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Fri Mar 18, 2011 1:55 pm

Timwhy wrote: carterzest wrote: Getting ready to pull the trigger on this one this weekend and have a few last minute questions. This Westy, my 25th :shock: does not yet have the 2nd battery. Anyone run one off the stock battery setup, and if so, how long before you fire up the engine and recharge the battery?

Thanks. Syncro Solstice is coming quick and I must pull the trigger

If you read that Expedition Portal thread from front to back there were several people that
were doing just as you are asking. Killed their battery pretty quickly, so I'd suggest an aux
battery big enough to hanle the draw from the fridge and what ever else you will be powering up.

Though it's not summer time temps here, I plan on running my fridge this weekend and see what
it will do to my aux batteries. I'll post my results once they are in. Then cooler it shall be for the trip :cry: This is the only Westy I have ever had that has not had the second battery setup and that project is slated for this summer. Thanks Tim!

Tue Mar 22, 2011 3:34 am

Timwhy wrote: Though it's not summer time temps here, I plan on running my fridge this weekend and see what
it will do to my aux batteries. I'll post my results once they are in.

Let the fridge stay on all weekend to see what the draw would be on the batteries. The inside
temp of the van was between 60-70 degrees for the entire weekend, the outside temps
was between 16-48. I had the fridge set at 36 and it would rise and fall within a couple
of degrees. I do think that where I have the fridge located, next to the slider behind the
passenger seat did affect the temperature inside the fridge. The fridge came on very little
if at all. It didn't draw down my battery to the point that the charge controller would
show anything other than a fully charged battery. One of the times that the fridge did come
on I watched the CC to see what the amerage used was and the fridge was the only thing
under load. The amps were between 3-5, with it more steady on 3+ amps.
I am sure that I would have vastly different results if it was summer time with the temps
to go with it. The fridge run its most when initially cooling down to 36 degrees, after
that It would come on for maybe 10-15 minutes at a time but not on each and every hour.

Fri May 27, 2011 4:20 pm

I have the Edgestar FP430 for almost 2 years and in different conditions.

I hooked both of our fridges (Engel 45 and the 430) to a watt meter I use for RC planes over a weekend to test running off a pair of trojan deep cycles.

In my opinion and testing, the Engel is quieter and does not cycle as much as the edgestar but when it comes to the power consumption, they are very similar.

I believe Edgestar's manf site lists the highest amp pull and not the average.

I pulled around 1.85 on the Engel and 2.04 on Edgestar.

If you want to save a few hundred and put it elsewhere, buy the Edgestar. Your battery won't notice much of a difference to warrant the additional cost.

The casing/quality is better than I had anticipated when I got it in 2009 and since then it's been hauled in/out and around campsites from vehicle to vehicle. It can take a lot of abuse and hold up.

If you have the cash and want to pay for a name, buy the Engel.

Buying a fresh one again if I had to, I would save the few hundred and buy the Edgestar.