Thread: wiring 3 way fridge to cargo area

3 way fridges use a heater element to generate the cold, so this uses more current than a compressor fridge. I would be running a dedicated power socket for the fridge.

Secondly, 3 way fridges don't like running at angles. They are fine in a camper that travel on highways that are generally flat and are leveled when camped, but this is not the case with a 4WD which travel on uneven, unlevel tracks and camp at all manner of angles.

In the manual for the electrolux 3 way, it mentioned level the vehicle (both ways if stationary for more than 20 minutes), more times than there were pages in the book.

The reason is that the refrigerant, uses a convection current to circulate, if unlevel you get hot high spots which cant circulate and the element bursts.

I've had it hapen in my camper. I now have an Engel 2 way in it.

i think it draws about 200 wts so will flatten a battery in about 15 mins

I had one for a long time before I bought my Engel. It was a Groen from Germany.
Couple of hints
Run a HEAVY wire, maybe 4gauge so that you do not get voltage drop.

Run it directly from the battery , maybe through a relay to switch off with IGN.
Add a computer fan blowing on the fins in the back of the fridge.
Maybe , just maybe it will then retain a tiny bit of ice in the ice tray if it has one.
DO NOT run it on gas while you go for a walk, etc etc. There was a great video about 5 years ago of a Landcruiser self combusting. I found this aspect of a three way to be the most nuisance of all. You could not go on a 4hour walk in a National Park without having hot food or a flat battery.

I didn't find the level thing to be such an issue in the car. That becomes more an issue on gas as the flame does not evenly heat the coil, but the electric heater is not affected so much.
Regards Philip A

Hi tapout, your fridge draws 10 amps and that’s the absolute up limit of a cigarette type power socket and beyond the wiring connected to the socket.

If you use the cigarette plug and socket, ( if it even works ) for any time, you will most likely end up melting either the plug and/or the socket.

Cigarette type power sockets are mot much good for any constant load over 5 amps.

The best thing you can do is to run a length of 6mm auto twin from the battery ( auxiliary battery if you have one ) via a 25 amp circuit breaker at the battery and then run the cable all the way back to the fridge.

You can use either a Hella type plug or a set of Anderson PowerPoles to connect to your fridge’s wiring.

The PowerPoles are cheaper, smaller and handle higher amps, but are not available in a flush mount, they are only available in an end of line type set up.