What power source in Lightning is best for fridge?) .

[Literider150]

Just bought a 53 quart portable freezer/refrigerator. It came with a 12VDC power cord to plug into the cigarette lighter. Also came with an A/C adapter cord. In my 2024 Flash I can utilize a couple of different ways to power it on short trips such as to town ( about 1 hr. 20 min one way) I wonder if anyone could clarify for me.

1. would it be better to use the DC power, at least while driving. It seems that having to give the truck the task of converting DC power to AC would use more power in the long run

2:. When I arrive at the grocery store and have to turn off the truck but want to keep the fridge cooling .. but do I have to turn on Pro Power and use the setting "power outlets when truck is off" ? Will both the AC outlet and the DC outlet use the HV battery and not the 12V battery?

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[jeep2liberty]

Assuming you are asking about efficiency, that would depend how (where) Ford is extracting the energy to provide the DC power VS the AC that comes from the inverter. My guess would be the 12v dc is from the AGM lead acid battery. If so, I'd suggest using the inverter.

 

[lightspeed]

Use the AC power. You don't want a big draw on the 12v battery. Even if we trusted the system to keep the 12v charged (and I don't), it would still draw from the HVB with some kind of DC to DC stepdown system to charge the 12v which is unlikely to be significantly more efficient than the HVB to AC converter.

 

[vvgogh]

Just bought a 53 quart portable freezer/refrigerator. It came with a 12VDC power cord to plug into the cigarette lighter. Also came with an A/C adapter cord. In my 2024 Flash I can utilize a couple of different ways to power it on short trips such as to town ( about 1 hr. 20 min one way) I wonder if anyone could clarify for me.

1. would it be better to use the DC power, at least while driving. It seems that having to give the truck the task of converting DC power to AC would use more power in the long run

2:. When I arrive at the grocery store and have to turn off the truck but want to keep the fridge cooling .. but do I have to turn on Pro Power and use the setting "power outlets when truck is off" ? Will both the AC outlet and the DC outlet use the HV battery and not the 12V battery?

By better, I assume you mean the most efficient? The fridge uses 12V DC, probably about 50W cycling on and off averaging maybe 20W depending on ambient temperature. I've heard leaving the truck on with AC power inverters active uses 400W (plus any load).

If you're talking about leaving the truck on for an hour while in the store, the 400W truck overhead is insignificant at 0.3%/hr of the extended range battery. If you want to leave the fridge on 24/7 powered off truck AC power, that's 7.3%/day overhead of the extended range battery if the (400W overhead is accurate) to provide 480 Wh to the fridge, well into the single digit efficiency range.

If you go 24/7 fridge, DC power is the way to go given the truck's significant overhead. Get a solar panel and an all-in-one maximum power point tracker (MPPT), battery and inverter. I have a 250W panel on the roof and it generates about 2 kWh/day in the summer - enough for the fridge 24/7, plus all camp electric cooking, plus electric blanket glamping.

If you don't get a solar panel, then an hour of charging a small 250 Wh battery off vehicle AC will get you 5-10h of cooler power.

 

[flyct]

Just bought a 53 quart portable freezer/refrigerator. It came with a 12VDC power cord to plug into the cigarette lighter. Also came with an A/C adapter cord. In my 2024 Flash I can utilize a couple of different ways to power it on short trips such as to town ( about 1 hr. 20 min one way) I wonder if anyone could clarify for me.

1. would it be better to use the DC power, at least while driving. It seems that having to give the truck the task of converting DC power to AC would use more power in the long run

2:. When I arrive at the grocery store and have to turn off the truck but want to keep the fridge cooling .. but do I have to turn on Pro Power and use the setting "power outlets when truck is off" ? Will both the AC outlet and the DC outlet use the HV battery and not the 12V battery?

We travel 125 miles one way between our house and cabin several times a month

We have a 59 qt powered cooler in the truck bed and a 38 qt powered cooler in the front trunk.

The cooler in the bed we set to 33 degrees as a refrigerator
The cooler in the front we set to -4 degrees as a freezer.

They take at least 30 minutes to come to temp.

We use the 120 vac outlets for both.

Even with pro power set to power outlet on when truck turned off the outlets turn off after about 6 minutes. For the outlets to remain on the Outlets will turn off unless there is a 100 watt load.

I use the same cooler in my Tesla Model Y. With the Tesla I use the 12vdc cord in the rear hatch area.

When grocery shopping I pre cool the coolers and shop fast.

Our coolers have an app that we can monitor and charge temp using blue tooth.

 

[Vulnox]

We travel 125 miles one way between our house and cabin several times a month

We have a 59 qt powered cooler in the truck bed and a 38 qt powered cooler in the front trunk.

The cooler in the bed we set to 33 degrees as a refrigerator
The cooler in the front we set to -4 degrees as a freezer.

They take at least 30 minutes to come to temp.

We use the 120 vac outlets for both.

Even with pro power set to power outlet on when truck turned off the outlets turn off after about 6 minutes. For the outlets to remain on the Outlets will turn off unless there is a 100 watt load.

I use the same cooler in my Tesla Model Y. With the Tesla I use the 12vdc cord in the rear hatch area.

When grocery shopping I pre cool the coolers and shop fast.

Our coolers have an app that we can monitor and charge temp using blue tooth.

Thanks for adding the pictures. Is this the model in the bed? I have been looking around a bit for the largest size I could fit under a tonneau cover, and while I need to double check our cover since it's a tri-fold and may hang a little lower, that seems to fit really well. It's this one, correct?
https://www.amazon.com/Refrigerator-55Liter-120-240V-Portable-refrigerator/dp/B08NCZF438?th=1

 

[RickLightning]

Make sure you not only measure carefully under the tonneau, but look for obstacles like locking bars, and include things like a future bedmat.

My DiamondBack HD cover has locking side bars, as well as reinforcing beams (so it can hold 1,600 pounds) and therefore I have to measure carefully and make sure to check the entire length of a cooler or other object.

 

[flyct]

Thanks for adding the pictures. Is this the model in the bed? I have been looking around a bit for the largest size I could fit under a tonneau cover, and while I need to double check our cover since it's a tri-fold and may hang a little lower, that seems to fit really well. It's this one, correct?
https://www.amazon.com/Refrigerator-55Liter-120-240V-Portable-refrigerator/dp/B08NCZF438?th=1

YES, THAT’S THE ONE BOUGHT 18 months ago.

The nice thing about Amazon is if it doesn’t fit you can return it.

It just fits under my 4 fold Ford Tonneau cover, even with the bedrug impact liner installed in the bed.

 

[Saberdentures]

I prefer using the AC plug for my cooler; don’t want to run my tiny 12v battery more than necessary Lol

 

[Evans]

I just finished a 3400 mi camping trip to Yellowstone over the passed three weeks and ran a BougeRV fridge from the outlets in the frunk. This ran 24/7. It messes up the gom and the mi/kwh but I watch the SOC anyway. Apart from the scarcity of chargers near Yellowstone and Jackson WY the truck and fridge were flawless. Shout out to the good folks in Island Park ID for providing a charger. Hey Boo-Boo another picnic basket!

 

[kubel]

My fridge is a Dometic CX35. It supports AC or DC and prioritizes AC when both are in use. I'm currently using AC with PPO, but plan on tapping into the 12V battery to be a backup, because PPO can be unreliable if I forget to check the "keep on while vehicle is off" option. The fridge has a low-voltage cutoff option, so it won't completely drain the battery below a certain voltage.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

On short trips where we bring our ICECO 63 quart, dual-zone fridge, I plug it in directly to the truck’s outlet in the bed. On long—many day—trips, I also bring a 5 kWh auxiliary battery that acts as a buffer between the truck and the fridge. The fridge stays on 24/7 and I charge the battery while the truck is charging, if necessary.

Unfortunately the fridge doesn’t fit in the frunk, but we had the fridge first and it works great, so there’s no reason to replace it.

 

[Literider150]

My fridge is a Dometic CX35. It supports AC or DC and prioritizes AC when both are in use. I'm currently using AC with PPO, but plan on tapping into the 12V battery to be a backup, because PPO can be unreliable if I forget to check the "keep on while vehicle is off" option. The fridge has a low-voltage cutoff option, so it won't completely drain the battery below a certain voltage.

I thought when you said the PPO is unreliable, I thought you were saying you can't depend on it staying on. Sounds like you are just referring to the fact that one has to remember and go through the motions of setting "keep power on" button. Is that right?

I say that because I read one post where somebody said that the PPO has to be drawing a certain number of Watts while the truck is off for the fridge to remain on. Is that right?

 

[broncoaz]

I have an ARB 37 quart fridge I sometimes use in the frunk. On my last trip to VT I plugged the 110v cord into the outlets and connected the 12v leads to the micro 12v truck battery. The ARB will switch to AC automatically when available, then draw 12v when the truck is off. It worked fine, but I really do’t trust the micro battery. I managed to completely kill the 12v battery with a dashcam.

My long term plan is to add a group 27 or 31 12v deep cycle battery to run the fridge with a Ctek 5 amp charger connected to the 110v outlets so it will recharge when the truck is running. In my past experience with the same fridge I could run it for 4+ days off a group 31 battery in moderate temps without any vehicle activity. The 5 amp Ctek charger may prove to be too small to effectively charge the battery on short trips, so a higher amperage charger may be needed.

 

[Vulnox]

I have an ARB 37 quart fridge I sometimes use in the frunk. On my last trip to VT I plugged the 110v cord into the outlets and connected the 12v leads to the micro 12v truck battery. The ARB will switch to AC automatically when available, then draw 12v when the truck is off. It worked fine, but I really do’t trust the micro battery. I managed to completely kill the 12v battery with a dashcam.

My long term plan is to add a group 27 or 31 12v deep cycle battery to run the fridge with a Ctek 5 amp charger connected to the 110v outlets so it will recharge when the truck is running. In my past experience with the same fridge I could run it for 4+ days off a group 31 battery in moderate temps without any vehicle activity. The 5 amp Ctek charger may prove to be too small to effectively charge the battery on short trips, so a higher amperage charger may be needed.

Why go with a 12V battery and all that and not just get a 1kWh or so battery/inverter system like EcoFlow that has 120 outlets. Plug it into the ProPower and then the fridge into it, basically making it like a UPS. When ProPower goes off you have the 1+kWh and when it comes on it can charge the EcoFlow (or similar).

Seems like it would also let you move it and the fridge and keep it running, like going to the beach, and you can use the battery backup for other things too.

Not saying your approach is the wrong one or anything, more just curious as I was thinking of doing the above with a battery backup but not sure if I am overlooking something.

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