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My New Refrigerator. No More Propane


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I have nothing against propane itself. Just do not want it for what I do RE refrigeration. If I was parked long-term in one spot with no "shore" power - I'd be using solar panels and an electric chest refrigerator. In my RV where I (we) only park and camp one night at a time- and then drive - propane has been what I call a pain-in-the-a*s and also dangerous. We camp only in very rural camp areas and just about never have a level spot to park. And no -I'm not jacking up my RV every time I park to try to make it close to level. After recently having my propane chimney break off when I was driving and hit a bump -I'm done with propane refrigerators. It wasn't lit because I never drive when it IS lit. If it had been - there would likely have been a fire.

I didn't post this to weigh the pros and cons of propane for refrigeration. I don't care who uses what. For me -I look forward to having electric. No more worrying about being level. No more roof and side-wall vents where bugs and moisture get in. No more switching back and forth from 12 volts to gas,etc. I am also disappointed with what is left of the Dometic company and their lousy, almost NO parts support for older refrigerators (older meaning late 80s, early 90s).

I have been experimenting with chest freezers. Note I already have a 5 or 6 cubic foot Sundanzer chest refrigerator at my cabin that runs on solar. Runs on 12 volts DC and is truly amazing. Runs on 1/3 amp per hour on 12 volts. But it is large, heavy, and expensive (over $1000).

I got reading about how many boat owners are converting stand-up small refrigerators to lay-down chest refrigerators and making them 3 times as efficient. I also read about doing the same with a chest freezer that has better insulation and just installing a different thermostat into it.

I just did this with what I regard as amazing results.

Paid $130 for a new Igloo 3.5 cubic foot chest freezer. Perfect size for any of my RVs. My intent was to change the thermostat. But . upon inspection and after taking out the OEM thermostat - I found an adjuster screw. 12 turns of that screw and I now have an efficient chest refrigerator for $130. I've had it plugged in now for 6 days with room temps of 70 degrees F. It has used, on average, 6/10ths of one amp @ 12 volts per hour. That while maintaining a 44 degree F temp. I find that amazing. 12 volts because I have it plugged into an inverter. Just one type 27 "house battery" could power it for 7 days if needed if fully discharged. All I am shooting for is 8-10 hours of a time which is nothing. We always camp at night and drive for much of the day with lots of battery recharging.

Maybe I am too easily impressed but less then one amp per hour for a 3.5 cubic foot refrigerator for $130 is amazing to me. I used to think my Sundanzer was so efficient due to the Danfoss DC compressor. Seems not. My 120 volt AC Chinese compressor is doing just fine. A new, 2 cubic foot, vertical 12 volt RV refrigerator with the Danfoss compressor runs at 2 amps per hour at 70 degrees F. So my new $130 modified refrigerator is near twice the size and runs at 1/3 the power usage. The only drawback is the "not easy to use" feature of a chest unit with top opening door inside an RV. I'm installing this one in my 1978 Chinook where use and install is easy since it sits on the floor. It's about 31" high which is counter-height. But in my "full size" Toyota Minicruiser - it has to go in the bathroom for now on the shower-pad. We never use the shower anyway. My OEM Dometic refrigerator sits on top of the OEM furnace and not a great place to try to mount this chest-refrigerator. I'm have to do some thinking on it.

I've kind of got to laugh now at the many Web articles I've read about people buying $20 to $60 conversion thermostats to convert freezers into refrigerators and not one with trying to simply adjust the OEM freezer thermostat to a higher temp. Certainly works well on this one. Just 12 turns of a screw.

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Thanks for posting, always good info from you. I am procrastinating on replacing the 2 way fridge in my Toy. No fear of the LP fridge, I see the little Dometic as too small for my use. I see a couple mini fridge in the 7 cu ft range which I think would be good for me.

Then I think as long as I am doing away with the LP fridge, might as well use an electric cook top, I would go all electric except for the water heater. I will get little use from the furnace, but do not think an electric water tank will be sufficient?

Need to get to work on the Toy, have had it a year and am 9 months behind on my projects. :clown2: Jim

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Certainly a cheap solution and with low consumption hits the mark for off the grid use. Did an availability search on the Kmart site. Not available for shipping nor in stock anywhere nearby me (just looking in the interest of satisfying my curiosity). Searched Amazon and they have it but far more expensively. There is also a smaller mini fridge size version of the freezer (1.1 Cu Ft) with a front door by Igloo. I looked at the manual via a link I found but no specs for either.

I recently picked up a new work van and might toy with the idea of adding a second battery and an inverter to run a small fridge rather than haul the cooler and deal with ice in the summer months. How are the inverters at running a small microwave? I drive 3-4 hours a day in the van so figure I could keep the battery charged.

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  • 2 weeks later...

jdemaris

Thanks for the informative post. I'm still looking for my Toybox while living solo in an older Class C on an 1991 E-350.

My OE Dometic died this summer. Since I have a little solar and drive quite a bit, I picked up a smaller 2 door electric from Igloo. Not good for someone who boondocks 95% of the time. The sides get very warm (instructions do call for a LOT of side clearance I don't have) and just sucks power like there's no tomorrow. Does your chest freezer have an exposed "coil" thingy on the back or bottom I could cool with a fan or is whatever gets hot built into the sides like my little reefer? Maybe the very warm outside is making the unit cycle too much. I'd love to ditch this power sucker but can't find an affordable 2 way.

I've also been seeing the articles about converted chest freezers- a guy in Australia comes to mind who published a schematic with latching relays (whatever those are) for the thermostat and the like. Complicated but the concept has always looked interesting.

After black Friday one of the box stores had a small chest freezer for about a hundred that would have gone in my old opening. The salesman said newer units wouldn't operate if exterior temperatures were too high or too low like in a garage- or my motorhome. Any ideas as to why?

Thanks again for a real hands on report. Much of what I see on most rv sites is just cut and paste crap from search engines that people claim as their own experience.

fleamarketeer

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I wasn't specifically seeking an Igloo. My #1 choice would been the highest efficiency model in hopes of having the best insulation. But price and availability was also a factor. The Igloo was available at Sears, Kmart, and Home Depot. Thus my choice. This freezer has NO exposed coils anywhere. Nothing to see where anything is exposed other then the motor/compressor pot. I originally thought I could later add more foam-board insulation to the outside and then found out I cannot. There are parts of the freezer cooling system that are just below the outside aluminum skin and must be able to give off heat. I ran the freezer for a week and the sides get slightly warm to touch. Never hot.

The only way to add insulation is to the inside and then storage capacity is lost. After testing and finding out how little power this thing uses - I am no longer concerned about adding insulation.

I too saw many convoluted articles about conversions. Some on how to convert upright refrigerators into chest refrigerators and THAT is fairly easy. You just unbolt the compressor/pot and flip it 90 degrees - bending a few lines and remount it.

The articles about converting chest FREEZERS into chest REFRIGERATORS looked pretty simple. In fact, if you want to spend $50, you can buy a prewired thermostat and just plug the freezer cord into it. Then all you have to do is get the new temp-probe for the new thermostat into a place where it can work. With this Igloo - I bought a new refrigerator thermostat for $8. My plan was to just totally remove the OEM freezer-thermostat and capillary tube - and install the new one. That's when I noticed that the OEM freezer thermostat has a little trimmer screw for temp-cycle adjustment. So I experimented and found out no mods were needed other then just turning that screw a bit.

Somebody asked why some refrigerators and freezers are rated for use in below freezing temps and some are not. I believe it is based on two things. #1 is the viscosity of the compressor oil. Seems a freezer that comes on when air temps are zero and has too thick oil might get damaged. I've had all sorts of freezers in cold temps and can't say I ever had a failure. The other issue is about units that have digital controls. Some (not all ) will not work in extreme temps.

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brilliant! but i'm NOt going to show that post to my wife, after I told her about the wondrous efficiency of the 60 liter Fridgefreeze I bought last year for a paltry 1600ish..........."It will run for a week on a Group 27 battery, honey"

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Thanks JD and Linda,

I wasn't looking for any brand. A friend bought a pallet of scratch and dent reefers and this one had too many small issues on the front to be sold normally. I got a very good deal. I guess the heat is just trapped in the old built in's space.

I do have it installed counter to the instructions, so I'm not really complaining. I'm exploring options. It does seem to work well on a MSW inverter but also seems to run more than "normal" if I'm plugged in.

I'll keep looking. Maybe I can find something small with exposed coils. Ohio is so cold right now refrigeration is not an issue!

fleamarketeer

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I was at Home Depot today and they have a Magic Chief freezer that looks almost exactly like this Igloo for only $117. Don't know if it's as efficient but probably could find specs somewhere online

Linda S

That Magic Chef has exactly the same power use specs as the Igloo I got. Home Depot had the Magic Chef advertised cheaper but did not have any in stock. I only bought the Igloo because Kmart actually had one and buying even though buying it was kind of arduous deal.

I was in a hurry to experiment and Kmart was the only place that had one. It was a "scratch and dent" special deal. Marked down from $229 to $150,and then again to $130. So I got it - took it home - and found out there were parts missing. At that point - I knew I was going to return it and they would likely scrap it. Parts missing and very bent - like it was actually dropped off a truck. So I felt safe taking out the thermostat and yanking it apart to see how it worked. Then I put it all back together and went back to Kmart. Then they said they had one more that had NOT fallen off a truck and offered an even exchange. So I went home with a "not bent" freezer for $130. The Kmart manager said that was less then their actual cost. Then a few days later - Kmart ran a local ad with a special sale for the same freezer for $129.99. So somebody is full of it.

Note - not all Igloo freezers are the same even though they look the same. The EPA rated ones are slightly more efficient and cost more. The only difference to be "seen" is the part #. It is a small difference and I guess not worth paying the extra bucks for.

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Took a look at the Igloo 3.5 chest freezer, Calls for 4 inch of clearance side, top and back for proper operation. Do you have those clearances? Jim

Jim,

Thanks for checking

No. The old cabinet face frame would almost touch one of the chest freezer's sides and then maybe a strong inch behind that. Top and back are good though. I think a bottom or rear coil unit would be fine with a fan to cool things.

I'll keep looking. You never know what might turn up.

fleamarketeer

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  • 3 years later...

This is great! I would rather run off electric - i am not skilled enough or prepared enough to start converting my LP systems into electric (YET), but I am excited to get more ideas!

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