12v Dc to 240v Ac Inverter recommendations

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gra_farmer

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Mar 29, 2016
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TBH cool boxes just don't hack it in really hot conditions IMO. They struggle above 25C and in desert conditions are useless. They also consume a lot more battery juice than compressor fridges so, if you're static for a few days, you run the risk of running the battery flat. I bought an Engle some 15 years ago; it's expensive but still going strong and superb.
Are you able to share a link of your fridge you are recommending/have experience with. Cheers
 

Broch

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Jan 18, 2009
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www.mont-hmg.co.uk
Are you able to share a link of your fridge you are recommending/have experience with. Cheers

This is the current equivalent of ours but, wow, the price has gone up! :( (well, it is 15 yrs at least).

I also bought the cover (reduces power consumption) and the base pad that allows me to load it into the 110 easily.

These units will freeze as well.

 
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Nice65

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Apr 16, 2009
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TBH cool boxes just don't hack it in really hot conditions IMO. They struggle above 25C and in desert conditions are useless. They also consume a lot more battery juice than compressor fridges so, if you're static for a few days, you run the risk of running the battery flat. I bought an Engle some 15 years ago; it's expensive but still going strong and superb.
I think he meant an insulated box like the Igloo and Yeti type things. We have a 70lt Coleman that does well over a hot weekend, depending on how often it’s opened, and that the contents are pre-chilled, and that it’s not in full sun etc. We tend to freeze bottled water rather than the gel packs for this, so we can use the water for drinking and tea/coffee. We use the gel packs to pre-chill the box prior to use.

Coolbox usage is different from refrigeration, it’s to do with keeping things cold, not reducing the temperature. Makes a handy table or bench, and even has a measure on the lid so you can be definite about how big your fish is. :)

 

Nice65

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Apr 16, 2009
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Ah, my mistake, no power consumption at all then :)

But, obviously, no use for long treks.
Well, apart from the power needed to make and its contents cold prior to use. But no, it’ll do a camping weekender with the bell tent or a couple of days fishing, then it’s just a bulky box after that.
 
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grizzlyj

Full Member
Nov 10, 2016
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NW UK
Yes, maybe I should have said ice box and ice blocks? I agree the peltier type cool boxes are not much cop.
Our previous camper fridge was a Vitrifrigo compressor, front opening, worked fine in a Moroccan summer.
My neighbour being diabetic has concerns about keeping insulin cool in a powercut, which is the sort of thought I was having about how much refrigeration is needed by the OP for how long. Running a half full domestic fridge just during a temporary power cut from a small lead acid bank seems overkill to me. We just lost the whole of two freezers during a power cut while we were away and despite a lot of beef in the bottom scooped up when it was on offer pre Christmas the total value of everything was just about on the £350 insurance claim excess. That has never happened to me before, so spending hundreds to mitigate that is not worth it to me. Having a set up to power fridge and freezers during weeks of no mains power either needs the sort of set up I linked to of HandyBobSolars house in the southern US in a previous thread, thousands of pounds of lead, or a genny plus a lot of jerry cans.
But if the power went and I have a decent cool/ice box, plus already frozen ice blocks, I could cherry pick what I wanted to keep cold or frozen, wrap that in blankets too even! Possibly for days.
There are a few YT vids comparing the Yeti to a Coleman showing how it's just more insulation that makes the Yeti work better. The Coleman tested below had none in the lid at all. So wrap the Coleman in silvered bubble wrap plus drill holes in the lid and fill with expanding foam and you have a Yeti in all but name :)

 

grizzlyj

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Nov 10, 2016
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NW UK
Well, apart from the power needed to make and its contents cold prior to use. But no, it’ll do a camping weekender with the bell tent or a couple of days fishing, then it’s just a bulky box after that.
I have wondered if it's better to have the smallest 12v freezer in a vehicle to either run as a fridge when minimal capacity is required, or use it to freeze ice blocks in rotation to keep an ice box at fridge temperature. Andrew St Pierre White on YT has such a tiny one instead of an armrest between the front seats in his 'Cruiser, but that's just so he can reach a cold coke at all times :)
 

Nice65

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Apr 16, 2009
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W.Sussex
I have wondered if it's better to have the smallest 12v freezer in a vehicle to either run as a fridge when minimal capacity is required, or use it to freeze ice blocks in rotation to keep an ice box at fridge temperature. Andrew St Pierre White on YT has such a tiny one instead of an armrest between the front seats in his 'Cruiser, but that's just so he can reach a cold coke at all times :)
My old Townace had a hot/cold box built in. It was pretty handy.
 

TeeDee

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Nov 6, 2008
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I may as well tack this onto this thread.

What about 12 volt crock pot / slow cookers for a mobile meals on wheels whilst one is driving along?

I'm assuming this could be enhanced if one provided it a sort of thermal insulated hot box to carry on doing what it needs to once eventually stationary.

 
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Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
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Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk
They're typically around 20A consumption (240w) IIRC. Wrapped in good insulation, assuming there was nothing to damage with overheating, the actual power consumed cooking a meal could be quite low. But, once static, I'd be wary of using something like that (I've had the dreaded solenoid 'clunk' in the middle of a desert :()

Sometimes, we even preferred to run the 'boiling vessel' with the Chieftain engine running - that's 700HP to cook a meal :)
 
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TeeDee

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Nov 6, 2008
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They're typically around 20A consumption (240w) IIRC. Wrapped in good insulation, assuming there was nothing to damage with overheating, the actual power consumed cooking a meal could be quite low. But, once static, I'd be wary of using something like that (I've had the dreaded solenoid 'clunk' in the middle of a desert :()

Sometimes, we even preferred to run the 'boiling vessel' with the Chieftain engine running - that's 700HP to cook a meal :)

I was more thinking of running it at the start of the drive then even when stopped if its shrouded in a modern day PIR hotbox - it would keep on cooking?
 

GreyCat

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Nov 1, 2023
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I have a self converted camper van. 250W solar into a MPPT controller, battery bank of 4 x 120Ah agm batteries. Also has a spilt charge unit.

It is mainly a pure 12V system, with LED lighting. Fridge is a Dometic 12V DC compressor unit, top opening. It is 60W and very efficient, and is left on all the time. Even on a hot sunny day the solar makes more than the fridge uses to stay properly cold. I admit it was pricey but it's been a great choice.

I only recently fitted an inverter (so I can run my coffee machine.... luxury), a pure sine wave Durite unit. But my system was designed as 12V and appliances chosen to match, also my cables are all uprated to minimise voltage drop.

It is a different approach but has worked really well.

GreyCat
 
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