ARB Fridge question: 37 or 50?

[brazos]

I’d be remiss is I didn’t encourage you to check out the snomaster line of coolers.

Now, for power, you’ll want a dedicated 8ga wires running from the battery to the coolers. Arb makes a nice “kit” for installing power. Was maybe $40 or so. I installed ours in the compartment in the rear cargo area and drilled a hole to pass the plug thru on the lid. Works great and plenty of capacity

Brett

@rustyshakelford

Brett, I have great respect for your knowledge and your willingness to share it here.

Something I don’t get, though.

The fridges draw amazingly little power. That’s why they’re so...uh...cool.

Several people say they run them long-term via the 12v port in the back of the Jeep, without problems.
As I recall, my 37L ARB will draw a maximum of 3.something amps, and that’s during initial cool-down phase.

Are you sure that there’s significant line loss in the Jeep wiring with that level of draw?

Otoh, even if it runs fine with stock wiring, but would be easier on my battery(s) with the wiring kit, I’m in.

Thanks!

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[rustyshakelford]

@rustyshakelford

Brett, I have great respect for your knowledge and your willingness to share it here.

Something I don’t get, though.

The fridges draw amazingly little power. That’s why they’re so...uh...cool.

Several people say they run them long-term via the 12v port in the back of the Jeep, without problems.
As I recall, my 37L ARB will draw a maximum of 3.something amps, and that’s during initial cool-down phase.

Are you sure that there’s significant line loss in the Jeep wiring with that level of draw?

Otoh, even if it runs fine with stock wiring, but would be easier on my battery(s) with the wiring kit, I’m in.

Thanks!

Ill use my experience for the example. These will be loose estimates but will illustrate my point. The snomaster line claims it uses 66 watts when running. When plugged into the factory 12v wiring and running the cooler, my battery voltage would show 11a something after a couple mins of running and drop into the 10a range relatively quick. This would trigger the low power shut off when I had it set to the medium power setting.

After running dedicated 8ga wiring i noticed the battery gauge would start off in the 12v range and now after running two days was at 11.3a. To me the battery capacity is still there but the resistance in the wiring is creating a larger draw. Thats atleast what I tell myself. Imagine drinking a milk shake thru a coffee stirring straw vs a big fat smoothie straw. They will both work but the larger one will be much easier to get the shake out of and you will not be so tired.

brett

 

[anotheraznguy]

Does the ARB37 sit below the hardtop line? Or does it sit above the hardtop line like the 50?

 

[brazos]

Ill use my experience for the example. These will be loose estimates but will illustrate my point. The snomaster line claims it uses 66 watts when running. When plugged into the factory 12v wiring and running the cooler, my battery voltage would show 11a something after a couple mins of running and drop into the 10a range relatively quick. This would trigger the low power shut off when I had it set to the medium power setting.

After running dedicated 8ga wiring i noticed the battery gauge would start off in the 12v range and now after running two days was at 11.3a. To me the battery capacity is still there but the resistance in the wiring is creating a larger draw. Thats atleast what I tell myself. Imagine drinking a milk shake thru a coffee stirring straw vs a big fat smoothie straw. They will both work but the larger one will be much easier to get the shake out of and you will not be so tired.

brett

Does the ARB37 sit below the hardtop line? Or does it sit above the hardtop line like the 50?

Not sure about that, but you can measure as well as I can.

The 37 is 17” tall, and the 50 is 20” tall.

 

[brazos]

Thanks Brett. I’m going to just use the Jeep port as I figure out where I want to semi-permanently mount the fridge, and will hardwire to battery then.
Over time, I have found that I have to actually camp with gear in order to dial gear placement in.
Even in a backpack.
I’m sure my upcoming Colorado trip with Alan will be instructive in that regard.

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