Hi all, I am slowly outfitting my IMAX van as a camper home.
After much research I have decided to purchase an Engel MT45FC-P 40lt fridge/freezer combi.
The stats say the DC power consumption is... Variable from 0.5 to 2.7 AMPS Maximum.
At the moment I can't put solar panels on the roof as I am waiting for a euro pop top to be imported from Germany.
My question is,
Will I be able to use a portable or suitcase type of solar charger to keep the fridge going when I am free camping?
What battery would I need to connect the solar to?
Hope my questions are not too simplistic, but unfortunately my mind is.
Cheers,
Jewel
Edit: I just noticed a solar thread so reposted this request there.
Thanks
-- Edited by Jewel on Thursday 6th of July 2017 12:43:13 PM
Cruising Cruze said
07:28 PM Jul 6, 2017
Hi Jewel
I don't know if this will help you
I've got on top of my ute an 200 watt solar panel
That will charge my 2 x 120 ah batteries
I run an Evakool Fridge with 2 sections one for the freezer and the bigger one for cooling
Total 75 liters
I can let it run if I like the whole year around no problems what so ever
Regards John
Jewel said
07:31 PM Jul 6, 2017
Thanks for the reply John.
Sounds really good. What type and brand are your batteries.
Cheers,
Jewel
macka17 said
05:14 PM Jul 7, 2017
That "swing Compressor" is a lot thirstier than the Danfoss piston ones.
Use a lot more juice to keep temp's down. Specially if freezing.
I think you'll need a coupla panels and big battery.
You'll need one anyway. So buy a genny now. and a coupla? Battery's.
then incorporate into rig later.
I found an interesting battery recently.
Copy of those 6 round cell Ones.
12v. 550\650\850 cc? whatever they are.
Hybrid AGM. mount any angle.
the 650 Kicks my 3 ltr D-Max over in a hurry.
More muscle than the NZ70Z prior to.
$215 del.
And not affected by under bonnet heat (They say)
We'll see.
At that price. I'm willing.
Would be good as solar batt.
with advantage of Starter capable if needed.
AJC said
07:13 PM Jul 8, 2017
Hi Jewel,
A useful "rule-of-thumb" for the 40 litre Engel is 150 Watts of solar for year-round reliability - there are more complicated ways of working it out but they all end up around this figure. The battery needs to be about 120Ah to carry the fridge through cloudy days. If we start adding other 12V stuff to the equation then obviously the solar and battery figures start to go up.
By-the-way, our fridge tests showed very little difference in power draw between the Engel and Waeco (CFX-range).
Cheers
AJC
Mike Harding said
07:42 PM Jul 8, 2017
Much depends upon how you run the fridge: a fridge at +2C uses much less energy than a freezer at -18C.
Others have given you numbers for batteries/panels et al but I note you are from Melbourne, as am I, and I would point out that my worst Victorian day for my 180W of solar panels produced 2Ah! (two amp hours) or effectively nothing. For my 60lt fridge/freezer (+2C and -12C) I always take a generator as well as the solar panels.
oldtrack123 said
11:22 PM Jul 8, 2017
Mike Harding wrote:
Much depends upon how you run the fridge: a fridge at +2C uses much less energy than a freezer at -18C.
Others have given you numbers for batteries/panels et al but I note you are from Melbourne, as am I, and I would point out that my worst Victorian day for my 180W of solar panels produced 2Ah! (two amp hours) or effectively nothing. For my 60lt fridge/freezer (+2C and -12C) I always take a generator as well as the solar panels.
Ditto
Amphrs used heavily depends on how you use it
That includes:
thermostat setting
Ambient temp around the fridge
door opening .
Warm loadings
How long your battery will last befre being excessively discharged is dependent on what you draw from it compared to what you put
Then you have to consider reserve battery capacity for cloudy days
DAVEY123 said
05:37 PM Jul 9, 2017
This may help, we have 100 watt fixed flexible panel on roof charging through MPPT controler to a120 ahr battery in rear of tug , run as a freezer , it ran great for 8 weeks at Ningaloo . After 4 really bad rainey days i did have to plug into caravan system for a day to top up battery (never let it go below 50%) PS i put an old pic of battery when it had a PWM controller
-- Edited by DAVEY123 on Sunday 9th of July 2017 05:40:17 PM
Cruising Cruze said
07:21 PM Jul 9, 2017
Hi Jewel
Sorry for the late reply
I've got mine from RTM ( Road Tech Marine )
When Autobarn had an sale on minus 20%
They gave me 20% discount
these are the ones i've got
how dd you mounot the panel onto the roof of your vehicl?
DAVEY123 said
12:13 PM Jul 10, 2017
Hi Ger08, same stuff used to fix solar panel corner mounts its a white flexible Sika Sikaflex 252( Bunnings) , If you do it, just do 4 lines of fixing don't cover all the back it needs to move a tiny bit, also dont buy one with a alloy backing some have packed up due to different expansions , alloy and plastic don't mix too well . As i have said mine works well with the 40 lt engel ,BUT i would go more a 150 watt if i had to do it again ,
Thank you to you all for taking the time to share your experience with me. :)
My first step is to buy the Engel... waiting for it to come on sale somewher. At the moment the cheapest I can find is $1,300.
Next step I think will be to buy 2 batteries.
Third step... solar panels, perhaps suitcase until I get the new Poptop fitted to the van.
Macka - I can't have a generator as I have health issues with the fumes. Thanks for the info about the batteries, I'll look into it.
AJ - Thanks for the equation. At this stage I don't have any other 12volt gear but I'm thinking that 2 batteries will cover stuff I might get in the future.
Mike - That's a worrying amount of power for a day but somehow it doesn't surprise me. Today in Melbourne is grey skies and lots of cloud.
Oldtrack - Yes my poor little brain is experiencing a high level of "brain drain" just thinking about it all.
Davey - Thanks for the photos, helps me to have visual info as well as text. If I was to mount a flexible panel to my current roof, do you think I would be able to remove it easily to put it on the new roof?
This forum is a great help to me as everything on YouTube seems to be American.
Cheers,
Jewel
Mike Harding said
04:57 PM Jul 10, 2017
Jewel wrote:My first step is to buy the Engel... waiting for it to come on sale somewher. At the moment the cheapest I can find is $1,300.
Macka - I can't have a generator as I have health issues with the fumes. Thanks for the info about the batteries, I'll look into itl
Instead of the Engel perhaps consider one of these:
https://www.techniice.com/car-fridges.html
I have owned the 60lt dual zone for 18 months and bounced it around in the 4WD and it's been excellent. A six year warranty and they are in Frankston so you can take a look at it if you wish.
Regarding the generator: if you cannot tolerate a 1kW generator on a 25m extension lead with the exhaust pointing away from you then I doubt you would be able to walk down a street with traffic. If you wish to camp in Victoria outside of summer you *will* need a gen.
DAVEY123 said
05:29 PM Jul 10, 2017
Jewel wrote:
Wow, great replies.
Thank you to you all for taking the time to share your experience with me. :)
My first step is to buy the Engel... waiting for it to come on sale somewher. At the moment the cheapest I can find is $1,300.
Next step I think will be to buy 2 batteries.
Third step... solar panels, perhaps suitcase until I get the new Poptop fitted to the van.
Macka - I can't have a generator as I have health issues with the fumes. Thanks for the info about the batteries, I'll look into it.
AJ - Thanks for the equation. At this stage I don't have any other 12volt gear but I'm thinking that 2 batteries will cover stuff I might get in the future.
Mike - That's a worrying amount of power for a day but somehow it doesn't surprise me. Today in Melbourne is grey skies and lots of cloud.
Oldtrack - Yes my poor little brain is experiencing a high level of "brain drain" just thinking about it all.
Davey - Thanks for the photos, helps me to have visual info as well as text. If I was to mount a flexible panel to my current roof, do you think I would be able to remove it easily to put it on the new roof?
This forum is a great help to me as everything on YouTube seems to be American.
Cheers,
Jewel
Yes i have removed one once , as long as you have it fixed with just a few lines of of glue , just a slow process , slowly lifting a corner and keeping the pressure on it .
Cruising Cruze said
07:17 PM Jul 10, 2017
Hi Jewel
Just a warning when you go with the the thin and light solar panels
Try to get the same size of corflute to fit under the solar panel
It seems to be that they will last a lot longer
Regards John
Jewel said
08:16 PM Jul 13, 2017
Thanks again for your replies.
Mike, the Techniice fridge looks very good! However it might be a bit too big for me as the smallest two zone is 60ltrs. I'll compare the measurements with the 40ltr Engel. Yeh the generator thing is a bit of a bugbear for me I know. I'ts not just running it but carrying the fuel around with me too.
Davey, thanks for the advice on removing a flexible solar panel.
John, thanks for the advice regarding the corflute, it makes sense.
Hi all, I am slowly outfitting my IMAX van as a camper home.
After much research I have decided to purchase an Engel MT45FC-P 40lt fridge/freezer combi.
The stats say the DC power consumption is... Variable from 0.5 to 2.7 AMPS Maximum.
At the moment I can't put solar panels on the roof as I am waiting for a euro pop top to be imported from Germany.
My question is,
Will I be able to use a portable or suitcase type of solar charger to keep the fridge going when I am free camping?
What battery would I need to connect the solar to?
Hope my questions are not too simplistic, but unfortunately my mind is.
Cheers,
Jewel
Edit: I just noticed a solar thread so reposted this request there.
Thanks
-- Edited by Jewel on Thursday 6th of July 2017 12:43:13 PM
I don't know if this will help you
I've got on top of my ute an 200 watt solar panel
That will charge my 2 x 120 ah batteries
I run an Evakool Fridge with 2 sections one for the freezer and the bigger one for cooling
Total 75 liters
I can let it run if I like the whole year around no problems what so ever
Regards John
Thanks for the reply John.
Sounds really good. What type and brand are your batteries.
Cheers,
Jewel
Use a lot more juice to keep temp's down. Specially if freezing.
I think you'll need a coupla panels and big battery.
You'll need one anyway. So buy a genny now. and a coupla? Battery's.
then incorporate into rig later.
I found an interesting battery recently.
Copy of those 6 round cell Ones.
12v. 550\650\850 cc? whatever they are.
Hybrid AGM. mount any angle.
the 650 Kicks my 3 ltr D-Max over in a hurry.
More muscle than the NZ70Z prior to.
$215 del.
And not affected by under bonnet heat (They say)
We'll see.
At that price. I'm willing.
Would be good as solar batt.
with advantage of Starter capable if needed.
Hi Jewel,
A useful "rule-of-thumb" for the 40 litre Engel is 150 Watts of solar for year-round reliability - there are more complicated ways of working it out but they all end up around this figure. The battery needs to be about 120Ah to carry the fridge through cloudy days. If we start adding other 12V stuff to the equation then obviously the solar and battery figures start to go up.
By-the-way, our fridge tests showed very little difference in power draw between the Engel and Waeco (CFX-range).
Cheers
AJC
Much depends upon how you run the fridge: a fridge at +2C uses much less energy than a freezer at -18C.
Others have given you numbers for batteries/panels et al but I note you are from Melbourne, as am I, and I would point out that my worst Victorian day for my 180W of solar panels produced 2Ah! (two amp hours) or effectively nothing. For my 60lt fridge/freezer (+2C and -12C) I always take a generator as well as the solar panels.
Ditto
Amphrs used heavily depends on how you use it
That includes:
thermostat setting
Ambient temp around the fridge
door opening .
Warm loadings
How long your battery will last befre being excessively discharged is dependent on what you draw from it compared to what you put
Then you have to consider reserve battery capacity for cloudy days
-- Edited by DAVEY123 on Sunday 9th of July 2017 05:40:17 PM
Sorry for the late reply
I've got mine from RTM ( Road Tech Marine )
When Autobarn had an sale on minus 20%
They gave me 20% discount
these are the ones i've got
www.roadtechmarine.com.au/12v-allrounder-battery-mrv87-120ah-825cca/p/TEA145
Regards John
Hey Davey
how dd you mounot the panel onto the roof of your vehicl?
Wow, great replies.
Thank you to you all for taking the time to share your experience with me. :)
My first step is to buy the Engel... waiting for it to come on sale somewher. At the moment the cheapest I can find is $1,300.
Next step I think will be to buy 2 batteries.
Third step... solar panels, perhaps suitcase until I get the new Poptop fitted to the van.
Macka - I can't have a generator as I have health issues with the fumes. Thanks for the info about the batteries, I'll look into it.
AJ - Thanks for the equation. At this stage I don't have any other 12volt gear but I'm thinking that 2 batteries will cover stuff I might get in the future.
Mike - That's a worrying amount of power for a day but somehow it doesn't surprise me
. Today in Melbourne is grey skies and lots of cloud.
Oldtrack - Yes my poor little brain is experiencing a high level of "brain drain" just thinking about it all.
Davey - Thanks for the photos, helps me to have visual info as well as text. If I was to mount a flexible panel to my current roof, do you think I would be able to remove it easily to put it on the new roof?
This forum is a great help to me as everything on YouTube seems to be American.
Cheers,
Jewel
Instead of the Engel perhaps consider one of these:
https://www.techniice.com/car-fridges.html
I have owned the 60lt dual zone for 18 months and bounced it around in the 4WD and it's been excellent. A six year warranty and they are in Frankston so you can take a look at it if you wish.
Regarding the generator: if you cannot tolerate a 1kW generator on a 25m extension lead with the exhaust pointing away from you then I doubt you would be able to walk down a street with traffic. If you wish to camp in Victoria outside of summer you *will* need a gen.
Yes i have removed one once , as long as you have it fixed with just a few lines of of glue , just a slow process , slowly lifting a corner and keeping the pressure on it .
Just a warning when you go with the the thin and light solar panels
Try to get the same size of corflute to fit under the solar panel
It seems to be that they will last a lot longer
Regards John
Thanks again for your replies.
Mike, the Techniice fridge looks very good! However it might be a bit too big for me as the smallest two zone is 60ltrs. I'll compare the measurements with the 40ltr Engel. Yeh the generator thing is a bit of a bugbear for me I know. I'ts not just running it but carrying the fuel around with me too.
Davey, thanks for the advice on removing a flexible solar panel.
John, thanks for the advice regarding the corflute, it makes sense.
Cheers all,
Jewel