Truckfridge tf49

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Truckfridge tf49

Postby mustangcats » Tue Jun 14, 2016 6:15 pm

I just bought a Truckfridge tf49 (upright model) for my trailer and installed it yesterday. So far I like it and it cools very well. It is a little noisy when it runs, but I don't mind. I bought mine from westyventures.com because their $495 price was cheaper than ordering from Truckfridge, plus westyventures has free shipping (Truckfridge charges I believe $50), so that was a no brainer for me. I'm curious how long the battery will last before it gets too low. I'll have my battery charger and generator with me when I am on my trip to help keep the battery charged.
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Re: Truckfridge tf49

Postby MtnDon » Tue Jun 14, 2016 8:02 pm

You will love it. We have the TF130.
Our 6x12 deep vee nose cargo trailer camper conversion... viewtopic.php?f=42&t=58336

We have a small off grid cabin we built ourselves in the NM mountains; small PV solar system; 624 watts PV, Outback CC & inverter/charger ... http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=2335.0
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Re: Truckfridge tf49

Postby mustangcats » Fri Jul 22, 2016 11:35 pm

I just got back from my 2 week trip to Yellowstone and wanted to share my experience with the Truckfridge TF49. Overall I am happy with its performance and it kept food cold with no worry about spoilage. However, I did have to watch the battery charge very closely. The advertising claims that it "sips" battery power and will power the refrigerator for approximately 2 1/2 days on a charge. I did not find that to be even close to reality. What I found is that if the ambient air temperature was over 75 degrees, then the refrigerator would run for longer periods of time...giving off even more heat and raising the ambient air temperature even more. It was very common for the temperature during the day inside my trailer to be in the 80's and even the 90's (it was very hot this past week) and I think that on some of those days the refrigerator ran non-stop. So in the 8 or so hours while I was out sightseeing, the battery level would drop to about 12.1 - 12.2 volts, which is getting to the 50% discharge level. I had to run the generator a couple of hours in the morning and evening just to keep the battery within acceptable limits. (I was not at campgrounds with shore power.) I am thinking about putting a solar panel on the trailer to help keep the battery charged during the day. I suspect the amount of insulation in the refrigerator is not enough, but don't know if there is a way to insulate it better without causing other problems and voiding the warranty. The refrigerator is well ventilated with far more air flow space than the instruction manual required. For anyone having this type of 12 volt refrigerator, what have your experiences been when trying to run it solely on battery power?
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Re: Truckfridge tf49

Postby GuitarPhotog » Sat Jul 23, 2016 1:16 pm

Is your fridge vented to the outdoors? It sounds like it's pumping the hot exhaust air back into the trailer, which will hurt performance. Be sure you have adequate air circulation for the compressor.

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Re: Truckfridge tf49

Postby mustangcats » Sat Jul 23, 2016 1:53 pm

No, it vents back into the trailer. The instructions were a little vague and seemed to show two ways to vent: inside or outside. I don't like the idea of creating openings that can let water in, but I may have to vent it to the outside if that will make it run better. How are they vented when installed in a semi?

I do have far more air circulation around the back and top of the refrigerator than the manual called for. I even tried aiming a fan at the refrigerator to help increase the air circulation, but it didn't seem to help. I guess when it is 100 outside and 90+ inside, the refrigerator is going to have a hard time cooling...regardless of how it is vented.
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Re: Truckfridge tf49

Postby GuitarPhotog » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:02 pm

in a semi truck no one cares about power consumption. There is effectively unlimited electrical power available. Not the case with your situation.

Have you measured the current draw when the compressor is running?

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