12 volt fridge connector upgrade.

A

adrtoy

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It's been sometime since Ive done anything to my 4R, but its time for some upgrades. Making the leap to an electric fridge and was wondering what others have done to upgrade from the cigarette style connector? The plan is to run 10 AWG wire to the rear.
 
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I have been using a National Luna Portable Power Pack (basically a battery box with a smart switch to engage/disengage from the vehicle battery) for about 10 years now. The PPP gets a large diameter 6 square mm (about 4 gauge) line running from the underhood battery. The PPP has both a standard 12V lighter socket and a so-called Hella connector socket. The standard lighter plug on the Engel fridge cable worked fine for years...it never fell out, even on rough road driving, but finally I switched it to the less-likely-to-fall-out Hella connector.
My impression: Seems like 10 gauge would probably be fine, 8 gauge would be better, 6 gauge even better, etc.
 
My 2013 Engel has built-in 120V AC capability. In fact, if both the 12V DC and 120VAC cords are attached, it switches automatically to 120VAC when 120 VAC is supplied. Good for battery power when moving, shore power when parked at home.
 
Bumbo said:
Its more efficient to run the fridge off DC power if possible... eliminates the conversion losses from the 120v AC inverter.
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I run mine off the 120v plug in. It is a pain to remember to turn it on each time you start up but it has worked fine on several long trips to SoCal, AZ and once home via the Rockies.
 
BearBio said:
I run mine off the 120v plug in. It is a pain to remember to turn it on each time you start up but it has worked fine on several long trips to SoCal, AZ and once home via the Rockies.
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It should be running 24/7... you should have DC plugged in as well so runs off battery when the engine is off, or use an external battery pack.

I dont know what fridge you have but I've never had to remember to turn it on. It should go back to its last state when power is restored. It should also prioritize AC over DC and switch between the two sources automatically.
 
Bumbo said:
It should be running 24/7... you should have DC plugged in as well so runs off battery when the engine is off, or use an external battery pack.

I dont know what fridge you have but I've never had to remember to turn it on. It should go back to its last state when power is restored. It should also prioritize AC over DC and switch between the two sources automatically.
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He may be talking about the ON switch for the AC outlet located in the back of the 4Runner.

Side note/Story: I recently took a week+ trip to Death Valley. I powered my Iceco fridge off a 1000 WH Grecell Power Station. Plugged the power station into the AC outlet. The power draw tripped the circuit breaker and shutoff power to the power station. What a pain!!! I had to rearrange how I had everything packed so I could use the DC outlet instead. Once I got that squared away, it all ran flawlessly.


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Regarding connectors, I use a couple different kinds depending on the use-case.
For low power (~10A) temporary applications, I like to use SAE connectors for both interior and exterior. There's plenty of off the shelf panel mount solutions, including with dedicated switches, that can look pretty slick and I feel like you can get SAE related connectors pretty much anywhere. It also has respectable holding strength and are usually splash-resistant enough.

For medium and high power temporary applications, I'll usually use appropriately sized Anderson connectors. You can even get panel mount outlets to install in your vehicle's cargo area or wherever you want.

Just my 2 cents. Post a pic when you choose a solution!
 
johnnygraphic said:
One other side note, the outlet would work until I shifted out of either P or N. Once I tried to drive, it would shut off. Kind of a useless outlet for my purposes.


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Yeah, you have to remember to turn it on once you start driving. Is a bit of a pain. On the other hand, you can take it into your room and plug it in. In my case, I have insulin to keep refrigerated.
 
BearBio said:
Yeah, you have to remember to turn it on once you start driving. Is a bit of a pain. On the other hand, you can take it into your room and plug it in. In my case, I have insulin to keep refrigerated.
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No, that won’t work either. I tried that but it kept shutting off. I was on a week + Death Valley camp trip, so the 4Runner was it. Apparently the power station drew too much power. Only option that worked was using the DC cigarette lighter plug.


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We tend to slightly oversize our cables and connectors. If the draw and wire length calls for 10g we go with 8g. Especially if it's a run longer than 10'.
For our fridges we connect with properly sized Anderson plugs. They have no voltage drop, and stay connected.
 
WanderlostOverland said:
We tend to slightly oversize our cables and connectors. If the draw and wire length calls for 10g we go with 8g. Especially if it's a run longer than 10'.
For our fridges we connect with properly sized Anderson plugs. They have no voltage drop, and stay connected.
Click to expand...


Are the Anderson plugs the stock DC connector on fridges like an Iceco? I don’t see any reference to the type of plug aside from it being the DC plug.


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