Yet another refigerator topic

[bsharp007]

I had fairly bad luck with the three Norcold absorbtion refrigerators I have owned. They either didn't work or they worked too good...freezing everything.
I have done a search on this site but I'm curious to learn more about the real world preformance of some of the compressor DC/AC refrigerators that FWC is now offering. Honsetly I would go with an ice cooler over a 3 way fridge..based on my experience it just wasn't reliable. My old setup had a 80 watt solar panel and one coach battery, it would drain the battery in about 2 hours with the refrigerator set on 12 volt even in full sunlight.

My setup will be the 90 watt solar panel with 2 coach batteries. Can I expect this setup to run a Waeco 80 liter or 110 liter compressor fridge on 12 volt overnight? Most of my camping is done in the west with fairly reliable sun.
Or should I just go with a Engle 12volt. There has to be someone running this exact same setup who has real world experience? They were building a couple of campers with this exact setup during my visit to FWC.

 

[leadsled9]

I have the Waeco 110 and 120 watt solar system. See my install here:
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/index.php?/topic/5437/page__pid__60853__st__0&#entry60853

After living with this set up for a while I would never go back to the 3-way refrigerator. With this set up I can set it and forget it. I have two 100ah AGM batteries. Everything works fine if the weather is good and I get the normal sun.

However, if I encounter several days of storms....that is days without good sun then I have to top off the batteries in the evening by running my Honda generator (1000, or 2000) for a couple of hours.

I just completed a 6 week trip to Colorado and where I camped was not good for solar power. The trees blocked my solar panel from the sun and I was only getting 2 or 3 hours of sunlight per day. I had to top off the batteries on that trip too.



So, my recommendation if you want to have a similar set up is to have a back up plan in the form of a Honda generator because you never really can predict the weather.

YMMV.

 

[bsharp007]

Hmm this is getting easier:
$ 1200 for the Waeco 80 liter fridge
$ 1000 for a solar panel
$ 500 for 2 batteries
$1000 for a generator

Or just going old school and bringing a quality cooler I already own that I know can keep ice for a week and takes up less room then a generator plus fuel? Btw the SS refrigerator looks good.





I have the Waeco 110 and 120 watt solar system. See my install here:
http://www.wanderthe...__0&#entry60853

After living with this set up for a while I would never go back to the 3-way refrigerator. With this set up I can set it and forget it. I have two 100ah AGM batteries. Everything works fine if the weather is good and I get the normal sun.

However, if I encounter several days of storms....that is days without good sun then I have to top off the batteries in the evening by running my Honda generator (1000, or 2000) for a couple of hours.

I just completed a 6 week trip to Colorado and where I camped was not good for solar power. The trees blocked my solar panel from the sun and I was only getting 2 or 3 hours of sunlight per day. I had to top off the batteries on that trip too.

View attachment 15536

So, my recommendation if you want to have a similar set up is to have a back up plan in the form of a Honda generator because you never really can predict the weather.

YMMV.

 

[K6ON]

I have an Engel 45, a 100 watt solar panel, and two group 31 batteries in the camper. The longest I've been parked in one spot is 4 days, and the solar kept the batteries up just fine with the Engel running in freezer mode. Go for it.

 

[leadsled9]

$ 1000 for a solar panel
$ 500 for 2 batteries
$1000 for a generator


I would buy the three above items whether I had a fridge or not. Those three items will ensure your electrical needs are taken care of for any length trip in any kind of weather or camping conditions. The fridge is just icing on the cake.

During my long stays it is nice getting to fire up the flat screen tv and watch a movie....use lights without worry....recharge numerous electrical items (cell phone, satellite phone, gps's, radios, computer, printer, flashlight and head lamp batteries, camera batteries, etc.). I use a computer and printer to print detailed topographic maps of my hunting areas.

 

[bsharp007]

Good points...I like your camping style.
I guess it comes down to compromise and what works best for your needs. Did you find that most of the time your 2 batteries and solar panel could keep up with your fridge and other power needs? I'm not keen on lugging a generator and if its rare I'll fire up the truck as needed to recharge.





I would buy the three above items whether I had a fridge or not. those three items will ensure your electrical needs are taken care of for any length trip in any kind of weather or camping conditions. The fridge is just icing on the cake.

During my long stays it is nice getting to fire up the flat screen tv and watch a movie....use lights without worry....recharge numerous electrical items (cell phone, satellite phone, gps's, radios, computer, printer, flashlight and head lamp batteries, camera batteries, etc.). I use a computer and printer to print detailed topographic maps of my hunting areas.

 

[leadsled9]

Did you find that most of the time your 2 batteries and solar panel could keep up with your fridge and other power needs? I'm not keen on lugging a generator and if its rare I'll fire up the truck as needed to recharge.


It all depends on your camping sytle and how much you want to rough it. If you are moving every few days then I wouldn't worry about a generator....the truck motor will recharge your batteries in short order.

If I am having blue bird weather, such as when I go down to the Arizona/Mexico border....then I probably won't need to fire up the generator. But if a nasty desert storm rolls in and hangs for a few days like it did in 2010....then the generator is a great thing to have along.

Here's my 2010 camp in blue bird weather.


Same view after 4 day freak winter storm.


Most of my hunts are of long duration (4 to 6 weeks) and solo events. There is no one else around to bail me out so I like to be prepared. I also pack a Honda DC cord that plugs into the generator to put a quick charge on a dead or weak truck battery. It has come in handy a time or two.

 

[DirtyDog]

I had my Engel running for 8 straight months this year and never had one issue with the fridge or the power. I have dual batteries and a single panel. Pretty awesome setup I'd never go back to a cooler.

 

[craig333]

Panels shouldn't cost anywhere near that much, though they are going up thanks to the guvmint cracking down on the cheap chinese panels. I love it, gives great peace of mind.

 

[PeterV]

Will,

Maybe you already made up your mind/ordered something, but: I have a Waeco fridge I used in my subaru for the past year and a half, every weekend. I have an Optima blue top that I charge at home and then I put in the car (it's not even connected to the car). I can run the fridge for 2-3 days without running out of battery, especially in the spring/fall or if the car is parked in the shade. In the summer, parked in the sun, with the inside getting really hot, then I sometimes run out of battery during the day (as the compressor has to work a lot harder). But I would never have any concern for the fridge to run it overnight. And with a solar panel for day time use, then I think you will never have issues (also, you mention getting two batteries instead of just one, which will help but probably even is overkill).

In short, I think you'll be happy with it as well and never have a problem. Unless you stay parked in one place for 2-3 days and have no sunlight, which would be a rare/never occurrence? (Mine is a top loader, unfortunately, so it will be too hard to retrofit into the Eagle... I like the propane option more in theory, but in practice it is proving a bit of a pain.. we'll see)

Or did you already decide?

 

[WaltK]

Panels shouldn't cost anywhere near that much, though they are going up thanks to the guvmint cracking down on the cheap chinese panels. I love it, gives great peace of mind.


It's not just panels, there is a controller to go along with them. And that should be quality if you don't want the panels to eat your expensive batteries. There is also cost in wiring and fittings to hook it together. Someone who does not do their own work in putting it in will also have labor costs.

Also it's not how many batteries in your house setup, but what their total capacity is. (and to a certain extent how much storage space you have and how much weight you can stand. I'm going with two 100 amp hour Northstar NSB100FT batteries, so have 100 amp hours to play with (for maximum life of your batteries you should only discharge them 50%, half their amp hour rating before charging) And each of them weighs 66 lbs.

I'm putting in a Waeco 65 fridge, the 80 was too high to fit in where I needed. I found figures from the company that said it will eat about 1.6 amp hours per hour at 77 degrees, or 1.9 amp hours per hour at 88 degrees. It's running draw is about 5.6 amps, but it cycles, only on part of the time. And of course that's under very specific conditions.

The fridge is not my biggest single load, that goes to running the microwave via a 1500 watt inverter. But that will only be run for very short periods.

I'm still dithering about the Solar. We mostly travel some every day now, so the truck may be able to handle it. It will be rare, except between trips that the 110 input will be supplying charging. I'm sure in the long run I'll put in more than 100 watts of solar, but not rushing right now.

 

[Bdold]

Thread hijack
Leadsled- Were you out here for elk hunting?

 

[leadsled9]

Thread hijack
Leadsled- Were you out here for elk hunting?


Yes, I spent a wonderful 6 weeks in the Colorado Rockies bowhunting for elk.

Killed a nice bull on week 2....but still stayed the entire 6 weeks.

September is my favorite time to be in the the Rockies....it's the time when all the leaves are changing...the elk are rutting....what's not to love?

 

[Bdold]

Nice. Pics? Where do you hunt? Not the exact location of course.

I called up this bull for my buddy this year near Boulder. 5x5

 

[Bdold]

The one I called for him in 09. 6x6

 

[leadsled9]

I don't want to highjack this thread. PM me your email and I'll send some pics.

 

[Gifu]

so, adding to this thread...
Just installed a WAECO CR-1065E/F-S 2.3 CU FT; and so far am scratching my head at the power consumption.
I'm using two Optima Blue Top (I think they are 50 amp-hours a piece, so 100 Amp-Hours), and a Sharp NT-185 solar panel.
A Morningstar Charge controller converts the high voltage (40volts or so) from the Sharp 185-watt to about 14 volts to charge the battery bank.

after about 4 days, the battery bank starts to drop below 12-volts... ie: the solar is not keeping up with the load.

So... either my batteries are too small (or bad) or that fridge is pulling a sh** load of amps.

Weird, right?

 

[Phird05]

Not weird at all. All fridges use a huge amount of power. Personally, I would only use gas while in camp and DC while driving. My dual battery setup would be drained in far less than a day if I used them for fridge power. I don't have solar power, however.

 

[camelracer]

I'm having the same problem with my Truckfridge TF130 running off 2 blue tops with a 100W panel and Morningstar MPPT controller. I'm good for a couple of days before the voltage gets too low. Not a problem unless I'm camping more than a couple of days in one place. I have the Morningstar monitor panel that shows the fridge is using about twice the solar input on a sunny summer day.

The fridge is a tight fit in the cabinet and the air circulation over the condenser was not very good so I added a vent yesterday. I hope that will improve the efficiency. I also want to test with the fridge well loaded to see if the increased thermal mass will help.

 

[Hittheroad]

We have an Engel and about 80 watts of PV panel and 100 amp hours battery. A year ago we were in Nova Scotia and discovered we had lost the truck to battery connection. For 5 weeks we were 100% dependent on solar to keep the Engel going. The sky was not cloudless. Never had to drink warm beer or fry rotten bacon. Once on a three day rainy stretch I had to charge the battery via jumper cables stretched through the pass through window (only time it has been used). Since we don't live in the sunny west I would like to increase our PV panel and battery storage but one definitely can make it long term with just the 80 watts PV and 100 amp hours - just requires a bit of worrying to do it in the East.