A mini fridge or portable cooler is one of the most common camping upgrades — and one of the easiest to under-size a power station for, since its compressor cycling behavior isn't obvious from the spec sheet alone.
Mini fridge power draw
| Fridge type | Running watts | Starting watts |
|---|---|---|
| Portable 12V compressor fridge (small) | 40-60 W | 60-100 W |
| Portable 12V compressor fridge (large) | 60-80 W | 100-150 W |
| Small AC mini fridge (dorm-style) | 60-100 W | 300-600 W |
12V compressor fridges (the common camping type, run via a car-style plug or the power station's DC port) draw meaningfully less than a standard AC mini fridge, and have a much smaller starting-watts spike — this is why dedicated 12V camping fridges are the more power-station-friendly choice over a repurposed dorm fridge.
How long a power station runs a mini fridge
Because compressor fridges cycle on and off rather than running continuously, real-world runtime is longer than the "continuous" math suggests — a 12V fridge drawing 50W with a 40% duty cycle only pulls about 20W average, stretching a 300Wh power station to roughly 15 hours instead of 6. See our fridge runtime guide for the full duty-cycle math.
Sizing for a multi-day trip
For a 2-3 day trip running a 12V mini fridge plus lights and phone charging, a 500-800Wh power station is a comfortable target — see our weekend camping power guide for the full appliance list, or run your exact setup through the free wattage calculator.
Check our current power station picks for units with a dedicated 12V/DC output port, which is the more efficient way to run a 12V fridge than converting through the AC inverter.