ARB Fridge

Serg5000

Serg5000

New member
I was wondering if anyone here knew if the 50 qt. fridge is ok to run on the factory JK 12vdc power plug. I ran the ARB recommended wiring to the rear of our 4 door but seem to always set the fridge in the middle on the folded rear seats. The power cord is plenty long to just use the factory outlet. I am wondering if the factory wiring is capable of carrying the load of this fridge.
Here is the outlet in question.
 

Attachments

  • image-402852904.jpg
    image-402852904.jpg
    403.6 KB · Views: 237
Concern would not be maintaining the temp, rather how much does it draw when going from ambient temp to your setting. Full load is when it is making it cold, does not draw much at all when maintaining.

Your manual should tell you how much full load is. Compare that to the wiring of your outlet and what else runs on that circuit.

Ideally, you would prechill the fridge at home before putting it in the Jeep.

I do not have faith in the factory outlets for larger load items. I have a new dedicated circuit for my fridge.
 
I will go back and read up on what it draws when chilling. I do keep it plugged in all the time at home. I usually fill it and let it reach temp with all its content the day before. Thank you for the reply.
 
You will be fine. I ran mine at 95 degrees for 2 days with no issues. I did find out that it did not like an extension type cord that goes from the original cord to the power plug. Kept shutting down then.
 
Last edited:
I received a reply to my question to the ARB guys. They said the fridge pulls around 6-7 amps when trying to reach the set temp. Once set temp is met, it pulls 1 2.5 amps to maintain temp. They also said that with the factory plug. The wire can be to small and the fridge could think the battery is low and it will shut down as it is designed. However. They did say that they did not test on the JK in particular.

I'm going to test our fridge in our JK as many of you already have.
 
Last edited:
Camping for 3 to 5 days at a time

ramin said:
I have been using it for the last 2 years without any issues!
Click to expand...

I have been thinking about asking for one of these for Fathers day, however I have some concerns.

What is the longest you have been away from a wall outlet with it? Do you need to freeze water bottles to keep it from draining your battery dead? DO you unplug it at night while camping? Have you ever woke up with a dead battery? Any other concerns or experiences would be appreciated...

Thanks,
 
RubiconRon said:
I have been thinking about asking for one of these for Fathers day, however I have some concerns.

What is the longest you have been away from a wall outlet with it? Do you need to freeze water bottles to keep it from draining your battery dead? DO you unplug it at night while camping? Have you ever woke up with a dead battery? Any other concerns or experiences would be appreciated...

Thanks,
Click to expand...

I think the basic operation and experiences of all fridge (Engle, Waeco, ARB, Edgestar, etc) is going to be about the same.

One operates the fridge much like a fridge at home. Plug it in, set it and go.

I own an Edgestar FWIW. Longest it has been plugged in was 8 days. Did not kill my battery. 3 year old Optima yellow top. Conditions over that time was several days on the Rubicon in July and a day in Reno. The Jeep ran every day though. Friends have borrowed it, and used it for a week in their Subaru. No issues with battery drain.

No need for any frozen water bottle or the like. I keep it plugged in and the temperature setting is maintained easily.

Dust can build up around the compressor and such. This can reduce performance, much like dust in your house fridge. I just blow it out every now and again with my OBA, depending on dust conditions.
 
RubiconRon said:
I have been thinking about asking for one of these for Fathers day, however I have some concerns.

What is the longest you have been away from a wall outlet with it? Do you need to freeze water bottles to keep it from draining your battery dead? DO you unplug it at night while camping? Have you ever woke up with a dead battery? Any other concerns or experiences would be appreciated...

Thanks,
Click to expand...

No need to unplug and you wont wake up with a dead battery due to the low volt cut off switch in the fridge. I want one of these as well:thumb:
 
Does it come with a cig lighter plug style or a 120 outlet plug
I'm in process of removing an aftermarket stereo amp that is wired in the back of my JK and replacing it with a nice inverter. Wondering which route do you guys do?!?
 
AFAIK, they all come with both.

For vehicle use, 12V is probably best. Fewer things to go wrong.

120V is what I use in the house.
 
What's the longest people have gone without running the engine? Lets say arrive at camp Friday at noon and lot restart the Jeep until Sunday at noon 48 hours).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom