Tired of driving for ice.

[SaadowGorl]

Looking for a recommendation for a dometic fridge plus all necessary solar equip to do a small setup to keep from having to drive miles every day or two for ice.

 

[Cancan]

Try not eating foods which don't require fridge some veggies, grains, beans , etc...or a Yeti...to answer your question though I don't know

 

[SaadowGorl]

Looking to power a ~24 quart dometic fridge. Solar power and associated parts and bits are confusing.

 

[SondraRose]

How many amps does that fridge draw? Would be helpful in deciding what you need to power it.

 

[sushidog]

That particular fridge is very efficient, as it uses a Danfoss rotary compressor drawing only 35 watts (2.9 amps) on average according to Dometic, or 840 watt hours/day. One 12v deep cycle battery, like a Trojan SCS225 or J185E-AC (preferably 2 GC-2s to power your other needs as well) and 300 watts of solar should do it with power to spare. Remember the sun doesn't shine all the time (well, technically it does, but there are things like clouds and rainy weather that reduces the amount of sunlight that falls on your panels.) This assumes the panels are flat mounted on top of your van (and you don't stay too far north to reduce the angle of the sun on your panels.) If you angle them toward the sun, keep them clean and stay in desert areas with lots of sun you might squeak by with 200 watts of solar, but why skimp?

Chip

 

[Burbanlife]

With my own experience with a 12 volt compressor fridge for a few months now...I have 200 watts of solar, and two-100 ah agm batteries and using an edgestar 43 quart fridge. I have had no problems, I did install a battery isolator and that really helps keep the house batteries fully charged on the cloudy days which are few in AZ. My battery in the night drops down to 12.4 and surprisingly goes up to 12.6 around 1 AM in the morning.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Looking for a recommendation for a dometic fridge plus all necessary solar equip to do a small setup to keep from having to drive miles every day or two for ice.

I can't give you any recommendation on the fridge but I can give you an idea of power consumption.  I have a 2 cu. ft. Norcold front loading refrigerator with extra insulation.  It uses about 27 AH on a 70º (inside temperature) day, 38 AH on a 90º day.  I run it and some other stuff on 200W of flat mounted solar and 208 AH battery bank.  MY batteries are at about 80% in the AM and full by 1 PM.  I can tolerate one very overcast day; batteries will be at about 65%.

My equipment:
  Two 100W Renogy monocrystalline panels, in parallel
  Morningstar TS-45 charge controller
  Trimetric 3020 battery monitor with 500Ω shunt
  Two 6V golf cart batteries, in series
  AWG 4 wire from roof to batteries
  Two 60 amp ANL fuses:
    one right next to the battery positive terminal
    one next to the charge controller on the positive wire from the panels (Morningstar spec'd)

 

[DLTooley]

I have the Dometic CC-40. This is a bit cheaper model, $335 at Dyers Online RV. I believe the distinction is that it does not use the legendary DanFoss compressor. My current use is intermittent so taking the risk seemed like a good value choice.

The 200 watt panel with two deep cycle golf carts is a standard setup that will accommodate this nicely.

I am currently using 150 watts of panel and my ailing walmart deep cycle. I only run the freezer when I can power it directly from the sun. This works okay in mostly sunny climes. There is risk of stuff defrosting, but less so when it is full. When it isn't full you can eat through what you've got before spoilage. I use a marine cooler as my refrigerator and refreeze my ice jugs in the dometic.

My next upgrade will be a MPPT controller that will increase the available solar power utilizing this same strategy. I'm holding off upgrading my battery hoping the Lithium will get cheaper. We shall see which happens first, a dead walmart marine or cheap lithium!

 

[jacks18614]

Element Van Life (u-Tuber) ran a Cf-18 with a 100 watt flexible roof mount panel with just a 35ah battery (garden tractor size) for over a year while on the road.

My set up is with the same CF-18, 60 watts of fixed roof mount panels, 100 watts of portable ground mount panels on adjustable angle brackets and a single group 24 marine/rv battery.

 

[UptownSport]

I have 300w and two 6 volt GC2 on a 12v fridge that draws 3 Amps.
Batteries are usually at 12.6 or so in the AM.

I would urge you to listen to @cancan , with all it cost, the space, intermittent problems, parking in sun when it should be in shade and having big panels on the roof it's just plain silly for what little needs to be refrigerated- i could easily manage without.

 

[UptownSport]

There's also a Bob video showing how someone has made a super-efficient ice chest outa rigid insulation- they're on here- maybe they'll chime in.
Struck me as truly cheap RV living!

 

[frater secessus]

200w is the most common size of solar system for folks running 12v compressor fridges, although you do have to pay attention to power. At 400w or you don't have to pay as much attention.

Easiest way to do it is with a 200w renogy kit and 2 6v golf cart batts in series. I have started working on a gentle intro to solar that will introduce some of the topics, and allow you to drill down to details if you want.

 

[Trebor English]

There's also a Bob video showing how someone has made a super-efficient ice chest outa rigid insulation- they're on here- maybe they'll chime in.
Struck me as truly cheap RV living!

I did that.  
[font=Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKYjeyuO4oE[/font]

It only holds about 3 quarts of food but it only melts a pound a day.  It was cheap to make, not like hundreds for an expensive cooler.  I don't chill drinks, it is not a fridge.  For occasional leftovers and things like mayonnaise it is good enough.  It stops the two day ice fetching.  

For things that don't need cold like apples, potatos, onions, and electronics, I just set them on top of the lid in a cardboard box then cover it all with a blanket.  

I don't have any medications that require refrigeration.  I think this might be a reliable way to store medications that require refrigeration.  There's not much that can go wrong.

 

[Minivanmotoman]

Fwiw, in three years on the road, I have never had to get ice. And i do not have a fridge, only a marine cooler. And I have solar. I found that I didn't need a fridge and adapted without one. I was content with water/liquids at ambient temperature or maintained at overnight temp in the cooler. Changed my diet to eliminate fridge requirements and supposed health benefits from avoiding dairy, red meat, alcohol, etc... Managed to do fine with canned, dried and fresh food since I don't generally boondock for two weeks in remote places. Many things last long enough in a cooler. Traveled and located in cooler places, usually elevation and with shade. And when I did want something cold, diary, red meat or a treat, I went and got one and enjoyed it in the moment. Found that short term abstinence wasn't a problem. It can work if you have flexibility in your reality and choices. Just something to think about if it can work for you. But not for everyone, only those wishing to embark on a minimalist approach.
The less things that you own, the less things own you.

Oh, and I might add a major reason why it works for me as well. I have a motorcycle that I get around on. And since I am mostly always out and about, can easily pick up an ice cream treat or cold drink when zipping around somewhere, not really doing without.
Just not there on demand is all, can postpone the instant gratification desire.
The moral of this comment? Save your money on solar and a fridge, get a motorcycle.
And get great mpg.
This advertisement was happily brought to you by Yamakawisuzihonda and DuKTBMW.

 

[scottorious]

Fwiw, in three years on the road, I have never had to get ice. And i do not have a fridge, only a marine cooler. And I have solar. I found that I didn't need a fridge and adapted without one. I was content with water/liquids at ambient temperature or maintained at overnight temp in the cooler. Changed my diet to eliminate fridge requirements and supposed health benefits from avoiding dairy, red meat, alcohol, etc... Managed to do fine with canned, dried and fresh food since I don't generally boondock for two weeks in remote places. Many things last long enough in a cooler. Traveled and located in cooler places, usually elevation and with shade. And when I did want something cold, diary, red meat or a treat, I went and got one and enjoyed it in the moment. Found that short term abstinence wasn't a problem. It can work if you have flexibility in your reality and choices. Just something to think about if it can work for you. But not for everyone, only those wishing to embark on a minimalist approach.
The less things that you own, the less things own you.

Oh, and I might add a major reason why it works for me as well. I have a motorcycle that I get around on. And since I am mostly always out and about, can easily pick up an ice cream treat or cold drink when zipping around somewhere, not really doing without.
Just not there on demand is all, can postpone the instant gratification desire.
The moral of this comment? Save your money on solar and a fridge, get a motorcycle.      
And get great mpg.
This advertisement was happily brought to you by Yamakawisuzihonda and DuKTBMW.

You raise a pretty fascinating point. If vehicle dwelling is supposed to create more freedom in less "stuff" then why don't we take it to your level. In many instances we just try to miniaturize normal life to fit into a van which in turn creates a rather complicated arrangement of solar panels, controllers, batteries and meters. All of which must create some level of "range anxiety" for some folks. Questions like "where can I park to get the most sun today?" or "I'm on the verge of depleting my battery, how can I keep this food from going bad?". 

With all the said, is the OP set on a Dometic? Do you already own it? I just read a pretty fascinating thread on Reddit about a diy refrigerator that wasn't overly complex that might end up being cheaper than a dometic and possibly more efficient.

 

[Jim Plow]

This is not  really an answer... or maybe it is.

I have lived without refrigeration for almost three years now on the road.
Don't miss it and have no plans or desire for refrigeration in the future.

 

[SaadowGorl]

PLEASE NOTE this thread is asking about dometic fridges and solar equipment not how to live without refrigeration. I am looking to live with refrigeration. I have limited access to internet, so having to scroll through replies that are not relevant to the question costs. Thank you for staying on topic.

 

[Minivanmotoman]

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=22848
And frater responded on the solar.
You're good to go!
BTW, lots of threads discussing both aspects to further help you.
Apologies for my comments not being specific.