12 volt fridge?

[AyGee]

My 3 way fridge has just about given up. No 240v, no 12v and gas only when it's not too warm!
I've seen 12 volt compressor fridges advertised (at a price!) and was wondering if anybody has got any experience of these. Are they reliable? What is their power consumption? Any thoughts on battery/Solar panel combination that will be adequate for 5/6 days off grid?
Any comments gratefully received.
thanks AyGee

 

[vwalan]

hi , the 12v compressor fridges are great. a few of my mates use them . .sorry cant give you specs. most however use 240v fridges through inverters . i should think 2x80wt and 200amp of batteries should see you. i hopefully this winter will have 6x80wt solar and 700amp battery bank . should keep my fridge going and let me use other leccy things as well .washing machine etc. 240 is cheaper to buy and we can use the inverter to power lots of other things as neccasary. in the summer at home i power my fridge and freezer from the inverter and run an extension lead into the house. thats from 3x80wts . ideal for keeping the system working and cuts the bill at home. cheers alan.

 

[AndyC]

My 3 way fridge has just about given up. No 240v, no 12v and gas only when it's not too warm!
I've seen 12 volt compressor fridges advertised (at a price!) and was wondering if anybody has got any experience of these. Are they reliable? What is their power consumption? Any thoughts on battery/Solar panel combination that will be adequate for 5/6 days off grid?
Any comments gratefully received.
thanks AyGee

We have a Waeco MDC-110 12v compressor fridge, it's an excellent fridge but the big drawback is the power consumption of around 40Ah/day.

AndyC

 

[AyGee]

12v fridge

Thanks for your relies folks. I hadn't considered 240v through an inverter, presumably this would have to match the max demand from the fridge.
AyGee

 

[vwalan]

there is a big start up on fridges . i actually use a 2kw inverter but some mates have got it down to 3-500 watt on small fridges . mine is a 110wat fridge .too much these days but its a very old fridge . was given it to try 10 yr ago and it was being chucked out then. you can get them down to 60watt now but some dont have the little freezer compartment. i want a fridge freezer but as yet cant find one to fit the height i have allowed . will have to redesign it a bit. cheers alan.

 

[Deleted member 207]

Just bear in mind that the inverter needs to use its own power so is less efficient than a directly powered 12V fridge.

There are plenty of solar calculators on the web to size up appliances, panels and batteries.

Personally I'd explore all the fixes for the existing 3 way fridge before lashing out on a compressor fridge, batteries, solar panels, inverters, etc. Often a 3 way fridge can get a blockage in its cooling gas piping - usually a bit of rust blocks the small orifice near the heater. The fix that often works is to take the fridge out and leave upside down for a week or more - giving the fridge a good shake everyday to clear the blockage.

The 3 way fridges are really quite good when installed properly as per the manufacturers instructions - baffles at rear, vents, chimney, no air gaps, etc. There have been various threads about installations of fridges with the motorhome builder often quoted as saying about the fridge installation instructions "What would they know about installing fridges".