How much battery power does a fridge use?

I put a fridge (Electrolux RM120) up for sale weeks ago, in the meantime i decided to test it, it came from a friend who said it worked, anyway if i connect it up to a small car battery i get instant heat from the exhaust and it all looks ok but it flattens the battery before it has chance to get cold inside.
Is this to be expected?, i had read they consume a large amount but i have no way of testing it on gas, someone has asked about it so i have decided to give it away as untested but i would still like to know if this is normal or if it may be faulty

 

Don't know the answer to your question, guess it depends on the model of fridge. But for testing it get an old AC/DC 240-12 volt plug and cut the end off it and join to the fridge, then just plug into the mains.

 

I think my RM212 fridge uses about 8 Amps, roughly 100 watts. In other words, powered from the battery alone would drain it very quickly. I've wired it so that it'll only work when the engine is running, so it's effectively only powered by the alternator

 

Normally you have a relay so it will only work on 12v with the engine running. Otherwise it's flat battery time. Think you will find the 12v is only meant to keep a pre chilled fridge cold whilst on the move!

 

Fridges EAT power Keith, especially older ones, they should only be run when the engine is going or on hook up.
So what you have sounds about right to me.

 

Cheers guys, bloke hasn't replied yet anyway

 

I have a manual for the 79 Campmobile. They say 4 hours max. on battery power alone.

 

My thoughts would be the conversion from 240V is actually 12v dead and maybe at a very low amperage, whereas the the engine/battery output is probably more like 13.4-13.8 at the amperage rating of your split charger?

 

With my three way fridge, when on 240 or gas, there is a thermostat, 1-3 on the gas scale and 1-6 for 240v but when you run on 12v it is just ON, so will cool quicker as there is no being turned on and off when it gets to the right temp.

 

That's be about 4 hours in my Bus. (including breakdown time)

 

Sounds about right. It took me around 19 hours to get to Essex and back, total journey 304 miles, average therefore 16 miles per hour.
Fridge was very cold by the time the AA arrived, also strangely very empty.

 

As said 8 to 12amps on a 2/3 way fridge so 4 hours max
the 12v only ment to keep it cool when driving as its a bit unsafe to use gas and you will need a long lead if using 230v

 

odd might be a issue with the thermostat

 

having a look at the spares and it seams there are a few different rated elements so maybe you have a odd element form a different model fitted

 

And on many setups the gas flame blows out when driving! Not sure of safety considerations, the very small flame is nowhere near anything flammable.