Yeah, I know you have a house battery. The caution was more for others who might think that since it draws less than a thermoelectric fridge that they could then just hook it to the starter battery.
Most fridges in the home will run about 8 hours of of 24, unless you've got a lot of kids who constantly have the door open or something. In a van or truck, it will run more than the normal 1/3 duty cycle, simply because the ambient temperature in the van isn't as tightly consistent as in a house. In the summer, my Microfridge will run close to a 2/3 duty cycle, or 16 hours a day, and in the winter it can be the same because the hot air from the Espar blows almost right at it.
One thing that helps a lot is, as Greg suggested, to keep it full. Ice packs work, as does lot of food, but one thing that works extremely well is crumpled up newspaper, believe it or don't. Filling empty space with crumpled newspaper reduces the airflow inside and acts as insulation, reducing heat loss. I don't stuff newspapers into my fridge very much 'cause it's really too large for that, but I do generally have the freezer section pretty well stuffed. That's something I learned a long time ago when we had a chest freezer in the garage.
Most fridges in the home will run about 8 hours of of 24, unless you've got a lot of kids who constantly have the door open or something. In a van or truck, it will run more than the normal 1/3 duty cycle, simply because the ambient temperature in the van isn't as tightly consistent as in a house. In the summer, my Microfridge will run close to a 2/3 duty cycle, or 16 hours a day, and in the winter it can be the same because the hot air from the Espar blows almost right at it.
One thing that helps a lot is, as Greg suggested, to keep it full. Ice packs work, as does lot of food, but one thing that works extremely well is crumpled up newspaper, believe it or don't. Filling empty space with crumpled newspaper reduces the airflow inside and acts as insulation, reducing heat loss. I don't stuff newspapers into my fridge very much 'cause it's really too large for that, but I do generally have the freezer section pretty well stuffed. That's something I learned a long time ago when we had a chest freezer in the garage.
