Gu Patrol setting up to run fridge

[jeff0123]

Hello Guys/Girls,
Well I finnaly did it I sold my GQ and bought a GU Patrol what a beuty it is a really nice car I should of done it years ago but anyway the Patrol that I have now is a 2.8 diesel intercooled turbo it has dual batteries I was just wondering what I need to do so I can run my 75 Litre Combi Fridge / Freezer Platinum Model No:
MT80FCP Category:Chest Fridge / Freezer Fridge Capacity:42 lt Freezer Capacity:33 Litre External dimensions:
H 561 W 790 D 490 (mm)
DC Power Consumption:
Variable from 0.5 to 4.2 AMPS Maximum Power:
Built In 240Volt AC / 12Volt DC / 24Volt DC
sorry about the copy/paste I would like to stay in one place for about 2 to 4 days at a time there abouts what would be the best system including inverters would be the best option I do tow a small poptop van as well and would only use lights to a minum & TV for about 3hrs max at nite.
Thankyou for reading my request if you could include diagrams for any suggestions that would be great.
Thanks Regards
Jeff

[MudRunnerTD]

G'day Jeff,

Mate head over to the Introduction section and post an intro mate, we like people to say g'day before asking for advice.

All good mate, there are a few options for your power setup and i'd be looking at Solar for sure.

Get your introduction thread up and running and plenty of blokes will chime and and your answers will be plentiful i reckon.

Cheers MR

[threedogs]

X 2 on the solar, 80 watts or 100 watt folding job perfect for what you want,
I'll go into more detail after Intro

[the evil twin]

Hello Guys/Girls,
snip...

sorry about the copy/paste I would like to stay in one place for about 2 to 4 days at a time there abouts what would be the best system including inverters would be the best option I do tow a small poptop van as well and would only use lights to a minum & TV for about 3hrs max at nite.
Thankyou for reading my request if you could include diagrams for any suggestions that would be great.
Thanks Regards
Jeff

Hiya Jeff,

I don't have the big Engel but usually travel with 2 Engel 40's if we are away for more than a few days.

Don't run the fridge off an Inverter, the extra power losses aren't worth it going from DC to AC and back to DC. Indeed I only advocate carrying a small inverter to charge anything that you don't have a DC adapter for such as Camera's, Mobiles or whatever.

Set yourself up with a good deep cycle battery about 105 to 120 AH or so and you should get a couple of days easy on the battery alone. Factor in 100 to 120 watts of Solar panel, a good MPPT Solar Reg plus a bit of care in how you use/stack the fridge (which is your biggest daily power user and the battery draw down overnight will be replaced by lunch time on a decent day.

I don't even budget for lighting now as I use LED light strips exclusively (made my own by buying the LED strips off Ebay for like $5 per metre and sticking them to placcy fascia from Bunnings). LED's use so little power the draw down is negligble.

As said prev I run two Engel 40's, Elec Water Pump and my Lappy, Ereaders, Electronic chargers for phones, Cams, Two way Radios etc from twin 105 A/H Full River Deep Cycle batts and 100 Watt Solar.

The handiest bit of kit is a DC Power Meter (there are heaps on Ebay) that tells you instant current draw and also cumulative draw down from the battery so it is easy to keep an eye on "what goes in and what comes out" and also spot "power hungry" habits or equipment.

I also carry a CTEK 7000 which is a selectable power supply or battery charger for when we are in a powered site.

In the GU...
I run a 105 AH all rounder as an Aux battery feeding an Anderson Plug to the Camper and a couple of Power Plugs in the Cargo area where one of the Engels is in a Drop Slide and the other is removeable so it stays at Camp.

Fit a smart relay (Redarc or similar) or charge controller (CTEK or similar) between the Aux and the Cranker so you don't ever accidentally flatten the Cranker.
NOTE... contrary to popular belief these devices WILL NOT and CAN NOT EVER fully charge the Cranker before they switch in the Aux. What they will do is stop the Cranker drawing down whenever the Alternator isn't running so your Cranker "stays up" around it's normal state of charge.

Why did I run an Anderson Plug to the rear bumper of the GU?
Simple. I have Cole Hersee Isolators on the Camper Battery Bank so I can plug the GU, the Camper and (when stopped also the Solar) all in together and the GU can charge the Camper, the Camper can power the GU (if ever needed for winching etc) or run the Fridges (if only stopped overnite and they stay in the GU) and finally the Solar can recharge the Camper or the GU or both (currently looking at a bracket so the panels can also stay on the roof rack while travelling but thats a wish list ATM)

Fridge Power Sockets...
IMHO the Engel Power Socket is the only way to go. It is impossible for them to ever accidentally come undone or fall out. I strongly suggest the female is purchased for power to your fridge. The male is accessed by unscrewing the ciggy adapter on the supplied 12 volt fridge cable

Dollars...
You can spend heaps on power setups but the basic and IMHO necessary bits are...
-Aux battery, All Rounder if you have a Winch or whatever or Deep Cycle (either hard wired in the vehicle or power pack style)
-Battery Isolator or Charge Controller
-Engel Fridge Socket
-Ciggy Socket or two
-80 to 120 Watts or thereabouts of Solar Panel
-MPPT reg with LCD display (PV Reg is Ok if you already have one)
-DC Power Meter

I know you have some of the above already just thought it easier to expand a bit for others who may read the posts....

[oncedisturbed]

X 2 for what ET has said. I am yet to get solar panels but I do have a basic dual batt kit installed and in the process of installing a automatic isolator for a 3rd battery in a power pack for the rear of the truck. Will allow me to run the fridge, lights etc whilst the power pack is removed from the truck, similar to how you would run power to a camper as I dont yet have a camper


Tap, Tap Taparoo

[jeff0123]

Thanks Mudrunner I should of done that first

[jeff0123]

Mate your a legend thank you very much for all of that useful info drive safe and keep well

[threedogs]

X 2 with above as well, make up your own battery pak it's cheaper, I use a 100 ah battery in a plastic purpose built battery box with Cig and merit outlets.
The thing I like about this is it can be moved around camp, in my case down to the river to use for remote lighting. I use an 80 watt panel to top everything up.
100ah in 4x4 is for fridge and some lighting, camper battery is 100ah for all camp lighting, tunes, whatever. I've also made adaptors for different things people
may bring like male cig to female merit an vice versa, plus made a few 6mtr plus leads so I can put a light anywhere I want, camp looks good when its all set up
Battery box can charge up whilst travelling or via solar