New 4.3 cu. ft. 12v only fridge installed in the Scamp 16

[PeterNY]

Hi all,

Just want to share some work that I've done to the Scamp 16 that I recently acquired. It did not come with a refrigerator. Having a 3-way installed was too costly. So, I went with the 12v only refrigerator. Here are some before and after photos. I'll put it to the test for the next few weeks to see how it hold up under just the house battery at night and maybe for a full day. I've also added a computer fan with an on/off switch right under the exterior light switches.

Note: Don't know why all the photos came out sideway. They were upright on my phone.

[PeterNY]

Two more photos to show the fan

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by PeterNY

Hi all,

Just want to share up work that I've done to the Scamp 16 that I recently acquired. It did not come with a refrigerator. Having a 3-way installed was too costly. .

What is the brand and model? What size battery?
I would want better air flow.
Please keep us posted on the results.
TNX

[PeterNY]

Originally Posted by AC0GV

What is the brand and model? What size battery?
I would want better air flow.
Please keep us posted on the results.
TNX

I have the Northern Deep Cycle 27EV Battery. I think it's rated 60 something Ah hour. It should last at least over night and maybe a full day. I'll test it and find out.

As for the air flow, there are gabs around the fridge allowing air to come in and the computer fan at the corner should blow out the hot air. Hopefully that would be enough. If not, I can always add a more powerful fan or a 2nd fan. Just putting in the fridge into that tight spot and using wood board to adjust to the correct height and level was difficult.

However, this setup did blocked the 120v sockets. I forgot to move it to a different location before putting in the fridge. If the wire is long enough, I can wire it next to the water heater switch, Or, I maybe able to rewire the outlet to underneath the bed by the CO meter.

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by PeterNY

I have the Northern Deep Cycle 27EV Battery. I think it's rated 60 something Ah hour. It should last at least over night and maybe a full day. I'll test it and find out.

I can find no specifications for that unit so cannot calculate time, but that battery should get 45 - 50 usable A/H so if the refrigerator and contents are pre-cooled, I would guess that one night should not be a problem depending on outside temperature..
Unless it's the same as this, then you may make it a full weekend if the ratings are honest and the duty cycle is low. Just one amp running.

https://www.recpro.com/rv-refrigerat...ainless-steel/

[PeterNY]

Originally Posted by AC0GV

I can find no specifications for that unit so cannot calculate time, but that battery should get 45 - 50 usable A/H so if the refrigerator and contents are pre-cooled, I would guess that one night should not be a problem depending on outside temperature..
Unless it's the same as this, then you may make it a full weekend if the ratings are honest and the duty cycle is low. Just one amp running.

https://www.recpro.com/rv-refrigerat...ainless-steel/

This is the exact fridge I got. I have one 7 days 6 nights campground reservation this summer with no power and water hookup. I'll probably run a small 1000w generator during the day for a few hours to recharge the battery.

[PeterNY]

Just to report back running this fridge with my Group 27 deep cycle lead acid battery. Overnight running on battery only for about 12 hours drained the battery from 12.6v to 12.3v. That means it drained about 50% of my battery. It drawn about 1 - 2 amps with settings at 5 (0 lowest & 7 highest). However, I only had a few cans of soda and a few ice packs in the freezer, so the fridge is pretty empty. With the fridge full of stuff, it should draw less amp and I can probably last a full day without charging.

Running a 1000w generator recharged the battery from 12.3 to 12.6 under 3 hours.

Question - while driving and plugged into the tow vehicle 7 pin plug, how do I know how much amp my vehicle is sending to the trailer? Will it be enough to charge the battery and run the fridge at the same time? How would I measure it?

[gordon2]

One of these battery monitors will tell you if the battery is getting charged or discharged and if discharging, about how long it can go before needing supplemental charging.
https://www.victronenergy.com/battery-monitors

[Alex Adams]

Based on my experience with a less efficient portable compressor fridge (7.7 amps running) I think your venting is backwards and causing higher draw. With my 100 Ah AGM battery I can run for about 2 days before I need to recharge. I suspect your cooling efficiency isn't what it could be due to where you put the fan to draw out the hot air. I think if you were to put a fan at the top corner, it would improve your efficiency since it would draw cold air from the bottom of the closet up through the coils (or whatever is used to dissipate the heat drawn) and expel the hot air out. Right now it would probably be doing the opposite. Also, I would make sure the sides of the fridge are sealed to the closet. That way the cold air will come from the bottom exclusively and the fan at the top would pull it up. Another thing you could do is put insulation around the sides and the top of the fridge allowing the bottom and the back to be empty voids for airflow.

[PeterNY]

Gordon, Those battery monitor looks pretty good. about $200 each so maybe another add-on for me sometime down the road. I've spent to much money on all the updates and accessories that my credit card bill is going over the roof!

Alex, I've never thought about adding the fan to the top. Forgot about the hot air raises part. I only thought that the coils are at the bottom of the fridge so I put the fan near the coils to blow out hot air. So far when I put my hands to the fan the air are not warm at all. Not sure if that's good or bad.

There are some gaps between the refrigerator side walls. Maybe I can put in some form boards to close the gaps. I thought more gaps means more space to cool down hot air. I guess I'm wrong. Running amps is only 2 so I don't think it is drawing a lot of juice. The battery should last 2 days but more like only 1 day for now. Maybe I need to do some battery maintenance. I haven't check the water level on the battery yet.

[redbarron55]

turn the fan around and blow cooler air in behind the fridge.
My Norcold has a fan just below the coils blowing up.
You should still have a vent at the top. I have a partial shelf with a microwave on it with a gap at the back for air to get out from behind the fridge along with some gap at the sides.
Perhaps you could cut and screen a vent at the back of your cabinet and then a vent on the top of the cabinet door?
Maybe a vent towards the rear of the camper over the sink?
To help charge while in the sun driving or camping I added 300 watts of solar panels to the roof of my 16' Scamp.

[Alex Adams]

JD, I wish I had been that clever! I am overthinking, like usual.

Peter, not feeling warm air being blown out is not good. It probably means the fan is blowing out the air from the bottom gaps and nut pulling any hot air.

[Scott Corsair]

I did a fan on my 3 way just to help with venting and efficiency. Instead of a manual switch (I do still have one to completely turn it off) I used a thermo switch to control the fan so it's not running all the time. not this exact one, but close to this https://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Heart...s%2C258&sr=8-3

[PeterNY]

Originally Posted by Scott Corsair

I did a fan on my 3 way just to help with venting and efficiency. Instead of a manual switch (I do still have one to completely turn it off) I used a thermo switch to control the fan so it's not running all the time. not this exact one, but close to this https://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Heart...s%2C258&sr=8-3

Hi Scott, thanks for the thermal switch suggestion. Never thought about that. This forum is great! How about this one from Amazon? https://www.amazon.com/XLX-Microcomp...7106781&sr=8-5 It's in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit but that's okay.

[Scott Corsair]

I’m sure that will work fine. Just keep in mind that is one more device that is a minor power draw. The good thing about the thermal switch that I posted is it’s very simple it’s been around for ages and does not use any power when it is off.