Interesting to see that that New Norcold has a Danfoss BD-35f compressor. I had heard that they has switched from Sawafuji on some models but this is the first time i've noticed it listed as the compressor.
My previous fridge, a Norcold de-0040 has a Sawafuji compressor and it was annoyingly loud and would vibrate the whole van.
My VF with the Danfoss bd35f is much much quieter, and more efficient to boot.
A ran a test side by side of an ARB 50 quart chest style with the insulative cover, using 2 watt meters that count current passing through them, and my Vitrifrigo c51is front loader with my extra insulation, and my VF used slightly less AH in 36 hours and maintained a steadier internal temperature of 33.5f where the ARB cycled less often, but for longer and varied from 23 to 39f.
I tried to keep the amount of door openings the same. Not a perfectly scientific test. In my opinion the 'chest style being more efficient' is not always true, and if it is, then the actual battery consumption will not be measurable to 99.5% of the people who use them.
When a top lid is opened, or a front door opened, a large percentage of the air inside is displaced in either case, so the 'cold air spilling out' claim of many simply holds no weight. The energy required to cool the air itself is a tiny fraction of that required to cool a jug of milk.
I feel it is the fact that a chest style fridge has no door seals on the bottom which makes them inherently more efficient, and the weight of the lid itself helps to ensure a good seal, where a front loader requires a relatively thin seal at the lowest coldest portion of the fridge and it required a fine tuning of the locking mechanism so that the door seal is compressed properly all the way around.
My old Norcold's door eventually warped, partially due to me overfilling it, and would not properly seal on the bottom, and I had to devise another method to hold the bottom of the door closed.
I was not so annoyed when the Norcold broke as I has spent so much effort over the course of 5 years on the thing to quieten it down and reduce its vibrations.
The Vitrifrigo just works quietly and efficiently and I Never worry about it or my battery.
The Danfoss bd35f compressor can be run at any rpm from 2000 to 3500
At 2000 rpm it will consume 2.2 amps when the compressor is running, at 3500 rpm it will consume~6.5 amps.
Faster compressor speeds help to cool down a fridge faster, and are required on larger fridges.
I removed the resistor in my tstat circuit to lower rpm from 2500 to 2000 and amp draw from 2.7 amps to 2.2amps.
Note that when the Danfoss compressor first starts it draws more amperage than it will toward the end of its cycle. Mine now starts at about 2.55 amps and tapers to 2.15amps about 5 minutes later.
It tends to run about 16 to 22 minutes per hour at 75f Ambient
