3 way fridge on 12v

boots33

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Jun 25, 2011
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Hey @boots33
when you say a separate feed, do you mean from the alternator and not from the 2nd battery?
Cheers mate
Ants

Yes you could run it from your alternator or your original (start) battery (whichever is easiest to get to) You would need to fit a relay that disconnects when the ignition is turned off or maybe a motion switch. You could also run it from the input side of the d250 as you have the "work around relay" fitted that will take care of switching off with the ignition. What size is the wire that supplies the d250 now.
 

Marv_mart

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There is no doubt about that cooling time, but when free camping and it's running on gas it's awesome, I have thought about going full 12v for the fridge but I am paranoid now about the battery when free camping. If there was a compressor fridge with gas as well that would be the go!
Agree, awesome on gas for both van fridge and spare 3way fridge in the tub!
Have been caught out tho, froze the salad vegs, now use small 2way 16l car fridge for vegs that damage with frost also must remember to turn fridge to 3-3.5 when on gas. Usually on 4 when on 12v or 240v
 
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Antman

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Yes you could run it from your alternator or your original (start) battery (whichever is easiest to get to) You would need to fit a relay that disconnects when the ignition is turned off or maybe a motion switch. You could also run it from the input side of the d250 as you have the "work around relay" fitted that will take care of switching off with the ignition. What size is the wire that supplies the d250 now.

Hey @boots33
Im not sure what you mean by the input side. Just looked at manual so I'm assuming you mean that you would connect it to the same connection as the alternator which is connected to the solar input.

Im assuming that the supply wires are ok as fitted by auto sparky - i could look at them but probably wouldn't make much sense to me? I know I run the wiring for the anderson and used 6B&S but left all connections to sparky. So would i move the whole anderson connection to the input side?

cheers
Ants
 

boots33

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Jun 25, 2011
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Maudsland Gold Coast Hinterland Qld
Hey @boots33
Im not sure what you mean by the input side. Just looked at manual so I'm assuming you mean that you would connect it to the same connection as the alternator which is connected to the solar input.

Yes that is correct, something like the drawing below. Keep in mind that this is a general drawing and may not be exactly as yours is setup.


aux batt a.png



Im assuming that the supply wires are ok as fitted by auto sparky

They may be suitable for the original setup where the maximum current draw would have been limited to 20amp by the ctek. However if you were to move the van fridge wire to the ctek input as shown above you will then have the ctek with a max of 20A and your van fridge of lets say 15A giving you a total potential draw of at least 35A. That is a fair bit more than the original design would have called for and while your sparky would have allowed some headroom you will need to check to make sure. The relay will also need to be at least a 40A type as well.

I know I run the wiring for the anderson and used 6B&S but left all connections to sparky. So would i move the whole anderson connection to the input side?

I really need to know more about your setup to be a bit more specific. Some sort of drawing of how it all connects would be very helpful. I know the sparky did the hookup but even your best guess would be good.

In your setup are the auxiliary battery and the ctek mounted in the engine bay? Does the 6b&s run from the ctek output all the way to the anderson plug at the back. Is there a separate wire run for Your engel (which i guess is in the cargo area) or does it just tap into the 6b&s somewhere down the back. does the anderson plug supply both the van battery and the van fridge at the moment. Do you do any off grid camping, have you got solar.
 

Antman

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Hi @boots33

See a sort of diagram below. Sorry not real good at them. Im a financial analyst and there is nothing excel can't do! hahahaha.
Anyway, the ctek is connected directly only to the 2nd battery. There are two 40amp resettable circuit breakers. The CTEK and the aux battery are mounted in the engine bay. This mounting is on the opposite side of the engine bay to the turbo however I'm still concerned that maybe the ctek is dropping out due to heat but have nothing to backup that claim and every time i stopped and checked via a multimeter it appeared to me to be charging at that point in time.

The alternator (I'm assuming alt) is connected to the solar input. There will be some form of fuse there but i can't see that.

The second battery then connects directly to the cargo area with a larger cable (that myself and father in law run, sorry i don't know what grade but was told was good for at least 30amps) and we put a 20amp in line fuse in.

What i have labelled as van bat should really be labelled van. The wiring from the 2nd battery goes through a huge (i think 80amp??) circuit breaker. The wiring is 6b&s all the way from the 2nd battery to the van (anderson plug connection). At the van, the fridge is wired direct to the anderson plug and then I'm assuming that the anderson plug somewhere breaks off to the setec and then to van battery.

We have external solar panels with their own regulator that we have a direct anderson plug (bypassing setec) to the van battery if needed etc. We don't use solar on the CTEK.

Let me know your thoughts i really do appreciate it.
Cheers
Ants

Screen Shot 2014-10-21 at 8.35.19 pm.png
 

boots33

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Jun 25, 2011
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Ok Ants I will list some of your options bellow. Please keep in mind that without having seen your setup and not being able to take power Measurements etc it does make it a bit hard.

From what we have already discussed it seems that the d250 may be struggling to keep up with your power requirements. This is not due to any fault in the d250 it is simply not large enough to power all your needs as it is currently connected.

So it seems you will need to....

A: Reduce the power draw on the D250 by re-confuring your wiring or

B: Fit a dc-dc charger that can supply enough for your requirements.

I know B is probably not an option you really want to consider but it probably would deliver the simplest and most efficient solution. This would supply the boosted Voltage of your dc-dc unit to all areas of your auxiliary wiring and still have enough reserve to allow for charging. Of course 30 to 40 amp dc-dc chargers don't come cheap and if the existing wiring that is currently supplying your d250 is too small that may need to be changed as well. Plus you would have a D250 you no longer need. Still, others who are starting from scratch might want to consider this.


As for solution A you have already indicated that you want to be able to run your engel while the vehicle is off so it will have to stay where it is (not a lot to be saved there anyway). So that leaves us with the van fridge (which will be a substantial saving).

The best way do do that would be to move the van fridge to the input side of the D250 as I said in an earlier post, this would give your D250 up to 15A more to play with.

Unfortunately at the moment you only have the one feed going to your van so this would mean your van battery would also be connected there as well. While the 6b&s cable you have run will be ok for the job your van battery would be missing the benefit of the higher voltages available from your D250S.

Still it would be a fairly simple mod to do so may be worth trying first and see if you are happy with the results.
Because the van battery cannot feed back through the setec the van fridge will have to get it's power from the vehicle. In this instance that will be good because if you start your trip with the van battery fully charged it will still be that way when you arrive at your destination. It will however mean that if you flatten your van battery it will take longer to re-charge while driving. As you have access to solar this may not be an issue anyway.

A better solution might be to run a new wire all the way from the front of the vehicle for the van fridge. then you can leave the van battery connected to the D250 and benefit from the extra voltage available. This would involve some extra wiring and maybe a 12 pin trailer plug (you will need to use the heavy pins for 15A) or a second anderson, you would also need to separate the fridge and setec wiring on the van.

I would still advise you get a sparky to have a bit of a look before you make too many changes as there may be some other reason for your problems.


As to your drawing there are a few areas you may want to look at.

The 80A breaker is a real concern on your 6b&s line. It is far too big for my liking. A fuse size needs to reflect on the things it is meant to protect. In this case if you are using a small Anderson plug they are only rated at max 50A so it could be in trouble if a fault does occur. Also If you look at the installation sheets for the setec you will see that they require the Aux in circuit to be protected by a 20A fuse for the st20 or a 30A fuse for the st35. As the setec provides no means to regulate the current if you had a very flat or shorted van battery you could get a very large draw through your setec. I am sure the fridge will have similar requirements of a suitable fuse to be fitted.

Also be aware that Ctek only recommend a 30A breaker for use with the D250 and you show 40A in your drawing. Probably be ok but with it's max output of only 20A you are well over.

The other thing to take note of is that the van fridge is always connected to your vehicle aux battery. While some people are ok with this you need to remember to disconnect your anderson plug if you are going to be parked for an extended period. Otherwise you will have both fridges drawing from it, and they will bring it down fairly quickly.


Wow that's a bit to take in :)
I have tried to explain it all as best I can but If you need anything clarified.... just ask.
 

Antman

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Thanks @boots33 thats is a great explanation. We are used to disconnecting the anderson at the rear.
The auto sparky supplied and installed the 80amp knowing what we had... hmmm maybe not use him again but it is neat at least. I will change this.
The 40amps we had so asked him to use thinking they would be ok but easy enough to replace too.

What larger dc/dc would you recommend? I got the ctek at a good price so would be able to re-sell without much loss i reckon.
It think changing the charger for us the best option. We really want to keep the car battery isolated completely from the van.

again thanks heaps its a great write up.
cheers
Ants
 

Cheyne78

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May 30, 2014
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Hi @Antman . I've got the Redarc bcdc1225 and it works a treat. Built in MPPT regulator in the same unit. They also do a 40A u it BCDC1240 also with built in solar reg. Locally made SA product and I have not heard a bad word about them...
 
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boots33

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In fairness to your sparky, low voltage electrics has always been full of grey areas, you don't have to look very far in any of the auto forums to find (sometimes very heated) disagreement on maters electrical. While an 80A breaker would certainly trip if it encountered a dead short on a 6b&s cable, it will offer little protection to your setec or anderson plug should some form of partial fault develop. I guess i should add "In my opinion" :) but of course your sparky will have is own take on what he thinks is appropriate.

Unless you are planning extended off grid touring, an around oz trip or regularly spend weeks at a time off grid in remote areas you may still be well served by just moving your 6b&s to an ignition switched relay. I am sure there would be many on this forum that have their andersons setup just like that and are perfectly happy.

You could then (if you felt the need) use the money saved (that's how i usually put it to minister for finance) by not buying a bigger dc-dc charger and put it towards a solar panel mounted on the roof of the van. That would not only keep your van battery topped up while traveling but would be of great use once you have arrived at your destination as well. Another option would be to just fit a second 20A dc-dc charger in the van to make sure it was being charged well.

Ants sorry if I have muddied the water even more, I am just trying to show there are a lot of options out there. In the end it really comes down to what best suits your needs and style of vanning.

If you decide to go with the bigger dc-dc charger I would think the redarc 40A as recommended by @Cheyne78 would be ok, I have no firsthand knowledge of that particular unit but they are a well established brand in the market. You would probably need to get the LV version and still run it through the ignition switched relay. Check with your supplier to be sure.
 
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