Quote:
Bill,
How long did you run your thermo electric cooler on the battery without having AC power?
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Tipper -
Any way you cut it, refrigeration is a power hog. The refrig in the TM draws about 10 amps at 12 volts DC. The TE refrig, being about the same size, probably draws about the same. Either one would suck your battery flat in less than a day if you let it. That's why the TM refrig has a propane setting - to spare the battery. The TE refrig has no propane setting, of course, so I put it in the way-back of the Explorer each day and plugged it into the aux power (cigarette lighter) outlet back there. (It has a nice long cord.) As we drove around seeing the sights, it was powered by the car's electrical system. If we parked the car and went somewhere for 3 or 4 hours, there was no problem with it drawing down the car battery. But if we were going to be out for, say, 12 hours, I was careful to unplug it, despite the fact that the Explorer is supposed to cut off these outlets automatically if the battery voltage drops too much.
Short answer - if you don't have AC power, a TE refrig is not a magic solution. You can't just plug it into the TM battery and leave it. But put it in the car for a few hours each day, and keep the TM refrig on propane, and you're good to go.
Bill