Running a 12V cooler while at work

6307 Views 34 Replies 17 Participants Last post by indyflick, Aug 11, 2017

SSonnentag

Discussion Starter · Jul 19, 2017

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?

21 - 35 of 35 Posts

SSonnentag

Discussion Starter · #21 · Jul 19, 2017 (Edited)

canehdian said:
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.

flyingsherpa

· #22 · Jul 19, 2017

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

SSonnentag

Discussion Starter · #23 · Jul 19, 2017

flyingsherpa said:
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

Discussion Starter · #24 · Jul 19, 2017

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.

edk-austin

· #25 · Jul 20, 2017 (Edited)

As others have said, don't even think about drawing 27AHr (300WHr) from the 60AHr AGM battery. And since it's a compressor, there will be a large turn on surge.

Now if you could assure that solar panels would provide a large part of the 300WHr, could be an interesting project. I've done similar. But if you have a 30W panel in the windshield (inside the car), you won't get anything near that most of the time. Best case, you may get 20W for a few hours (60-100WHrs?). If you have panels in both front and back, only one will be getting significant sun. And the back glass is 70% transmission from the factory.

If you go with a separate deep cycle battery, the solar may still make sense to help maintain the battery. Don't connect a panel of more than 10-20W directly to a 12V battery, as most panels can produce up to 20V+ in full sun. Standard solar charge controllers have a separate load output, which you connect the fridge to, and also protects the battery from discharging too low. But you may need a 30A controller to handle the compressor surges. If you're not worried about discharging the deep cycle battery (because you'll be back in 10 hrs max), the fridge can be directly connected to the battery, allowing you to use a smaller (10A) charge controller.

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Taser54

· #26 · Jul 20, 2017

SSonnentag said:
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?

couple bags of ice, problem solved

SSonnentag

Discussion Starter · #27 · Jul 20, 2017

Taser54 said:
couple bags of ice, problem solved

See post #11

SSonnentag

Discussion Starter · #28 · Jul 20, 2017

edk-austin said:
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.

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Fred_B

· #29 · Jul 20, 2017

jsmay311 said:
250 Ah on a 12V battery would be 3 kWh.

I had a surprisingly difficult time finding any specs for a Gen 2 Volt-compatible 12V battery, but this Gen 1-compatible battery one at Autozone specifies 60 Ah. http://www.autozone.com/ignition-tu...ery/duralast-platinum-battery/338292_537162_0

Sounds like a bad idea to me.

Yes, I was a bit off on my estimate of the 12V battery capacity. If it's only 60 Ah then you wouldn't want to drain it nearly 50%.

canehdian

· #30 · Jul 20, 2017

SSonnentag said:
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.

Ahh, ok. That makes more sense.

If you're in the middle of nowhere, you could set a solar panel up outside the vehicle for best angle and exposure - e.g. propped up against the car. Wouldn't have to be limited to inside the vehicle which is not only small and tight, but reduces the light that gets through.

ackattacker

· #31 · Jul 21, 2017

Goal zero products are overpriced IMHO. All you need is a 12v deep cycle battery and a battery charger. Done. No reason to make it overly complicated...

Ben Young

· #32 · Jul 27, 2017

to Clarksoncote: is there an ETA yet on when evextend will be available for the 2017 volt?

firemen

· #33 · Aug 9, 2017

For your information,

I run a Dometic CF45 portable freezer with battery and solar power.

The cooler sit on my motorcycle trailer.

The setup is

2x battery 12V 26Ah UPS Battery
1x flexible 50w solar panel
1x Tracer1215BN mttp solar power charge controler.

The load (the freezer) is controled by the solar controler.

The result: under rainy day and dark day: I can run 2 day and one night without worry . Under sunny day the battery are in very good level at around 1h pm. So under normal sunny day It can run endless on campground.

When the motorcycle is running and the trailer is plugged to it, I Add around 6 amp charge thru the solar controler (limited to 10 amp)
with a dc to dc converter regulator 12v step up to 24 v 3A 72 W.

Hope this help

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Classic car Sports car

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quirkySquirt

· #34 · Aug 11, 2017

firemen said:
When the motorcycle is running and the trailer is plugged to it, I Add around 6 amp charge thru the solar controler (limited to 10 amp)
with a dc to dc converter regulator 12v step up to 24 v 3A 72 W.

Wait, do you mean the solar array on your towed cooler trailer charges your electric motorcycle? If so, that is rad! Any chance of a complete pic of your bike with trailer attached?

indyflick

· #35 · Aug 11, 2017

Another option is a small gas generator. I have a portable 1200 watt gas generator that we use for camping, etc. It has 12V DC and 120V connectors and runs for nearly 10 hours on a tank. It was only $200. It's also great for emergencies. It kept my home refrigerator going through a blackout a few years ago. Here's the model I have. https://www.amazon.com/Champion-Power-Equipment-42436-Generator/dp/B009E26LLC/

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