Most efficient fridge on the planet !!

is it really worth the bother .i use or did use an old electrolux fridge with a small freezer compartment . unfortunately its packed in now but a new fridge with a freeze box is only a hundred quid . i use a ring 2kw inverter .(ott i know .but it works other things if i want it too.).used to have 3 x80wt panels now 6x 80wt .and 600 or 800 amp of batteries . was using it for about 7 years till fridge packed up .mind it was old . waiting for a give away fridge . then off it will go again.
 
Thanks VWAlan. Do you know how much 12v juice your 2kw inverter used (excluding start up) if it was ONLY supplying your old Electrolux fridge please ?.
 
Full time living with solar power

vwalan said:
is it really worth the bother .i use or did use an old electrolux fridge with a small freezer compartment . unfortunately its packed in now but a new fridge with a freeze box is only a hundred quid . i use a ring 2kw inverter .(ott i know .but it works other things if i want it too.).used to have 3 x80wt panels now 6x 80wt .and 600 or 800 amp of batteries . was using it for about 7 years till fridge packed up .mind it was old . waiting for a give away fridge . then off it will go again.
Click to expand...

Hi VWalan

thanks for the info.
That's quite a hefty supply of power you've got there !
If I remember right , you mentioned in earlier posts that you run power tools off this.

Is that a pure sine-wave inverter that you use ?
How long have you had it , and would you recommend it to other Wildcampers ?
Have you used a 240 volt microwave with the inverter ?

Sorry to bombard you with questions but info from someone with your experience is priceless !!
Especially to people who are wanting to build a solar powered system from scratch for "full-timing".
Thanks again

Oldtech
 
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hi its a cheapy inverter. made by or sold by ring. i bought three from them about 7-8 years ago . two mates had the others .
i have used a 240v micro wave off it but only a few times . thats when i am running the extension lead into the house.
i run the household fridge in my trailer when away .plus lots of other things . tv ,computer ,washing machine,drills etc . the welder i use a big diesel kipor genny.
at home extension lead from the inverter out through a window into the house .it then runs my house fridge . i turn off the trailer fridge .
if its nice and sunny i also power the tall deepfreeze at home . sometimes the vacum ,computer , etc .
by using the fridge as a guide, if the lights not working i check the inverter, if its screaming turn it off and use mains in the house .
had to do that a few times this year already.
normally it works from may till september no probs . i flatted the batteries the other day using the 1000watt karcher vacum in the trailer .cleaning it out ready for next winter . took too long .
so far havent found anything it wont power . but i decided the micro wave uses too much power.
its not recommended to power anything that forms heat . so it says in the instructions .
yes i would recomend them to others . you can get a remote on off switch for them if its buried in a locker but i like mine where i can see it and keep a visual check on its lighting signals .
if all the lights come up either the batteries are going down or i,m using too much power.
ring now market a slightly different version but talking with them awhile ago its very similar.
 
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Wow, well necromantic thread charming, but I've been doing a power audit for a boat and wincing at both power consumption of 12v fridges and prices for decent 'marine' versions.

As I understand it, a 240v domestic freezer or fridge doesn't throttle it's cooling, it's either on or off full bore between a set temperature range. Rather than all this talk of modifying a small chest freezer with thermostats/relays etc, wouldn't a low tech solution be to add some thermal ballast to the bottom (bricks, water bottles), which will also raise the level up to a more comfortable reach and just plug it in via a timer set to one hour every so often, and adjust it as required. It could probably stay off all night, as it's not being opened, and the ballast should even out temperature fluctuation in the day, not much different than using cold packs....

Any thoughts, drawbacks? I suppose if it was some kind of clever freezer that did something weird on mains power on it may not be happy cycling so much, but if it's just a cheap thermostat/relay/compressor job....?

Andy
 
Get a AA or above rated domestic fridge and a decent inverter this will cost about the same or even less than an overrated Dometic fridge and you will get the use of the inverter for other gadgets.
 
barlicker said:
Get a AA or above rated domestic fridge and a decent inverter this will cost about the same or even less than an overrated Dometic fridge and you will get the use of the inverter for other gadgets.
Click to expand...

It certainly would work better than getting one of the cheaper 12v fridges, which all seem to be about 45w and notionally take up 90Ah (I'd be interested to hear how much they actually use in the UK climate), as an A++ fridge by my reckoning at 93kWh takes up 22Ah (not accounting for inverter losses).

However, anecdotally a chest freezer can function as a fridge on just 3 hours out of 24 running, so while it may take more power in kWh terms (168kWh, the cheapest small one on AO) it's only running for an 8th of the day, so comes in about 5 Ah.

I'm actually designing a small LiFePO4 system matched with the most efficient engine charging, so while the Ah differences are not exactly huge, an extra 20 odd Ah will impact the price considerably in terms of batteries, alternators, DOD margins etc, not to mention fuel over time.

BTW, tired, not great with sums.

bx
 
oldtech said:
Hi Ivecotrucker
thanks for the reply ..... REALLY !

You may have saved me £700 !!!
I saw a Waeco compressor fridge advertised on here ( 2nd hand ) a few months ago , then I got called away
and forgot about it , and by the time I remembered a few weeks later and contacted the seller ..... it was sold.
I was kind of cursing myself for a long time afterwards as I've read some good things about them.
Makes me wonder now if the seller hadn't discovered the same issues as yourselves !!!
It sounds like they may only really be suitable for hooked-up on-site use ..... and that doesn't interest
me at all.

I'm determined to have a solar powered , nearly self-sufficient vehicle for long term wild-camping.
I'm going to look for a small 2nd hand chest freezer and do some experiments " in me shed " .
You are dead right about manufactures claims for power consumption , probably the same as vehicle
manufacturers claims for fuel ...ha ha.
In the States there's something called a "Kill-a-watt meter" which you plug your appliance into , just like
a time switch except that this logs the total power use over any period you choose... only $20 in the USA !!!
I keep seeing stuff about them on solar power forums .....I'm going to try and get one .......... today !!
Anything positive to report and I'll put an update on this forum ....

In the meantime "Happy Camping "

Oldtech

PS just found a UK supplier !! :dance:

£20 + p&p

Kill A Watt | REUK.co.uk
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Hi oldtec I have ran a Waeco 110ltr compressure fridge for nearly five years now and have never had a prob with using to much power .Its the only fridge I would consider if I where buy new again .
 
Dowel said:
Have you seen these threads by wildebus? May be of interest.

https://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forum...idge-campervan.html?highlight=fridge+wildebus

https://www.wildcamping.co.uk/forum...nsumption-test.html?highlight=fridge+wildebus

I wonder whether insulation of fridges might be improved without altering the electrics and maybe providing the fridge radiator with a good direct supply of cool air from below the van may also increase efficiency?
Click to expand...
It may well do , afterall refrigeration is about shifting heat form one place to another efficiently ,,One thing that hasn't been mentioned so far as I can tell is fridges like air circulating inside to facilitate the cooling I saw lots of ridges in France customers complaining but the fridges packed to the rafters with food so air couldn't circulate. How we use fridges therefore can make a difference to performance

Channa
 
Dowel said:
I wonder whether insulation of fridges might be improved without altering the electrics and maybe providing the fridge radiator with a good direct supply of cool air from below the van may also increase efficiency?
Click to expand...

Going back to OP, there are a couple of things which make this no longer relevant and not so good for a van, back when the linked article was published it was comparing a inefficient US fridge with a freezer, since then and in europe the insulation of fridges (in some cases) has improved a great deal, so the operating power usage with door closed is pretty much the same, this leaves the only way it is more efficient being a top opening door, for a house with plenty of room this is ok, but in a limited space van this eats into space one way or other, either you have to leave space above door to allow it to open,or you use door as worktop and then have to clear it to open door.
There is another option I suppose you could put fridge on casters and wheel it in and out of a space, but it doesn't make it easy to use.
btw, we had a large top opening thermo electric fridge in old van, it was quite efficient, but we find the present front opening door much better in use.
 
Better insulation will improve the performance of any fridge or freezer. Many liveaboard yachties build their own fridges with very serious insulation to reduce the power input. Reducing the duuty cycle down to 20% or less is possible compared to the 33% for ready made Dometic units. They all use compressor kits which are supplied by the likes of Dometic with 12 volt compressors. Not cheap but efficient and outperform any off the shelf unit. Whilst this is really not an option for factory built vans for self build it must be a real option. In hot climates absorption fridges need good ventilation but are hamstrung by the reality they can only cool to 30 degrees below ambient.

Edited to add some idea of the kits available. Most of the parts have self sealing connectors which means no nasty problems with refrigerant gas a much easier DIY solution

Refrigeration Units
 
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hairydog said:
I've read that in several places, but it is utterly untrue. My gas fridge was in temperatures of 37 degrees last year, but the freezer was at -19. That is a 56 degree difference. It could manage better, if needed. It's down to how well it is installed.
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Ambients do play an important part with absorption fridges purely on the principal of how they work...But I agree with you the quality of installation is key. It figures adjacent to ovens direct sunlight they aren't going to do as well as other locations.

Irrefutable evidence again by how they work compressor units are more effective. that is no slur on absorption cycle fridges and in the main serve well

Channa
 
Compressor fridge works great for us, never seems to pull much power although only been in the uk this year with it, saying that we have had some 30 degree days although not many.

I think a lot will depend on what you have unless starting out from scratch as the costs of either are high. Ignore the horror stories you read about compressor fridges though they aren’t true.
 
hairydog said:
Yes, a compressor fridge is far more efficient. But the power supply is far less efficient. 1KG of propane has 13KWh of power (plus the weight of the tank, of course). A battery with that much power storage capacity would weigh around 300KG.
The problem for absorption fridges is that the hotter the weather, the more work they have to do, which produces even more heat.
Unless the installation has been designed to dissipate that much heat, you can get into a form of thermal runaway, where it gets hotter and hotter behind the back of the fridge, making an impossible thermal hill to climb.
Big, how the vents, good ducting and maybe fans all make it work, but motorhome makers like to cut corners and fit "good enough" setups.
Click to expand...

I installed a couple of 12v computer fans on the upper fridge vent and it's made a huge difference, currently S.France and fridge maintains 4-5c all day. They're also essential because if I keep my sliding door open this covers the fridge vents and pretty much stops it working.
 
Said by HD .... "Yes, a compressor fridge is far more efficient. But the power supply is far less efficient. 1KG of propane has 13KWh of power (plus the weight of the tank, of course). A battery with that much power storage capacity would weigh around 300KG."

But if "a compressor fridge is far more efficient" you wouldn't need "that much power storage capacity" would you?
 
Best fridge

I just read this long thread. Ignoring the tech which we may not understand, there are some quietly saying my compressor fridge works fine and others saying my 3 way fridge works but..... That is also my experience.
Solar panels allow you to suck energy out of the environment most of the year, at a rate plenty high enough to run an efficient fridge, so i run my fridge with only one 85 amp hour battery. The comparative weight of gas to batteries is not relevant. I bet hairy dog has more batteries than me?
 
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