Run Fridge on elec while driving Boondock

Tater

Hello,
Are usually just pre cool my fridge and have it off while  I am driving but this trip I’m taking is going to be longer. I have the Boondock that has the solar panels do you think it be OK to run it off the battery ?  I will he plugging into shore power when I get to the campground. 

Thanks

2019 Boondock 320S

Denny16

Yes, if the fridge is a two-way AC/DC unit, not much power draw once it has cooled off.  This is what I plan to do also.
cheers

trimtab

Ran our 3 way on batt while driving...didn't have a problem, solar works.

Tater

Thanks Denny and trimtab

Bayliss

@Tater, just be sure to turn the refrigerator off if you stop for more than a few minutes (e.g., to eat or rest.)  It doesn't take long for the refrigerator to run down the battery when the tow vehicle is not keeping it charged.

Tater

that makes sense but shouldn’t the solar do that if I’m in the sun ?

Tater

Never mind I read it wrong. I got it. 

Denny16

Also, the AC/DC fridge is running off the house battery, not the TV, and it does not draw much power once cooled.  So a 2-hr stop is not going to drain the battery.  If concerned, just unplug the TV during the stop.

Cheers

Sharon_is_SAM

@Denny16, I think the 2019 320s have a 3 way frig that has a draw of 11 amps - much high than the efficient 2 way of the 400s.

TNOutback

@Tater I understand your issue.  For years we had campers with 3-way refrigerators, and it would eat the battery up on 12V, and performed poorly relative to the propane and electric settings.  We either towed with it on propane (I know, I know . . .) or if we were taking longer trips, we would wait until arriving at our destination and then go grocery shopping for the refrigerator items, or keep them in cooler until we arrived and could plug up.

ScottG

If it is a 3-way fridge, note that many owners have found their tow vehicles are not quite up to the task of completely powering the fridge on DC. The effect is that even while towing the T@B battery will be depleted a bit. Explanations for this have been discussed in great detail and you can probably find several threads on the topic if you are interested.

I avoid using the fridge on DC if I'm headed to a campground and will not have shore power. In such cases I want to arrive with as full a battery as possible!

Sharon_is_SAM

Yeah, and I think that even solar will not offset the 11amp draw.  If you really want to experiment, pre-cool, use frozen bottles of water and see if your battery depletes while towing with solar.

Tater

Yes, I have a 3 way fridge. So what I’m hearing is you don’t think the solar will keep up. That was my question I’m trying to figure out if someone on this forum has a 320 with a three way fridge with solar and if it would keep up. 

I’m not going to use propane so Unless someone has actually done it I’ll have to do some testing which I really didn’t feel like doing

It’s a learning curve !!

Thanks all 

ScottG

There are so many variables I think you are just going to have to give it a try. Start out with a fully charged battery and check the voltage when you arrive in camp to see if it is still fully charged. (Make sure you check the voltage with the tow vehicle and solar disconnected and the fridge turned off.) Since you are headed to a campground with shore power it won't really matter if your battery is down a bit when you get there.

Tater

Yeah, I’m just going to do it and see what happens. I will report back !!

Thanks

GatorEgg

Depending on vehicle your refrigerator won’t cool.  About 2008 auto manufacturers began equipping vehicles with “smart” alternators.  They won’t output enough for the refrigerator. My 2003 Tacoma would make ice cubes in the T@b while on the road.  My 2019 Tacoma won’t keep refrigerator cold on long trips. I’ve been all the way up the chain to Toyota Crporate. “It’s the new alternators”.
You’ ll need solar help.

Denny16

The the OP has solar also.  So yes, be careful at long stops, unplug the TV, good luck with your trip.
cheers

Tater

Thanks

trimtab

We had about a 4 hour drive from home to our first overnight stop, which had shore power. Our 3 was refer worked fine on the drive and when we arrived we had shore power to take over for the refer. We have solar. That is my limited experience.

ScottG said  "There are so many variables I think you are just going to have to give it a try. Start out with a fully charged battery and check the voltage when you arrive in camp to see if it is still fully charged. (Make sure you check the voltage with the tow vehicle and solar disconnected and the fridge turned off.) Since you are headed to a campground with shore power it won't really matter if your battery is down a bit when you get there."
So I am confused and happy at the same time...

Tater

Good info.. gonna try. Mine is about 4 hours. 

rbrtm

My two way was drawing 5 Amps when running in 90 degree ambiant. It had a 50% duty cycle so was only 2.5 Amps per hour

ScottG

And FWIW, I've driven as many as nine hours with the pre-chilled fridge holding a couple jugs of ice cubes (which are needed for happy hour anyway). Everything was still cold on arrival--that fridge is actually a pretty good cooler as well.

bergger

Between your solar and your alternator I think you will be ok.  Unless your alternator is very low output.  If you have the victron controller and or battery monitor put the app on your phone so you can monitor the battery level as you drive.  I've got a 2021 400 with the solar and my truck has stock 200 amp alternator.  In two weeks we'll take our first trip with it, a 3.5-4 hrs drive to the campsite so it'll be interesting how the alternator and solar handle the battery drain of the 3 way fridge.  

BrianZ

@Tater, our 320 has the 3-way frig & we have a 100W solar add-on panel that can be used on the roof of our Sienna van.  While I cannot say that we have proof from actual experience that our setup can fully support the frig12V power mode during travel, I can offer evidence that it should work in our case, at least on a sunny day.  See these screenshots taken when we were ready to leave camp after a boondocking trip..

The battery monitor shows our 2005 van was contributing 6.3A while the solar panel contributed 5A, for a total of 11.3A at the battery.  This should have been enough to run the frig, but we didn't need it at the time. 

We had already been in the habit of pre-chilling the frig overnight before trips & packing with frozen bottles of water for trips with frig turned off, so we never really tested this.  We later replaced our cheap cooler in the car with an ARB portable frig that only needs 3 or 4A I think & it works great in car either while traveling or on solar while boondocking & T@B frig is on propane.  We plug it into the car while traveling, then into a pigtail on the T@B battery while at camp.

Tater

Yes, I gave the VictronConnect app and I love it. Good idea to monitor while I drive. 

Great info !!’