[blip]

Hey all,

I finally have found the perfect birthday present for one of my friends. She eats lunch later than most people and so she is always getting salads to go from our college's commissary (which is open for lunch for only a small window of time). The problem is that by the time she eats the salad, it has been sitting out for a while so it isn't the freshest. Thus, for her birthday, I'm going to get her a mini-refrigerator! I've found the perfect one on Amazon, but the problem is that it is meant to be used in a car. Because of this, it doesn't come with a regular AC adapter but instead uses a cigarette lighter to cigarette lighter cable.

Thus what I'm looking for is a AC to 12V DC Adapter that terminates in a cigarette lighter jack... Anyone ever see one of these strange beasts around?

Thanks.

 

[Hajime]

I couldn't find a cable that did it. You might be able to use this or this. Those were the least expensive I could find.

 

[Ari]

This should work.

Go here

Best

Ari

 

[blip]

Thanks for the quick replies guys! Ari's suggestion looks great... I'm a little worried on the amperage restrictions though. Anyone know how many amps a little fridge will draw? I think that it is peltier-based, so I'm afraid that it will want more juice than the 1 A that that adapter offers.

 

[blip]

If it helps anyone in their thinking on amperage restrictions, here is a link to it: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...77538?v=glance

Hmmm... If 1 amp is enough to feed this 4 liter baby, then I think that my birthday present shopping is over. (With over a month to spare... dang, that's gotta be a new record for me!)

 

[blip]

Dang it! The company website says that the fridge consumes 48w... which by my calculations means that it wants to draw a manly 4 amps.

Hmm... Anyone know where I can find a beefy version of one of these adapters?

 

[Audio Redneck]

Quote:

Originally posted by blip Dang it! The company website says that the fridge consumes 48w... which by my calculations means that it wants to draw a manly 4 amps. Hmm... Anyone know where I can find a beefy version of one of these adapters?

Radio Shack has them ($$$) and I am seeing others around the net. Search Google, ebay, etc. for 12v DC power supply cigarette lighter

CB/Ham radio shops would be another good source to look at. Also, if you can find a 12v/4amp converter, adding a cigarette lighter to it would be very simple.

One last thought: I saw a Supper-mini fridge at Office Depot the other day that was AC/DC and might solve the problem if its big/cold enough for your friends needs.

 

[stereth]

I agree - it would be much easier to go with an AC-powered model. We have an eval board sitting here at work, it's a 12V 8A AC-DC switching power supply. It's big (10"x4" PCB) and dangerous (big inductors and switching at 500V). 48W out of 120V is only 0.4A.

 

[blip]

Hmmm... Yeah I think I may need to change my plan... I was affraid that 4 A supplies would be expensive. Now if I was building it for myself, I would probably slap something together from parts... but to tell you the truth, I don't trust my soldering skills enough to do that on a gift.

Looks like I need to find a new fridge... ah well. Thanks for the help all.

 

[Audio Redneck]

What was the budget for this little project?

 

[DanG]

From the customer reviews:

Quote:

110 volt AC to 12 volt DC adapter readily available, July 11, 2003 Reviewer: Mike Phillips from Westmont, IL USA For those wanting to use this fridge at home, you can buy an adaptor on ebay for 5 bucks or so. It plugs in to your wall outlet and provides a cigarette lighter socket. Search for "AC to 12V DC Cigarette Lighter (Adaptor,Adapter)"

 

[blip]

Quote:

Originally posted by Audio Redneck What was the budget for this little project?

Probably $50-60 or so. What I'm really hoping to find is something small enough so that she won't have a hard time finding space for it in her, rather small, dorm room. That's why I thought that little one looked great.

I checked ebay, but I didn't see anything in the amperage range... I don't know, maybe that guy on Amazon is underpowering his fridge?

Anyway, now I'm thinking about this one: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...77538?v=glance . I don't like the formfactor as well and the shipping is pretty dang killer, but it might be the best option. Maybe I can find it at my local target... then it might be a good option.

 

[DanG]

Dorm fridges are ubiquitous enough that looking in almost any department store will yield good results. I've seen some pretty small ones, too, even smaller than my cubic fridge. It seems to me that the fridge that you were looking at really is only advantageous in a car, because there are plenty of tiny fridges.

 

[Audio Redneck]

Quote:

Originally posted by blip Anyway, now I'm thinking about this one: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...77538?v=glance . I don't like the formfactor as well and the shipping is pretty dang killer, but it might be the best option. Maybe I can find it at my local target... then it might be a good option.

Thats the exact unit I saw at Office Depot. So where are you going to school?

One more thing to keep in mind is that these little fridges work better at *maintaining* temperature than lowering (note reviewer whose unit burned out after a year). Not trying to scare you off, but make you aware of its intended usage.

 

[blip]

Hmmm... Office Depot? I'll check that out... we have one just down the road.

I liked that first one because it could be turned over on its side so that she would have more options for placement... she lives in one of those postage stamp-sized dorm rooms.

The temp thing isn't a huge deal... All I think that she will be using it for is keeping her salad cold or maybe keeping an apple nice and fresh for a day or two. Now the reliability thing may be a bigger problem... hopefully I can find a semi-reliable one.

I'm down at Willamette U in Salem, OR... I'll be heading back there in about a month or so... which is great because, to tell you the truth, I'm getting a bit tired of being home. Don't get me wrong, I love being with my family, but on the other hand, I sometimes feel that I work harder here than I do at school!

Ah well.