Energy efficient refrigerators on solar power?

Plug your Kill-A-Watt (Order one now if you don’t have one, I think Home Depot carries them sometimes for around $30) and see how much energy your unit really uses in your situation. I got a 1997 used medical refrigerator for $80 and while it does keep veggies longer by about a week and keeps the temp within 1 degree Celsius, it uses about 4.5 kwh per day for about 14 cu. Ft. refrigerator only! That’s a lot. I want the Danby refrigerator only 17 cu ft unit, but funds are going elsewhere for awhile.

I was also looking for a ‘Slightly Used’ forklift battery and checked several out. Some of the shops order used cells to get the ones working that they can, so there is that option. Most fail because one or more cells fail and then you are left with mismatched cells if you go the used cell replacement route.

Took cookies for 12 weeks to a battery place where it is the last stop before the smelter. I started going with used 8D flooded. Mine are mismatched and don’t have full capacity, but way cheaper. They let me look through there various batteries and gave me a really good deal on whatever I wanted. After all, anything over scrap was more profit for them.

They would get used L-16’s, but not enough matched, as they usually came out of lifts or floor scrubbers. They also wanted way too much for those. Their least desirable ones to them were stationary batteries. I got 56 Panasonic 2 volt cells @ 1040 AH. That works out to 2 strings of cells with 6 spares. I run 2 parallel strings for 2080 AH @ 48 volts and have 6 spares charged every month @ 12 volts. That gives me all matched cells with quite a few spares.

Not counting lead trade-in, I have $2,000.00 in batteries. I am at the 22 month mark, so spending less than $100.00 per month on batteries. Gives me about $6.50 worth of usable electricity.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

softdown wrote: »

This model costs $44/year to operate according to ratings.

Go by the KwH rating, not the $$g by the $$ on the label our 1999 storage tank style water heater is cheaper to run than a present day on-demand water heater.

H2SO4_guy wrote: »

I seem to recall that a compressor should be upright for several hours if it has been on it’s side to let the oil get back to where it’s supposed to be. Wouldn’t hurt anything to not plug it in for awhile.

I once worked with a retail outlet that handled fridges. Some, but not all of them had marked on the outside of the carton which SIDE should be UP, if it were to be laid down, thus preventing compressor oil getting up in the refrigerant lines. Others, we had factory info that they should be standing upright for 2 hours before connecting power and starting it - - IF it had been on it's side during transportation, thus permitting any oil in the lines to find it's way back tot he compressor. .

This one may be it ???

FWIW, the yellow label states 270 KwH a year. For a 3.1 cu ft fridge & freezer that is actually a lot of electricity. We have an 18 cu ft top freezer whose label states 355 KwH a year.

How are you reading the battery state of charge? What meter or device?

I'm not an outback guy, but I think you can set the charge controller to replace amps lost after float. Might be a good question for the Outback forum! Though there are a lot of people around here that use them.

Photowhit wrote: »

The video shows a little flakey guy, 2 harbor freight sets and 2 marine starting batteries.... NOT a sustainable system!

The 30 watts is per hour, over a 24 hour period or 720 watt hours in a 24 hour period. (I think they said 740watt hour) So the duty cycle is already taken into account. Also doesn't say anything about ambient temperature. I think my small 2 door fridge used about the same most of the year, more in the summer if I was away and cabin temps ran up to high 80's low 90's.

I have been LIVING with this fridge running 24/7 for nearly 2 years.-- its 30 watts! The fridge is the real-deal. They guy in the video is not flakey, its how he talks. His little harbor freight set up is not his main setup, it was used to test it...

Also photowhit, for the millionth time, 2 marine batteries ARE sustainable depending on where you live, I, like the guy in the video live in the DESERT, its 100% sun here every single day, all day long. The panels and battery banks are SUBSTANTIALLY lower out here due to the wheather. I dont even have a kilowat in panels and the fridge, fan, washer are all running right now....


The fridge is 30watt hours - I saw the guys video, bought one, tried it myself, he wasnt BSing. What's more is that you can adjust the settings... he had his on full -blast, I have minez on half... the AC stuff comin out these days is super-efficent. Even the cielign fans have DC motors and use only 17 watts on 'high'.... the washer I have has a DC inverter motor, etc, etc... you just gotta search and be realistic and theres tons of stuff to be had...

but again, I and the guy in the vid live in the land of everyday sun

If you want I'll post up my own vid of this fridge running on solar...


-- cake in a cup

Ok well if its 30 watts average, not just while running then that explains it. Plus you have inverter inefficiencies then. That is not that good compared to a "real" dc off grid fridge, but I admit it is pretty good for a ac consumer unit. For comparison , my DC novakool uses about 26 watts while running and runs at maybe a 20% duty cycle, plus no inverter losses. If I had your sun I would likely get one....

Yup......5 times as much, at least for the novakool (a little smaller that the kenmore). In my climate cheaper to pay that than the additional batts and panels to get it through the winter months.....