Power Outlet for Onbard Fridge

[Splash]

Hello.

Can a great Anderson Plug be used for an onboard fridge - instead of the standard 12V outlet?

If so, are these and different wiring considerations required?

For a fridge located under passenger seat, where should this Andersen plug be located to best accommodate the fridge hookup?


Splash

[NAGG]

Hello.

Can a great Anderson Plug be used for an onboard fridge - instead of the standard 12V outlet?

If so, are these and different wiring considerations required?

For a fridge located under passenger seat, where should this Andersen plug be located to best accommodate the fridge hookup?


Splash

Ask Barcrusher ...... it's one of their options

chris

[Splash]

Thanks Chris. I have already asked them and they want to use the single 12V outlet. I do not want use this outlet because I want it free for other items.

Ignoring the BC, how do all other boats power up their fridge whilst onboard?


Splash

[NAGG]

Thanks Chris. I have already asked them and they want to use the single 12V outlet. I do not want use this outlet because I want it free for other items.

Ignoring the BC, how do all other boats power up their fridge whilst onboard?


Splash

Why not just add another 12vlt outlet ? - I'm sure they would do it for you during the fitout

** BTW - Since you are thinking about a fridge .... you probably should be thinking about your batteries . Traditionally barcrushers come with twin Calcium hybrid batteries which are fine for running a boat ...... but once you start adding fridges etc you really need to move to a bigger house battery (dedicated deep cycle of 125 amp or bigger) - I would talk to BC about what they would offer .

Chris

[stevej]

I run my sounders on 24v and have added a socket in the boat for camping trips as any decent fridge will also run on 24v
the benefit is longer run times at reduced amps from using 24v

just upgraded the two 50 ah 12v to two 100ah 12v for this reason.

[ranmar850]

Problem with starting to run stuff on 24v is that everything then needs to be 24v. Unless you have 2 sets of outlets, and are careful about what you plug in.Are you running a 12/24v DC-Dc charger to convert your 12v output from the outboard to 24V? You realise there is no net gain from going to 24v from 12v? Power is power, P=V x I, whether you appliance runs on 12v or 24v, it is still using the same amount of power. Half the current , yes, but you have to supply twice the voltage to get it, and there are losses in the conversion( unless you have a 24v alternator and a motor that gets its own electrical needs from 24v.) So you need to pull double the current from your alternator to get those 24v batteries charged up. Once charged up, of course, the static current draw is less, I get it.

Back on the OP's question, Andersen plugs are the best outlet to use on a boat, in general, due to their rugged, simple construction. and I mean genuine Andersen, not SCA, or Narva, or someone elses' copy. They might look the same, but they are garbage, pure and simple. When I first started using Andersen,replacing all the cigarette lighter and Merret outlets, connecting up solar, etc, I used genuine. Expensive, I thought. Then I started seeing all these cheap alternatives, started using those. And this was the time during which i was fitting out the new boat. And, within a few short years, or in some cases almost immediately, I was replacing them. If you think genuine is expensive, you are buying at the wrong place. I buy mine in bulk from here https://andersonconnect.com.au/store/ They also have really useful Andersen accessories like Power Blocks. Buy a pack of 25, you'll use them up if you do any outdoors stuff. Rant over.

Cigarette lighter outlets are pretty useless on a boat, just the constant salt air will cause them to rust internally. I even use Ansersens in fairly exposed positions, for connecting up electric reels, etc, just make sure to seal up the back, fill them with dielectric grease, and put the rubber caps on when not in use.

On the subject of batteries, your 800 MCA which would likely be fitted will only be about 75ah. Which equates to maybe 30ah before fully discharged. There are hybrid start/deep cycle 100ah jobs out there now, I wouldn't go any lower than that for a house battery. When I wired the new boat, I went with 2 x 800MCA fitted with a VSR and bridging switch, rationale was that I would swap the batteries beween positions annually. It hasn't been an unqualified success, House battery struggles on overnighters. It's going to get a complete makeover later this year, but that's another topic.

[Dignity]

Thanks Chris. I have already asked them and they want to use the single 12V outlet. I do not want use this outlet because I want it free for other items.

Ignoring the BC, how do all other boats power up their fridge whilst onboard?


Splash

I run everything on Anderson plugs in my boat (not a BC) and vehicles, so much easier, you can double up on the Anderson Plugs plus there are now available some with sealing caps etc.. Even when buying equipment I change over to Andersons although you need to be aware of several things:

1. Warranty could be void on your fridge/charger/any item if you cut the cord, check with supplier.

2. Like everything exposed to the elements, especially salt, you do need to look after them, regularly spray them or coat with an electrical grease and check annually at the least regardless of plug you have installed.

3. When you do cut the plugs off, make up a lead with those plugs, the other end being an Anderson plug. Reason being if the shit hits the fan with either your boat or someone else's you have a connection to their supply or vice versa. Having a female 12V socket to an Anderson plug then covers all contingencies.

Splash, it sounds to me like BC aren't very customer orientated from your various posts.

Cheers Sam

Edit: I forgot to mention buy genuine but I see Ranmar said it and Calcium batteries will fail if you go below DOD, they are very unforgiving.

[stevej]

Seperate wiring and a big red sticker over the 24 v outlet is enough to stop someone from making a mistake unless they are truely stupid and all it would do is blow the fuse in the 12v cigarette lighter adaptor

I went 24v for the sounders for a specific reason that they work better and the fridge use is just to make use of the capacity on the boat.
24v over 12v means thinner wiring or if using 12v specs wiring you end up getting less voltage drop over the run
The 24v system is completely seperate and isn’t connected to the 12v system in anyway



For a 100k plus boat you would think they would do what ever the owner wanted

[NAGG]

with regards to 24 volt - you can buy RED Anderson plugs .

When I bought my current boat - the original owner used a red plug for the leccy which you couldn't connect to 12 volt ( the plugs couldn't join)

Chris

[Lovey80]

Plus 1 for the above on the Anderson's. But I will add to keep a genuine spare 12v lighter socket plug for the fridge in a packet somewhere. I was advised by the store I bought my dometic, that if I ever needed to use the warranty to return the fridge with the original lighter socket plug to stave off any possible issues with the company blaming the Anderson plug as the reason for failure. Haven’t got experience with it but went with that advice just in case.

[ranmar850]

The colour coding on Andersen plugs is very useful-- I use Red for battery feed to DC-DC. I started using Black for unregulated solar output. Then realised that the only two colours which are interconnectable are Grey and Black But at least it's a heads up. and I use blue for negative connections on a BMS, so you can't get reverse polarity.

[Splash]

Thanks guys. Very informative thread.

BC would not commit to any alternative power setup for a new fridge that is wznt to I stall in the future. They only said to use the existing 12V power supply cigarette lighter socket.

I just told them not to do anything and I will make my own after market power setup.for the fridge.

Splash