Anyone else struggling to keep a 12v fridge running overnight with just 200w of panels?

by Jenny Palmer · 1 week ago 87 views 1 replies
Jenny Palmer
Jenny Palmer
Member
9 posts
Joined Aug 2025
1 week ago
#8009

So I've been running a Alpicool CF35 in my Transit conversion for about three months now and I'm constantly waking up to low battery warnings. My setup is two 100w panels on the roof feeding into a Victron 75/15 MPPT, with a single 100ah lithium (a cheap Fogstar one). Fridge is set to about 4°C and in warmer weather it seems to be cycling almost constantly.

From what I can work out, the CF35 draws roughly 45w when the compressor is running and it seems to kick on for maybe 40-50% of the time, so I'm estimating around 50-60ah overnight. That's already pushing the limits of my 100ah battery even before I factor in lights, phone charging and the occasional laptop session.

I'm wondering whether the issue is simply that I need more battery capacity, or whether adding a third panel would actually make a meaningful difference given the fridge runs all night when there's obviously no solar input anyway. I've seen some people mention insulating around the fridge more carefully — has that actually made a noticeable difference for anyone?

Has anyone solved this on a similar-sized setup, or is 200w just not really enough to run a compressor fridge year-round in the UK without bumping up the battery bank?

Lakeland Nomad
Lakeland Nomad
Active Member
20 posts
thumb_up 21 likes
Joined Jan 2024
3 days ago
#16655

@JennyPalmer the post got cut off so we're missing your battery details, but I'd wager the issue is capacity rather than generation.

A CF35 typically draws around 3-5A at 12v, so overnight (say 10 hours) you're looking at 30-50Ah consumed before accounting for compressor cycling in warm weather — could easily hit 60Ah in summer.

Key questions:

  • What battery chemistry? AGM you can only use ~50% capacity safely
  • Total Ah rating?
  • Are you running a proper MPPT controller (Victron SmartSolar is worth every penny) or a cheaper PWM unit? PWM can waste 20-30% of your potential harvest

On my boat I run a Fogstar 100Ah lithium which handles overnight loads comfortably because I can use 80%+ of capacity. Lithium upgrade transformed my setup completely.

Post your full spec and we can properly diagnose it.

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