In-car refrigerators... Guidance needed

[OverlandZJ]

Just get any thermometer... i used my AC duct temp probe.

Contact Engel and talk to a tech, perhaps your unit arrived low on freon or has a slight leak. I'd hold back mentioning the extra cirriculars..

Theres a guy on EXPO who had an issue such as yours, they stood behind their warranty and made things right.

 

[xjintx]

Keep an eye out here http://www.compactappliance.com/Scr...category-pos_Clearance_Items-Scratch_and_Dent

I bought my edgestar here. Not a scratch or a dent and has worked great. A lot of others have too. Heck their straight new price is good too especially with free shipping. Buy new and the 3 yr ext warranty is good too!

 

[anthrax323]

Just get any thermometer... i used my AC duct temp probe.

Contact Engel and talk to a tech, perhaps your unit arrived low on freon or has a slight leak. I'd hold back mentioning the extra cirriculars..

Theres a guy on EXPO who had an issue such as yours, they stood behind their warranty and made things right.

Good point... I did at least learn that my suspension is set up beautifully, as I didn't bottom out, rub, or otherwise have any concerns about stability upon landing. It was just the fridge that scared the piss out of me (it had a 6 pack and some miscellaneous beer in it at the time - made one hell of a clatter when it came down).

I did turn the thermostat down to 1 (from 2) and the compressor runs for about a minute every 10 minutes now. Things might be on-par, but I'll check with Engel (as the contents may still be colder than the temp that 1 represents).

Keep an eye out here http://www.compactappliance.com/Scr...category-pos_Clearance_Items-Scratch_and_Dent

I bought my edgestar here. Not a scratch or a dent and has worked great. A lot of others have too. Heck their straight new price is good too especially with free shipping. Buy new and the 3 yr ext warranty is good too!

Thanks for the heads-up - I bought this unit from a local San Antonio marine supplier, but I'll keep them in mind next time.

 

[anthrax323]

So I bought a wireless thermometer, and found that at the 1 setting the temperature was roughly 43 F after about 3 hours. At this setting, the compressor ran for roughly 1 minute every 10 minutes.

Just turned the knob to 2, and will check it in the morning.

 

[anthrax323]

Update: With the fridge set to 2 overnight, it stabilized at almost exactly 30 F. Dropped it back to 1, will see what it stabilizes at when I get home now that the sensor is fully chilled.

 

[anthrax323]

Another update: After running the fridge in the car for over a week straight (in NC summer heat, and the added heat of it being in a black XJ), I've found what I think is the upper limit for this fridge... At most, it seems to be able to maintain an 80 degree temperature differential between the interior and the exterior of the unit. When car temps reach 120 F, the fridge interior temp will climb to up to 40 F.

My next project is now figuring out how the hell to provide adequate ventilation to this thing while it's in the cargo area...

 

[WebDog]

I have the edge star in mine and just installed dual battery. I have had it on for 21 hours now at 36* with only .2V of drop on the battery, starting at 12.7 and now at 12.5. I am going to let it run and see how long it will run for, or until I have to drive the jeep again.

 

[bc99xj]

Could you post up a pic of your fridge and dual batt setup?

 

[playwithit]

Could you post up a pic of your fridge and dual batt setup?

Here's mine,

Norcold 43 (Engel) fridge

 

[anthrax323]

You're one of the lucky bastards who got a Mean Green tray? I envy you. I still can't find one.

I've started looking into using two 6V Red Tops to complement my D34/78 Yellow Top, as I might be able to cram them into the engine bay without relocating the air box... But I might just end up doing a cowl intake to eliminate the factory air box. If I take the latter route, I could fab a 10-gauge steel battery tray pretty easily.

Either way, I'm doing fine with my Engel on a single battery for now, but would be far more comfortable with a second battery (and solar panels on the roof).

Oh yeah, and did your Norcold hinge on the side out-of-the-box, or is that an add-on hinge setup?

 

[playwithit]

You're one of the lucky bastards who got a Mean Green tray? I envy you. I still can't find one.

I've started looking into using two 6V Red Tops to complement my D34/78 Yellow Top, as I might be able to cram them into the engine bay without relocating the air box... But I might just end up doing a cowl intake to eliminate the factory air box. If I take the latter route, I could fab a 10-gauge steel battery tray pretty easily.

Either way, I'm doing fine with my Engel on a single battery for now, but would be far more comfortable with a second battery (and solar panels on the roof).

Oh yeah, and did your Norcold hinge on the side out-of-the-box, or is that an add-on hinge setup?

I changed it over to open from the side.