Small refrigerator running on 30 watts

[Spirituallifetime]

I tried the dorm refer for my first attempt to get off the ice addiction(2009). basically it didn't work with 65 watts solar 2 batts and invertor. 90's daytime temp, refer was running way to much. those small dorm refers are energy hogs. it was a good thing we still had ice chest that year but it was a 5 hour adventure to get more ice. so the next year bought an engel I was so impressed with the low energy consumption and performance, that the next year I bought another and got rid of all the ice chests. so now with 160watts solar 2 batts I have plenty of power. when I build my toy hauler trailer I will buy one more to use as a freezer. btw they work great as a freezer. highdesertranger

I looked at the engel refers wow very expensive! I would like to get one when I have enough solar power and money.

 

[Willy]

Check out Waeco/Dometic, Whynter, Edgestar models instead. Engel is about as expensive as it gets. ..Willy.

 

[highdesertranger]

or looked for a good used but not abused one. highdesertranger

 

[Willy]

Like I said.. Craigslist. Got some killer deals there on mine. ..Willy.

---

Like I said.. Craigslist. Got some killer deals there on mine. ..Willy.

 

[Ballenxj]

I'd like to bump this thread as there is a lot of useful information in it. ;-)

 

[coffeewitholiver]

I'm looking for a fridge for Oliver's Nest right now. He's been newly christened as a camper by the state of Washington, and a fridge of some kind (even a cooler) is required, as is a toilet of some kind. I've had my eye on a Dometic for a while now, rated at 34 watts per hour according to Amazon... not sure what that means in real life though. Kinda pricy, although at around $400 it could be way more. I just want it to not pull a ton of power. Spending this evening comparing power draws of various coolers/fridge-freezers, I guess.

 

[highdesertranger]

coffee, remember the 12v compressor refrigerators only draw power when they are running. depending on ambient temp they should run between 15-35% every hour. highdesertranger

 

[DrJean]

Has anyone created a self-leveling platform for these touchy refrigerators? (Put that on my list to invent?)

 

[Oberneldon]

Dr Jean, luckily the compressor fridges that work well with solar power are not fussy about being level. Absorption fridges need to be closer to level.

Brent

 

[66788]

I'd really be interested in seeing actual power consumption over a 24 hour period with this fridge, including inverter losses.

Some might roll their eyes at my repetitive nature on this topic, but inverters are only so efficient, and most inverters do not have a no load standby feature which causes it to draw very little energy when no load is applied, such as when the compressor is in between cycles

My one MSW inverter draws 0.9 amps when turned on powering nothing.

My 12v compressor Vitrifrigo draws less than this inverter will, powering nothing, over an hour.

If one factors in the inverter cost, and extra batteries and charging sources required to run the fridge, then a dedicated 12v compressor fridge is not really more expensive.

If the residential fridge does not like the travelling vibrations/ stresses and fails early, then the 12v fridge just became cheaper.

This could be a false economy, save a little now, pay a lot more later to do it right.

I think I recall the guy saying that the fridge draws 30 amps per day, not runs at 30 watts.   I could be wrong, but there is a big difference.

My Xantrex ProSine 1000 draws almost 2 amps just doing nothing, so my thoughts are the 12vdc compressor fridges are the way to go.   My ARB has run for almost 2 years trouble free and draws very little.   A 200 watt solar system handles that, the CPAP, lighting, roof vent, fans, and the charging of electronics at night.   The only time I've had any problem is with consecutive days of cloudy weather, then the Honda EU1000 comes out and all is good.

 

[tbair]

I think I recall the guy saying that the fridge draws 30 amps per day, not runs at 30 watts.   I could be wrong, but there is a big difference.

I am just dropping in on this thread but just watched a video that you may be referring to where he had modified a dorm fridge to work in a van. He stated that it used "about" 30 amp hours. To address inverter standby losses he rewired the fridge to turn off and on the inverter. I saved a link to the instructions ->  https://intothemystery13.com/diy-hybrid-fridge-cheap/ but not the video. I apologize if this isn't what is being directly talked about in the thread but it might be useful either way

 

[akrvbob]

While I agree 100% that you should get a 12 volt compressor fridge if at all possible and to never use an inverter if a native 12 volt is an option, inverters do not waste that much power. 

I have a Xantrex Prosine 2000 and it only draws .8 amps on standby and I couldn't imagine the 600 drawing 2 amp, so I looked it up. The 600 and 1000 only draw .6 amps. See the snip below from the Xantrex site.

Pure sine wave does more so it wastes more power, the no-load draw of most typical, decent modified sine waves is .25 amps. Of course, they all waste another 10% minimum when working, so best to avoid them when possible.

 

[Benjamin Dejo]

While I agree 100% that you should get a 12 volt compressor fridge if at all possible and to never use an inverter if a native 12 volt is an option, inverters do not waste that much power. 

I have a Xantrex Prosine 2000 and it only draws .8 amps on standby and I couldn't imagine the 600 drawing 2 amp, so I looked it up. The 600 and 1000 only draw .6 amps. See the snip below from the Xantrex site.

Pure sine wave does more so it wastes more power, the no-load draw of most typical, decent modified sine waves is .25 amps. Of course, they all waste another 10% minimum when working, so best to avoid them when possible.

66788 said he had a Xantrex ProSine 1000 inverter.  That is a completely different inverter series than the ProWatt.   The ProSine is a commercial heavy duty inverter that costs more than twiice what the ProWatt costs.

 

[akrvbob]

66788 said he had a Xantrex ProSine 1000 inverter.  That is a completely different inverter series than the ProWatt.   The ProSine is a commercial heavy duty inverter that costs more than twiice what the ProWatt costs.

I just checked, it draws 1.5 watts which is more than double what mine draws. 

But that doesn't change my point at all, you don't have to buy an industrial inverter to run a cheap fridge. A cheap MSW will do it for .25 amps and if you want pure sine you can get it for .6 amps. 

Can you throw away a bunch of power on an inverter? You sure can and he proved it!! 

Do you have to? No, you don't.

 

[jimindenver]

My Tripp-lite inverter is industrial MSW and $2-300. It has load sensing so it shuts off when not needed and has a much cleaner sine wave than my Powerbright MSW inverter.

I was considering a 120v 2 door 3.1 ft mini fridge for extra space. It's the lowest rated draw of the minis although power isn't a issue. The thing is the main fridge gives me plenty of fridge space, I need freezer storage. I can get a cube sized freezer but that isn't going to hold much for the draw so I'm looking at a 12v chest style if I can find a spot for it.

 

[Ballenxj]

I think I recall the guy saying that the fridge draws 30 amps per day, not runs at 30 watts.   I could be wrong, but there is a big difference.

Just watched it again for clarification. The guy said 30 watts per hour, so I guess you would multiply that by 24 for the daily consumption.
30 watts x 24 = 720. A normal fridge only runs what, 50% of an hour? So, roughly 360 watts per day total?