Portable Refrigerators | Power requirements

I have a single zone ARB fridge set to 27F. The lower in the fridge the cooler it is. So I keep meats all the way down and they normally stay good for probably 4 days (or longer) depending how fresh they were at the grocery store.

On the highest position I normally keep the beer and it is slightly warmer then I would prefer it normally but it is still decently cold.

 

The a couple of nights this past week got down in the mid 40F degrees and my fridge wasn't opened again past about 8PM. Sometime after about 10hrs of the fridge not needing to cycle through the night, the Jackery turned itself off due to very low draw like 1-2W. This obviously turns the fridge off as well. Around 8AM when I went to get our overnight oats and an apples for breakfast, I turned the fridge back on and temp only went up to 29 degrees from the last cycle it ran. All is good!

These fridges usually swing about 2 degrees either way from setpoint. Set it for 28F and it will run until it feels it's thermometer reads 26F. Then stays off until it warms back up to 30F.

 

Good idea, thanks for your input

 

Thanks for sharing your input. I will try this in the future

 

not sure if something is wrong with your cooler or if it is just too big, but your pre cooling sounds terribly long. just as a reference ...for my smaller cooler I normally turn it on an hour before I leave and by this time it is already cooled down from maybe 75f to 30f and this while being empty.

 

Yes probably was too big for us. We returned the cooler already. One hour from 75 to 30 is really good

 

It should cool pretty fast if it is just air. If you put a lot of semi warm drinks and such into it at 75F, it's going to take quite a while to get down to 30F.

 

So I use a Dometic CFX3 75dz for our camping trips (2 people). The big side is set to 41F and small side set to 5F (fridge and freezer). This is what the power consumption looked like over a couple hour period. Outside started around 60 degrees, and would get down into the mid 20’s. You’ll see obviously the colder it gets, the less power it draws. I power it off the 12V line I installed in the bed while driving, and then just switch over to my GoalZero 1500x. That combination without charging the power pack last 3 days, and the battery pack drained to about 80%. Would have no problem going over a week easily. Mind you, the fridge wasn’t packed very efficiently, and has a decent amount of unused space in it.

 

Hello,

I have a CFX3-75DZ Dometic power cooler. I am looking for a longer DC power cord. The standard cord is 6ft and I need one at least 8-10 ft. Where can I purchase one that is compatible with Dometic?
Thank you

 

Unsure if there is a longer Dometic branded cord but i'm sure there are 3rd party brands out there.

 

On page 3 of my CFX3 manual there is a “CFX 100” shown for hardwiring, do not know it’s length. I would suggest you do that. Elsewhere in the manual they say do not cut the CLA off the end of the cord, I will ignore this warning myself and add a fuse when I get around to my permanent installation. I never trust a CLA.

 

Im running a dual battery system that powers my dometic 95qt fridge and a few other aftermarket items. So far so good, im loving this set up. Im using a redarc controller to control both batteries and also have a 100w solar panel connected.

The second pic shows my 2nd battery. It powers my fridge, front and rear aux fuse panels, switch pro, air compressor, and the amps for my stereo system.

I also cut the cigarette plug off the donetic power cable and attached a anderson plug. I have some usb plugs and anderson plug mounted in the small cubby.

 

^Anderson plugs are great! My Snomaster fridge, they sell a power cable with an Anderson plug, so I made an additional one that runs to my auxiliary battery. I had had two occurrences that the 12-volt plug came loose!

 

Attempting to bring back this thread again, let me know if I should post this elsewhere.

I am back in the market to get a fridge or electric cooler. I plan to buy a small one this time (Iceco 45l) with only 50lbs. My question is does anyone know how to secure an electric cooler/fridge either in the cab or truck bed without drilling into the bed or cab? If i get the slide rail i have to drill the bed. TIA.

 

I suppose some (enough)

$7 3M VHB 100x200mm~ (4" X8") Double Sided Foam Adhesive Sheet Tape 5952 Automotive Mounting Industrial Grade Very High Bond 5952 (1 Sheets 100x200mm)

3M VHB tape might due the trick, but let’s face it you are looking for something for nothing. More than several holes will be necessary!!! Now, I also will have problems drilling those holes when the time comes to do so. On my Dometic there are threaded holes on the bottom or I could use some ratchet straps around the handles to vehicle attachment points like I did with my previous unit.

 

Found this thread to give me ideas on how to do this

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/fridge-slide-install-directly-to-bed.657575/page-3#post-25997711

Thanks all, I will post my set up once completed. Maybe in a few months.

 

Hopefully you solved this already but I've extended my using several different types of cigarette lighter extension cables and all have worked fine for me.

 

Next time I go camping I should do a write up.

My battery setup might be a little overkill with 3 x 100ah deep cycle Renogy Gel batteries but getting a 100ah for $250 compared to a Jackery 1000w with 1/2 that capacity for $1000 never really made sense to me. Sure the Jackery is Lithium and can take 1000s of charge cycles but I'm not camping months on end for years. I started with 1 and decided to add another and Amazon mistakingly sent me 2 and you can't return batteries to Amazon.


I'm running a Dometic CFX 75DZW ( previous model ) and also use the battery bank, which sits in the bed behind the cab ran in parallel, for charging phones, running led lights, etc.. I got away from bringing my inverter since I don't really need 110v and when I do, say blowing up tubes, I use the inverter in the truck.

Like others I start out with fully charged batteries and a cold fridge/freezer and fully stocked at least the night before we pull out. I plug the Dometic into the inverter while I'm driving to the campsite, if I can remember to push the button every time I start the truck. I also tend to run the fridge zone a tad bit cooler when I'm driving to the site and put them back to 0/32 when I arrive. If all of the freezer items have been consumed I'll put freezer back to fridge temps. My camping trips are normally 3 days and I'm not for sure how long my batteries would really go without any charge but 3 days is no sweat. I've been thinking about adding a DC to DC charger but I really don't need it unless I want to start doing longer trips. If I were going on longer trips I would likely add my solar panel into the mix that is currently sitting idle in my garage.

If you're running off your main battery you definitely want to set the battery drain safeguard setting on the fridge and I'd also recommend a portable jump box. I can't imagine running off my main unless I was driving hours every day and only running in fridge mode. Maybe it's different in cooler climates, I'm in N. Ga and generally camp there or N. Carolina.

 

Is the difference between a Yeti and a fridge worth it?

 

Depends on how you value "worth it". I like not having to manage ice ( albeit a new set of concerns which at this point aren't a concern for me ), I like that my food items are not floating in water, I like being able to bring ice cream for my kids to enjoy and I like reaching in for a cold beer without pulling a frozen wet hand out. I'm sure the savings of not buying bags of ice doesn't put much of a dent in the cost of a dometic + batteries but that's there. If you intend on heading out for a week(s) at a time and challenged with finding fresh ice then a Yeti is not much of an option.