Is my refrigerator using an extreme amount of power?

[Ekovo]

Hello! First post here but after doing loads of research I’ve been unable to find exactly what I was looking for.

So I have an Amazon brand refrigerator and have had it a bit over a year now and have always kept it in my truck (unplugged when not being used) and it’s actually been a good working refrigerator 50L never had an issue with it although the power consumption seems absurd from what everyone else says theirs runs at. Keep mine set to about 32-34deg Fahrenheit
I’m running a Bluetti EB150 solar generator to power the fridge on trips (I’ll plug it into the trucks inverter when driving longer distances) now to put more context to what I’m talking about.

On a hot 90deg Fahrenhei day with my fridge/solar generator in the back cab area of the truck (windows cracked) every time the fridge is running its drawing consistently in the range around 130 watts and at those temps/conditions it runs almost constantly. All I’m wanting to do is see if that’s normal from what you guys see is comparable conditions?
everything I’ve read people say after the initial cooling of their refrigerator the average watt consumption tends to be 50-65watts and mines consistently double that even after the initial cooling and doesn’t seem to effect it rather the refrigerator is on eco mode or max.
Added a picture of my truck for those who may be interested. Thanks I’m advance!

 

[Jdsint]

Hello! First post here but after doing loads of research I’ve been unable to find exactly what I was looking for.

So I have an Amazon brand refrigerator and have had it a bit over a year now and have always kept it in my truck (unplugged when not being used) and it’s actually been a good working refrigerator 50L never had an issue with it although the power consumption seems absurd from what everyone else says theirs runs at. Keep mine set to about 32-34deg Fahrenheit
I’m running a Bluetti EB150 solar generator to power the fridge on trips (I’ll plug it into the trucks inverter when driving longer distances) now to put more context to what I’m talking about.

On a hot 90deg Fahrenhei day with my fridge/solar generator in the back cab area of the truck (windows cracked) every time the fridge is running its drawing consistently in the range around 130 watts and at those temps/conditions it runs almost constantly. All I’m wanting to do is see if that’s normal from what you guys see is comparable conditions?
everything I’ve read people say after the initial cooling of their refrigerator the average watt consumption tends to be 50-65watts and mines consistently double that even after the initial cooling and doesn’t seem to effect it rather the refrigerator is on eco mode or max.
Added a picture of my truck for those who may be interested. Thanks I’m advance!

41 watts when she runs hard and 2 the rest of the time. Not sure what's going on with yours.

 

[Downs]

Hello! First post here but after doing loads of research I’ve been unable to find exactly what I was looking for.

So I have an Amazon brand refrigerator and have had it a bit over a year now and have always kept it in my truck (unplugged when not being used) and it’s actually been a good working refrigerator 50L never had an issue with it although the power consumption seems absurd from what everyone else says theirs runs at. Keep mine set to about 32-34deg Fahrenheit
I’m running a Bluetti EB150 solar generator to power the fridge on trips (I’ll plug it into the trucks inverter when driving longer distances) now to put more context to what I’m talking about.

On a hot 90deg Fahrenhei day with my fridge/solar generator in the back cab area of the truck (windows cracked) every time the fridge is running its drawing consistently in the range around 130 watts and at those temps/conditions it runs almost constantly. All I’m wanting to do is see if that’s normal from what you guys see is comparable conditions?
everything I’ve read people say after the initial cooling of their refrigerator the average watt consumption tends to be 50-65watts and mines consistently double that even after the initial cooling and doesn’t seem to effect it rather the refrigerator is on eco mode or max.
Added a picture of my truck for those who may be interested. Thanks I’m advance!

What kind of fridge are we talking about? Don't run it on the inverter run it on 12V power.

My offbrand 21quart fridge draws 30-40 watts on eco mode and 55ish on "Max" mode when running. It doesn't even show a 1 watt draw on the Jackery when it's in standby mode.

Here's some rough run time data I gathered on my fridge running on a Jackery 300. I didn't gather wattage data just run time data though.

Jackery 300 + ICECO VL45Pro S @ 20 degrees = 16hrs runtime

Jackery 300 + ICECO VL45Pro S @ 20 degrees = 16hrs runtime Just in case anyone cares. ‍♂️

www.overlandbound.com

 

[Ekovo]

41 watts when she runs hard and 2 the rest of the time. Not sure what's going on with yours.

Given similar temps as mine also?

 

[Ekovo]

What kind of fridge are we talking about? Don't run it on the inverter run it on 12V power.

My offbrand 21quart fridge draws 30-40 watts on eco mode and 55ish on "Max" mode when running. It doesn't even show a 1 watt draw on the Jackery when it's in standby mode.

Here's some rough run time data I gathered on my fridge running on a Jackery 300. I didn't gather wattage data just run time data though.

Jackery 300 + ICECO VL45Pro S @ 20 degrees = 16hrs runtime

Jackery 300 + ICECO VL45Pro S @ 20 degrees = 16hrs runtime Just in case anyone cares. ‍♂️

www.overlandbound.com

I only use the inverter when driving longer distances, the rest is plugged into the solar generator. Here is the exact fridge I have JoyTutus Portable Freezer for Car 53 Quart 12 Volt Compressor Refrigerator Fridge (-4℉~50℉) for Auto, RV Trip, Truck, Camper Van, Overlanding, Outdoor Adventures and Home Use with 12/24V DC 110V AC The 53QT

 

[Jdsint]

41 watts when she runs hard and 2 the rest of the time. Not sure what's going on with yours.

Given similar temps as mine also?

Yes, I keep the fridge set to 36. Even if I set it to 5 for ice making its never drawn high watts.

 

[smritte]

Unfortunately not all fridges are the same. The two biggest differences are the compressor and the insulation. Most of my trips are desert. I have two fridges, a Whynter and a ...ugh, dont remember (same quality). Both run Danfoss compressors and both have good insulation. I have friends with cheaper ones and theirs work well, drawing slightly more, until it get hot out. That's when I see the power draw difference.

 

[Road]

Make sure your vents are not covered or up against the wall or seat, etc.

Not that you are, though I see guys all the time stuffing their 12v fridges into slide set ups in a cabt with little or no clearance or way for that heat to escape, then wonder why their fridge seems to be running more than it should.

And...no idea of the build quality of your fridge, though better fridges are built with better insulation and compressors, so run more efficiently, consuming less power, and last far longer.

 

[Ekovo]

Alright well this is helping me with my decision, I’ve been on the fence of buying a new fridge anyways (need a shorter one to move to the truck bed) but was debating if ai get another Amazon brand or if the higher end/middle of the road brands were really worth the price difference because on paper they all seem to be about the same and I didn’t want to pay two or three more times the price and still have a fridge drawing a crazy amount of power. Given 90+ temps what are your guises fridges drawing?

 

[Ekovo]

Yes, I keep the fridge set to 36. Even if I set it to 5 for ice making its never drawn high watts.

That’s crazy like mines three times that! Where do you keep your fridge at in the rig?

 

[smritte]

I've had a Wynter 50qt in my trailer for several years. Home depo online will throw them on sale once in a while. Another place I have used is Truck Fridge. I don't remember the brand they use but its quality. I have a 20qt in my cruiser. They also put things on sale once in a while.

 

[DRAX]

We have an ICECO VL60 dual-zone and during a recent trip to Montana (last month) we often saw temps in the 90s. The fridge was in the back of the truck, which has a topper, and we only ran the larger zone in the fridge. Temp set to 32-34F, running in MAX mode (not Eco), and when running it would pull about 65w from the Jackery's 12v port. We had the fridge pretty much full of food (Mainly fruit, drinks, etc. so it was full but not packed tight), after 8-10 hours with no input to the Jackery overnight it only lost 6-8% of charge, going from 100% down to the low- to mid-90%s. Within an hour or so of starting the truck up and hitting the road it would be back up to 100% charge.

Going back to what others mentioned regarding the inverter, you should not be running any inverter at all with your setup. You should be running everything off of 12v, including the fridge. Running equipment off of the inverter is much less efficient and will consume more power than running off 12v. 130w running is also much higher than any quality fridge, so between the high watts/low efficiency and seemingly poor insulation it sounds like the cheap fridge is biting you in the butt. You may be able to run a little more efficiently by running off 12v instead of the 120v inverter, but that's not going to improve the performance of your fridge any.

If you don't have much food in the fridge and there's a lot of air space that's also going to greatly reduce the overall efficiency of the fridge and cause it to run more often. Make sure you pack the fridge as full as possible. Put some jugs of water in there if you have to, anything to replace air with something solid/liquid. That can reduce the duty cycle (how often the fridge runs) from "almost constantly" (80+%) down to 20-25% if you're lucky. Packing the fridge well is why our Jackery 500 loses less than 10% overnight.

 

[Ekovo]

We have an ICECO VL60 dual-zone and during a recent trip to Montana (last month) we often saw temps in the 90s. The fridge was in the back of the truck, which has a topper, and we only ran the larger zone in the fridge. Temp set to 32-34F, running in MAX mode (not Eco), and when running it would pull about 65w from the Jackery's 12v port. We had the fridge pretty much full of food (Mainly fruit, drinks, etc. so it was full but not packed tight), after 8-10 hours with no input to the Jackery overnight it only lost 6-8% of charge, going from 100% down to the low- to mid-90%s. Within an hour or so of starting the truck up and hitting the road it would be back up to 100% charge.

Going back to what others mentioned regarding the inverter, you should not be running any inverter at all with your setup. You should be running everything off of 12v, including the fridge. Running equipment off of the inverter is much less efficient and will consume more power than running off 12v. 130w running is also much higher than any quality fridge, so between the high watts/low efficiency and seemingly poor insulation it sounds like the cheap fridge is biting you in the butt. You may be able to run a little more efficiently by running off 12v instead of the 120v inverter, but that's not going to improve the performance of your fridge any.

If you don't have much food in the fridge and there's a lot of air space that's also going to greatly reduce the overall efficiency of the fridge and cause it to run more often. Make sure you pack the fridge as full as possible. Put some jugs of water in there if you have to, anything to replace air with something solid/liquid. That can reduce the duty cycle (how often the fridge runs) from "almost constantly" (80+%) down to 20-25% if you're lucky. Packing the fridge well is why our Jackery 500 loses less than 10% overnight.

The only time the fridge is ever plugged into the inverter is when driving long distances and the 12v plug that came with the fridge doesn’t like to stay in the female side of the 12v plugs that’s why I switch to 110 due to having the fridge turn off before not knowing the connection was lost in the 12v set up.
we generally keep the fridge 80+% full while in use. Alright well sounds like that may need to be a future upgrade for a better quality fridge then…

 

[DRAX]

We have an ICECO VL60 dual-zone and during a recent trip to Montana (last month) we often saw temps in the 90s. The fridge was in the back of the truck, which has a topper, and we only ran the larger zone in the fridge. Temp set to 32-34F, running in MAX mode (not Eco), and when running it would pull about 65w from the Jackery's 12v port. We had the fridge pretty much full of food (Mainly fruit, drinks, etc. so it was full but not packed tight), after 8-10 hours with no input to the Jackery overnight it only lost 6-8% of charge, going from 100% down to the low- to mid-90%s. Within an hour or so of starting the truck up and hitting the road it would be back up to 100% charge.

Going back to what others mentioned regarding the inverter, you should not be running any inverter at all with your setup. You should be running everything off of 12v, including the fridge. Running equipment off of the inverter is much less efficient and will consume more power than running off 12v. 130w running is also much higher than any quality fridge, so between the high watts/low efficiency and seemingly poor insulation it sounds like the cheap fridge is biting you in the butt. You may be able to run a little more efficiently by running off 12v instead of the 120v inverter, but that's not going to improve the performance of your fridge any.

If you don't have much food in the fridge and there's a lot of air space that's also going to greatly reduce the overall efficiency of the fridge and cause it to run more often. Make sure you pack the fridge as full as possible. Put some jugs of water in there if you have to, anything to replace air with something solid/liquid. That can reduce the duty cycle (how often the fridge runs) from "almost constantly" (80+%) down to 20-25% if you're lucky. Packing the fridge well is why our Jackery 500 loses less than 10% overnight.

The only time the fridge is ever plugged into the inverter is when driving long distances and the 12v plug that came with the fridge doesn’t like to stay in the female side of the 12v plugs that’s why I switch to 110 due to having the fridge turn off before not knowing the connection was lost in the 12v set up.
we generally keep the fridge 80+% full while in use. Alright well sounds like that may need to be a future upgrade for a better quality fridge then…

I had the same problem with the plugs not being snug, easy fix with duck tape strips wrapped around the plug on each side of the contacts (wrapped near the tip and the base). Add a wrap until it's snug but not so tight you have to force it. Haven't had a problem since and we've been down some bumpy roads!

 

[Outdoordog]

That's a bit extreme.
My fridge, even at 0°f will barely draw around 35 watts and nearly 1 watt, sometimes no consumption for hours.

 

[Z Adventures]

Joytutus website says 60W MAX Mode and 45W Eco Mode. 53 Quart (50L) Portable Car Refrigerator/ Freezer

 

[DMS1]

I have an Engle MT80 (80 Quart) permanently mounted in the back of my truck (F150) where the back seat use to be and live in so cal where it has been 100 Deg farenheit all summer long and probably hotter in the cab of my truck. I keep the fridge on full blast and it keeps everything around 3 Deg F and only uses between 30 and 45 watts. I have been using it as a chest freezer for the last year and a half.