Last night I picked up and got installed an Indel Isotherm Cruise 130 refrigerator for my FWC Hawk. I got this from XPCamper-Marc. This is a DC-only compressor-type fridge-with-freezer, 130 liters / 4.6 ft3, vertical/front-loading, and has the "ASU" option. ASU = "automatic starting unit", which runs the compressor harder/more when it senses that the battery is being charged (i.e., engine is running or solar-panel is producing), and this freezes a special block under the freezer, to provide a "source of cold" when extra power is not available, at which point the compressor runs more slowly.
Marc and I spent a couple/few hours installing it at the XPCamper shop (in central Calif) -- took so long mainly because the new fridge is just a little too wide to fit in the spot where my recently-deceased Norcold 3-way sat, so some camper-cabinetry modifications were required.
Just 10 minutes after turning it on, before I even left the shop, the freezer compartment was already getting chilly!
I'll be learning how/how-well it performs on a several day trip on the east side of the Sierras, starting today.
According the the weather forecast, looks like there will be no lack of sun to feed power to the fridge via my solar panel...and no lack of ambient heat to test its cooling capacity and resultant electrical-power demands.
More later, when I know more.
Marc and I spent a couple/few hours installing it at the XPCamper shop (in central Calif) -- took so long mainly because the new fridge is just a little too wide to fit in the spot where my recently-deceased Norcold 3-way sat, so some camper-cabinetry modifications were required.
Just 10 minutes after turning it on, before I even left the shop, the freezer compartment was already getting chilly!
I'll be learning how/how-well it performs on a several day trip on the east side of the Sierras, starting today.
According the the weather forecast, looks like there will be no lack of sun to feed power to the fridge via my solar panel...and no lack of ambient heat to test its cooling capacity and resultant electrical-power demands.
More later, when I know more.