Auxiliary Battery Wiring for Portable Fridge
I have an Edgestar 43 quart portable refrigerator that runs off of a 12v auxiliary power socket (cigarette lighter type). I would like to install a battery, in line, to run the fridge when parked for ...
Forum Discussion
I think it is a mistake to rely on the factory ciggy plug receptacle wiring. Are you sure the plug is live with the key Not in the ignition?
You don't need to rewire the ciggy plug, just run some new 10awg directly to a new Ciggy receptacle from Aux battery. Were you going to go through the hassle of moving the factory ciggy plug to the Auxiliary battery? This is more labor intensive than just running a new fused wire to a new plug.
My front loading fridge uses about 6 feet of 10awg to the battery. Back when I was modifying the cabinet in which it is housed, I was running the fridge on a DC extension cord. All was fine when the sun was out and my batteries were in the mid 13s+, but when the sun went down, I noticed my condenser fan was kicking on, but not the compressor. After a minor freak out, I realized my battery voltage was 12.6, but the voltage at the end of the extension cord was in the low 11's, and that was running only the condenser fan, not the extra 2.7 amps of the compressor.
The extension cord was pretty extreme though, about 35 feet of 12 and 10 awg, one way, not full circuit length.
Do you want to have to do this job again if your fridge starts acting funny a few hours after engine shut down?
You don't need to rewire the ciggy plug, just run some new 10awg directly to a new Ciggy receptacle from Aux battery. Were you going to go through the hassle of moving the factory ciggy plug to the Auxiliary battery? This is more labor intensive than just running a new fused wire to a new plug.
My front loading fridge uses about 6 feet of 10awg to the battery. Back when I was modifying the cabinet in which it is housed, I was running the fridge on a DC extension cord. All was fine when the sun was out and my batteries were in the mid 13s+, but when the sun went down, I noticed my condenser fan was kicking on, but not the compressor. After a minor freak out, I realized my battery voltage was 12.6, but the voltage at the end of the extension cord was in the low 11's, and that was running only the condenser fan, not the extra 2.7 amps of the compressor.
The extension cord was pretty extreme though, about 35 feet of 12 and 10 awg, one way, not full circuit length.
Do you want to have to do this job again if your fridge starts acting funny a few hours after engine shut down?
