Solar Powered Fridge

[regis101]

Interesting product. Almost like it is/was inevitable evolution.
If my math is correct, a listed 173 Wh of the included batt is ~14 aH ?.
Price is reasonable.
Let us know how you end up liking it. ^J^

 

[jwh92020]

I know a guy who uses a 3 wheel mobility scooter.  It is portable.  His wife can put it in the trunk of the car.  First she puts the battery pack in the trunk.  The whole thing never gets picked up.  She can't.  Yet it remains portable.

Having the battery attached to the fridge means moving just one piece.  Two lighter pieces might be better for portability.

The fridge has a wheel kit on it, so moving it shouldn't be too difficult. I'm not sure how important the portability issue really is. Need to think on it more.

 

[jwh92020]

Interesting product.  Almost like it is/was inevitable evolution.
If my math is correct, a listed 173 Wh of the included batt is ~14 aH ?.  
Price is reasonable.  
Let us know how you end up liking it.  ^J^

On paper, in theory it seems like a good idea. The mfg says to use an 80 to 120 watt panel for it, 10-15 hrs on a single charge at 32 degrees. They also say it will continue to cool while charging, unlike most solar generators that can't be used while charging. My initial thought was to run the fridge on a dedicated panel and use a separate small system to run the lights and water pump. The other option is to take the cost of the fridge and panel & put that toward a system & inverter that can run the lights, pump & a 2.4 cuft mini fridge (0.8 amp draw) that I have already.

 

[highdesertranger]

maybe you missed it. you can get new 12v refrigerators for significantly cheaper than the ones you posted. also several people on here have gotten used ones off of Craigslist and the like, really cheap. I am one of them.

there is really very few reasons to run an inverter. plus you are adding more inefficiencies to the system.

besides lights and water pump. what about phones, computers, fans, music/TV/entertainment to name a few more electrical draws.

setting one electrical system is complicated and expensive enough having 2 just adds to the cost and complexity. having said all that I have 2 completely separated systems. but I scrounged most of my stuff for the second system so the cost was very minimal, think around 50 bucks.

highdesertranger

 

[jwh92020]

I've been looking at 12v fridges online (I've been in OKC for 12 years and have never seen a used one for sale). I'm not a fan of thermoelectric units due to the fact that I will be spending time in 100 degree temps and they can't cool to 34-35 degrees in that kind of heat. If I'm going to try and find a 12v unit that is not hugely expensive ($900 is), I'd like something in the 2.4 cu.ft range. I have 2 brand new 2.4 cuft 110v units that draw 0.8 amps/44 watts. I could run one of those off a converter along with my tv & satellite dish (I'm working, not camping) and run everything else 12v.

 

[highdesertranger]

search for Alpicool, Whynter, Truck Fridge.

I am surprised no one is offering suggestions. come on people any deals right now?

highdesertranger

 

[jwh92020]

hdr - Appreciate you trying to gather the masses. A quick calculation in a FB solar group calculator based on items I have now says I need 600+ amp hrs of batteries and 500 watts of panels, which seems awfully high.

 

[B and C]

You are wanting to run 120V items off of 12V which has a lot of losses. Everyday can't be sunshine so you have to have some extra to get you past those rainy days. For that much battery, I think the panel wattage is low but it could be just me. I have 350Ah battery bank and up to 400 watts of panels (200 fixed and 200 portable) but I have a generator, alternator and shore power as ways to recharge. Rarely needed as I only take about 20-25% of the capacity out.

 

[jwh92020]

Brian - Ideally, I would have a 12v fridge & TV, so the only 110v I would need is the satellite receiver & laptop. I used a calculator from a FB solar group. They say minimum panel size is 60 watts per 100 amp hr of battery. If I could trust Verizon & TMobile to have decent signal wherever I go, I could do away with the satellite dish and stream Dish Network from home. I will carry a generator and the bulk of the time, I would have shore power as I'll be working around semi major metro areas, but if I can avoid paying $30+/night in a campground or RV park, I can keep more $ in my pocket. I'm going to plug in a fridge into a kill a watt meter and watch it for a few days to see what the actual draw is. I'll do the same with my current TV and get a more accurate picture of the actual power usage, then try to decide which direction to go.

 

[highdesertranger]

I know nothing about the Face Book group, but the usual ratio is 1 to 1, 1 watt of panel to 1 Amphour(Ah) of battery, minimum. much better is 2 to 1. 2W to 1Ah. so if you have 600Ah of battery you should have 600-1200 watts of panels. that's a pretty big system. are you sure you need a system that big?

remember it is always cheaper and easier to conserve electricity then it is to make it.

highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

I thought I saw two small house units in your thread that you thought about using one of them. I have an LG 24" smart TV that I converted to run from 12V. It is a 19V DC unit that I modified a 12V laptop charger to work with. One conversion, not two that a regular TV would get into.

Also I forgot to mention that only 50% maximum of battery capacity is usable unless lithium.

If you're going to be around major metro areas, you should have cell service.

 

[jwh92020]

The house units are one of those "it would be cool to do things", but enough solar & battery to do that would be way out of my budget. How did you modify the laptop charger to 12v? I have a couple of 22" monitors with hdmi inputs that are 19v. I would be ok using one of them. The trailer is not so big that manually turning it off is a big deal.

 

[B and C]

I took the 120V brick of the TV and cut it off leaving the plug that goes into the TV. I took the 12V laptop charger and cut off the laptop end. I spliced the laptop power source to the TV pigtail. Use a meter to verify which color wires are positive and negative of both.

See if your monitor is 19 or 19.5 volts and how many amps it takes at 19 or 19.5V. Find a 12V laptop car charger of the same voltage and has enough amps to run the TV. A lot better than the losses of an inverter and the power converter of the monitor.

Here is my thread on it: https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=33374&highlight=smart+tv

 

[jwh92020]

Thank you

 

[maki2]

Go to the Renogy website, they have a section with an online calculator and lots of information to help you determine the size of solar and battery based on your needs. Other solar panel and battery companies also offer this type of help in their websites. It better than trusting just one source. You know the rule...get a second and sometime third opinion before performing surgery. Of course it does take a few incisions and some stitches to install a solar system. So just work on your bid calculations a little longer.

 

[jwh92020]

Thanks for the head's up. I'll get on that site and see what they come up with.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Both Hubby's and my vans have the 4.6cu ft Truckfridge (Indel B, Vitifrigo, Isotherm). Not cheap, but they make life so much more pleasant, with ice in the freezer to make Hubby his Bloody Mary's.. 
Ted