12v Refrigeration - What size do you use?

[KTM_Guy]

So, this might be a topic for a new thread, but, might be nice to hear a half dozen responses instead of a gazillion...

What sort of jump pack do you have and how do you like it? When I picked up a set of jumper cables I saw a Li-ion jump pack for $40. It said it would start most four cylinder vehicles but is really for four wheelers and mowers and such. Read some reviews later that gave it good reviews for cars. Also read some about the dangers to electronics when using jumper cables. Are the Li-ion packs, about the size of a pack of brown and serve breakfast sausage, worth getting?

I got this one. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FTG9PBK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Haven't used it but it alway seems charged ready to go. I was going to get a Noco but I was one at my Jeep guys shop and saw he had one and asked him about it and he hates it. Works less than 50% of the time. Said he would never carry it off-road. Amazon reviews are all over the place on them.

Odd story, My wife and I pull in to a mall parking lot and a guy flags us down and said his car needs a jump. I was wanting to try the jump pack and said sure. He said he was parked in the last row by the exit. So we went and parked and grabbed the jump pack and walked over to where he said he was. I saw him and said is this the car? He said yes where is your car pull it over. I said no need I have this to jump start you. He said it won't work to get my car. I said let's try this first and open the hood. He said "just get the car". I said okay and walk back to my car and put the jump pack a way and headed in the store to meetup with my wife. I was walking in and a police officer walking out and I told him what happened and said maybe he will take a jump from you. His reply was "they never do. But thanks for trying to help". When we left there were four squad cars and the guy was in cuffs along with 2 others that I didn't see when talking to the guy. I had so many what if running through my head on the way home.

Todd

[TimC]

Whoa KTM... that's creepy. I guess you could say that jumper pack helped avert a, well, whatever. I'm assuming they wanted your car, but, ya never know.

[TimC]

So I went from this factory plug to a suggestion to rewire it.

Alpicool factory plug

I used Anderson Powerpoles and I'm very happy with them. A set on the end of that cord above, and a mating set on the short pigtail I cut off for other uses where all I have is the old standard 12v socket. I wanted a mount for inside the cabin (traveling fridge power) and one in the galley. I found a guy on ebay that custom makes panel mounts. He had on offer one to fit a single set that mounted to up to about 1/4" thick panels. I asked him about that and overnight he made me a set for 3/4". Got them yesterday and mounted them. Very nice. I'm guessing they are made on one of those newfangled printers. I added the small, countersunk screw hole on the front. Not sure it was necessary though.

I just use a 4 penny box nail to fix the pulg in the mount. Easy to remove when needed compared to APP's roll pins. This is prior to filing a flat spot for the nail head and cutting the nail just short of the threaded body.

[TimC]

Check these links. TimC and I are playing around with small fans. The 25mm Fan looks like it will work for me. The 25mm moves air it does not provide much force when it moves that air. But we dont need force we just need to move air. I believe it will be fine for moving air from the bottom of my ONE CUBIC FOOT FRIDGE to the top so is circulates and evens out the temp. The Camco does this quite well in my fridge and I expect the tiny one inch 25mm to work just fine FOR MY NEEDS. Might depend on how large your fridge is.
https://youtu.be/SQ1yEv4T2IM
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NC ... UTF8&psc=1

So, both Cosmo and I were looking into fabricating a small fan (above link via Cosmo) and installing it into a 12v fridge to reduce the temperature stratification that is normal in these 12v fridges. I purchased the fan and made a 1 1/4" pvc tube which the fan fits into almost perfectly. I drilled out three 1/2" half circles in the bottom edge to suck air off the floor of the fridge. I made the pvc pipe short of the top shelf thinking I still would like that area to be a little warmer than the main compartment. It might be that that is a given considering that it is located above the compressor and is naturally kept warmer than the rest. I might try some reflectix insulating material on the floor of the small area to see if it helps.

I think it was mentioned that this fan is 5 volt (runs off of any USB port) and uses .09 amps/hr and generates 1.7cfm. That amount of air I believe will be just right to de-stratify the fridge.




Here's the kicker. I didn't want to purchase a new USB battery bank to trial this, instead using a Enerplex Model JU1001GY 7800 mAh battery bank that I already had. After realizing that this battery bank shuts off power after about two minutes every time the fan was plugged in I searched google for an instruction manual. I found that when the battery bank detects no draw (apparently .09a is within its "no draw" parameters) it automatically shuts off power to the USB outlets. So, right now I have no way to power this thing up. I originally wanted one of those skinny, long battery banks you see in the check out aisle at the big boxes, however, they are low capacity at 3000 mAh and would last less than I was hoping. 3ah/.09ah = 33 hours. Likely actual would be about 24 hrs. I suppose I could get two and swap them out each morning. Anyway, the trial must go on and I will report back as soon as I find some success.

If I don't find an acceptable battery bank I may MacGyver a hard wired system from an old one amp USB (useless for anything else) by tying it into the 12v power cord somehow and wiring it with some sort of wire ribbon. I'm thinking wire ribbon, like that found in electronics, would fit through the top door seal area without too much loss of cold. There's got to be some old electronic crap laying around with some 26g wire ribbon that would draw .09amp. I'm determined to make this work.

Tim

[Cosmo]

Nice job Tim. Clean build. Very compact. I have experienced the auto shut off due to low draw. I am using an Anker battery pack and mine did not shut off. This may require purchasing something with a liberal return policy if you cant rig up an alternate battery pack. Looking forward to your results. Thanks for the photos.

=Cosmo

[TimC]

I hooked up the fan and my cell phone to the battery bank and it continued to run. So, the turn off parameters are somewhere between .09a draw and 2.19a draw. I might try hooking up another low draw fan to this bank to narrow that range a bit. I don't know why, just curious...

[Socal Tom]

My guess is that 3 batteries in series would probably give you enough voltage to do what you want, without having to deal with the auto shutoff.


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[KTM_Guy]

So I went from this factory plug to a suggestion to rewire it.

Alpicool factory plug

I used Anderson Powerpoles and I'm very happy with them. A set on the end of that cord above, and a mating set on the short pigtail I cut off for other uses where all I have is the old standard 12v socket. I wanted a mount for inside the cabin (traveling fridge power) and one in the galley. I found a guy on ebay that custom makes panel mounts. He had on offer one to fit a single set that mounted to up to about 1/4" thick panels. I asked him about that and overnight he made me a set for 3/4". Got them yesterday and mounted them. Very nice. I'm guessing they are made on one of those newfangled printers. I added the small, countersunk screw hole on the front. Not sure it was necessary though.

I just use a 4 penny box nail to fix the pulg in the mount. Easy to remove when needed compared to APP's roll pins. This is prior to filing a flat spot for the nail head and cutting the nail just short of the threaded body.

What did you pay for that? I have switched to Powerpoles for most electrical connection. I really like them but not the cost of what some items cost.

Todd

[TimC]

What did you pay for that? I have switched to Powerpoles for most electrical connection. I really like them but not the cost of what some items cost.

Todd

Todd,

The guy's ebay handle is "thecrazyham". He is from Minnesota. Here's the item. He makes these and possibly other items. He made mine custom length for 3/4 ply. I paid $11.48 shipped for two of them. I hope he can help you out.

For one panel mount for 1/2" deep panel (he says he has mounts for up to 1" deep material)...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Threaded-Panel-Mount-for-Anderson-PowerPole-PP15-PP45/173827149991?hash=item2878e7d0a7:g:8aMAAOSwv~xXEHPW

Four of the above...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-Threaded-Panel-Mount-for-Anderson-PowerPole-PP15-PP45/173869926018?hash=item287b748682:g:8aMAAOSwv~xXEHPW

Looking through his offerings I see he has a mount for 50a (SB50) also. I may just have to order a couple of those for my solar inputs.

Tim

[rkanz]

If you need SAE connectors this guy has them all for a low price.

http://www.solarseller.com/low_voltage_ ... nsions.htm


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[fishboat]

I've experienced the temp gradient in my loaded 12V fridge with 30 degrees at the bottom and 48 on top. Based on TimC's work with a USB fan and PVC pipe, I worked up a version today. A prototype has been running for 2hrs without any issues. The fan is mounted just above the holes on the bottom. I'll let it run a few days..hopefully..







I went with a 30mm fan and 1.5 inch PVC pipe(just nicely fits). The fan pulls 0.1A and puts out 3cfm. Power is a 10000mah power bank to yield 100 hrs of run time. I figure, while camping, I'll let it run all day and shut it off at night..should last about a week..if it all works.

Parts:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076H ... UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G2 ... UTF8&psc=1

[TimC]

Fishboat...
Credit to Cosmo for inspiration. Keep us up on how it works.

I have been slowed down waiting to find my mega ah battery bank that fits inside the PVC either above or below the fan (not sure which configuration would be best or if there would be a significant difference). . That b bank might not exist though. I am avoiding the 3000mha versions as too high maintenance. I just like the idea of a clean tube without external stuff attached.

[TimC]

I've been trying to do a test of amp hours used by my Alpicool fridge, however, for various reasons I have had to disconnect the power every few days putting an end to my long term data collection efforts. The best data I can put together only spans 58.33 hours with 33.9 ah used. That comes to less than 14 ah/day. Not too shabby for efficiency for an inexpensive (relatively) fridge. I've had no problem with maintaining a full battery charge (144 ah and 200w solar). This data starts with the fridge already at a set temp of 32 degrees and outdoor temps in the low 70s and 50s at night. Obviously, YMMV!

Any fridge technical info related to the following is appreciated... especially the "OMG what did you do that for" type
The fridge did develop an annoying little rattle that I wanted to fix, so, I took off the shroud covering the compressor to take a look. It was just five screws and the shroud comes off with enough slack on the wire for the power cord receptacle to move it out of the way. I know nothing about fridge compressors or how they work, but I did discover a couple of possible reasons for a rattle and was able to take care of it easily. The photo includes two red arrows. The left one shows a piece of foam I added between a copper tubing device and the fan frame (the angle doesn't show the foam on the other side between the frame and copper). The right arrow shows another section of that copper that was touching a larger copper tubing coming out of the compressor body that is capped off. A better photo, which I somehow lost, shows the same copper tubing farther to the right touching the cold copper line coming from the compressor. I carefully moved the small line away from those other lines and added the piece of foam to keep them from rubbing/vibrating against each other.

It was a simple fix, but, I am not sure how warm the tubing might get while operating. I ran the fridge from 59 degrees to 24 degrees checking for heat every few minutes and the small tubing never got hot. It was just warm to the touch. While I was in there I insulated the cold tubing that comes out of the compressor body as the total length was maybe ten inches and only about four inches had an insulating cover on it.

[fishboat]

I was up in Sylvania Wilderness a few weeks ago with similar temps..60% shaded site, low-high 70's by day and low 50's at night. The fridge was the only significant use of power. It pulled an average of 0.61A/hr..similar to yours above (0.58). At this rate I'd have a full week of a running fridge without a recharge, 7.9 days actually(115AH to play with).

I have another couple trips coming up. I've installed the fridge fan. I tested the setup at ambient and in the home-fridge for about 18 hrs total..seems to work fine. I'm thinking of running the fridge fan during the day and shutting it off at night. It would be nice to find a usb programmable timer so I could cycle the fan on and off as it doesn't need to run continuously...been looking and haven't come across one yet. We'll see how the temp gradient does in the camper fridge soon.

[TimC]

I haven't been to Sylvania for years. At least since my kids were small. Love the place and the proximity to home. Quetico and Boundary Waters are a long hike to get to, but worth the trip. Ever been to Big Island Lake in Schoolcraft County? It is a small version of Sylvania. Very quiet and remote. Northwest of Manistique.

When I had the fridge shroud off one of the things I wanted to investigate was a way to hard wire the "de-stratify" fan (12v version) to the 12v wiring inside so I wouldn't have to mess with batteries of any kind. In the Alpicool finding a spot to do that was not hard. In the photo you can see the wiring block. The top two terminals are the hot and neutral terms. The fridge's condenser fan is just a 120mm case fan, 12v. It runs only when the fridge is running, so, I think hooking up the little fan to these two terms would work to de-stratify the fridge. The biggest challenge (more a fear of screwing up a new fridge) is how/where to drill a small access hole to run the wire. I once witnessed someone drilling into a home fridge to put a hasp and lock on the door of the fridge. He happened to drill right through a coolant line effectively making a brand new fridge into a non-working one. So, If I do this I will do it with some forethought.