Absorption fridge duty cycle?

[JRRNeiklot]

Anyone know the approximate duty cycle of an rv absorption fridge?  I'm trying to get an idea of how much electricity it uses.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Anyone know the approximate duty cycle of an rv absorption fridge?  I'm trying to get an idea of how much electricity it uses.

Do you mean how much electricity it uses while cooling with propane?

Or are you talking about the duty cycle on 12v cooling or 120v cooling?

In the first case, not much.

In the other two cases, quite a bit.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

120 volt.

What constitutes quite a bit? 50% 75%?

 

[Almost There]

The amount of cycling and therefore the amount of power used will depend on a whole bunch of things like the ambient temperature, which way your RV is facing (fridge side in shade or facing the sun), age of fridge, how full it is, whether you put things in it that are warm etc. etc.

You'd be better of buying or borrowing a kilawatt meter and finding out over the course of several days exactly how much YOUR fridge uses.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Yeah, I know, but I thought maybe someone with more knowledge than I could give me a ball park estimate.

 

[tx2sturgis]

120 volt.

What constitutes quite a bit? 50% 75%?

'Quite a bit' means it will use a a lot of power at 120v or 12v, since there is an actual heater powered on during a cooling cycle. The actual cycling percentage should be more or less the same on any of the three power sources, although I would expect cycling times to be shorter duration when powered by propane.

Which means it really depends on ambient temps, door openings, temp settings, temp of the food as it goes in, age and condition of the cooling unit, how level the RV is, etc, etc, etc.

The way you asked the question makes me think you already have the wattage of the heater and need to calculate the wh or kwh used per day or week or whatever. Is that because you want to run it on AC (120v) off-grid with an inverter and without propane?

If so, you will need a substantial solar array and batteries. Trust me, propane is cheaper and easier in most cases.

Or maybe you are hooked to shore power and need to figure out the electrical usage for a monthly billing cycle. Either way, a kill-o-watt meter or similar will help you figure this out.

 

[John61CT]

Yeah, I know, but I thought maybe someone with more knowledge than I could give me a ball park estimate.

A big one in hot weather at least 2500 Wh per day

A small one in mild weather lucky if below 1000 Wh.

Like a yacht, if you have to ask you can't afford it.

These are only OK off grid using propane.

Get a 12V compressor fridge.

 

[picopat]

I measured 70% duty cycle on a 12V Whynter fridge operating in my house (consistent room temperature environment). It's dual zone and duty cycle wasn't affected much if I was running both sides as a fridge or one as fridge and the other as freezer.
It's probably safe to assume the same duty cycle if unless you operating environment or appliance insulation is much different.
Or just get a kill a watt and eliminate any guessing.

Patrick

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[B and C]

I have a 3 way fridge. When off grid (boondocking) the propane flame is on all the time. It is a very small flame almost like a pilot light and uses a negligible amount of propane. My propane tank (10 gallon usable) lasts almost a month. My big propane users are stove top, hot water heater (on for shower only) and furnace.

The 12V I use when driving and it is a constant draw. The 120V AC heater is on all the time too when on shore power. There isn't any cycling on these fridges. The thermostat on the fridge ultimately says how much it draws. Different size fridges have different size heaters. You should be able to look up the replacement heaters for your fridge to see what the watt rating is.

The cheapest way to run a 3 way fridge is on propane, no ifs, ands or buts.

 

[highdesertranger]

that's been my experience with absorption refrigerators, the duty cycle is 100%. trying to run them on electricity is a joke they suck power. highdesertranger

 

[rm.w/aview]

Anyone know the approximate duty cycle of an rv absorption fridge?  I'm trying to get an idea of how much electricity it uses.

Based on too many sources to list here,  figure it to use 20ah - 40ah (amp hours) per day with the variable of ambient temperature having great impact. A residential type of refrigerator may draw comparable wattage but will cycle much less often, as much as ten times less often. The absorption refrigerator provides it's happiness on propane as a 20 pound tank averages about a month while using it to cool the fridge, heat the water tank, and cook the food. With current pricing https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/Researchers-and-Policymakers/Energy-Prices/Propane/Average-Propane-Prices the cost per month is about $10 to $15. Put another way, the total of utility bills = $10 to $15 per month. Research into an efficient electric refrigerator reveals a 12V style, an apartment style 110V, or an RV residential style, each with their appropriate power source and supplementation.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

A big one in hot weather at least 2500 Wh per day

A small one in mild weather lucky if below 1000 Wh.

Like a yacht, if you have to ask you can't afford it.

These are only OK off grid using propane.

Get a 12V compressor fridge.

I have an Engle, but I'm currently plugged into shore power, so using the absorption fridge.  I really like the convenience of it, and will not be using it unless plugged in.  I just wanted to get a comparison of how much it will cost to run and if the convenience is worth it.  I plugged a Killawatt into it.  Currently, it looks like it's going to cost me about $13-$14 a month and it's about 40-60 degrees here.  The Engle will cost less than $3 at a 100% duty cycle which it will not come close to having, even in the summer.  So, I need to decide if 10-15 dollars a month is worth the convenience.