Any real world daily electrical usage #s for Dometic CF-018DC

[SoulRaven]

I am thinking of buying subject refrig need power usage to size panels/battery.

 

[akrvbob]

I've had the CF 25 (which is just a little bigger) for 4 years and it just died. I also have a friend who has had a CF 18 for just as long. It's a great unit!! I have 200 watts and my friend with the CF18 has 135 watts and both are plenty to run it.

Just be aware they are both small and really give you minimal space. But my friend is totally happy with the size of hers so it can be enough.
Bob

 

[SternWake]

Ambient temperatures make a huge difference in how much electricity a compressor fridge consumes, as does the amount of times the lid is opened and how often warm items are placed within.


I would dedicate at least 40AH of battery capacity and 80watts of solar to power that fridge in the worst of conditions.
Not including other electrical loads.

I originally thought 130 watts would not be enough for a 1.8cubic foot  48 liter front loading fridge, it was basically twice as much as needed, and I started figuring out ways to utilize the solar surplus and increase my comfort.

The surplus mostly dissappeared over the years and i added 68 more watts.

Lesson is, go big, you can make use of it, and if not the battery is just that much happier and lasts that much longer

 

[LeeRevell]

Haven't tried using my new Dometic CF-18 fridge yet, but I did notice the multi-language manual for it is actually that for the Waeco fridge - I assume Dometic just markets it under their name.
The spec chart lists 7AH as the basic power usage for this fridge.  I expect this will vary up and down a bit in actual use, depending on ambient temps and opening cycles.
The manual lists the CF-18 as using 12 and 24VDC only, but I did spring for the optional 110VAC brick to increase my options.
I like this size fridge for van/camping use.  Plenty space enough for a 2 or 3 liter bottle in the deep end, or close the plastic divider down, you have a small deep section and a larger upper section for sandwiches, canned drinks, mayo, etc.
I won't need any more on my road trips.  More space is just wasted space in the van.

 

[SternWake]

Hook one of these on the power leads to the fridge and you can see how much that fridge uses;

http://www.amazon.com/GT-Power-Anal...sim_469_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0R5C7D84PDHZGBXQQ24K

My front loading 51 liter fridge averages about 14AH consumption per 24 hours in 75F average ambients, so one less than half the size averaging 7AH in 24 hours is believable.

Not even sure I'd dedicate a house battery and solar for just It, not if driving daily.
.

I've not had a house battery for 2+ months now, but I can also plug in and not cycle the single battery

how much was the optional 120v brick?

One of these fills the same function, but can also power 30 amps of 12v devices:
http://www.amazon.com/eTopxizu-Regu...9847524&sr=8-1&keywords=etopxizu+power+supply

I bought a DC only fridge, as when I have AC power available I have a charger able to both recharge the battery and power the fridge. The AC option was an extra 100$ on my fridge. i used that 100 $ toward a 40 amp power supply instead

 

[akrvbob]

Technically, it draws 3 amps per hour. The only question is how many hours a day it will be on and that varies tremendously by season and individual usage.

I know for a fact 135 watts of solar will run it great year around.
Bob

 

[SternWake]

~3 amps of current consumed when the compressor is running.

It will generally run no more 15 to 20 minutes per hour

3AH consumed every hour would be 72 AH per 24 hours
135 watts of solar can return about 60AH in a day.

That tiny fridge consuming 3AH per hour would have food frozen rock solid.

 

[LeeRevell]

The 110VAC brick is less than twenty bucks.  I intend some household use for this fridge when not vanning.  Also will be good if I am able to use shore power at a campground.  Just keeping options open.

 

[akrvbob]

~3 amps of current  consumed when the compressor is running.

It will  generally run  no more 15 to 20 minutes per hour

That wasn't my experience with the my CF 25. It would come on and run for at least an hour and maybe even up to two hours. Then it would be off for a long time. I put a remote thermometer in it and it got warmer and then cooler than I would have preferred. It was never a problem except it occasionally froze a pop. That was my one real complaint with it. 

My Whytner does that as well so I take advantage of it in the winter and force it on in the  morning by turning down the thermometer, then letting it get down to about 32 and then turn it up to 39. Later in the afternoon while there is still a little sun left I turn it down again and force it to 32. In the winter I then unplug it and if it's cool enough I've gone 36 hours without needing to turn it on. Usually it has to go on in the morning and I repeat the cycle.

Nearly the whole winter it's on 4 hours or less per day. In the summer I'm too busy to pay attention to it so I just set it at 39 and it take cares of  itself except I force it down to 32 a few hours before sunset if I have the time to watch it. Usually I don't.
Bob

 

[SternWake]

The initial cool down process the compressor will run until the desired temperature is reached.  Taking an hour for this to occur seems excessive to me but experience trumps theory, and I've not owned a Dometic.

The ARB i cycled for 3 weeks would run on for 15 minutes then off for an hour or so.  Temps would swing from 28 to 38F in that time it was off, and back to 28 after running for about 15 minutes.




That compressor consumed 40 to 45 watts, except if had been unplugged for a few hours, then it would draw 60 to 65 watts until temps dropped to 28f.

Those temp readings were with my IR thermometer, not the fridge display which read about 10 degrees colder.

My Vitrifrigo front loader runs for ~4 to 5 minutes on, ~15 to 20 minutes off and the temp range is 33.5 to 35 before going back to 33.5.

The watt meter I linked is a wonderful tool for counting amp hours consumed over a period of time.   Here it is on My fridge:

The 12.74 was the minimum voltage.  That section of the display cycles through Watt hours,  Amp hours  Watt peak, Amp peak, and voltage minimum.  Some versions of this watt meter sill also display time passed here.  Mine do not.

 There is No point in guessing, but I guess that did not stop me from trying to on a fridge I've never seen, much less used.

And Waeco apparently has their own compressor design out now.  Whether it made it into the Dometic sold in North America is an unknown variable.

It could have the Danfoss/Secop BD35f compressor