Are you saying your fridge is running for 45 minutes of every hour? if you are then firstly you need to put some stuff in the fridge, preferably cold stuff and preferably as full as you can If it were me I would be filling it full of stubbies:encouragement:.
You need to do real time testing you aren't going to go away with an empty fridge are you? An empty fridge will work a lot harder than one with cold stuff in it, some even fill the remaining space in the fridge with scrunched up news paper to help with cooling.
When full you'll find that the compressor will cycle time will be around 20 minutes over an hour, this equates to a third of the hour so a third of 24 hours is 8 hours, 8 hours of compressor run time at 4amp is 32amp this is what your fridge should use over a 24 hour period. As I've said earlier there are a lot of variables involved here, this is only a guide but it should be very close to the money.
We also need a bit more info to help out with your other questions,
If I were you I would plug the van into 240v power then plug the fridge into 240v in the van fill the fridge (with beer) ensure the battery switch in the van is on so the Setec can charge the battery, don't draw any power from the battery let it sit like this for 2-3days.
After 2-3 days the fridge and contents will be nice and cold and the battery will be fully fully charged, once these two main factors have taken place put the fridge onto 12v power and run your test, this will be much more accurate than what you are doing now.
As for adding a second battery and more solar if you can afford to do it , do it. When free camping the more 12v power you can carry and harness the better, as you already have panels on the roof id go with a mobile set of panels so you can move them around and catch as much sun as you can.
Lastly you can always resort to a generator if they are allowed.
You need to do real time testing you aren't going to go away with an empty fridge are you? An empty fridge will work a lot harder than one with cold stuff in it, some even fill the remaining space in the fridge with scrunched up news paper to help with cooling.
When full you'll find that the compressor will cycle time will be around 20 minutes over an hour, this equates to a third of the hour so a third of 24 hours is 8 hours, 8 hours of compressor run time at 4amp is 32amp this is what your fridge should use over a 24 hour period. As I've said earlier there are a lot of variables involved here, this is only a guide but it should be very close to the money.
We also need a bit more info to help out with your other questions,
- how olds the van and battery?
- it sounds like you have 120w of solar on the roof is this form the factory
- Is the van in full sun during the day?
- What load is on the battery when the van is sitting?
If I were you I would plug the van into 240v power then plug the fridge into 240v in the van fill the fridge (with beer) ensure the battery switch in the van is on so the Setec can charge the battery, don't draw any power from the battery let it sit like this for 2-3days.
After 2-3 days the fridge and contents will be nice and cold and the battery will be fully fully charged, once these two main factors have taken place put the fridge onto 12v power and run your test, this will be much more accurate than what you are doing now.
As for adding a second battery and more solar if you can afford to do it , do it. When free camping the more 12v power you can carry and harness the better, as you already have panels on the roof id go with a mobile set of panels so you can move them around and catch as much sun as you can.
Lastly you can always resort to a generator if they are allowed.
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