The days of the humble ice box are getting further and further behind us – while they’re still a good option, a much better option is a camping fridge, and particularly a compressor fridge that’s able to be used as a fridge or freezer. Compressor fridge/freezers are very efficient and if you choose one with a quality SECOP compressor like those from the range of Adventure Kings Fridge / Freezers. With a camping fridge you never need to worry about ice again and you can freeze right down to -18°C if you want. There are a couple of excellent tips to keep in mind though, that will help your 12V fridge run cool and stay cool without using as much battery power!

Your 12V fridge will need to be powered from a battery while you’re at camp and one simple way to ensure your fridge runs efficiently is to keep your battery charged up and keep the voltage up – the best way to do that is with a portable solar panel. While at camp you can take advantage of the sun and keep your auxiliary batteries topped up silently, without costing you a cent. The reason this is so important is because a camping fridge needs a certain amount of power to run. Let’s say for example it needs 4 amps at 14V (which means your deep cycle battery is being charged by the solar but not fully topped up yet). If your solar is able to provide 8 amps into the battery, 4 are diverted to run the fridge, but there are still 4 amps of current able to be used to keep charging the battery up. This means that by the end of the day as the sun is going down, your solar panel has not only kept charging your battery, but your 12V portable fridge hasn’t really been discharging any power from the battery. This maximises your battery life and means you’ve got more power in reserve, meaning you can camp for longer. The next benefit is that by keeping the voltage of your battery up, your portable fridge uses less current. If your fridge requires 60W while the compressor is running, that’s 5A at 12V or just over 4 amps at 14.6 volts. The fact that there is less current flowing through your wiring means there is less heat, less inefficiency in your system and less voltage drop which again helps your fridge run much more efficiently, ensuring the compressor can work to cool the fridge without struggling.

Another obvious way to keep your electric camp fridge running cooler is to ensure it’s out of direct sunlight and has adequate ventilation and this applies whether you’re using a centre console fridge or a large 90L dual zone fridge/freezer. The compressor inside requires good airflow to run efficiently and the cooler the compressor and refrigeration system is, the less work the 12V fridge has to do to regulate the temperature. Not to mention if you can prevent sunlight warming up the outside of the fridge box you’ll have much less thermal bridging and allow the insulation do its job to keep the cool air in and hot air out. Similarly make sure you’re not unnecessarily opening the camp fridge or leaving it open. If you do, all you’re doing is letting the cool air escape and letting it be replaced by warm air which needs to brought back to the correct temperature. On the same note, ensure nothing is interfering with the fridge seals and always remember to latch your lid so that it cant accidentally open up in transit!

Thermal mass refers to the material that’s inside the fridge that holds its temperature. Water is one of the best materials to use as thermal mass as it can store a lot of energy and slowly releases it – you can use this as a way of regulating your 12V fridge temperature! If your fridge doesn’t have much in it, then try and fill it up with water bottles for some thermal mass! The important part though, is to pre-chill the bottles at home, before putting them into the Camping Fridge. Once the fridge is full of cold water bottles it won’t need to use nearly as much power to stay cold. That’s becuause the water will retain its cold temperature without large fluctuations – then all the compressor fridge has to do is cycle on and off occasionally to keep them at that temperature. Then, even if you do open and close the fridge and let warm air in, the large cold mass very quickly brings the air temperature down.

Another excellent way to keep your fridge running cooler is to add an insulating fridge bag, or fridge cover. Fridge bags aren’t all made equal – some are just a bag – so it’s important you choose one that actually offers an extra layer of insulation to the fridge. This essentially means the portable fridge insulation is thicker, but also separates the two layers of insulation, ideally making it harder for external heat and internal cool temperatures to seep in and out respectively. It’s also very important that your fridge bag has vented sections to allow the compressor to ‘breathe’ or expel the hot air that’s created when it’s running. Using a fridge cover doesn’t immediately mean you can forget about the other tips though! So still try and keep your fridge out of direct sun, with good ventilation and avoid opening and closing it when you don’t have to. But by combining all these ideas you’ll ensure your compressor fridge is running efficiently which in turn means it be much more happy to keep all the contents nice and cool and ready for that trackside lunch, or a cold drink as the sun goes down!