Freezer in the boot of my car

[andyp1]

I want to put a domestic table top freezer in the boot of my car , it will be plugged in at home before the journey ( into France ) and it will be full to the brim . So it will keep frozen for a while but I am considering using an inverter but I am not sure how big that would need to be .
Does anyone else do this ?

Thanks

 

[Damian]

How would you power the inverter if you fitted one?

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Andy.
Been there before and kind of moved on..
France is a gastronomic delight. I assume you have a freezer section in the caravan fridge?
So how much frozen food do you want to take ?
France has plenty of fresh local produce.
Do you really want to lug a heavy domestic freezer across the channel.
Technically an invertor will work but your alternator will take a pounding.
Choice is yours.
Go on. Eat native and fresh.

 

[Thingy]

Eat native and fresh.

Subsitute that for raw or burned.

 

[andyp1]

Thanks for replies ,
I was looking at a table top freezer so not that big , child has special needs !

We have a small inverter for laptops etc , but not sure what wattage I would need for small freezer - without power the freezer would last a few hours so it was a just in case .
Cheers
Andy

 

[Sproket]

Hi Andy

Maybe one of these would suit your needs better yes they are more expensive, but a lot lighter than a table top chest freezer and it will work ok in the car and it is also a little larger inside....

You will be able to use it in the awning, or when you go to the supermarket, either way your food will be stay cold

We have a W35 that runs off 12v ok, infact on Friday some frozen meat was put in for the bbq on Sunday and it was still frozen on Sunday morning, I had to turn it off to let the meat thaw out hmy:

 

[andyp1]

Yes you may be right this could be a better option.
I did look a these but there are so many different types that I kind of got lost .

I have had cheaper 12v cool boxes in the past which barely worked as a fridge so I think that was in the back of my mind.
Whatever I get needs to work as a freezer and it needs to work in a hot awning !!!

Andy

 

[ProfJohnL]

Here's another possible model:-

Hello Andy,
Sorry to read your child has special needs. Freezers and travelling hmmm.

There are some dedicated portable freezers such as this 18Litre one which uses a compressor like your domestic fridge/freezer at home.

http://www.waecofridges.co.uk/freezer/cdf18.htm
Compressor fridges & Freezers are the norm for domestic use, where the slight noise they produce is not a problem, but in touring caravans, the noise of a compressor could be quite distracting. Consequently most caravan fridges use the virtually silent absorption method, which as the benefit of being multi-fuelled.

Compressor systems are generally more efficient and this is demonstrated by the power consumption of this unit.

The information on the web site is not very clear, they do not tell us what the dc cuurent requirement is to power it, but they do give us some information which I might hazard a guess will give us the power needs to maintain the freezer function.

Apparently the the internal temperature can be set between +10 to -18C. They claim a power input of 36 Watts (which is 3A @ 12V)
and they tell us to maintain +5 with an ambient of 20C uses 0.38Ah
and to maintain +5 with an ambient of +32C uses 0.64Ah

Without repeating the calculations here, As a rough estimate the unit is capable of dropping the internal temperature by approximately 30C from ambient with the compressor running continuously, so it theoretically could keep the freezer -18C in ambient temperatures up to 12C. There after for every degree rise in ambient the internal temperature could rise by the same amount.

I have to observe the current consumption is surprisingly low Circa (3A)compared to a normal caravan fridge that will use about 8A, so its quite feasible to run it in the car boot, but its is still quite a substantial continual power drain, so it would not be wise to leave it running form more than about 5 to 8 hours without the engine running, other wise you may not have enough battery power to start the car.

Hope this helps

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Andy

Sorry to hear your child has special food needs. Now I understand.

I hope some of the suggestions are of use to you.
Good luck,

 

[Gafferbill]

Hi Andyp1

...........I have been using a 1.5 cu ft domestic table top freezer for many years in my caravan.
I have become so used to the superior performance of this type of freezer that I would not be without one now if I am going to a site with electric hook up for any length of time.
Mine cost £99.00 ten years ago and you get used to any noise it produces.
You can have an endless supply of cold drinks, plenty of storage for frozen foods and the ability to pre cool items before placing in the less efficient caravan absorption refrigerator.
This is a real bonus in +30deg C ambient temperatures that are more common in France and Spain for instance

Having said that I would not attempt to operate my freezer from an inverter in my tow car.
This type of freezer has a very high start up current so although it is possible to run one in your tow car the set up would be costly.
It would not be a case of plugging a cheap inverter into a cigarette lighter socket.
You would need a substantial 1.5 kilowatt inverter and some serious rewiring to supply the inverter with sufficient 12 volt power.

If you need to keep supplies frozen for your child's needs the only worthwhile solution is to purchase a 12 volt compressor freezer and these are like to cost around £1000.00.
Beware any products that are cheaper or use the words "Cool Box" in the product description as the freezer function may only apply when a 240 volt mains supply is connected.

 

[andyp1]

Many thanks for your detailed responses , genuinely very helpful and as I feared the inverter would need to be substantial - need a rethink

Many thanks
Andy

 

[MichaelE]

The problem i have found in the past the 12v power side of the units is not very good at all compared to gas or 240v.
Depends on the distance between your stops when traveling? We have taken a normal fridge before (when fridges in vans were really small and you couldn't fit one of those strawberry tarts in them) and when stopped stopped ran an extension lead to the car.On arrival at the next destination the food was still cold.

 

[ProfJohnL]

The problem i have found in the past the 12v power side of the units is not very good at all compared to gas or 240v.
Depends on the distance between your stops when traveling? We have taken a normal fridge before (when fridges in vans were really small and you couldn't fit one of those strawberry tarts in them) and when stopped stopped ran an extension lead to the car.On arrival at the next destination the food was still cold.

Hello Michael,
I fear you have not understood the OP's needs, its not fridge but a freezer for special needs materials .

 

[bertieboy1]

Probably not a good idea you will need to ventilate your boot to expel the hot air otherwise the boot will just get hotter and hotter and your freezer will have to work harder and harder and give off more and more hot air and the boot will get hotter and hotter - - - - - - -

 

[andyp1]

Would the cars Aircon not deal with that ?

Cheers
Andy

 

[SteveW77]

Would the cars Aircon not deal with that ?

Cheers
Andy

Not in the boot.

 

[andyp1]

It is a hatchback , so if the blind is pulled back it is open to the cars interior

Maybe that's not a good idea either ?

Andy

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Again Andy,

Lets try to get to the bottom of this problem.

What volume of material do you need to keep cold, and how cold must it be?

 

[MichaelE]

The problem i have found in the past the 12v power side of the units is not very good at all compared to gas or 240v.
Depends on the distance between your stops when traveling? We have taken a normal fridge before (when fridges in vans were really small and you couldn't fit one of those strawberry tarts in them) and when stopped stopped ran an extension lead to the car.On arrival at the next destination the food was still cold.

Hello Michael,
I fear you have not understood the OP's needs, its not fridge but a freezer for special needs materials .

No not at all the fridge had a freezer section, as pointed out depends on the volume of items

 

[andyp1]

A typical tabletop freezer would be sufficient space ( along with the freezer space in the caravan fridge) it needs to be fully frozen .

We have been told that if a domestic freezer is packed and frozen with no space ( and not opened ) it should be ok ( not plugged in ) for 24 hours ! That would be sufficient time to get us on site
So at the moment we are going to give this a go
Cheers
Andy