"Fridge" dilemma in unconverted bongo

[Treetalk]

I got some great ideas and help at annual Meetup in June re. my newly purchased unconverted bongo, which was v helpful. But one issue remains - how to keep stuff cold.

I didn't really fancy buying a £500 fridge to keep a pint of milk and some bacon cold! OTOH, the camping "ice packs" of old, though practical up to a point, seem a little Stone Age and of course require a campsite to freeze.

I do have a leisure battery, but am I right in thinking that this is not generally powerful enough to run an electric coolbox? Am I right in thinking I could buy a portable solar panel to assist in this? Finally are electric coolboxes noisy - I definitely would not want to run at night if so.

All and any illuminations or ruminations on this subject gratefully received, even if it just leaves me where I started with my ice packs ...

[Roy748]

Hello and welcome aboard.
We have also wrestled this dilemma and have found what we consider a good solution. We bought a Aldi cool box that runs on both 12v or 240v its 29 litres I believe. which is a good size. When electric is available we use that to run it and when not we have a 60w portable solar panel connected to the leisure battery which appears to cope well. Advantage of it being portable is we can follow the sun around maximising its effectiveness. For short weekend breaks I bought a waeco coolbox which sit in the middle of the seats, type of armrest. Which again works well but is only 12v, but being smaller pulls less from the battery.

[Bob]

If you keep a couple of chill blocks in the type of chiller described above they should keep things cool enough overnight even if you turn it off to preserve 'The sound of silence'.

[john14.6]

We have the same coolbox from aldi, solar or electric is a must when running it, we run ours off 220w solar, panels the noise is easy to forget [like your laptop or pc], the fan noise just blends in, we could not live with out ours, having a 4 month and 2 year old plus keeps my insulin cold
When we used the car for our trips ice block bags were the only way,

[Treetalk]

Thanks, that all makes sense.

The Aldi one is sold out online, of course!

But at least I know this is probably the direction I need to go in in the future....

[Bob]

This looks handy:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Andes-Insulate ... 3507&psc=1

Chill on mains overnight before you leave, add a couple of chill blocks from the freezer, run on 12v while driving, solar panel/leisure battery on site, switch off overnight... job done.

[Feeline]

Hi,
Sorry to jup in on your thread.
We REALLY need a fridge as a lot of the camping we do means we have no access to electricity or shops for up to 6 days.
I was looking at a compressor fridge with a combination of Leisure battery and Solar panels to power it.
Is this even feasable?
(All we have at the moment is a coolbox)

[Bob]

Welcome aboard.

Pretty sure it is possible, have a go with the 'Search' box, top right.

Put 'and' between words to improve results, eg 'Fridge and leisure and battery'.

Try a few combinations as there's been a lot on this subject in the past.

[g8dhe]

Yes quite feasible, a 100AmpHr+ LB, Split Charge Relay (to allow charging when driving), 100W Solar Panel and Controller will keep you running 24/7 with a 42l compressor fridge and normal use of lights and radio etc. no problem.

[mikeonb4c]

Yes quite feasible, a 100AmpHr+ LB, Split Charge Relay (to allow charging when driving), 100W Solar Panel and Controller will keep you running 24/7 with a 42l compressor fridge and normal use of lights and radio etc. no problem.

2nd that. Yes it was indulgent on the £s but my Waeco 18 litre coolbox and 100w solar panel combo takes care of business perfectly for my regular no hookup camping needs. For me its been worth every penny,

[Treetalk]

All the extra posts were helpful

[Bob]

Start us chatting...

[bongotoffee]

I have just got my leisure battery wired up and we are hoping to run the 12V coolbox on it. I think we will run it in the day only and hope for the best!

Will let you know ...

[Bob]

As suggested I'd pop a couple of chill blocks in it.

Temp will drop at night and you won't be opening it so I recon you'll be fine.

[Jillygumbo]

I don't run my fridge at night if I don't have ehu, which is most of the time. I have a 'freezer' part at the top and keep a flexible thing in it permanently - keeps things colder and is available for emergencies.