12v Compressor Fridge... newbie questions :)

[flarts]

Having not purchased our Bongo... yet... (our mind is made up, we're just weighing up everything to make sure we buy the right one for us), please excuse my naivety but I find myself addressing power and fridges this morning.

If we were to buy a 12v compressor fridge I assume this would run from the car battery as we travel and leisure battery when we park.

So...
1 - How long would it take a compressor fridge to drain a good quality leisure battery?
2 - If the Bongo was fitted with mains hookup, is it standard that the 12v fridge would run from this through some voltage conversion jiggerypokery?
3 - If not, would the mains hookup put the leisure battery on a permanent charge and power the 12v fridge that way?
4 - Or indeed does a 12v fridge want nothing to do with mains no matter what you do?
5 - Therefore is it unusual to dispense with hook up altogether (see question 1) and rely only on a leisure battery if you're only running a 12v fridge and lighting or is that just asking too much of a battery?

Thank you in advance lovely people
Mike.

[g8dhe]

A normal compressor fridge alone will run for 3+ days on a 95AmpHr battery.
Conversions and electrics are not standard between converters, however it is normal for an EHU setup to include a 12 volt supply that can charge the batteries and run the fridge.
Also you can fit Solar panel(s), 100 Watt panel in good clear sunlight will run run a fridge 24/7 with sufficient spare capacity for radio, lights etc. this means you can run off grid quite happily, an occasional run in the vehicle will ensure that there is always plenty of excess capacity.
I wouldn't do away with the EHU however as forest sites and some parking positions will shade the panel such that it becomes marginal on solar panel alone, but with some thought to parking and shade it can be fine.

[flarts]

What a perfect reply, thank you Sir
I'd not considered a solar panel but I do like that idea a lot, I shall look into it.
There's something quite appealing about being off grid and totally self sufficient.

[g8dhe]

The Bongo is quite well suited for wild camping, especially out of town areas, where putting the roof up doesn't attract attention! So having the solar panel as an option does make for much more flexible use! Also it means your ready to go at any time, with the fridge running, even from home, its just simply jump in the van, visit nearest supermarket to stock up food en-route and your away!

[dvisor]

A normal compressor fridge alone will run for 3+ days on a 95AmpHr battery.

I'm wondering how much effect ventilation has on the efficiency of a compressor fridge. I recently fitted a solar panel and new leisure battery and tested the fridge for a few days in the back of the van, with the seat backs down, and it worked very well, relying on the solar panel to keep the battery topped up.

We have just come back from 3 weeks in Spain and France, with the fridge in the back of the van on a raised platform, between the tailgate and the rear bench seat, with the seat back upright. Although there was a gap between the fridge vents and the tailgate/seat back, there wasn't much and it got quite warm there. I noticed that the fridge was working quite hard to keep the temperature down. The solar panel kept things chugging along, but I'm sure that the fridge wouldn't have lasted three days, perhaps not even two, without it.

[windywatson]

Fridge efficiency.
I'll try and explain this without being to technical. As the fridge is using the air around it to cool its heat exchanger the ambient temperature will effect how hard it has to work. If the ambient air temperature is cool it is easier for the heat to transfer across to it. The higher the ambient temp the harder it is for the heat to transfer so the fridge has to work harder/run longer to get ride of the heat. So fridges work more efficiently in cooler environments than hotter ones.
If the fridge is just relying on convection to cool, you can help by introducing a small fan to assist air flow over the exchanger to help improve the efficiency.

cheers