Inverter for dorm fridge online; looks good (so far)

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by rabbit

I pulled up my old thread on dorm fridge for an interim report on "real world" use. May have minimal interest for the "dries" and minimalists and also for the "full hookup" crowd but anyway a report: .............
jack

Thanks for the update. It is an interesting experiment, given the huge price difference between a 110v dorm compressor refrigerator and a 12 volt compressor refrigerator of the same size.

[MCDenny]

I've got my dorm fridge in the Lil Snoozy running off the battery with a Samlex 600 watt inverter providing 110v AC. Works fine and the Samlex only draws 0.4 amps (48 watts) with nothing plugged in so it is not costing me much in electrical overhead.

There is a remote switch with a pilot light on the wall next to the outlets tied to the inverter to make it easy to turn on and off. I only waste the 48 watts when necessary.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by MCDenny

I've got my dorm fridge in the Lil Snoozy running off the battery with a Samlex 600 watt inverter providing 110v AC. Works fine and the Samlex only draws 0.4 amps (48 watts) with nothing plugged in so it is not costing me much in electrical overhead.

There is a remote switch with a pilot light on the wall next to the outlets tied to the inverter to make it easy to turn on and off. I only waste the 48 watts when necessary.

I'd like to make a small correction to the above. The Samlex is only drawing 0.4 amps in idle mode from you 12 volt battery that's 4.8Watts not 48 Watts. Better than you thought.

[rabbit]

Tom, I'm still thinking about another 68lbs. of group 27 on the tongue. On recent trip we carried a 20lb propane tank (38 lbs. full) rather than our huge 40 pounder (69 lbs. full). Based on filled wgt. the difference of 31 lbs. would offset some of the wgt. of the second battery. I wish I had an accurate tongue wgt. but we have made a number of interior mods which added wgt. forward since I tried the plank, fulcrum and household scale method more than a yr. ago. I'm going slow on adding the additional battery for now; I have a "smart" converter to replace the Newmark whizbang in our burro (same converter that Per Walthinson put in his) and that's first in the queue.

Denny, I'm interested in knowing how "far back" you can push those golf cart batteries before you run into trailer? Our original configuration is tank bracket forward of the battery which may be for the best but I still don't have generous room for two 27s behind the tank. I think I may have to fabricate a battery box or use two bracket mounts and make a splash cover which would only protect the fwd side of the batteries and the terminals and pigtails and jumpers and fuses on top. Does anyone know if a two-piece battery box is 1) a necessity weatherwise, 2) a necessity legality-wise?

jack

[cpaharley2008]

Jack,
I'll bring my Sherline scale to Burn't Cabins if you make that one and you are welcome to use it.

[rabbit]

Thanks Jim. If we're still mobile (or at least motile) by fall and the cricks don't catch on fire, we'll be there to take advantage of the opportunity and see the Escape. Have to look up Sherline scale to check if that's what Frederick "the trailer weigher" uses.

jack

[cpaharley2008]

Jack,I think Frederick uses some sort of truck scale because he works for a commercial weigh company.

[MCDenny]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

I'd like to make a small correction to the above. The Samlex is only drawing 0.4 amps in idle mode from you 12 volt battery that's 4.8Watts not 48 Watts. Better than you thought.

Oops. Thanks Brian.