A 12V fridge is the ultimate in camping comfort. Menus can be expanded to include pretty much anything you can cook at home, as long as you can fit it in the fridge. These days, portable fridges are extremely popular additions to any camping and 4WD arrangement, and if you head out regularly they become well and truly worth the expense.
However, a fridge requires a fair bit of energy to run – it’s almost always the highest consumer and you need to get that power from somewhere. There’s a lot of focus on solar panels and batteries, but there are a number of things you can do to reduce the energy consumption from your 12V fridge.
How much power does a fridge need?
There are a lot of different factors that affect the energy consumption of a 12V fridge. Size, compressor style, ambient temperature, insulation thickness, the temperature they are set to cool to, what you are using it for, and the list goes on.
However, most will consume in between 1 amp and 6 amps (with 2.5 amps being fairly average) an hour when running. However, a fridge won’t usually run 100% of the time, so it only pulls that current when the compressor comes on.
Most fridges are loud enough for you to hear them within a few metres. Again, the cycle time varies considerably, but on average they run about 50% of the time.
Using the above example, where the fridge draws 2.5 amps when the compressor is on but only runs for 1/2 the day, it will use 30 amp hours of the battery capacity.
What battery should a fridge run off?
Fridges should never run off the cranking battery that you use to start your vehicle. The only exception to this is while you are driving if you absolutely must. The reason behind this is simple – your cranking battery is imperative to start your vehicle, and if you run it flat you can be in serious trouble.
The most common way to run a fridge is with a second battery, which is isolated from the main cranking battery. The best option is a deep-cycle battery, which is designed (as the name suggests) to cycle from full to half empty and back again, anywhere from 1200 – 1700 times.
You can run them off a normal cranking battery, but they don’t like to be cycled and you will shorten its life substantially. Lithium batteries are also becoming more popular as they have several advantages, but they come at a pretty hefty cost.
Do not run your fridge off your main battery. Run a dual battery setup.
How low can I go with the battery?
Far too many people think that just because their fridge is running, the battery has enough power left in it. This is not the case – you should not run your battery to below 50% of charge, which is normally around 12.2 – 12.3 volts.
A fridge will continue to run well below this until the low-level alarm goes off and cuts the power. Most fridges have a low-level cut-out, but it’s not usually until well under 12 volts. If you run your battery below 50% of charge, its lifespan will rapidly be decreased, and batteries aren’t cheap.
If you have a 100amp hour deep cycle battery, you should only be using 50Amps of its capacity, which in the above scenario is only 1 and 2/3 of a day (without any other consumption) before you start to damage your battery.
From that point on, you need to start your vehicle and allow the alternator to charge the battery, or arrange some solar input. However, get a couple of cloudy days and things start to get a bit desperate. Using your vehicle’s engine to charge the battery is a pretty uneconomical way to do things too.
So, how can you reduce the energy consumption from your 12V fridge? Well, in a similar way to keeping ice cold for longer in an ice box actually.
1. Cool your items before leaving home
If you can avoid it, don’t put room temperature items in your fridge. It only makes it work harder, and use more power. If you are still plugged into 240V this doesn’t really matter, but we normally make a habit of pre-chilling items before putting them in the fridge.
Obviously, if you are on the road this is unavoidable, but where possible, pre-chill your food and drink.
2. Crack the lid slowly
If you unlatch your fridge and yank the lid up, the rapid movement draws a huge amount of cold air out of your fridge and sends it into the atmosphere. Once you close the lid, the fridge has got to cool down the hot air that you’ve filled it with.
The trick is simple – crack the lid gently until it’s open about 10cm, and then open it normally. This will stop most of the cold air escaping, and save you a fair bit of power consumption.
3. Keep the fridge full
A full fridge works much more efficiently than an empty one. If you are running low on food and drinks in the fridge, bottles of water work very well. Once they are cool, you’ll save a heap of energy as they don’t immediately change temperature like air does when the lid is open.
4. Keep your fridge as cool as possible
The difference between a fridge operating in an ambient temperature of 25 to 40 degrees is huge. The hotter the air outside of the fridge, the harder your compressor has to work. Obviously, you can only control the ambient temperature so much, but you can control where your fridge is stored.
Parking under a tree, for example, will keep your vehicle much cooler, and reduce the amount of work the fridge has to do to keep your food and drinks cold. If you are parked up, open the back of the vehicle so it doesn’t heat up.
A fridge slide is a good way of keeping your fridge secure in the 4WD, but popping it out like this, when you’re at camp, ensures airflow.
5. Airflow is imperative
It’s all well and good having your fridge packed in tight, but if it can’t breathe freely you are making it work hard. Ensure the compressor has ample room to suck clean, cool air. If you have the fridge mounted in an enclosed area, consider the use of a little vent or computer fan, to aid air circulation.
Toolboxes on the front of camper trailers are popular for mounting fridges, but on a warm day, they can easily get to 65 degrees inside. While it probably won’t kill your fridge, it isn’t doing it any favours in terms of longevity, and most certainly will cause it to consume more power.
6. Fridge covers
You’ll see a lot of fridge manufacturers sell covers for their fridges. These help to protect the fridge, but also improve their insulation properties. The better insulated your fridge, the less heat that can get in and the less cold air that can get out.
Next time you are at your fridge, touch the outside of it when the fridge is running. If it is noticeably cooler than the air around you, the insulation is allowing the cold to escape.
Snowys sells covers for Waeco, Engel and Primus fridges.
Fridge covers help insulate the fridge so that it runs cooler.
7. Time and number of times opened
The longer you leave your fridge open, the more it has to cool down when you shut it again. Make a habit of grabbing what you need quickly and shutting the lid.
If you know you are cooking something up, have a think about what you need before opening the fridge. I’m not saying limit yourself to only opening the fridge a few times a day, that’s silly. But anything you can do to limit the number of times you open the fridge the better.
As mentioned in the piece on keeping ice from melting, perhaps have a small icebox at your disposal to keep drinks nearby to save you from having to open the fridge too often.
Our trusty Evakool 12V fridge.
8. Shut the lid properly
While it’s easy just to drop the lid and not do the latches up, if any air can get in or out, it’ll make the fridge work harder. Take the extra 2 seconds to latch it closed.
9. Check the wiring
The power supply to your fridge needs to have adequate sized wiring. If it is too small, you lose efficiency quite quickly. Usually, this is an issue from your battery to the fridge power point, especially if it’s running from the front of the vehicle to the rear. It’s recommended you run 6mm square cable, minimum.
Keep an eye on your voltage usage.
10. Use a quality fridge
Lastly, if you’ve bought yourself a cheap fridge and you find it’s chewing the power, it might be time to upgrade. A quality fridge, like an Engel, Waeco, Evakool, Primus, Bushman and ARB won’t draw ridiculous amounts of power.
Enjoy your fridge
There’s nothing quite like being able to pull a cold drink out of your fridge in the middle of nowhere. Enjoy the luxury, do what you can to conserve energy consumption, and if it’s still using too much, consider looking at improving your solar/battery arrangement.
What sort of 12V fridge do you use? Let us know in the comments.
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Thank you for the article and the tips. Cooling the fridge and filling with cold items/water bottles makes sense. What about as the trip winds down and the fridge is getting more empty. If you have no cold water bottles, is it still better to stick in whatever you have at room temperature vs have space?
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Hey guys, having a little trouble running my 12V 40 ltr Engle fridge rear of my 200 series Toyota, the second battery is at 12.5 volts Idling 13.3 running, system was fitted by a reputable company, the battery is 8 months old and seems to be fine holding charge ok. What the F;#@ do I do ?
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Hi Les.
Is the fridge running at all? It should operate from a battery at those voltages, especially with the engine running.
The voltages you mention do seem a little low to me though, my auxiliary is on the way out and sits at about 12.5V resting, up to 14V with the engine running. With proper maintenance, an auxiliary battery should last a few years, but improper care and use, for example running it below 50% charge, can decrease the life significantly.
If the fridge is not running at all in your car check it from a 240V outlet. If it runs from 240V then the problem is either with the car or the battery. If not, then depending on the age of your fridge you can follow up on warranty or repair.
Then check to make sure there is power to the auxiliary plug that you are running your fridge from. Plugin another accessory to see if it works.
If none of the above highlight anything obvious, I’d take your car back to the place that installed your system to have them troubleshoot for you, they should be able to test your battery for you also.
I hope that helps.
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Decent post on reducing fridge power usage Aaron.
Coupla extra things tho.
1. choose the best possie for the fridge – tint the window nearby or install a curtain to reduce/eliminate sun shining through the vehicle window onto the fridge.
2. in some cooler climates it may be possible to turn the fridge off at night.
3. some fridges have an economy mode – use it, especially at night.
4.bulk up the fridges transit cover with flat polyurethane foam to add extra insulation. Some covers are a bit on the thin side. Careful not to allow sheet foam sheeting to move over the compressor vents.
5. any fridge over 60L will use big gobs of power, Think carefully about increasing your solar panels (if using them) to 300W or more and dual batteries over 120AH.
6. Still on big fridges, it can be worthwhile to use the biggie as a fridge only and buy a smaller fridge for your freezer. The smaller fridge need only to be opened maybe once a day. Frozen items to be used next meal are transferred to the fridge to thaw but also use the cold in those food items for the big fridge So win win there. It can work out cheaper power-wise in he long run but also much more convenient.
7. Similar to placing only cold food into your fridge at the start of your trip, get your fridge/s down to working temperature before heading out.
Same deal with your ice coolers.
Happy Camping!
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Regarding Engel fridges mine is 40litre and emailed Engel to find out age which they told me exactly. The fridge is rubbish because it broke a $4.00 hinge after 22 years!! You can keep your plastic fridges😎😎
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Waeco CFX28. My reduce energy tip….I wanted to reduce the risk of hot exhaust air getting trapped under the insulation cover reducing the efficiency of he insulation cover, so some strips of Velcro from Bunnings came in handy.
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Nice one Mark, sometimes you have to get crafty to come up with a good solution to a problem. Cheers!
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Great article – thanks! One really valuable tip (from the Yeti coolers web site) that I use all the time is to put an already cold wet towel in the fridge on top of the food. This creates a barrier between the food and air on top and minimizes the cold air loss when you open the lid. Also, pack the fridge with the last day’s food at the bottom so you’re taking food from the top of the food pile and not digging down into the coldest part of the fridge until you have to.
Cheers
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Those are both great tips – especially the one about putting the last day’s food at the bottom of the fridge. Thanks for sharing Dan 🙂
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Hi Aron I use a Waeco 60 ltr best bit of kit i have ever purchased for camping got it from snowys looking at getting the 28 jyst for freezing cheers h a ppy camping
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Glad to hear that you’re loving the Waeco fridge that you got from us, Angelo!
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I run two fridges one , Waeco and a ARB and I’ve had no trouble with them the Waeco I’ve had since 2007.
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Great to hear that your fridge is still performing well for more than a decade, Danny.
Just goes to show that it’s worth investing in quality gear that’ll last you for years to come.
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Hi Aaron
Thanks for explaining the energy usage for fridges. Are you familiar with the Primus Portable Power Pack 44Ah? I am new to this technology and am wondering if the usage in Amps as discussed above equates to Ah? In other words, when you say that a fridge (I have a Waeco EFX35) will run about 36 hours on a 100 Amp battery that mine will be less than half that? I actually just checked the voltage now and it was down to 12.0. However, as soon as I hooked it up to solar panels the voltage jumped to 12.6. Is that normal? Makes me question though which reading is correct…
The instructions also indicates that I can charge my laptop using this Power Pack, however I thought a pure sinewave inverter was required for this. Are you able to advise on this as well?
Grateful for any insight you are able to provide… 🙂
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Hey Emmy,
I am not familiar with the Primus power pack, but if it is 44 amp hour, then you will basically have 22 amp hours that you can safely use from maximum charge without reducing the lifespan of the battery.
Your fridge will run from this for a little amount of time, but its not really suitablly matched. Remember the 36 hours is a guide that will change with a lot of different factors; how much you have in the fridge, how often you open it, what temperature its set to, what the outside temperature is, how much air flow it has etc etc. I’d say you’d be pushing to get more than 10 hours out of it safely, which is a problem.
When you add the solar panels it will jump, but if you remove them the the volts will go back down; same as if you had it on a battery charger. 12.05 volts is roughly 50% used on your batteries, so you shouldn’t let it drop below that if possible.
As for the laptop, if you are running it off the powerpack a pure sinewave inverter is much safer. If you don’t value the laptop too much they will run off a standard inverter, but there is a risk of damaging the laptop.
I believe that if you remove the battery and charge it off the laptop it should be fine, but it would pay to double check that!
Best of luck!
Aaron
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Good advice but lots of terminology errors in the article
Amps measures current not power but for a fixed voltage will be proportional to power consumption
Amp hours measures battery capacity – it should read 100 amp hour deep cycle battery not 100 amp
Amps drawn will be proportional to but not the same as power consumption (which is measured in watts)
Amp hours will be proprtional to but not the same as energy consumption (which is measured in kilowatt hours)
I would reword the following…
“Using the above example of 2.5Amps an hour, on 50% of the time, a fridge will use around 30Amps of power every 24 hours.”
to…
Using thew above example where the fridge draws 2.5 amps when the compressor is on but only runs for 1/2 the day it will use 30 amp hours of the battery capacity.”
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Hey Andrew,
Thanks for the comment mate. You are correct with what you’ve said; I was just trying to keep it as simple and easy to understand for those new to the 12V side of things. I’m happy to have that section re-worded though!
Aaron
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Hi Andrew, youseem to know what you are talking about so I was hoping I could ask you a question. I have a new Waeco 35 litre car fridge and a new Roman deep cell battery. I have fully charged the battery and it will run the fridge for about 12 hours or until the digital display says it is on 12.6 volts then the current stops and the fridge stops working. Do you think it is the fridge with an internal switch that does this or is the battery not able to support the fridge after 12 hours which I think is quite a short time for a battery that cost 359 dollars. When the battery is fully charged the digital display says 14.6. I hope you dont mind me asking such a menial question. Thanks and regards.
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I’m not sure if our system notifies other commenters if there’s a reply, so in case Andrew doesn’t jump in Jo – feel free to give our customer service team a buzz on 1300 914 007 and one of our fridge experts can try and troubleshoot the issue for you over the phone – cheers Jo!
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