Using a home fridge...The internet is not always correct (an understatement)

[tx2sturgis]

Any ideas on this scenario?

I like thinking outside the box and trying new things.

Everyone has different ideas, all it takes is putting them in practice. 

I do like the chest freezer idea...and there is a thread about using them as fridge on this forum somewhere. 

One inexpensive item that has caught my eye is to use a countertop portable ice maker as the source for ice in my well insulated, and rather expensive, coolers that I own. I DO like ice in my drinks. 

They don't make ice like your freezer does, ie, chilling the air and then the air chills the water. These portable units make ice using super-chilled rods submerged in a bath of water, that freeze the water around them directly, and then dump the ice in a small receptacle. It's fairly efficient. 

They use minimal power, produce many pounds of ice per day on grid power, (or less per solar day!) and they are inexpensive. 

My ice-chest coolers can keep ice for many days, but there is a certain amount of daily 'melt water'...which I then recycle that water for portable showers and other campsite cleaning duties. 

Some of the units consume around 120 to about 150 watts when chilling ice, and of course none when turned off. 

They can make about a pound of ice per hour, some more, some less. 

My coolers typically drain or melt about 6 pounds of water, less than a gallon, per day. This depends on how often the cooler is opened, and of course, if I load it up with food or drinks that are around room temperature, which I don't normally do. Normally, the melt water is drained into a bucket, and canned drinks are submerged in that water, to 'pre-cool' the cans....then later on, they can be put in the cooler, or consumed, or poured over ice from the cooler. 

Meats and other perishable foods are generally placed over the ice in the cooler, so as not to have to dig around in the ice to find what I need. 

Of course, as always, high ambient temps means more melt, but that also usually means more sun, and more solar, so I might have 2 of the units running simultaneously during opportunity charging via solar. 

When camping, water is a precious resource, so I get plenty of use out of the water I carry and...I don't use perfectly clean drinking quality water to poop in...lol....nuff said about that. 

Yeah, it's an idea....and maybe it would work....maybe it won't...and even if this method cannot do the job, I can still use the portable ice maker even if I decide to buy a true, 12v compressor fridge.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I wish there was a sticky thread to point to when these discussions so frequently go haywire over the misuse of electrical terminology.

I have been involved in some previous discussions trying to help the members understand these terms...and I often just let it go...because we get disciplined for the effort.... but thanks for posting the EXACT, and CORRECT information sir...(or maybe madam?)

I did say it made me cringe during the video when the youtuber used the terms 'amps per hour'...I knew what he meant, but it's just wrong. When you have a formal and college level electronics background as I do, and 4 years experience in component level electronics repair, plus many decades designing, building and servicing electronic devices and systems as a hobby, you tend to have a good grasp on this....as you also do.

Again, thanks for the article.

 

[Canine]

Gibberish? What I said was accurate. There is an entire world of difference between 2000 watts used over a period of an hour and over 2000 watts used over a period of a day and 2000 watts used over a period of a year. This was elucidated with my previous post of "gibberish". I'm tired of ******** like you pulling up all sorts of pedantic technobabble to prove someone wrong. My statement about the people saying VIN number is actually Vehicle Identification Number Number was clearly accurate. You're an electricity-nazi. If people don't like what I say or if I'm giving out incorrect information, then the mods need to step in and put me in my place. Instead of writing crap like that, report me. If the mods and/or Bob want to ban me, suspend me, or somehow admonish me, then I will accept it. I'm so tired of dealing with jerks like you. Life is too short for that. I joined this thread to have fun and help share my knowledge; if that isn't happening, then I ought to move on. Yes, I'm that pissed. I work with people like you all day long and I sure don't need to deal with people like you in my free time. No way is that going to continue to happen. I'll keep my ignorance to myself if that's the case.

 

[tx2sturgis]

THAT is why we get in trouble with the mods when we get too deep in semantics...

Feelings get hurt. Egos get bruised. 

Canine, we are saying the same thing, more or less, but the terminology used was incorrect on the youtube video....that's all I was saying. You decided to call me on it...so I was simply digging deeper to try to explain the terms. 

Yes, 2000 watts consumed (say, by a heater at your house) for an hour, is 2000 wh...(or 2 kwh)...if that load is maintained for 24 hours, then that is 48 kwh, (or 48 kilowatt hours, or 48 thousand watt hours)...simple math. 

But its not 48 thousand watts per hour....that would be HUGE and unsustainable in any normal residence.

 

[tripper]

At the 1:30 mark in the video he shows a happy couple boon docking, am I the only person to notice the huge fire unattended with a lot of dry brush immediately around it. Looks scary to me!

 

[John61CT]

OP: Yes it is true that

If you have lots of solar in good conditions, you can run some househild appliances designed for mains power off your bank through an inverter.

Regarding measuring units:

Watts and amps are an instantaneous measurement of flow, "that fridge uses 4A (50W) when the compressor is running".

However, as soon as you talk power usage over units of time, it is clearest to use wH or AH per unit.

"That model uses 24AH (300wH) per 24 hours in 55° ambient when set to 36°, and over double that when used as a freezer set to 6°"


Those bar-style portable ice makers, say $80-150, can sometimes last for a surprisingly long time, but

a good proper freezer with ice trays will IMO in the end be more effective, and overall more useful than a single purpose appliance.

Very difficult keeping up with a regular cooler, need the super insulated Yeti style which are pricey.

Their "storage" is not cold, and very limited, so you have to be nearby in hot weather and keep emptying the ice into your freezer or cooler otherwise it will keep melting and re-refreezing, obviously a waste of power.

But if you have the space, get one cheap to use on mains power or as an "excess load dump" after your bank is 95% charged, go for it.

Note you do have to be careful about the water you put in them, some are very difficult to clean when they get gunked up, not too hard and pre-filtering makes the machine last lots longer, some go so far as to only using bottled.

 

[JD GUMBEE]

bonvanroulez
 Everything in your lengthy post (that I trimmed per forum rules) is basically gibberish.


  :huh: 
There are a hundred ways to avoid being rude like this.
Now, the mods are going to have to intervene.
People reading, who could learn or ask questions, will now likely be gun-shy.
:-/

Canine,  Please do not think everyone feels this way.  I appreciate your effort. I found your input interesting.

tx2sturgis,
                I do not know that I have it figured out. The setup works, but I really want to understand better why. When I am healed up enough, I plan on getting a wattage meter and doing a consumption study for 24 hours. (Anyone here have an extra one to loan out for an experiment?) Knowing how close we really are to the limits of our system is important.
There was a guy @ the slabs who had A/C running on what I think was 3,000 watts of solar. He was using a cheap window unit. I wondered...if he had one of the new "inverter" heat pump split setups...if he would be able to use less panels. Often, we lose focus on this concept. If we were designing a system right now for the RV, I wonder if I would go with the size we have. A DC fridge would be a less-costly alternative perhaps. Even though we have a lot of space on the roof, not much of it is open. Vents/antennas/A-C stuff everywhere you turn.

 

[tx2sturgis]

->Very difficult keeping up with a regular cooler, need the super insulated Yeti style which are pricey.

I already own three of the high dollar coolers...and several lesser quality ones. 

->Their "storage" is not cold, and very limited, so you have to be nearby in hot weather and keep emptying the ice into your freezer or cooler otherwise it will keep melting and re-refreezing, obviously a waste of power.

Some portable ice makers DO have freeze compartments to keep the ice frozen. I would not be using that feature for long periods.

->Note you do have to be careful about the water you put in them, some are very difficult to clean when they get gunked up, not too hard and pre-filtering makes the machine last lots longer, some go so far as to only using bottled.

Yes, I would only use bottled and/or distilled water (less minerals) not the recycled water from the cooler drains.

Yeah its a thought experiment at this time...I havent put it to a test yet. 

For decades, at work and on the road, I had access to free ice at many of our facilities so I was able to keep up with the melt rate (and my consumption of the ice) every day or every other day...only occasionally did I buy an actual bag of ice. 

Out there in Quartzsite, I bought a 10 lb bag about every three days or so...and that was keeping up with the consumption and melt rate...but of course, the temps were mild most of the time. 

Hot ambient temps would obviously tilt the experiment towards higher usage, but I rarely if ever camp in hot environs...just not my thing.

 

[John61CT]

Only the more expensive ones have refrigerated storage, but for example sometimes you find EdgeStar IB120SS marked down.

and all the cheap ones recycle the meltwater, NP with that long as it was clean to start with.

The real quality icemakers, short of big commercial lines, is Uline, but they're like a grand, big and power thirsty.

I think unless you're opening a bar in the boondock, starting with a little $100 cheapy to play with would be interesting, but in the end just getting a good freezer and cycling the bigger size cube trays would be more practical for most setups.

For keeping coolers cold as opposed to ice for drinks, I think the Polar Tubes idea would be the way to go.

 

[JD GUMBEE]

Per panel voltage on the multimeter>>>and a couple more to see the challenges of install we hit. When figuring it all out, this was the best we could do.

The display is what we see on a typical day by 10-ishAM or so, after a night of normal use.

I miss the FTA setup with the dish on the car trailer. Should do a whole thread explain on that. Too many people are unaware of this option that could use free TV that works anywhere.

Just wanted you to see what I was talking about...

 

[highdesertranger]

this thread is closed. can't you people have a discussion without name calling. I was going to try to edit out the crap but there is to much of it. highdesertranger