Power Station

[davefrombc]

1 hour ago, jen said:

Yes you are right about the Igloo being a power hog..  Grandma's works well especially if you put in a freezer before using it.   Its good traveling keeping sandwiches , cheese  milk cold ---I don't drink beer..LOL.    I marked the connector "UP" so people would not put it in wrong.     But i am looking at the compressor units for her.   However, I may look for a different connector in the car...I hate those cigarette lighter plug connectors.   

 

The accessory socket  ( cigarette plug) connector is  available in vehicles  and  power stations so the fridge/ freezer can easily  be used between  vehicles  and power stations. They work very well for low current  accessories.  You'll find them  on all the  portables.  They are by far the most practical for low draw accessories  like portable fridge freezers. For  custom  connections for high draw uses I use the various sizes of  Anderson connectors because, unlike  SAE connectors they cannot be cross connected

[jen]

Thanks, I want to put an electrical connector in the bed of my 2018 tundra  for a cooler.

[mikeexplorer]

1 hour ago, jen said:

Thanks, I want to put an electrical connector in the bed of my 2018 tundra  for a cooler.

The only issue with these newer units is the voltage cutoff. The unit will shut down if it senses the battery voltage getting low. The problem is if you use the rear accessory port on most vehicles, the voltage drop from the longer run will trip out the fridge before the battery really is low. The wire gauge for the rear accessory port is too small. While the vehicle is running it is not an issue since the charger puts out 14.4 volts. It is when its not running.

I had this issue camping so I bumped up the wire gauge to solve the problem. Then changing to a lithium battery really took care of it

 

[jen]

Gotcha...What size 10 awg from bat?   Did you run a separate Bat(-) or just use frame gnd?

[davefrombc]

 

19 hours ago, jen said:

Gotcha...What size 10 awg from bat?   Did you run a separate Bat(-) or just use frame gnd?

Use 12 gauge ,  even  14  would do..  10  gauge is way overkill.  Your choice whether to  run  ground wire back to the battery or  ground to frame.. Either would work, but  my preference is to run  both wires from battery to  socket. There is a  wire chart in the download section  showing  capacity  of the different gauges and wire lengths.. I generally  use  heavier gauges than those shown  for my wiring  to be sure to minimize voltage drop  over distance.

[jen]

Yes I have 14 awg &  10 awg stranded THHN  CU  and of course 12 w gnd Romex (solid of course). Tempted to  use Romex cable but terminal connections are difficult to look good with solid.

[mikeexplorer]

4 hours ago, jen said:

Yes I have 14 awg &  10 awg stranded THHN  CU  and of course 12 w gnd Romex (solid of course). Tempted to  use Romex cable but terminal connections are difficult to look good with solid.

You do not want to use romex or any solid wire in a vehicle. The flexing and vibration will eventually break the wire as it is not designed to be flexed. 

THHN is industrial wire. If it is solid wire, don't use it for a vehicle or ATV, same reason. Stranded version would be ok but it is also not rated for it. (it won't be flexing that much in a vehicle) 

MTW wire would be the best bet, but for what your doing if the THHN is stranded, go with it.

 

4 hours ago, davefrombc said:

 

Use 12 gauge ,  even  14  would do..  10  gauge is way overkill.  Your choice whether to  run  ground wire back to the battery or  ground to frame.. Either would work, but  my preference is to run  both wires from battery to  socket. There is a  wire chart in the download section  showing  capacity  of the different gauges and wire lengths.. I generally  use  heavier gauges than those shown  for my wiring  to be sure to minimize voltage drop  over distance.

A lot of charts show voltage drop over length but that is for AC voltage. DC voltage has a higher drop rate over distance. 

My general rule is I bump up one gauge for what is needed.