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ProspectiveOwnergon Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2020 Posts: 211 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 1:26 pm Post subject: Truckfridge Electrical connections question |
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I have the TF65 DC only and the power connector is bare wire with a delphi connection on it. I am trying to find what best approach for connections is for the power draw/safety is for any need of disconnect.
What type of connector did you utilize from the TF49/65 bare ends into your aux panel? Anderson Powerpole are only available in 100+ quantity kits so looking for other options |
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MarkWard Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005 Posts: 17014 Location: Retired South Florida
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 3:17 pm Post subject: Re: Truckfridge Electrical connections question |
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I like WeatherPak connectors. Easy to assemble and reliable. They also connect positively and release easily if needed. _________________ ☮️ |
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fxr Samba Member
Joined: December 07, 2014 Posts: 2301 Location: Bay area CA
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 5:02 pm Post subject: Re: Truckfridge Electrical connections question |
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You can get a pack of ten Anderson pole connectors for $11:
https://powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpole-connectors-30amp-unassembled and it's the same price for the 15A ones if required.
I used spade terminals to connect my TF65 - a lot cheaper than Anderson poles for those connections rarely broken. _________________ Jim Crowther
1984 1.9l EJ22 Westy Wolfsburg Edition
Vespa GTS 300 |
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kourt Samba Member
Joined: August 13, 2013 Posts: 1922 Location: Austin, TX
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 5:22 pm Post subject: Re: Truckfridge Electrical connections question |
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I used Anderson Powerpole on mine.
kourt |
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drj434343 Samba Member
Joined: January 31, 2016 Posts: 398 Location: Portland, OR
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Sodo Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007 Posts: 9522 Location: Western WA
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2021 7:58 pm Post subject: Re: Truckfridge Electrical connections question |
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Note that it draws something like 4.5 amps.
Look at the tiny filament on a 5A fuse, its like a hair.
Point being, theres no need to worry about fire.
The wires you use should be appx same as TF supplies just aesthetics.
But you can any wire size that that can deliver 5Amps @ 12v to the fridge.
Your disconnects should be “whatever is convenient” for each time you remove it from the van.
More often should be higher quality.
Its not likely that you will be disconnecting the fridge often.
I’m pretty sure there are spade type terminals on the back of the fridge, you can disconnect it there. _________________
'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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ProspectiveOwnergon Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2020 Posts: 211 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 1:38 pm Post subject: Re: Truckfridge Electrical connections question |
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Completely forgot that I have bullet connectors for 12awg wire. The truckfridge is 12awg 600v wire, so I'll marry it to the car with a similar setup.
Sodo, if it's coming from a fuse box, why would I need an in line fuse? It will only be max 4' line run from box to fridge. |
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kourt Samba Member
Joined: August 13, 2013 Posts: 1922 Location: Austin, TX
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 3:33 pm Post subject: Re: Truckfridge Electrical connections question |
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The bottom of page 2 of the Truckfridge manual states that a 15 amp fuse should be in the positive circuit for the Truckfridge. If your fusebox connection provides that, it should be adequate.
kourt |
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Sodo Samba Member
Joined: July 06, 2007 Posts: 9522 Location: Western WA
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 4:34 pm Post subject: Re: Truckfridge Electrical connections question |
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I agree with Kourt.
Don’t need a 2nd fuse.
12v x 15A is not a dangerous amount of power.
But use the same gauge wire that was supplied with the Truckfridge. _________________
'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb |
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ProspectiveOwnergon Samba Member
Joined: May 22, 2020 Posts: 211 Location: SoCal
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2021 7:03 pm Post subject: Re: Truckfridge Electrical connections question |
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Thanks Kourt and Sodo!
Just placed an order for anderson to bare end and I'll marry the two bare ends together with bullet connectors. For now it will be plugged into my Goal Zero until I can get my permanent rig setup. |
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nocreditnodebt Samba Member
Joined: September 28, 2012 Posts: 332 Location: Socal
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2021 1:34 pm Post subject: Re: Truckfridge Electrical connections question |
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I dislike bullet/ 12v SAE connectors, as the female portion always seems to loosen up. One can take pliers and tighten it, but then the connection can become hot or intermittent.
When Anderson's are not really needed, I have been using Quick connects.
But one thing I only recently realized, is that ALL female quick connects are Brass, not tinned copper, as copper is too soft to exert a constant pressure on the male spade, after more than one connect/disconnect cycle
Brass has about 1/3 the conductivity as copper, and they don't make it 3x as thick. Look at the tiny cross section of a quick connect from crimp barrel to clasp, Its far far thinner than the cross section of 12awg wire. So even if the fuse did not get hot, which they all do, asn they were made of copper, not brass, there would still be a lot of resistance right there.
Most ATC/ATO fuse holders use female quick connects to clasp the fuse's tangs.
Who here has seen an inline ATC/ATO fuse holder melt around the fuse which never blew? I've seen many, and the Brass quick connect is why.
While 40 amp ATC/ATO fuses do exist, they are rare, and anything much over 20 amps continuous, is likely a bad idea for an ATC/ATO fuse, especially on voltage sensitive applications, which a danfoss powered fridge is.
The start up surge of my VF c51Is is as high as 56 watts. I have it set to run at 2K rpm. It can run upto 3500 rpm with a resistor in the thermostat circuit. I believe it can draw upto 6.5 amps at 3500 rpm and the start up surge is likely 30 to 50% more than that.
I run 10AWG to my fridge, over 45 amp anderson powerpoles from fuse block. I will run an inline wattmeter to monitor its consumption on occasion.
Too thin a wiring/ too much resistance on the circuit, can screw up the battery protection settings, causing fridge to shut off when the battery is not yet in danger of overdepletion. Too thin a wiring/ too much resistance, might spoil your food.
Do note that when this occurs, the fan will still run, but the compressor will not. The fan is likely louder than the compressor, deluding one into believing all is working as it should.
The Danfoss/Secop spec sheets recommend far thicker wiring than the max load would indicate.
IN fact they recommend no thinner than 12awg no matter how short the run to battery.
https://assets.danfoss.com/documents/86545/AI215586436310en-000402.pdf
The wires into the compressor controller use quick connect fittings. Splicing 12awg onto the pigtails introduces another resistance inducing potential failure point. One could make new 10AWG wiring that plugs directly into the controller, though a piggyback quick connect might be needed for the interior light wiring.
While it might be fractions of a watt, using too thin of wiring turns battery power into heat. One can increase efficiency, and reliability, by using a fat copper circuit with minimal resistance inducing connections from battery to fridge's compressor controller.
Doing it over correctly, is far more work than employing overkill initially. |
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RichBenn Samba Member
Joined: November 16, 2005 Posts: 703 Location: Lake Tahoe, NV
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 6:18 pm Post subject: Re: Truckfridge Electrical connections question |
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I agree that bigger wire should be used. 12-14 gauge is fine for short runs; voltage drop with longer runs will be significant enough to cause problems when your battery is partially discharged.
Fuse it with a fuse the size they say. That’ll protect their wire, which will be smaller gauge than the extension wire. _________________ Rich |
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