Outside Kitchen Frig

You need a minium of 1000w inverter to start the fridge. My 4.5 cu/ft fridge draws 750 watts for 1 second at compressor start up. Several of my frinds have larger or smaller compressor fridges and the start up surge is the same (not size dependent).

A good rule of thumb is LRA is usually 2X the normal amp draw...

Going to have to get a bigger inverter. Tried running right off the battery using a 410 watt inverter and it almost work. So line loss is part of the problem as well as a bigger inverter is required. Will get some 6 ga wire and a bigger inverter soon.

Well made it back from four days of camping at Calico Ghost Town. Weather was nice if you enjoyed 105 degree temps. Drank everything we had in the trailer except the wine, it was too hot for wine. Never thought I would say that about wine.

Will get back to working on the inverter problem tomorrow.

Calicajun wrote:
Heading out with the TT tomorrow. So the inverter project is going to have to wait until next weekend. Hope the wine doesn't get to warm while traveling.

It's not healthy to drink a lot of chilled wine. Wine at ambient can be drunk until gone.

Ambling drunks should chill until healthy and gone. I'll drink to your health, a chilled wine, and then I am gone

It's somewhere in between there. Have a good trip.

Heading out with the TT tomorrow. So the inverter project is going to have to wait until next weekend. Hope the wine doesn't get to warm while traveling.

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Calicajun wrote:
I'm definitely going to get a meter to measure the surge current and running current. Would have never thought 75 amps start up and 8 amps running current, wow.
Guess I have been out of the electric game too long. What ever happened to tubes?

Just get a cheap INDUCTIVE meter that sits on the 12v lead. A fluke or similar meter cannot handle 75a, will blow the internal fuse. I took lots of pictures, if it wasn't such a hassle to post them I would.

This has become a challenge to me now.?? At present the run from where
I tapped into power to the cigarette light adapter to plug the inverter into is 1 ½ feet using 12 gauge wire. There is no measured voltage lost at the end of the run but that is measured under no load. Seem like a good plan in the beginning.

New plan is to mount the inverter on the inside wall at the front of the TT. This wil be a 8" run using 8 gauge wire from the battery. This location will keep the inverter safe from the weather. Then run a heavy duty electric cable back to the frig for power. Will also get a good quality 1500 watt inverter. From the tips I have read here this should solve the frig power problem. ????

Most good inverters will have a wire and fuse specification in the owner's manual. In this case, the OP's main issue is that the inverter is undersized for the application. If he was trying to power, say, a 150W load with a 300W inverter, the 12 AWG wire would have been capable.

Just the fact that he knows what a Sams manual is, puts his electronic knowledge a league ahead from 90% of the posters on this Forum.