12 Volt Outlet

[Bank of Dad]

Hi all.

We are buying a Waeco portable fridge (35 litre) to try and minimise ice consumption. Now I know these run on 12 volt, 240 volt and I think they may even have an internal battery (?). Obviously the plan would be to get it cool at home on 240 volt at home, fill full of beer (maybe a bottle of bubbly too), run it on 12volt in the car and then back onto 240 volt at the park.

Now SWMBO is getting adventurous and is contemplating a little free camping so I'd be looking at running the Waeco on 12 volt from the van.

Question then; can you install a 12 volt outlet outside the van say near the external 240 volt? What would the cost be, anyone done it?

Ta all!:help:

 

[Pace]

BoD, yes is your answer.

i had the fridge vent off looking around and it will be quite easy to find 12volt power in there to junction box then drill through the side of the van (doesnt that sound awful), to locate external plug. as for the cost, look up a 4x4 store for 12v plugs they usually have good quality ones or ARB catalogue.

was watching 4wd tv tech tips last week and they had segment re external 12v plugs. look into their website for how to videos. hope this helps you out. cheers pace.

 

[straydingo]

just grab a weatherproof socket and connect to an internal circuit.
http://www.expandasdownunder.com/showthread.php/1764

for the waeco, I reckon a merit plug is the way to go tho

 

[Brad]

Hey BoD, One other thing you may not be aware of... I have an engel and it came with a special 12 volt input point that was to be installed in the car. This point would be different to the standard points in a car because it had larger wires.
Interested in other people's thoughts on how important it is to install this point with the larger gauge wires.

 

[Burnsy]

I only ran our waeco or engel from the 12v outlet on the 16-49-1 and never had a drama, maybe they use 6mm wire not sure. If you do tap in just use 6mm and I'm sure you'll be fine!

Cheers.

 

[relgate]

as pace says, there is 12volt running through the fridge area. Just make sure you put a fuse on it.

 

[leesy]

Yes, look at http://www.baintech.com.au/sockets/baintech-surface-mount-ciga-socket-white, these guys have great products.If your looking at the 35lt which i used to have in the soft floor i built up then also look at the Iron man one, its the same pertty much but cheaper and they are great when it comes to warranty issues should you have one.
http://www.ironman4x4.com/html/fridge.html
we have a 60lt ARB fridge in the back of the patrol its great, when on trips that are weeks away we use it as the deep freeze for all our meats ect and its great!
Good luck

 

[Bank of Dad]

Thanks everyone!