# Fridge on the Ferry



## DC4JC (Sep 19, 2007)

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I've tried searching the site and not really found a satisfactory answer.

We're off to France via Le Harve on Friday and it suddenly occurred to me about the fridge freezer and the Ferry.
This is the first time we've taken the MH over , having previously been tuggers and this time as the van is on the drive her in doors wants to fill the fridge up, rather than have to bother too much in the early stages. Plus there are certain things she wants to take. 

I know you cant use the gas on the Ferry, so my question is will the leisure battery ( 110 amp) cope with the fridge for the overnight period i.e. circa 23.00 - 08.00? Or am I going to come back to a flat un?

Any experiences or tips would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Dave


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## PAT4NEIL (Jul 21, 2007)

Thanks for asking that question, it was on my lips too!


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## spindrifter (Nov 14, 2006)

Hi DC4JC

Do you have access to EHU before you set off?

David (Spindrifter)


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## DC4JC (Sep 19, 2007)

Yes,

I expect to get the fridge down to required operating temp, before filling up either tomorrow night or Friday morning.

Dave


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi Dave,

if you run the fridge from leisure battery for 9 hours, then the battery will be damaged beyond repair next morning. For sure.

But in most vans the fridges are wired anyway in a way that the fridge only runs on 12V while the engine is running, so the battery will survive. 

But don't worry about the fridge contents: Make sure that the fridge is fully stocked, and cool it down on maximum setting.

Then, if there is still space in it put in some pre-frozen ice packs just before boarding, then keep it closed. This way temperature in the fridge will be pretty much maintained. We have done just that during a 15-hour passage Kiel-Oslo, and have had no problem. 

Different story might be the freezer compartment (except for the ice packs), maybe you want to stock this up after your arrival. (Cheaper in France anyway...)

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## Superk (Aug 22, 2005)

Boff said:


> Hi Dave,
> 
> if you run the fridge from leisure battery for 9 hours, then the battery will be damaged beyond repair next morning. For sure.


Won't it depend on what the consumption of the fridge is? - should be possible to work out what it would take from the battery.
Our fridge only runs on 12v (compressor) so when wild camping it runs through the night and into the next day without any problems on a 140 amp battery. If it knackered the battery after 9 hours we'd never be able to run it overnight.


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## spindrifter (Nov 14, 2006)

Hi DC4JC

Getting the fridge down in temp before setting off is the way to go. Suggest you stick a litre of milk in your home freezer and put it in the van fridge freezer section just before setting off. It will keep the fridge temp down really well - and for quite a few hours. You will use the milk for a cuppa at the other end, so you will not be wasting space in your fridge. Also, you could put frozen veg in your fridge. It's amazing how long a fridge will keep at an acceptable level of coldness. Remember to turn your fridge off when you leave the van for the ferry trip - your battery will not like being left on to run the fridge. Hope this helps but I'm sure more experienced members will be along soon to give you more advice.

Enjoy your trip

David (Spindrifter)


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Compressor fridges are a totally different kettle of fish to absorption ones.

They are specifically designed to run from 12V - the compressor is driven by a motor.
Absorption ones work by heating the refrigerant and they are very inefficient on 12V, 240V and gas.

The only handy thing about them is that it is far easier to store power as butane/propane than it is to store it in a 12V battery. 
They will cane a 12V battery supply very quickly - I vaguely remember measuring it at about 8A continuous. 
240V power is basically endlessly available when hooked up so inefficiency is not so much a problem (except for global warming!).

Compressor fridges are much lighter on electrical consumption than the absorption sort.

I go with all the advice that has been given above regarding getting the fridge down as cold as possible before setting off and by filling it with frozen things.


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Fridge on ferryHi*

Hi

My view is, that if you ensure the fridge is really cold, and maybe add a couple of those freezer packs - or cheaper and easier - a plastic milk carton full of water and then frozen to the fridge, it should stay cool enough.

The leisure battery is unlikely to power an "normal" three way type fridge for 9 hours, without harming the battery.

The car decks are often cold and breezy.

R


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

We always turn our fridge off just before getting on the ferry & have found that providing the fridge is kept closed it'll keep stuff frozen for around 4 / 5 hours . . we also carry 'long life' milk rather than risk 'fresh' milk turning sour


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## DC4JC (Sep 19, 2007)

Thanks for all your responses.

I'll get the fridge temp down as low as I can then add the frozen items, as suggested to the freezer compartment, once packed.

Then use the battery whilst on route, then put the gas on whilst we wait to board in the queue for a couple of hrs or so, then switch off.

Hopefully this will do the trick.

Dave


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## 89043 (May 12, 2005)

Hi,
I am running a small 220V compressor fridge with freezer compartment (along with other 220 V gear) from 2x90 Ah storage batteries over a 1.5Kw inverter. With fully charged batteries the autonomy for the freezer alone is 2-3 days. If you want to compute the autonomy look at two parameters, wattage of the unit and activity cycle, if you have a 120 W unit and a 50% activity cycle, computed consumption is 5Ah/hour. Depending on your batteries you will be able to use 30-70% of their nominal capacity, keep it on a conservative 50%, than a 110 Ah would keep the compressor spinning for some 11hours, my fridge requires only 60W my 180Ahs stand for some 36 hours - add 24 hours that the content remains safe after cut-out if the fridge remains unopened

We have a battery watch circuit that cuts off at "battery-low", so there is no danger for battery damage whatsoever. Depending on the ambient temperature, you can set the temperature control so no to use the maximum freezer capacity of the unit. This results in a lower activity cycle and longer autonomy.

Take into account that most fridges equipped wit a freezer will stand 24 hours of idle time (unopened) without harm to the content. Allowing for higher temperature in the unit while still powered will make for less allowable idle time.

Personally we keep the freezer running full while driving and turn back the thermostat halfway when we cut the ignition. 


Best is as said to keep the fridge well stocked. We do not take frozen food from home, if we have to take a ferry early in the journey, instead we freeze solid brickpacks with fruit juice (at home in the deepfreeze) and stuff the freezer with those, these prove more effective than commercial icepacks and the bricks with fruitjuice go down to the fridge compartment when we need the freezer and are the juice is consumed afterwards.

Archie


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## 107088 (Sep 18, 2007)

You need a Gaspode or a DABurleigh, thats what you need.





bump


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## alunj (Sep 5, 2007)

last time we went on the ferry i forgot to turn the fridge off 
 having said that we were on the open part at the rear of the boat so i guess no harm done !


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## teemyob (Nov 22, 2005)

*Bump*



bandaid said:


> You need a Gaspode or a DABurleigh, thats what you need.
> 
> bump


Whilst Gaspode and Dave offer very knowlegeable and sound advice I think the posters question has already been answered.

Trev.


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## lucy2 (Jun 27, 2007)

Change your booking to plymouth to santander spain as the boat has EHU points we used it last year . did northern spain then worked our way back up the west coast of france to zeebrugge to hull brilliant.


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## SpeedyDux (Jul 13, 2007)

If it were me I wouldn't set off with a fridge full of food - just enough for the first day in France. The French supermarkets will provide! [Except Mondays of course.]

To add to all the excellent advice on this thread, instead of taking freezer blocks I freeze a few plastic bottles of mineral water and put them in the bottom of the fridge. I tried this last year and it worked a treat when I used the Weymouth - Cherbourg crossing with fridge switched off.

SD


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Superk said:


> Won't it depend on what the consumption of the fridge is?


Hi,

DC4JC wrote about a gas option, so it must be an absorber fridge, not a compressor. He also wrote that it has a freezer compartment. This means it takes at least 100 watts in 12v mode, probably more. Which means at least 8.3 amps, so after 9 hours any 110 Ah battery will be in deep discharge, so most probably knackered.

Though this is not an option anyway, as any properly wired absorber fridge will not run on the leisure battery at all, but only on the alternator while driving.

And, as I said, also no problem at all, as it will maintain sufficiently deep temperatures if my advice is heeded.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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