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Mini fridge in basement

grampscamper
Explorer
Explorer
Thinking of purchasing a mini fridge to install in the basement area. I plan to purchase a 1,500 watt modified sine wave inverter so we can operate it while driving. I will install the inverter close to the battery but the fridge may be a few feet away.
Has anyone done this?
Will a small fridge run O.K. on this type of inverter?
Thanks
2019 Grand Design Reflection 230RL
2020 Ford F250 Lariat CC SB 4X4 6.7 B&W Companion RVK3300
36 REPLIES 36

Jack_Diane_Free
Explorer
Explorer
I had a small fridge/freezer in the basement of the 5er. AC only. When we travelled 8-10 hours a day it did not run yet I still had ice at the end of the day and cold drinks. Worked well for us.

tvman44
Explorer
Explorer
We recently took a 4 week trip and have a small chest freezer in the 5er that draws 1.3 amps and a 300 watt PSW inverter could not handle the start up. My 1,000 watt PSW inverter did just fine for the entire trip. 🙂
Papa Bob
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transamz9
Explorer
Explorer
I have a mini in my basement but I don't have it on the inverter. It stays full of drinks and on all the time. It stays good and cold on our longer trips so I didn't bother powering it running down the road.
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horton333
Explorer
Explorer
You are correct to worry, typical surge will be multiple times the steady state current. At zero rpm there is zero back emf and the resistance is very low. It would be hit or miss with a smaller converter. While I ended up not installing it permanently I did some experiments with fridges. Mine took 275 watts when running, bar fridge size. I used a 1000 watt psw inverter. Use a low resistance connection, the surge on mine was indicated at over 800 watts. As noted above msw does not work well, the motor inductance will reject a lot of that power and it will circulate until it ends up as heat.
I had good results with that 1000 psw watt unit which I've used for various purposes for 2 years. It is very reasonably priced at Canadian Tire when it comes on sale, which it does every 6-8 weeks, like 40% off. You can set a notice on their website to tell you when it is on sale.
1000 watt inverter
......................................

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2112
Explorer II
Explorer II
HERE is a 300W (600W surge) PSW for $75 delivered from Amazon. I'm not sure how that works north of the border.

BTW: I love Toronto. Beautiful city full of warm, friendly, beautiful people.
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grampscamper
Explorer
Explorer
Thank you. I'm a little worried that 300 watts won't be sufficient for the surge when the compressor starts. I think the fridge I'm looking at runs at 80 watts but may be much higher at start up.
2019 Grand Design Reflection 230RL
2020 Ford F250 Lariat CC SB 4X4 6.7 B&W Companion RVK3300

2112
Explorer II
Explorer II
Some fridges will function on MSW but some will not. None will be HAPPY doing it.

They operate on well under 200W, some as low as 100W.
2011 Ford F-150 EcoBoost SuperCab Max Tow, 2084# Payload, 11,300# Tow,
Timbrens
2013 KZ Durango 2857