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Dometic or ARB fridge?

TennesseePA

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I finished the rough layout and install of all the equipment in my battery system this evening. I have the two 100Ah batteries with the Redarc BCDC40 and a 1000W pure sine wave inverter. To keep everything in the box cool on a sunny day I have two 42CFM fans with three three inch vents on the back of the box. I have a six place 12V plug outlet that has a switched source, three cigarette lighter plugs, a dual USB plug and a digital volt meter. I also have the Renogy battery monitor that I still haven’t decided where I want to install the display. I also have a 12 spot fuse distribution block for the plugs and switches. I ran 6AWG from the Gladiator battery back to the bed with a 50 amp Anderson Plug
The two switches that will be on the driver side of the box will control the fans and the Redarc DC-DC charger. The charger has a system where you are supposed to wire it to a switched 12V source in the ignition to turn it on since our Gladiators have a variable voltage alternator. But I wired it on a manual switch for a reason. First of all I wanted my system to be self contained and removable, by doing it this way I just have to disconnect the Anderson plug and remove the entire thing. Secondly since the LiFePO4 batteries prefer to be stored at 40-60% I will be able to turn my Redarc off and draw down the batteries to 40-60% on my way home from my trip.
This will get me out the door this weekend where I can work on tidying up the wiring and get more heat shrink tubing on the connections. I promised my son I’d take him to Reelfoot lake to fish Saturday so while he is fishing I will be under a tree working On cleaning things up and getting the rest of my plugs and switches installed.

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TennesseePA

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Other than the Renogy battery monitor failing before I ever left the system worked perfectly for my vacation in Destin. I had the Dometic and batteries in the bed of the truck and the AlpiCool and luggage in the cab. Drinks and snacks stayed ice cold the whole trip. The day we fished I put the small side of the Dometic to the lowest temperature and it quickly froze the fish when I put it in the next day. The batteries lasted the whole week with both coolers and fans running. I did drive the truck 30-60 minutes each day so I did put some power back in. Overall I couldn’t be any happier with either cooler or my battery system. The system can hack a little bad weather too check out the screen shots of my drive out of Destin yesterday morning.

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steffen707

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Okay, now that i'm going camping in a month, I actually need to buy a fridge. Which dometic do you have? I'm thinking either the 75, 95 or 100. I'm guessing this will come down to just which one fits better for my setup.......

Time to put my wallet where my mouth is....EWWW
 

TennesseePA

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I have the Dometic CFX95DZW and it is awesome. The night before we left Desti. I set the small side to the minimum temp and put the fish in there when I left the next day and that evening it was frozen. We messed around for two more days and my battery setup kept the cokes cold and the fish frozen. Then I had to drive home pulling a camper In The tropical storm. Just proves to me how well the Dometic is built.
 

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steffen707

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I have the Dometic CFX95DZW and it is awesome. The night before we left Desti. I set the small side to the minimum temp and put the fish in there when I left the next day and that evening it was frozen. We messed around for two more days and my battery setup kept the cokes cold and the fish frozen. Then I had to drive home pulling a camper In The tropical storm. Just proves to me how well the Dometic is built.
that's the biggest Dual Zone one they make right?

What do you guys think, is it worth the 1.3" extra width and 2.7" extra depth for 25% more capacity.....
When I lay it out that way, it seems like, its already taking up a bunch of space, what's a few more inches wide and deep for 25% more?
 

TennesseePA

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I didn’t realize how huge the 95 was when I bought it. Actually I was wanting it an my beautiful wife bought it for my birthday last year. On the slide it occupies 1/3 of the Gladiator bed. I’m glad I have it because I have 3 kids and a wife and we carry a lot of stuff when we go somewhere.
 

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You just have to figure how much real estate you want to give up. Remember you only need room for food and not ice. That makes a smaller fridge “bigger” than a larger cooler. You also don't need room for every cold beverage you will consume on the trip as it is easy enough to replenish drinks and doesn't take long to chill them down.
 

TennesseePA

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You just have to figure how much real estate you want to give up. Remember you only need room for food and not ice. That makes a smaller fridge “bigger” than a larger cooler. You also don't need room for every cold beverage you will consume on the trip as it is easy enough to replenish drinks and doesn't take long to chill them down.
I agree with everything you said except that it does take a bit longer to cool things down than a normal full size fridge. Also remember that when you put warm items in that have to be cooled down your power consumption goes up as well. Dometic recommends that you plug in the night before and then load the cooler with already cold items to reduce power consumption.
 

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To be clear I don't mean emptying the fridge and refilling with warm items. If there are eight cold cans and I remove two I replace those two. My ARB takes very little time to chill those warm ones down.
Another very worthwhile purchase is the insulated cover for the fridge. Mostly a radiant barrier but some insulation. Protects the fridge too. My 12 year old ARB still looks new and it has had a ton of use.
 

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TennesseePA

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I have the extra cover on my Dometic too. I wasn’t clear about warm items. Wat happens in your scenario is the heat is taken out of the new cans and requires a little extra energy.
 

TennesseePA

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I got another battery over the weekend if anyone wants one. I should have a few more in the next week or 10 days as well
 

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Do you guys run the coolers off of 12VDC or through the inverter?
 

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12v is the most efficient, no inverter or converter losses.
 

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I'm wondering if running a second battery and wiring them in series would be better at 24VDC?

12v is the most efficient, no inverter or converter losses.
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