Off Grid Refrigerator setup - Its working :)

[Cosmo]

Its working! I was a bit anxious about being able to produce enough power. But after many trips its working fine without failure or running out of power (so far).

https://youtu.be/FdZiXt5t2Rc

=Cosmo

[greygoos]

Thanks for the info.

[GPW]

Thanks , that’s pretty COOL !!!

[Esteban]

Thank you Cosmo! I watched your informative video with real interest. Your test showed that a Dometic CFX35 refrigerator over several days averages about .5 amps per hour of use.

Your test makes me feel more confidant that when I buy a Dometic/Waeco CFX40US or CFX50US it won't strain the roof mounted 12 volt 160 watt solar panel, Victron mppt solar controller and a 100AH (or maybe a 125AH) battery I intend to use. I had been design guesstimating that an ac/dc fridge freezer would use about 1 amp per hour on average. If your use/experience proves to be similar to my intended usage there will be plenty of reserve power for cloudy, or wintery, days.

[bdosborn]

I took a long look at the dometic/waeco refrigerator power draw 6 years ago.

Linky with graphs and Stuff

BTW, the Waeco CF-40 has been in the garage in use between trips as a beer fridge for the last 6 years. Any reliability questions have been answered in my mind.

Bruce

[Cosmo]

Hello Steve.

I am not sure how long I can run the fridge without a recharge. My rule of thumb is - a 100 amp hour battery will only deliver 50 useable amps. After that the voltage drops so low you don't want to extract the other 50 amps for fear of damaging the battery. I suspect 2 maybe 3 days is the max I will get out of the battery.

I think I am pushing the limit! If I had a choice I would use a 200AH battery rather than the 115AH I currently have to store more energy. But there Is no room in my trailer for a bigger or additional battery.

I cant say what the other fridges you mentioned draw an hour. The components you mentioned are 1) a larger fridge 2) smaller solar panel and 3) smaller battery, You might need very reliable full sunshine daily to make that work - impossible to say.

There are lots of variables to consider. If you are in a state with few trees you will have more sun exposure than a forest area, shorter days in the spring and fall, other energy draw, ambient temperatures bla bla bla.

I can keep the battery charged on a cloudy day but I think it will be a challenge on a cloudy day in a forest.

Here is a review of the analyzer meters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxv9Rozs774

This analyzer is $16 (half the price of mine and does the same thing) but not as accurate https://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-Precisio ... s+up+meter



=Cosmo

[Esteban]

Cosmo and Bruce, thanks for your additional helpful input. The refrigerator I want to buy for my teardrop is a Dometic CoolfreezeCFX50.

Today a CFX50US from adventurerv.net would cost $594.20 plus $33.85 shipping with no sales tax. If I buy it from Amazon.com it would cost either $625.12 or $669.99 with free shipping; California sales tax, that's about 8% where I live, would be added onto that. For more insulation I'd probably buy a ($26.99) protective cover, too.

Expeditionportal.com ran tests on the CFX50 that indicates it uses 2.3 AH/hour on average to keep contents at 40 degrees F. If that is the case it's probably too power hungry for my intended use.

As I said above I'll have a Grape Solar 12 volt 160 watt solar panel on the roof. Grape Solar recently came out with a more powerful 180 watt solar panel that is the same physical size as my 160 watt panel, which I could upgrade to. I don't want to do that because of the co$t. Home Depot sells two versions of the Grape Solar 180 watt panel for $230 or $258.

I'll have three ways to charge my teardrops 100Ah or 125AH group 31 battery with (#1) a 30 amp shore power inlet, (#2) 7-way wiring from my tow vehicle which can charge the teardrops battery when the TV is underway, and (#3) solar power.

Using a carbon foam battery would provide more usable power at a steep price. A Firefly Oasis G31 costs $486. They claim it can be discharged to 80-100% with no loss of performance, that it lasts considerably longer and can be charged more rapidly. If cost didn't matter the Firefly battery seems ideal for a/my teardrop.



Lot's of ideas and co$ts to consider.

[bdosborn]

There are no bargains on PV panels at Home Depot! Try here instead:

Solar Blvd Linky

Also, I haven't looked in awhile but when I bought my Dometic, this place had the best prices:

http://www.americanrvcompany.com/Major-Appliances-and-Parts-RV-Portable-Refrigerators



Bruce

[Syberia]

My setup is a Magic Chef 3.1 cf fridge/freezer from Home Depot running off a 750 watt inverter hooked to a 225 amp hour battery powered by 3 100 watt solar panels.

I tested this in my driveway last month for 4 days and the fridge pulls between 40-50 watts (4-5 amps at 12 volts). Starting with a fully charged battery at sundown, it would drop to 12.4-12.5 volts by morning (70-80%) and would be fully charged again by mid afternoon despite the solar panels having to power the fridge itself all day. Despite being outside in 100+ degree temps, the inside of the fridge never went over 41 degrees.

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