extra switch output for lights, etc.

If you were to run a switchpro, the wiring supplied on both products makes sense for the load and duty cycle. If you're adding another 15ft run inbetween the two to bridge the 9100 to the fridge cord, the voltage drop and heat buildup may become a hazard.

 

I have adequate lighting and plan to add another set but already have a lot of empty switches left over. The only thing is also I would have to use my bluetooth to active the fridge when the truck is parked for the night. Which isn't really a big deal for me at all.... if I ran it to the battery, I would need a switch anyways to be able to turn it on and off. So I don't see why I wouldn't use the

$659 sp9100 switch pros SP-9100 8-switch panel power system with concealed mounting hardware

sp9100 to power it, along with the supplied cables. It seems the cable they provide is long to start with so it might work but if it is not, I suppose I would have to make my own wiring.

I will check into that blue sea thing you mentioned though and see if that might be the easier route to take. I appreciate your feedback

 

Most fridges have a power button on them so it wouldnt require an extra switch.

Upside of the 12v panel is you can get it with things like a battery voltage monitor or usb outlets for charging a phone, etc while you hang out around the tailgate. Also comes with the benefit of a power switch so, again, makes the need for a standalone switch unnecessary. 9100 would totally do the job, just trying to offer an alternate layout.

 

I forgot about the power button being directly on the fridge. That definitely changes things. It makes more sense to have the fridge powered to the battery and then just turned on using the button on the fridge, since it'll pretty much be running the entire trip. Wouldn't make sense to use BT to use the app and power the fridge and then maybe have to use the power button again on the fridge itself. Although I believe it has memory for the last settings and should automatically begin powering.

Thanks for sharing a photo of this, so I would run this 12v panel from the battery, to the bed of the truck, do I need my own wire for this? What gauge would be best? I just ordered some 12ga wire. And then I would use the cig lighter power cable the fridge comes with and plug that into the 12v panel and I am all set? Then I can remove the fridge when not in use and where should I mount the panel at? Any ideas? thanks again man

 

I run a Dometic CFX45 off 14ga wire. Its probably ~20' long from my panel. I know about voltage loss over length for DC power. I have it fused at 15A, which is correct for a 14ga wire. It works well and while I do recognize some small loss over the length, it works fine. There is no way to argue that larger wire (smaller gauge) will lose less. I do know this 14 ga works for me and works fine... I had larger wire and chose to use the 14ga based on the length, loss (via impedance), the room to run the wire, etc. No issues... If I were to run too much longer, I would likely have, or will, up the wire size one gauge.

 

Awesome, I ordered some 12ga, and will use this and it should work just fine. I am looking into the 12v sockets now and might just do something simple like that in the bed instead of a whole panel.....

 

12ga is slight overkill for the length of run you will have and should work great with minimal to zero loss. You will have no worries about voltage drop and will supply full power to your fridge. Enjoy!

 

Cheers man, Thats what I thought!

So I will go from battery, and then I need a fuse directly after the battery? Which size fuse should I run? 10amps? Then I will run the wire to a 12v socket: something like this

$11 Nilight 2 Pack Car Cigarette Lighter Socket DC 12V Waterproof Power Outlet Adapter Replacement with Terminals Wires and Screws for Marine Boat Motorcycle, Boat, Car,Truck, RV, ATV,2 Years Warranty

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082D8WKNW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
and then I just plug in the fridge and its always hot since its on the battery and I just power on fridge using button on fridge.

 

Well... Basically... From what I saw, it does not specify the amperage on that socket. I dont know what you fridge draws for sure, but 10A seems high enough. You want to put your fuse as close as possible to the supply (battery in your case). Then, yes, you run the wire to the socket and are good to go with the power switch. I will suspect that your 12ga wire will be a bit big for the socket you have chosen. The main goal is to fuse the wire as close to the supply as possible, and to fuse it at or slightly less that the max current it can carry. That, or purposefully fuse it at the max current you fridge will draw. Make sense?

 

I saw 10amps in some of the comments, but not 100% sure.
The fridge claims to draw 60w on high power which is 5 amps.
This site: https://www.wiringproducts.com/automotive-wire says that I should be between 18-29ft which is 14/12ga wire. 12 to be safe I suppose.

Yes, I think that makes sense. So even a 5 amp fuse should be fine. but 10 would prob be best since 5 might blow too often? Thanks again. Always think you know how to wire something and then really you have no idea. lol

 

With 12ga wire and a 10 amp fuse, you are protecting the wire against a short and kinda protecting the fridge against some overcurrent. In reality, if the fridge starts pulling over 10a when it should pull 5a, there are other problems and the fuse is likely not going to save much of the fridge. If it should pull 5a, you need a slightly larger fuse to keep it from blowing for sure. I think the idea of 10a is probably what I would do to. Fuses are cheap... It would be best to measure the current draw and go slightly higher. If you cant measure it, go to a 7.5a fuse and have a larger size available (8,9,10A0. There is "in rush" which could pop your 5a or slightly higher fuse. Again, with the 12ga, you are good to go with whatever fuse size runs well without blowing. I really think a 10a on a 12ga wire pulling an expected 5a is probably going to work perfect.

 

Ok, awesome, I think this is all coming together. I just need to double check that that socket can handle the load I'm looking for.
I guess I can screw this into the empty cubby in the bed....

 

My Dometic has a 12v cig type plug too, but I dont use it... If yours draws ~5a it is more that good to go with a cig plug. If you can make your 12ga wire go into/solder/afix/whatever to the cig socket you are gold. That will save voltage drop to the socket and then the socket will be full power.... Sounds like you have it figured out. I will say having a fridge vs. cooler has been a game changer for me. Enjoy!

 

I think so and I am watching a YT video where the guy is doing exactly this. He used 10ga wire. Mounted it to cubby box. I am going to do this I cant wait.
Yea, I usually take a month long trip every year and then at least another 2 week trip and we have specific diets, so I think this is going to be a good change. I went with a BougeRV 42qt. 289$ lol, so we will see how it goes...