[SSonnentag]

Apparently, both 12V power plugs only supply power while the car is on or in RAP mode, which only lasts 10 minutes. I want to keep power to my Engel cooler while I'm at work for 10 hours occasionally. The cooler draws an average of 30W, which I calculate to be roughly 27 Ah for the duration I would need it to run with the car off. Does anyone forsee any problem with directly wiring a 12V accessory plug to the battery in the rear hatch area and using that to power the cooler?

 

[SSonnentag]

Yeah, I have come to the same conclusion. I guess I'll just pick up a separate 12V AGM deep cycle battery to lug around with the cooler for the days I need it. Then I can recharge it once I get home again.

 

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I'm currently living in a 5th wheel during the week for work. I'm 25 miles from any ice of any significance. I have been trying the ice cooler method, but by the time I get enough ice in there to keep the 130-degree car temperatures at bay, there isn't much room left for all the produce I need to transport back home 180 miles away (and soggy produce is less than ideal as well). I even tried dry ice once, but even with a towel between it and the food, some of my veggies and fruit got frosty. So my options are to either drive back to my 5th wheel after a 10-hr work day, adding another 30 minutes of driving, and then drive 3 1/2 hours home, or to figure out how to power my Engel cooler while at work. I have also considered the solar panel option. A panel in my front windshield area may be possible. Too much dark tint everywhere else and leaving the panel outside the car isn't an option. I think I'll look into the solar panel idea a bit further.

 

[SSonnentag]

The measly .3kWh would be negligible for the traction battery.

It would be .3kWh plus whatever power the car used to keep all the systems up and running, battery cooling, etc. I would guess it would be closer to 7kWh in this desert heat. I'll give it a try this weekend and see how much power the car uses without anything plugged it.

Edit: Missed a decimal point there...

 

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No power, no shade. We do have bottled water though. The Goal Zero looks interesting. Sure has a price tag though. Might just decide to pay the premium anyway just for the convenience.

 

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Related question - how well does the cooler work in such extreme heat?

Mine says it only works to about 40 degrees below ambient, IIRC.
That would only be 90 if it's 130 - nowhere near cold!

It does 90 degrees below ambient. It's a full compressor type refrigerator/freezer, not the more affordable peltier type cooler.

I would leave the windows cracked on those days too, so that would drop the temperature at least 10-20 degrees inside the car.

 

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Does your 5th Wheel have grid power and its own fridge? If so, is this whole effort just to take home your leftover weekly groceries from the 5th Wheel? Can't you just leave them there for a few days? Just trying to figure out the motivation behind this (though I think it could be a technically neat project with fun toys).

Convince your jobsite that they need a VIA truck to power some tools, and you can leave your cooler plugged into it all day

LOL! Our house is about 75 minutes from the nearest grocery store, so when I go home for the weekend Thursday after work, I take up groceries for my wife and myself in order to save her/us from having to make 3-hr grocery runs on the weekend. The 5th wheel has power, so this is really just an attempt to get me headed home a half hour sooner after work on Thursdays. Currently I run back to the 5th wheel to load up the food into an ice chest and toss in some sealed freezer gizmos to keep the food cool for the 3 1/2-hr drive home.

 

[SSonnentag]

I'll add also that our house is on solar and my 5th wheel has electricity provided at no additional cost, which explains why I have a reservation in for a Tesla Model 3. Free fuel at both ends of the road!

The Bolt wouldn't quite make the trip, especially during the winter or hottest part of the summer.

 

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couple bags of ice, problem solved

See post #11

 

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And since it's a compressor, there will be a large turn on surge.

Start-up surge is 8A for the Engel.

I think I'll just go with the Goal Zero system. It could come in handy for power outages around the house too. We just had a 3-hr outage yesterday . . . again.