Extended camping - fridge options?

If you weren't in Qld I'd say look at getting a 3 way, to run on gas as a stationary camp fridge. You could pick up one second hand for less than another battery and way less than solar panels.
We take our old Chescold for extended stays, and leave the Waeco in the car. So I can go off for a drive and the missus still have food, milk etc back in camp.
The 3 way will last 2 weeks on a 4.5kg gas bottle.
However they will only cool a max of 30 deg below ambient temp. so not so good in hotter areas.

We purchased a marine battery - Seamaster Gold MFM70 - as a compromise between deep cycle and cranking battery. This will give us the scope for faster charging, particuarly if we run from Solar on extended trips, but also will happliy run our gear for a couple of days before requiring a charge. A decent solar charging system can be had for the price of a 3-way fridge. Good luck:)

Went to Springers this morning. Very helpful guys, who were happy to discuss different options.

I'm now going to convert my battery box to a portable battery setup. I'm installing another Andersen plug from the dual-battery on the vehicle for charging the battery box. The existing Andersen plug is wired to only handle running a fridge, not charging, so one plug for charging and another for running.

They were adamant that a cranking battery is not viable, telling me I'd probably have to replace it in 12 months. The said I should go a deep cycle 120ah battery, which would probably run the fridge for 2-3 days.

I'd still not certain which battery to get. I like the idea of the longer ouput time of a cranker and quicker reacharge, but the shorter lifespan is a worry. Mind you, it would be much cheaper than a deep cycle.

I'd better hurry up and make up my mind - hitting the road tomorrow!

Like others, I run 2 cranking batteries and a manual switch for changeover. I have been using this type of setup in 2 vehicles for over 20 years with never a problem. My 2 batteries are now 3 1/2 years old and never fail to start the vehicle when called upon. I can get at least 5 days fridge running between the 2 batteries without charging. Of course the hotter the weather, the more power is used.

I had a deep cycle battery once and will probably never go that route again, as if you dont use them, they die, whereas, I can change between my 2 crank batteries as often as I wish.

I will be going solar at some stage as well.

I run a Besco "Extreme" N70EX semi-deep cycle battery, it has been my main starting battery for 7 years and still hasn't died. It also gets run down a couple of times a year by the car fridge. I can't praise a solar panel set-up enough, you can camp for a whole Easter without killing the battery. Get a couple of 50W panels off ebay when you see some, saves heaps.

Gday Ryan

Great thread, its been most informative for me as we have just returned from a 5 day camping trip to Double Island and iam currently only getting 2 maybe 3 days depending on outside temp and also the temp I set the fridge, (80lt waeco) which I set to about -8 over the trip.Also a big factor is not to open the fridge to many times, thats why I grab two beers at a time :D Also at camp I open the rear windows in the cargo area to allow freash air in and hot out, also the rear door is open 80% of the time.

I also found when we did the fresh water track or while the car was running for more then an hour I would set the fridge temp down to
-12 degress then when we got back to camp set it back to -8 so it would give it some time before needing to run again to save on the battery.

So iam also thinking about using solar power and there is great info on here just need to save the cash :(

Anyway here's a quick pick of the battery we have its about 2yrs old but has not been used all the time and thats maybe why its not working like it should like numpty said in his post.The guy at battery world told me I should get about 4 days out of this battery with the waeco but as we all know different factors can change that, but he also told me I wouldnt get the deep cycle into the battery box next to the cranking battery but I did :D

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/im...10/01/1225.jpg

Interesting Aaron that you set your fridge so low? I understand you probably like your beer cold ;), but I thought optimum temp for fridge (not freezer) was about 4 degrees. We have ours set to cycle between about 1 to 4 degrees and in the Engel this means the dial at 1 1/2. and find this more than adequate.

You'll find you'll get greater battery life at this temp too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by numpty

I had a deep cycle battery once and will probably never go that route again, as if you dont use them, they die, whereas, I can change between my 2 crank batteries as often as I wish.

I will be going solar at some stage as well.

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Agree the only reason I went Deep cycle was the hugely discounted price. To avoid killing it I have 95% of the accessories running off it when the fridge is not in use.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by numpty

Interesting Aaron that you set your fridge so low? I understand you probably like your beer cold ;), but I thought optimum temp for fridge (not freezer) was about 4 degrees. We have ours set to cycle between about 1 to 4 degrees and in the Engel this means the dial at 1 1/2. and find this more than adequate.

You'll find you'll get greater battery life at this temp too.

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Ours is a 80lt Fridge/freezer and dairy.In the freezer everything was frozen and in the fridge everything was cold.From what I can gather the temp mainly applies to the freezer so if the led display says -8 then the freezer will be that cold but the fridge will be closer to -1 to 1 degress.

In the dairy the margarine stayed nice and soft.

Iam still playing around with it at the moment as its only about 18 months old so still trying to work out the best temp to use tempending on outside climate.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dobbo

Agree the only reason I went Deep cycle was the hugely discounted price. To avoid killing it I have 95% of the accessories running off it when the fridge is not in use.

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I think I will also try this when the fridge is not hooked up thanks for the tip dobbo.