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Refrigerator on battery when travelling

C

clivea

Hi,

I have a Pageant Bordeaux Series 5 (March 2005) with a Thetford N80 refrigerator. I am shortly off abroad and the ferry journey is about 6-7 hours. The handbook is not claer on whether I can leave the refrigerator set on battery and the van connected to the car whilst on the ferry. My concern would be any drain on the car battery. My prevoius vans gave no problem but with the ambiguity in the handbook I would welcome some advice please, and Bailey are now closed until 2nd June!
 
Frige will only recieve supply from car when the engine is running, so it shouldn't affect the car battery, but to be on the safe side, just pull out your 12S plug on the car.

I dont think the fridge operates from the caravan battery at all, except the light, so the jist of the story is, your fridge wont be operating on the ferry.

Enjoy your hols.
 
I agree with Eddiie's comments. We travel on the long ferry crossings and always make sure the fridge is switched on 24 hrs before we go on Mains electric. Providing you do this everything including the freezer will be fine. As soon as you hit the road the fridge will work on 12 v.
 
I agree with Eddiie's comments. We travel on the long ferry crossings and always make sure the fridge is switched on 24 hrs before we go on Mains electric. Providing you do this everything including the freezer will be fine. As soon as you hit the road the fridge will work on 12 v.
 
Caravan fridges are normally 3-way - LPG, 240v and 12v. The 12v DOESN'T mean battery, it means car alternator with eninge running.

A normally wired caravan connected to a normally wired car will NEVER use either the car battery or the caravan battery to run the fridge. In either case they would be flat in just a few hours.

There have been changes in the detailed 12S connections both for car and caravan but the above principle hasn't changed.

On a ferry, your fridge will have no power, assuming the engine is switched off! It would be theoretically possible to modify your caravan wiring to run the fridge from the caravan battery but even a 110Ah leisure battery would be flat in about 12 hours.
 
Hi,

thanks evryone for the input. It was the car battery that I wanted to protect during the ferry crossing. I will play safe and disconnect the car-van cable for the crossing.

Thanks Again
 
As stated your fridge will not run while on the ferry. So if you have food that may "go off" in there, put a carton of milk in the freezer the day before you leave, then put that in the fridge, it will help keep the temperature down while on the boat, just remember to take some "unfrozen" for use enroute!

Tankie
 
As stated your fridge will not run while on the ferry. So if you have food that may "go off" in there, put a carton of milk in the freezer the day before you leave, then put that in the fridge, it will help keep the temperature down while on the boat, just remember to take some "unfrozen" for use enroute!

Tankie
Click to expand...
Gordon,

thanks for the tip. I guess that cold beer might also be an idea too.

Other Clive
 
Hi,

thanks evryone for the input. It was the car battery that I wanted to protect during the ferry crossing. I will play safe and disconnect the car-van cable for the crossing.

Thanks Again
Click to expand...
A point to remember is that when you are running with the fridge on 12v from the car, there is no thermostaic control and it will get colder---and colder----
 
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