Compact Refrigerators

Can I plug a mini Fridge into my car?

If i take an adapter that turns my mini fridges wall plug into a cigarette lighter will it drain my cars battery? I'm starting a grocery delivery business and need too keep clients food cold, will it drain the battery?

Public Comments

1. anything that uses power will drain the power on the car... this is why cop cars are ALWAYS RUNNING. they never shut down because their electronics which need to stay on will drain the battery... a fridge in your car will always need to be on so yes it will drain your battery.
2. NO inverter which will power a mini fridge will plug into your lighter socket! To determine what inverter you need find the rating plate on the fridge, Lets assume it says 120Volts 10 amps AC, 10 amps at 120 volts equals 1200 Watts, 1200 watts at 12 volts equals 100 amps! Is your cars alternator rated at least 140 amps? if not it will fry trying! If the alternator is 140+ amps then the next decision is which inverter you need, 1200 watt load requires a 125% inverter = a 1500 watt inverter is needed to power the fridge reliably and since it requires 100 amps from your cars electrical system on a continuous basis the cabling from the alternator to the battery and from the battery to the inverter must be heavy enough to carry this continuous heavy current load - we are talking either 2 gauge or 0 gauge cabling for our hypothetical 1200 watt load here. A fridge rated at 5 amps 120 volts cuts the load in half to 600 watts and 50 amps at 12 volts dc, not quite so imposing but still requires 8 gauge cabling for all connections... I am very experienced in setting up vehicle inverters and for that matter have 2 vehicles right now with inverters installed, an 800 watt unit in my van and a 1500 watt beast in my truck ( diesel with a 240 amp alternator - still can not provide full output for more than a few minutes without draining the batteries! 1500 watts at 12 volts = 125 amps load! Too many other parasitic loads in the vehicle! assume 40 to 60 amps for vehicle lighting, heater, fan and battery charging on most cars, lots of power accessories will raise that figure substantially! Yes if the engine is not running the inverter will drain the battery in minutes. If keeping the engine running is not practical then the inverter will require a bank of 6 volt 1200 amp Work Horse batteries in 2X2 series parallel configuration ( another 300 pounds to carry around which requires proper consideration to vehicle balance and securing on the battery pack ) with a permanently installed 50 amp charger which you will have to plug in EVERY night and whenever possible during the day to power the system, at which point the system will also require a battery isolator module to allow the alternator to contribute to the system but prevent the inverter from discharging your starting battery. It can be done but must be done right or it will not work or worse will go up in smoke!
3. krazybob has the correct dope! You are NOT going to power a fridge, mini or otherwise off your lighter outlet. FAIL!