Advice Please -- Newbie Designing Full Solar System w/ Chest Freezer

Van Living Forum

Help Support Van Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

billyp

New member
Joined
Jan 26, 2021
Messages
1
Reaction score
1
This is my first time working with electric, off grid, solar, everything … here’s where I’m at (and humbly looking for guidance).
 
Just bought a ’95 Chevy G30 15-psgr van (used as a nursing home transport van), with a hightop and only 60,000 original miles. Converting to a DIY budget campervan, but we’re only planning on using it for vacations: maybe one weekend/month, and two 2-3 week trips each year, so like 50-60 days per year. When we are on these trips, we will probably be driving an average of 2-3 hours/day. We are NOT living in it, so we are only looking to install a minimal to moderate solar system that can power:
 
2 laptops, 1 iPad, 2 cell phones, 1 hot spot, 1 cellular booster, LED lights, MaxxFan Deluxe … AND
110V Freezer Chest!
 
I know that there is a lot of debate about the pros/cons of doing a freezer chest conversion vs. 12V DC fridge. When we go camping, we drink a lot of adult beverages . . . we’re on vacation. This seems like to cheapest way to get a big fridge that will keep those drinks cold. And it sounds like the power usage can be comparable or less than a 12V fridge, as long as I don’t have the inverter running 24/7.
 
The system I have designed is basically built from the starting point of getting this freezer and figuring out how to power it without keeping an inverter on all day.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Koolatron-Kool-3-5-cu-ft-Chest-Freezer-in-White-KTCF99/301097784
https://www.koolatron.com/CA/en/white-chest-freezer-99l
 
Importantly, this particular freezer has a thermostat that can go up to 32 degrees, so we’re thinking that drinks and any non-produce food can stay cold, without freezing too much. If that doesn’t work, and it is too cold, we will try and manually alter the thermostat like the home brewers suggest:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...tat-to-32f-eliminate-external-control.249612/
 
If either of these methods work, I would not need an external thermostat to regulate the freezer temp: it will either be factory set at 32, or I will manually adjust that upwards, closer to 40.
 
Because the fridge will be plugged into an inverter all day, I looked for an inverter with a Power Save mode, so that it will only turn on when there is a draw. GoPower inverters have that option:
 
“Power saving mode enables the inverter to turn itself on and off looking for a specific sized load, yet draw less power than standard operation. When power saving is enabled and the inverter senses a load, it may take one second for the load to become active. This one-second wait will be fine for loads that draw continually, such as televisions and stereos. However, it may not be suitable for loads that are intermittent such as bread makers, power tools or blenders. Power saving will continually draw a small amount of power from the batteries, so if the inverter will not be in use for longer than a day, it is advisable to turn the inverter off using the on/off switch located on the front of the inverter or remote.”
https://gpelectric.com/products/1500-watt-industrial-pure-sine-wave-inverter/
https://gpelectric.com/products/gp-sw1500-ts/
 
My hope is that when the fridge thermostat goes to turn the compressor on, it will wake the inverter up to provide power. This should only happen a couple of times an hour, and should only run for a few minutes each time.
 
Another option, would be to follow this poster’s advice, he used a few more components to be able to basically do the same thing—automatically turn the inverter on, only when the thermostat turns on:

 
So, with the freezer chest conversion as my starting point, I need an inverter that will only turn on when the compressor turns on. After that, I am just trying to install the most cost-effective and efficient components for the rest of my system. I thought we could try to get by with 200W solar and 100Ah lithium. But, I want to make sure that my components can support an expansion to 400W solar and 200Ah, if it turns out that we need more power. Here is where I am at:
 
Rich 200W Solar: https://richsolar.com/products/200-watt-solar-panel ($200)
SOK 100Ah 12V LiFePO4: https://www.sokbattery.com/products/100ah-12v-lifepo4-deep-cycle-battery?ref=h-cvbzfahsek ($570)
Renogy 50A Solar Controller w/ DC-DC Charger (alternator charging): https://www.renogy.com/dcc50s-12v-50a-dc-dc-on-board-battery-charger-with-mppt/ ($260)
Renogy Bluetooth Controller: https://www.renogy.com/bt-2-bluetooth-module/ ($40)
GoPower PSW 1500W Inverter: https://gpelectric.com/products/1500-watt-industrial-pure-sine-wave-inverter/ ($450)
GoPower 30A Transfer Switch: https://gpelectric.com/products/30-amp-transfer-switch/ ($80)
OR GoPower 1500W Inverter with Built-in 20A Transfer Switch: https://gpelectric.com/products/gp-sw1500-ts/ (this would cost almost $100 more than buying the inverter and TS separately, and give me a  20A TS versus 30A). ($610)
GoPower PSW Inverter Remote: https://gpelectric.com/products/industrial-pure-sine-wave-inverter-remote/ ($90)
GoPower DC Inverter Install Kit: https://www.amazon.com/Power-GP-DC-KIT3-Installation-1100-1800-Watt-2000-3000-Watt/dp/B00153587Q ($190)
 
All in, before I buy wire, fuses, etc. this brings me to about $1,900 (everything except for the battery is available on Amazon Prime).
 
Again, I have no experience. Can y’all who have done this before, and know what you’re doing, please offer me advice on any issues you see with my design/goals? Thanks in advance!!
 
If you are going to drink that much you won’t care where you are so why bother! Lol!!! It looks like you have researched it pretty well and several here have used similar systems. The biggest problem is the number of components and reliability in my opinion. I personally would if I could afford it get a 12 volt compressor fridge and depending on the season you will be using it a little extra solar, it is just less hassle and possibly a little more dependable. I don’t trouble shoot problems to well once I’ve had a few! Vibration is the main problem usually in vehicles so take that into consideration when buying wire and mounting components.
 
You sure are making it complicated for someone who admitted to never doing this kind of stuff. there are a lot of places in that system for potential failures. You know Murphy's Law right?

how much are you spending to keep beer cold? for all you spend you could buy a 12v refrigerator and it will be cheaper and simpler. just saying.

I speak from experience I tried everything to avoid buying a 12v refrigerator. in the end I would have been dollars ahead if I would have just bought a 12v fridge to begin with.

another point 12 fridges have come way down it price.

highdesertranger
 
If you need more capacity than a 12-volt compressor-fridge can offer, which is the only reason I can think of to go with a 110AC instead, then why not just use more than one? Mine is wonderful and cools every bit as well as a home-fridge; why are you so reluctant to go there? Better efficiency (counting in the inverter-loss), less failure-prone hardware, lighter, and better-designed to accommodate vibration while driving. For occasional trips I'd buy one good-sized budget model, then add another if I needed to. My guess is that you never will.
 
Rabbit brings up a good point. I have 3 12v refers. one as a freezer and the other 2 as refrigerators. I am not saying you need more than one but it does give you redundancy. highdesertranger
 
This is my first time working with electric, off grid, solar, everything … here’s where I’m at (and humbly looking for guidance).

Just bought a ’95 Chevy G30 15-psgr van (used as a nursing home transport van), with a hightop and only 60,000 original miles. Converting to a DIY budget campervan, but we’re only planning on using it for vacations: maybe one weekend/month, and two 2-3 week trips each year, so like 50-60 days per year. When we are on these trips, we will probably be driving an average of 2-3 hours/day. We are NOT living in it, so we are only looking to install a minimal to moderate solar system that can power:

2 laptops, 1 iPad, 2 cell phones, 1 hot spot, 1 cellular booster, LED lights, MaxxFan Deluxe … AND
110V Freezer Chest!

I know that there is a lot of debate about the pros/cons of doing a freezer chest conversion vs. 12V DC fridge. When we go camping, we drink a lot of adult beverages . . . we’re on vacation. This seems like to cheapest way to get a big fridge that will keep those drinks cold. And it sounds like the power usage can be comparable or less than a 12V fridge, as long as I don’t have the inverter running 24/7.

The system I have designed is basically built from the starting point of getting this freezer and figuring out how to power it without keeping an inverter on all day.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Koolatron-Kool-3-5-cu-ft-Chest-Freezer-in-White-KTCF99/301097784
https://www.koolatron.com/CA/en/white-chest-freezer-99l

Importantly, this particular freezer has a thermostat that can go up to 32 degrees, so we’re thinking that drinks and any non-produce food can stay cold, without freezing too much. If that doesn’t work, and it is too cold, we will try and manually alter the thermostat like the home brewers suggest:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...tat-to-32f-eliminate-external-control.249612/

If either of these methods work, I would not need an external thermostat to regulate the freezer temp: it will either be factory set at 32, or I will manually adjust that upwards, closer to 40.

Because the fridge will be plugged into an inverter all day, I looked for an inverter with a Power Save mode, so that it will only turn on when there is a draw. GoPower inverters have that option:

“Power saving mode enables the inverter to turn itself on and off looking for a specific sized load, yet draw less power than standard operation. When power saving is enabled and the inverter senses a load, it may take one second for the load to become active. This one-second wait will be fine for loads that draw continually, such as televisions and stereos. However, it may not be suitable for loads that are intermittent such as bread makers, power tools or blenders. Power saving will continually draw a small amount of power from the batteries, so if the inverter will not be in use for longer than a day, it is advisable to turn the inverter off using the on/off switch located on the front of the inverter or remote.”
https://gpelectric.com/products/1500-watt-industrial-pure-sine-wave-inverter/
https://gpelectric.com/products/gp-sw1500-ts/

My hope is that when the fridge thermostat goes to turn the compressor on, it will wake the inverter up to provide power. This should only happen a couple of times an hour, and should only run for a few minutes each time.

Another option, would be to follow this poster’s advice, he used a few more components to be able to basically do the same thing—automatically turn the inverter on, only when the thermostat turns on:


So, with the freezer chest conversion as my starting point, I need an inverter that will only turn on when the compressor turns on. After that, I am just trying to install the most cost-effective and efficient components for the rest of my system. I thought we could try to get by with 200W solar and 100Ah lithium. But, I want to make sure that my components can support an expansion to 400W solar and 200Ah, if it turns out that we need more power. Here is where I am at:

Rich 200W Solar: https://richsolar.com/products/200-watt-solar-panel ($200)
SOK 100Ah 12V LiFePO4: https://www.sokbattery.com/products/100ah-12v-lifepo4-deep-cycle-battery?ref=h-cvbzfahsek ($570)
Renogy 50A Solar Controller w/ DC-DC Charger (alternator charging): https://www.renogy.com/dcc50s-12v-50a-dc-dc-on-board-battery-charger-with-mppt/ ($260)
Renogy Bluetooth Controller: https://www.renogy.com/bt-2-bluetooth-module/ ($40)
GoPower PSW 1500W Inverter: https://gpelectric.com/products/1500-watt-industrial-pure-sine-wave-inverter/ ($450)
GoPower 30A Transfer Switch: https://gpelectric.com/products/30-amp-transfer-switch/ ($80)
OR GoPower 1500W Inverter with Built-in 20A Transfer Switch: https://gpelectric.com/products/gp-sw1500-ts/ (this would cost almost $100 more than buying the inverter and TS separately, and give me a 20A TS versus 30A). ($610)
GoPower PSW Inverter Remote: https://gpelectric.com/products/industrial-pure-sine-wave-inverter-remote/ ($90)
GoPower DC Inverter Install Kit: https://www.amazon.com/Power-GP-DC-KIT3-Installation-1100-1800-Watt-2000-3000-Watt/dp/B00153587Q ($190)

All in, before I buy wire, fuses, etc. this brings me to about $1,900 (everything except for the battery is available on Amazon Prime).

Again, I have no experience. Can y’all who have done this before, and know what you’re doing, please offer me advice on any issues you see with my design/goals? Thanks in advance!!

I purchased two of these from Amazon and haven't regretting it.
I use one for food etc, and one for 'refreshments'
They draw less than 2A and 50W each, and are so quiet, you dont even hardlyhear them running.
They have a divider that is removable, so that you can turn part of the cooler into a freezer. Both sides have their own thermostats. I have kept icecream, popsicles etc in there as well as frozen foods with no issues. I set the other cooler at 37F for my 'cold ones' and it works great.

These will run on either 12v, or 110 volt so your choice.

https://www.amazon.ca/COSTWAY-Compr...rator,+58+quarts+dc12-24v,,kitchen,76&sr=1-13
 
The thread you are replying to is more than a year old.
 
And now its even older but you know people can learn from old closed threads.

The amount of good information available on this forum, especially from some of the “old salts” like HDR (RIP) as well as SternWake, doesn‘t change that much even though its old..

There’s still folks posting (and a few are mods now), who’ve “been there done that”.
 
Top