240v Quarter Fridge on a budget

I know it is better to use a 12v fridge but is there any reason why I can’t use a 240v quarter fridge on it’s own small inverter, say 300w?
Is the driving motion of the vehicle too much for the gas in those types of fridges?
I am on a really low budget and £500 quid for a nice 12v compressor fridge vs £100 quid for a quarter fridge is a no brainer money-wise.
I have a 360ah battery with two 50w solar panels and a split charger and all I will be running is the fridge, led lights, 12v tv and a phone charger
Any help is appreciated
Ben

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Greetings & Welcome!

100 watts of solar isn’t going to keep 360ah of battery charged. 700 watts would be a bare minimum for that battery capacity.

Why a powered fridge at all? I use a cheap ice chest, and buy a dollar block of ice once a week when I go shopping. Simple, easy, foolproof, and most importantly requires no power.

If you absolutely must have a powered fridge, I would suggest a 3-way out of an RV at a wrecking yard. Running it on propane or kerosene is much more reliable than any kind of electrical power in a vehicle. Electrical refrigeration has cost me over $10k over the years for the fridges and the spoiled food, NEVER AGAIN!!!

Cheers!


"Stay home, stay safe, and remember social distancing." ~ Van_Dweller


Thanks for replying.
Would an ice chest, which I am assuming is the same as an eski, work even in the summer heat when the van is boiling inside?

Greetings!

Yes, I believe an eski, an ice chest, and an ice box are all similar. It is ice powered refrigeration that requires no other power source.

Yes it still works. Normally I try to park in the shade if it’s available, this really helps a LOT! In the summer, I also wrap my cooler in a moving blanket to keep it out of direct sunlight (I have a window van), and keep it on the floor (the coolest area inside my van) and under my bed when there’s room available.

Cheers!


"Stay home, stay safe, and remember social distancing." ~ Van_Dweller


That sounds good, I will look into that as that sounds like a great idea. I wonder if building an insulated box for it would help even further? :thinking:

Greetings!

A super insulated box could definitely help make the ice last longer. I use the big blocks of ice, rather than the cubes, it lasts longer. I normally go shopping once a week, and I’ll still have ice left when I do. I cut the top off of a 5 gallon cube type water jug, and it sits inside on one end of my cooler. I place my ice in that, so the ice & water never mixes with my food. This has really worked well for me.

Cheers!


"Stay home, stay safe, and remember social distancing." ~ Van_Dweller


Okay that’s good to know, so roughly how much ice are you putting in? Say, the equivalent of a 1.5 litre bottle of coke frozen for instance, or more?
Have you ever tried using the blue freezer ice packs?

Greetings!

The blocks of ice are about 1 foot square, and weigh about 10-12 lbs I’d guess. On the somewhat rare occasions that I can make my own ice, I use 4 x 2 liter soda bottles, simply because they fit well in my ice bin.

I’ve never really used the reusable blue ice packs, so I can’t comment on them. I do know that some people use various sizes of plastic containers filled with water, and freeze them. they usually have 2 sets, one to use while the other freezes.

A few times when ice was in short supply, I’d take gallon jugs of water at the dollar store, and place them in them freezer then go back the next day and buy the frozen jugs of water. The workers at the dollar store got a kick out of my solution for the ice shortage. :wink:

Cheers!


"Stay home, stay safe, and remember social distancing." ~ Van_Dweller