12v fridge switch

[MtB]

Hi everyone,

 

Ended up buying an electric fridge in the end for our boat (couldn't bring myself to pay the price of a room-sealed gas fridge), and have fitted it where there is no electricity (yet), so I have to do my first bit of 12v boat wiring.

 

It'll take about 8m of cable to get from the fridge to the 12v fusebox so I'm planning to use 2.5 sq mm multi-strand arctic, but I'm not sure about how to make the connection to the appliance. The instructions say connect using a switch, but don't elaborate any further. What sort of switch should it be? An ordinary household 230v type fused spur? Or something else?

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

Cheers, Mike

[Guest]

240 V AC switches are not recommended for DC, as DC puts different demands on the contacts. However people have used AC switches for DC circuits in boats for years without problems. When you see some of the mickey mouse switches in chandlers which are DC rated, I personally would take my chances with a quality AC switch, but I am not saying this is the right thing to do-you should of course fit a DC rated switch. A point of interest I once saw a marine DC fuseboard-the type with switches next to glass fuses, and on the switches it said AC only. Also consider larger than 2.5 cable, fridges (12v) need need every last fraction of a volt or they can cut out. My friends boat did this every time he switched the TV on.

Edited November 5, 2004 by stan hesketh

[Richard Bustens]

Hi Mike

Your 8 mtr run is actualy 16mtr there and back and you will need at teast 6mm if not 10 to run the fridge. i would use 10mm then there will be no probs

[John Orentas]

Hi Mike.

 

Switches are always a problem when you are using heavy cabling, not least that have difficulty in phisically fitting the wires into the terminals. It would be quite in order to dispense with the local switch and wire directly back to it's own circuit breaker, 10 amp or so would be ok, they tend to have more sensible terminal connections, or even spade connections which are better still.

 

John Squeers

[kackara]

Hi All

 

We have a 12v electrolux fridge, when we first tried to use it, it just kept getting warm,

 

The boat builders who we brought the boat from told us to keep turning it over onto its side to get it working again.

We did as we were told and hey presto guess what?? it didn't work!!!

 

When we lit the gas it just kept making it warm.

 

Do i have a problem with the fridge or is it just me doing it wrong?? typical female i hear you say...... lol

 

Or is it just as easy to wire it up to 12v???

[Alastair]

kackara, sounds like your fridge is knackered. You are not doing anything wrong.

 

When you say it gets warm, is it just the coils on the back, and if them, do they get very hot at the highest point?

 

If so, I think the coolant is shot, and with it, the fridge.

 

Sorry to say, but these fridges are useless to run on 12V unless your engine is also constantly running.

[gwinsk]

Having had the fridge flatten the leisure batteries, with all the inconvenience that entails, I decided to remove the possibillity of a repeat prformance. I installed an extra battery, to which the fridge is connected, via a locally mounted battery isolator switch. I put a second isolator in a line that links the fridge battery to the rest of the leisure bank. To switch the fridge off, when I wish to, I use the first isolator. When the engine runs, I switch in the link bewtween the two banks. When moored up, the first job is to isolate fridge batt from the rest.

No problems since making the simple change. Having looked for a decent fridge switch, I decided the battery isolator is best built to do the job and available at a reasonable price.

 

Gerry

[kackara]

Alistair

 

When i said the fridge gets warm, it is inside where the small freezer compartment is, inside there it gets warm, and the fridge area feels no different.

Never thought to feel the back when we lit it,

Will check....

 

We thought if we brought a seperate battery and fitted a solar panel to it so it was feeding the fridge only, would that work?.

 

If not then i will have to shop around.......

 

Doreen

[John Orentas]

Doreen.

 

You would need a solar panel the size of a snooker table to keep a fridge going.

 

Don't think about using the Electrolux on 12 volts, they take massive amounts of power for not much result. (two or three snooker tables).

 

John Squeers

[Richard Bustens]

That sounds good then, we could have a knock out compertition on his roof.

[kackara]

WOW Didn't realise, forgive me as i am a novice.

Thanks for the advice, i'm always prepared to listen to someone of great experience, so i will take your advise....

Time to shell out for a new one

[kackara]

That sounds good then, we could have a knock out compertition on his roof.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Richard

 

The snooker table would be bigger than my boat lol

[DHutch]

Richard

 

  The snooker table would be bigger than my boat lol 

 

well, its time to upgrade them!!

 

- ever though you'd like the idea of a 14' barge, now you have a reason tog et one built!!

[kackara]

well, its time to upgrade them!!

 

- ever though you'd like the idea of a 14' barge, now you have a reason tog et one built!!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Would love to, but finances will not allow at the moment, so i will stay happy with our 36ft'er for a few more years.....

 

Even thought about having her stretched but suppose it would be easier to just buy bigger....

[Alastair]

Snooker table? No, this time of year it would be 2 snooker tables!

 

Be realistic - how much energy is there in sunlight?

 

This time of year, there isn't even enough to warm up your roof.

 

I have a PV panel 1.7mx.7m. It generates about 4-5Ah on average at this time of year.

 

So about 10 of these panels would keep 1 fridge going.

[John Orentas]

You've all missed the point, imagine what would happen when you walk around the table, the balls would be all over the place.

 

Never understood this sunlight thing, in August it is hot enough to burn the skin of your nose. It's the same sun and if anything a bit nearer in December, but it's not bad at 93 million miles away, it even makes Richards' floating power station look puny.

 

We should keep an eye on solar panels, they are getting better and cheaper all the time, the latest technology uses more of the spectrum which will be much better for our winter sunshine. I predict we will all be using them within a few years.

 

John Squeers

[DHutch]

yeah, Photovoltaic technology is coming on leaps and bound, but it still never going to match an alternator or even a windturbine.

[rustyduck]

I've always favored the belt, braces, y-fronts and jockstrap approach.

 

An alternator, solar panels and a wind turbine. That should cover all bases.

[Paul Evans]

And you can bet your bottom dollar that rusty duck keeps his y-fronts and jock strap where the solar panels and windmill thingy belong - on the outside. Just anther little pecadillo you understand (and a sublminal wish to be as handsome as Clark Kent)

[maffi mushkila]

yeah, Photovoltaic technology is coming on leaps and bound, but it still never going to match an alternator or even a windturbine.

 

I thought you was going to be an engineer, never say never.

 

All things are possible, we just havent worked out how to do some yet.