Cooler to fridge upgrade

[larrie]

Rockbender

Solar is on my list and am working on sizing the system. Since most of the time I am camping in the northwest shade, want to make sure I have enough.

The website says the average consumption is 24 watts/hr which equals 2 amps per hour or 48 amps in 24 hours. The box label says max draw is 6 amps and an approximate use of 40 amps per 24 hours. The label seems to be better than the website. Will measure the amp draw after ingest the new charger/converter installed.

[rockbender]

I think that power consumption is pretty close. For reference when sizing your solar system, I have a single 80W panel (I see about 4A max). Two weekends ago (very hot and sunny in Bend that weekend) I ran the fridge all day Saturday and Sunday. During the day I was at net zero - the panel was keeping up with the fridge demands. In the morning I was down about 24AH, and that pretty much held steady all day Sunday - I may have gained back one or two Ah. Ideally I'd like to get another 80W panel to add in to the system which should hopefully recharge during the day what was lost the previous evening. If I was going to buy new, I'd probably just get one single 130-ish size panel and deal with the little bit of net loss each day as we typically only stay in one spot for a weekend anyway.

[larrie]

Now that the fridge has been running for a while I thought I would give an update on my observations.

1. It is very quiet. Can barely hear it run.
2. Runs for about 4.5 minutes and then is off for about 5.5 minutes in an 80 degree van. Then comes back on for 4.5 etc.
3. My group 24 sealed battery, of an unknown ages and non AGM, will last about will last about 9 hours, 13.3 volts down to 12.3 volts. Yes I said group 24 battery. Very small and I need to get a larger one next year. I idled the engine for about a half hour before sleep and then again in the morning as well as at lunch to keep the charge level up. Solar is on the list.
4. The amp draw is interesting. It starts out at about 3.2 amps and then drops to about 2.3 amps after running for a short period at 80 degrees. I also noticed that the hotter it is in the van the more amps it uses. At 90 degrees it runs about 3.8 to 3.2 after running a bit.
5. Keeps stuff nice and cold.
6. The freezer is small but effective.

Overall I think I made the right choice.