The Stecca PF 166

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Dave Angelini
Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,748 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
in Energy Use & Conservation #1
Too many folks asking about this so here goes. This unit is a reefer/freezer near 6 cubic feet. I have bought a few of them and Sunwize is the distributor. Stecca is german and the unit is made in austria. They are over three times what a unit from Sears would cost. Offgrid we pay thru the nose for everything so nothing new there.

The units measure less power than claimed. A calibrated Fluke DVM measures 38 watts from a 24vdc nominal. In an 80F garage I am using a shade over .3KWH per day operating as a freezer at 5F.

I'll post a link to a pdf when I get some time later. This is the current state of the art in the world right now! A variable speed DC compressor that is not much bigger than your wallet. And you will need a full wallet! It would be nice if I could order these through the store here? :cool:
"we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
   htps://offgridsolar1.com/
E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,748 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #2
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    Link is below to the Stecca. They are a great company if you are not familiar with them BTW. I have a 24V CFL from them that I think is 13 years old.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    i agree that would seem more to be .3kwh per day. it's seems impressive. i looked at the specs and it shows 1 cold battery. could somebody familiar with it explain this?
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,748 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #4
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    Ahem, yes, I meant .3KWH per day. I do not know what a cold battery is until November?
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #5
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    I think you'll find a "cold battery" is a thermal mass used to "store cold". Not an electrical device. Kind of a re-usable ice pack that reduces cycling of the refrigerator by "storing up cold" that is "produced", but isn't needed, when the compressor runs.

    Okay? :D
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  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
    #6
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    I remember looking at these units some time ago when trying to pick appliances for our yet to be built home, and couldn't justify the extra cost. There are already standard AC freezers that use 0.3kWh/day, for less money than the stecca, e.g.:
    - http://www.liebherr.com/HG/en-GB/region-UK/products_hg.wfw/id-407698-0_25118-0

    Or .5kWh/day for: http://www.liebherr.com/HG/en-GB/region-UK/products_hg.wfw/id-407698-0_25118-0

    The 10% gain in using a DC appliance doesn't warrant the extra cost - you could easily make up for it with more PV.
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,748 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #7
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    Stephen,
    As you will find out when you do move off offgrid adding solar panels for day use works well during the day but you have to add capacity to store the energy if you will need it at night. These units were first reviewed in Homepower 2 years back and there still is nothing on this side of the pond that comes close. I wish there were! Show me the light, as well as the data!
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
    #8
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    Hmmm, can't find any of the energy efficient chest freezers in US stores :(
    Funnily enough Liebherr do operate in the US, but they only sell double door monstruous fridges. Whirlpool also doesn't seem to sell chest freezers in the US, neither does Bosch.

    I guess the Steca is one of the few options then!

    BTW, that Liebherr that uses 0.3kWh/day goes for 650 GBP, while the Steca goes for 800 GBP, not as a big a difference as I expected.
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,447 admin
    #9
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    A few years ago, they changed the Energy Star Ratings for Freezers and made them much tougher to get the E.S. rating.

    There are a few E.S. rated 6-7 cuft freezers, the lowest is around 215 kWh per year--Still not as low as this one..

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,748 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #10
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    Thanks Bill! And as we know the devil is in the details and how the testing is done. My data is from a real world 80f room and I would bet that other testing skews the data to average cooler room temperatures over the year. Who knows?

    The one thing I did not add is the energy/KWH used in the winter is so low that I have not measured it yet. Last winter I ran the unit on a DC timer that only allowed the freezer to run during daylight hours. I think I set it to 0 F BTW.

    One of my 48V customers is going to get rid of his propane freezer and run two of these units BTW. Pretty close to the holy grail in the engineering. I would have added the timer and a daytime mode algorithm that ran the temperature colder during the solar hours. Maybe direct run from solar circuitry to eleiminate the battery for the certain users. Being DC there is not any issue with search mode in some of my users inverters which is always nice.

    I will post their energy chart, when I figure out how...
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,748 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #11
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    Here is the energy useage from Stecca.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #12
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    (not to hijack away from the Stecca, but....) This last week, I pulled the numbers off my kill-a-watt, that had my 18CF energy star fridge plugged into it. (pure sine xw6048, 117V measured) Over 30 days, I consumed .86KWh each day. Most days, temps were in the low 90's. several openings daily for ice, drink and food. I think I'm pleased, now what will the fridge do in the winter, when the shop gets cold and the fridge portion is not loosing heat, will the freezer thaw out on me ??????
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #13
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    mike,
    is that with or without air conditioning?
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #14
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166
    niel wrote: »
    mike,
    is that with or without air conditioning?

    No air conditioning, inside the shop, it gets into the upper 80's daily.
    (fridge is in large shop building, with some insulation.)
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,447 admin
    #15
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    I don't live in a cold area--but from what I understand the modern refrigerator/freezer usually does not tolerate cold conditions very well--The freezer may thaw out because the refrigerator does not lose enough heat to run the compressor enough to keep the freezer cold.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,748 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #16
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    Mike,
    You will be fine! Bill is right but up here in the Sierra where it does get cold I would say the number is 40F. Different model will behave differently and I would think your location never gets that cold inside a building? The steel building in the background on my webpage link below is probably similar. The notable difference is he is at 6,000 feet.

    So, what model did you get? Anything that size that does under 1KWH per day in summer is really good!
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #17
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166

    OK, so here's a shot of the sticker inside the fridge, that I measured .86KWh / day for 30 days 90f summer daytimes. Energy Star Fridge, Frigidaire 18 CF no ice maker installed

    Mike
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • techntrek
    techntrek Solar Expert Posts: 1,372 ✭✭✭
    #18
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166
    BB. wrote: »
    I don't live in a cold area--but from what I understand the modern refrigerator/freezer usually does not tolerate cold conditions very well--The freezer may thaw out because the refrigerator does not lose enough heat to run the compressor enough to keep the freezer cold.
    -Bill

    My run-of-the-mill 2nd fridge has this problem. It's maybe 6 years old. I have to adjust the fridge dial to make it warmer in the winter to keep the freezer frozen, then reverse in the summer to make sure the fridge compartment gets cold enough. Its in my garage which is in the 80's in the summer and below freezing in the winter.
    4.5 kw APC UPS powered by a Prius, 12 kw Generac, Honda EU3000is
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,748 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #19
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    Re: The Stecca PF 166
    mike90045 wrote: »
    OK, so here's a shot of the sticker inside the fridge, that I measured .86KWh / day for 30 days 90f summer daytimes. Energy Star Fridge, Frigidaire 18 CF no ice maker installed

    Mike


    Thanks Mike for the info! In the original post you said you measured it for 30 days and above 3 days? Is there a typo? Never mind I think I am seeing things........... --Dave
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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