Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hello All,
Just a quick question on running a 40lt unit on 24volt.
Do you use the normal lighter plug?
(Bought my unit 2nd hand last xmas)
Only came with 2 leads, ie 240volt mains and 12 volt lead which has a sticker on it stating "12 volt only"
Does this mean I need to purchase a 24volt lead to suit
Cheers

It means your Engel is not designed to run on 24 volts, and you're up for some more expense.

Options:

1. Buy a newer unit designed for 24V.
2. Buy a 24V-12V converter - rated to handle the max 12V current draw of your Engel.
3. Buy a 24V/240V inverter rated to handle the max 240V power consumption of your Engel.

I've never researched 24V-12V converters, so I'd be thinking a 24V inverter would be your best option - if not most efficient.

Good luck,

Scott

I would recommend going along the lines of a 24 volt to 12 volt convertor. The fridge won't be the only accessory you may want to use in 12 V. My neighbour runs a 24-12V convertor in his 60 which feeds 2 cigarette sockets in the rear and the trailer light plug. I'll try to find more info about his setup, but this makes the most sense to me.

Ben

Do you have two batteries or three , how are you going to run the engel anyway , this has been mentioned before , with your 24 volt setup how are they charged in series or other , what are you going to use to start the car , Cheers Paul.

-Scott- wrote:It means your Engel is not designed to run on 24 volts, and you're up for some more expense.

Options:

1. Buy a newer unit designed for 24V.
2. Buy a 24V-12V converter - rated to handle the max 12V current draw of your Engel.
3. Buy a 24V/240V inverter rated to handle the max 240V power consumption of your Engel.

I've never researched 24V-12V converters, so I'd be thinking a 24V inverter would be your best option - if not most efficient.

Good luck,

Scott

Hello Scott,
This fridge case unit has a stickers on it giving operation modes
ie 240ac / 24dc / 12 dc
BUT on the plug it say 12 volt only
yeh my 1st thought was to get a 24 to 12 voltage reducer to run it.
But when a mate ( Auto elecky trained ) noticed the sticker
it conflicted with the sticker
cheers

MART wrote:Do you have two batteries or three , how are you going to run the engel anyway , this has been mentioned before , with your 24 volt setup how are they charged in series or other , what are you going to use to start the car , Cheers Paul.

Hello Paul,
The fridge is setup in my Hino Towtruck - hence 24volt
it has 2 batteries in series.
Charged in series I presume.
Currently running off a 12volt outlet ( which I know is not the best for the batteries)
So far no problems ( 5 months or so ) But I want to add another 12volt item so I want to get the biggest draw sorted correctly.
cheers

Scott , just a question for you about JWB , what would happen if he parralleled a 12 volt , 2 outlet supply of his 2 batteries with two outlets. This would give equal draw on both batteries and both batteries would charge equally as drain would be the same , what do you reckon as this would draw on the two batteries instead of one , JWB , I take it your fridge only runs while truck is running so you don't flatten the batteries , Cheers Paul.

MART wrote:Scott , just a question for you about JWB , what would happen if he parralleled a 12 volt , 2 outlet supply of his 2 batteries with two outlets. This would give equal draw on both batteries and both batteries would charge equally as drain would be the same , what do you reckon as this would draw on the two batteries instead of one , JWB , I take it your fridge only runs while truck is running so you don't flatten the batteries , Cheers Paul.

you cant run 12v paralleled from two batteries connected in series, it will cause a short across from the +24v to the +12v terminals.

as for the '12v only' lead, that sticker is there to ensure you dont attempt to run the fridge on 240vac using that lead. it will be fine for 24v, the current draw will be half and the insulation will be fine for 24v.

i recommend connecting the engel to the ciggie lighter in your truck. it will be 24V. go buy a 24/12v converter from jaycar/dicksmith/springers and have another 1 or two sockets that are labelled as being 12V only. this will allow you to get the best of both worlds.

JWB wrote: Currently running off a 12volt outlet ( which I know is not the best for the batteries)

are you sure the 12v socket isnt going through a reducer? ie factory socket?

Hello All,
Thanks for the replies!
all helpfull
I will plug it to the factory lighter source! ( Once I confirm it's live )
the plug light failed to light up when I tried it before
Yes Paul, fridge only runs when truck is started ( whilst it's
winter anyways! )
I will suss out the 24 to 12 reducer for the other 2 items!
cheers again

just had a look at mine and it has a sticker on the cigg lighter end saying 12v only and at the plug end it says 12v and 24v

i have had it run on 24v with that same plug before and it didnt have any probs. but dont try it just because i said it worked,
find out from engel direct maybe?


how old is your fridge? mine is 3 years i think?

Forgot the diodes , cheers Paul.

j-top paj wrote:just had a look at mine and it has a sticker on the cigg lighter end saying 12v only and at the plug end it says 12v and 24v

i have had it run on 24v with that same plug before and it didnt have any probs. but dont try it just because i said it worked,
find out from engel direct maybe?


how old is your fridge? mine is 3 years i think?

Hello Scott,
I have sent an email to Engel to confirm!
should confirm details some time Thursday!
Thanks again!
cheers

Birdie you will find that at the Cig Lighter plug you can remove the plug(From memory it unscrews) and then you have a 2 prong outlet instead of the Cig Plug. You need to go to an electrical supplier(Or Chris) and get the matching socket for this. Then wire it to your 24 Volt Source and plug it straight in.

JWB wrote:Hello Scott,
This fridge case unit has a stickers on it giving operation modes
ie 240ac / 24dc / 12 dc
BUT on the plug it say 12 volt only
yeh my 1st thought was to get a 24 to 12 voltage reducer to run it.
But when a mate ( Auto elecky trained ) noticed the sticker
it conflicted with the sticker
cheers

OK, sounds like your fridge will run on 24V, I don't know why the plug would say 12V only - I've never had a close look at any Engel, so I don't know how they're wired.

Before you simply replace the 12V plug with something for 24V make sure there's not a three pin connector either on the fridge or in the line - the 24V may need to be fed in on a different terminal. Your auto-sparky mate should be able to check that out for you - or Engel may tell you in a reply email.

Good luck,

Scott

-Scott- wrote: make sure there's not a three pin connector either on the fridge or in the line - the 24V may need to be fed in on a different terminal

just had a look at mine and its got a 3 pin plug.
still might be better to wait for engels reply

Hello All,
below is the reply from Engel!
Cheers


John,

Thankyou for your inquiry.

Yes the same lead can be used for 12 and 24 volt. The only change
you must make is to remove the 12 Volt Thermal Fuse from the Cigar Tip and replace it with a standard 5 Amp glass fuse. This will allow you to run the unit directly from 24 volt but will remove the thermal protection of your vehicles wiring (battery to outlet). If the vehicles wiring is sufficient
to run the fridge then this will not be a problem. If you find the lead
becomes hot then we would strongly suggest to use a direct wire kit such as the APAN, ASPAN or BPAN or install a shorter / thicker cable from the
battery to the outlet.

so it still works with the thermal fuse? mine seemed to work fine with it.
but if they say to use a glass fuse then that would be the best option.

Engels actualyl run on 40 somthing volts. They run an inverter internally to step it up. They also run a swtch mode or transformer to step the 240v down.
I'm not sure on the newer models how they go on 24v.
It jsut means they no matter which one you feed - 12 / 24 / 240, there is always conversion happening anyway, so no "most efficient" solution.

Paul