220v rear cargo power socket power options Running Engle 40L fridge

[Nherf Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Nherf]

Hi all,

Planning on a 3 week road trip up far north queensland. Just seeing if people here have done/can comment on issues/any of the following plan setups for running a 40L Engel in the Prado 150.

Noting: Will have a 120ah battery in box fully charged before leaving, Engel is pre-cooled couple days earlier, plan on using just 0-3C, not freeze. Don't plan or want to do any dual battery, rewiring etc at this stage. I have already read a few reviews ref the prado inverter/wiring, appears mos of people have connected the fridge to the 220V socket without issue.

During the trip, we will be staying in a mix of hotel and camping accomodation, so trying to keep the Engel on at all times, without having to take the fridge/battery out to charge/run on mains power

will also have a 160W solar blanket for campsites.



Preference 1

Run/connect Engel to the 120ah 12V battery box AND (at the same time) connect the battery box to a CTEK mxs5 battery charger to the 220V Prado socket (the idea is to charge/maintain the battery whilst car is on - will be doing long hours and when the car is off, the 12V battery box will keep the fridge running). I prefer this options, if it works, because we will be staying in a mix of hotel/camp accomodations, so when we are in hotels the battery box keeps the fridge running. if needs be, can have extension cord lead at some location to top up battery.

Preference 2

Connect/run Engel on the 220V socket AND (at the same time) connect the Engel 12V cord to the 12V battery box (the idea, when the car is turned off, the engel automatically switches to the 12V battery box, therefore negating power loss to run the fridge) - any anyone tried this? downside - battery drains, but only when car is off.

Preference 3

Connect/run the Engel to the Prado 12V cig socket when car is on during long road hours. Separately, Connect a CTEK mxs5 battery charger to the 120ah battery in box to maintain charge or topup during road trips.

Hopefully, I have not confused anyone...Thanks in advance for comments.

[sparksy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sparksy]

Option 1. with this you are basically running a system that mimics a DCDC system.

[Nherf Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Nherf]

Option 1. with this you are basically running a system that mimics a DCDC system.

Thanks for comment. I'm definitely prefer Preference 1.

whilst I'm not being electrically minded, you forsee any problems with the CTEK charger being turned off/on each time with the 220V prado power socket to charge the battery in box?

[amts Ninja Poster. Find all posts View Profile Close amts]

Do your sums with the current draw when both the fridge and charger are connected to the AC. Fridge startup and compressor running current is not the same as the average consumption stated in the specs. You don't want to be tripping the fuse frequently.

[sparksy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sparksy]

Regarding option 1. The 120AHr battery is more than capable of running the fridge and assuming its a AGM will do so for at least 12 hours ( longer for lithium) . Not sure how Ctek would handle the starting and stopping as never owned one but I cant see a problem. The fridge will only draw its power from the battery when cycling where the charger can provide charging continuously. The battery provides a buffer so minimal current will be drawn via the 220v outlet. Not that I'd advise it but I have seen a setup where a van battery was charged via a inverter and a 240v lead from the car until a proper DCDC charging setup was installed.