Jump to content

Low-E fridge on solar/battery?


jmhooten

Recommended Posts

Just bought my first Dolphin. A '92 900 moldel with 77k. The refrigerator isn't working on either 110v or propane and I'm going to look into that but meanwhile I'm wondering if anyone has gone completely away from these in favor of more modern low-e refers running off the battery? I have a friend who did this (not in the context of an RV, think solar powered kegerator). Any thoughts or advice would be welcomed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

do a little math with the requirements of the frig considered and figure out what you need in the way of 12V power to run it. i can run my little 4.6 amp AC frig with an 800 watt inverter, just not very long on one battery. on my system i could run it about 1 hour on half the charge of the battery, and my understanding is you really don't want to kill a battery all the way. that's based on about 48 12V amps needed to run. not sure of start up power needed as this can be considerably more. i don't use it that way, if not plugged into AC use a generator and frozen jugs to keep things cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a neat gadget for figuring out your 12 volt power needs running an inverter http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-P4400-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1347319709&sr=1-1&keywords=kill+a+watt They work very will reads volts, amps ,watts, kilowatt hours all you need to know about 120 volt devices and what it will take to run them on batteries with a little math. Don't forget to add about 10 optimistic % for conversion if you believe 90% inverter efficiency. It's a great tool around the house also, you would not believe the stuff you take for granted sucking up power just sitting there running doing nothing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Assuming you are just looking to keep some things cool and not looking to refrigerate mass quantities of deer meat etc, I think you could do well with a few 12 volt electric fridges like the ones they sell for cars by running them directly off of a charge controller and solar panels.

Heck I remember my dad had a really nice one that was a chest style electric cooler that ran off of a cigarette lighter plug in the 80's. I have no idea what the draw is but I am sure it must be less than the 12 volt element in an AES Dometic.

You must understand that these fridges are for short term cooling; wont make ice and are primarily to keep some beer or pop cool. I believe they have an aluminum plate that chills by heating some fluid in the plate with a small fan exhausting the heat. So if you are just looking to keep the canned beer cool, that will do it in some good sun with a few good solar panels. It wont run at night well though, as your battery would have no incoming charge and may even be being depleted by usage of propane blower etc.

Add a wind turbine to the equation and a windy campsite could run it all night too. I have seen some small wind turbines made from old VCR motors that have nearly the same charge output as a decent solar array.

What is the scope of the application anyway?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Me I would fix the fridge they are far better then any thing else, gas is very efficient works very well and would probably run months on 20# of propane. By the time you buy all the gear to run a compressor fridge you'll have the price of a cooling unit. All the units I have ever had did not need 12 volts I subscribe to the KISS plan of attack I have no problem lighting my fridge and it's some thing I can usually fix in the woods with out carrying a replacement board with me. A working gas fridge is also a selling point when the time comes in the mean time you'll have a reliable simple fridge that will work any where. All though it needs to be some where near level there is no need to carry a 4 foot level generally if you'r comfortable (people are usually level sensitive) so is the fridge in you'er case if the boiler is making heat there is some thing wrong inside either it's crystlized or empty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check out Novakool refrigerators at Backwoods Solar (link didn't apply so.. http://www.backwoodssolar.com/index.htm )! A 200 watt panel should be enough to operate this easily.

Running power has been reduced with new dual voltage Danfoss compressors and a new refrigerant. Single door models consume about 35 watts when compressor is running: under 3 amps 12 volt, 1.5 on 24 volt. Two door models will consume up to 60 watts. Running time varies with temperature, but is about 30% duty cycle on a 70 degree day. Buyer glues extra 2" foam insulation to the whole box to cut per day run time in half. As supplied the R4500 uses 480 watt hours / day, but with added insulation, just 240 watt hours a day on a 70 degree day. The new Danfoss BD35F compressor uses R134A (CF3-CH2F) gas for atmospheric protection. Interchangeable for use on 12 or 24 volt. Reliable refrigerator.

Also at the same place, Sundazer chest type refrigerators and freezers.

R165 5.8 Cu. Ft. Refrigerator 37"W x 26"D x 35"H

Watt/hours per day@ 70 and 90 degrees 100/240 $1035

F165 5.8 Cu. Ft. Freezer 37"W x 26"D x 35"H

Watt/hours per day@ 70 and 90 degrees 340/600 $1035

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice unit but the price of a brand new gas/12v/120v fridge. You can absorb some of the price of a solar setup by saying it will charge the batteries however 200 watts depending on quality, wiring, controller, and panel $400 to over a $1000. They would be fantastic in a off grid house in the woods because of the recovery time vers. a gas fridge but I'll stick with the gas unit in a camper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like I've said before, Solar Blvd is the place to get panels! http://www.solarblvd.com/index.php They have US made MX Solar 230 watt, 24V panels for $202.40 + shipping! This brings the price down for solar quite a bit. They have several other brands for under $1 a watt too. I've bought from them several times and always been pleased. They are also very helpful/knowledgeable on the phone.

Personally, I really like the idea of my fridge working off of solar. I'd like to get away from having to buy propane altogether.

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like I've said before, Solar Blvd is the place to get panels! http://www.solarblvd.com/index.php They have US made MX Solar 230 watt, 24V panels for $202.40 + shipping! This brings the price down for solar quite a bit. They have several other brands for under $1 a watt too. I've bought from them several times and always been pleased. They are also very helpful/knowledgeable on the phone.

Personally, I really like the idea of my fridge working off of solar. I'd like to get away from having to buy propane altogether.

Steve

Nice site they seem to have a great selection. I could not agree with you more about burning propane or gasoline for that matter but unless you live in your MH/camper the convince of propane out weights the cost of solar because of the short term use. A perfect camper would have 500 watts of solar, nice battery bank, inverter, a wood stove with a hot water loop and a diesel engine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...