WOW! Absorption fridge vs compressor fridge

[HRTKD]

The JC conversion leaves you with the same small interior space (except for the space you gain from removing the inside cooling fins. It also uses more electricity than other options. Based on this I decided to buy the Everchill 11cu ft model. It is nearly 6 inches taller than my existing 6 cu ft fridge, but gives me nearly 2x the interior room.

I don't have any personal experience with the Everchill fridge so I can't comment on longevity, etc. But, the reviews I've seen are glowing and once cooled, it draws 30 watts on average. I can't fit a residential fridge or I would definitely consider it.

Did you find any detailed specs on the Everchill model? Their website it terrible. I can't (easily) get the full dimensions or the electrical specs. I had to dig into their owner's manual to find the dimensions. Even then, they say, "Refrigerator is not designed for recessed installation." Oh, that's not good. I suppose that means there better be some really good ventilation around the refrigerator.

 

[MotoPixel]

It seems most of the posts here are concerning larger systems for full-size RV's, 5th Wheels, etc., so I'll throw this out there.

Best $900 I've spent on my Lance 815 was replacing the original Norcold 3-way refrigerator with a Vitrifrigo Danfoss type compressor fridge a few years ago. I've measured daily energy usage on the unit at between 280-340Wh, depending on ambient temps and how often I'm in it. Measuring the 12V load pulled by the older Norcold unit showed 10x that energy usage.

With the 100Ah LiFePO4 I've had in the rig until about 3 weeks ago (now have DIY 280Ah installed) and between 200w-400w solar panels active at any given time (2x100W on rig and 2x100W portable), I never have to worry about power, even during extended cloudy/rainy day periods. I also gained over a cubic foot of capacity and no longer have to worry about parking on a non-level site at times. I have a real freezer section and I know I'm not going to have to either shut off the propane or worry about the burner getting blown out by crosswinds or passing vehicles.

When I take the camper off the truck when I'm at home, I leave the fridge run with basic items in it and I'm ready to go. No need to plug into shore power unless over the Winter when I run a small space heater on the coldest nights. The two 100W fixed solar provides more than adequate power to make up for fridge use and parasitic loads even when I've had a week or more of overcast/rain.

I originally added solar and the LiFePO4 battery in an attempt to make the 3-way fridge more useable for off-grid...use propane at night and 12VDC/solar during the day. With 4 panels active on mostly sunny days, I could run the fridge all day and charge the batteries to make up for nighttime power usage for lighting, recharging or running a fairly high-powered laptop for photo/video editing. My rig only has one 20lb propane tank and if I used it for the fridge full-time, cooking, hot water heating and occasionally the furnace, I was only good for a 10 days to 2 weeks, sometimes less if really cold weather. Not good!

Cost of the original solar setup was: $1640 consisting of...
4 x 100W Renogy Eclipse Panels $170 ea - $680.
1 Renogy Rover 40A MPPT Controller $160
1 Battleborn 100AH LiFePO4 battery $800

I could have saved quite a bit on cheaper panels, but I liked the small size of the Eclipse panels and have been very pleased with their performance. The Battleborn battery has now been replaced with the DIY 280Ah unit I put together, but it still tests out at 102Ah after almost 4 years of usage, so I'll repurpose it or maybe sell it. With the larger capacity battery that I have in the rig now, I leave the truck/camper 12V interconnect open...never bother charging from the truck when driving, just let the solar keep it topped off as I drive.

Bottom line, it all just works...and no worries about having enough power or charging/discharging profiles being adhered to with FLA or AGM batteries.

Cheers!

 

[K8MEJ]

Did you find any detailed specs on the Everchill model? Their website it terrible. I can't (easily) get the full dimensions or the electrical specs. I had to dig into their owner's manual to find the dimensions. Even then, they say, "Refrigerator is not designed for recessed installation." Oh, that's not good. I suppose that means there better be some really good ventilation around the refrigerator.

Funny, the sticker inside the fridge says built in installation only. Recessed installation isn't the same as built-in, I think. The doors (when closed) have to stick out an inch or two from the from the front face of the cabinets or the doors won't fully swing. I suspect that's what they meant.

• Everchill 10.7 cu ft - $1,467 on etrailer, $1,225 on RecPro or $1,200 on Amazon
  • Overall size: 59-1/2” H x 23-1/2” W x 24-3/4” D
  • Cutout size: 60-1/2” H x 25-5/8” W x 25” D
  • Power consumption: 30W maintain temp, 96W initial chill

I got the power info above from one of the websites that sells it or maybe Way Interglobal's website. I don't recall. I'm hoping to finish the installation today and power it on. Then I can take some power measurements tomorrow.

The manual sucks. It shipped with two steel angle brackets to affix the fridge to the cabinets for a built-in installation. The manual mentions nothing of them and I suspect they were made by Way. They were not included in the box the fridge came in and were strapped to the outside of the box. I suspect the manual was written by whatever contract manufacturer they use in China and the brackets are provided by Way for RV installation purposes. The fridge itself seems about as well made as any other appliance. I just hope the compressor is decent and lasts for years.

 

[HRTKD]

Info about the Everchill I got from Way Interglobal. (It seems to me they aren't trying very hard to sell this fridge, given the lack of information.)

9-17volts
Needs to be on its own 15amp fused circuit
Current draw is 6-8 amps during the cooling cycle and .1-.5 at idle.
58-98watts
Needs to have a separate chassis ground installed to help block RF interference.
Wire gauge will depend of length of run from source. Recommend 10g wire.

I'm thinking that in the interest of people being able to find information here on the forum, we should start a new thread for each brand of DC refrigerator.

It looks like Forest River is putting this refrigerator in their trailers. I think that's a good sign. Maybe?

 

[carbon60]

Solar panels run $1/watt +/- .

I took delivery of 1700W worth of rigid panels for CAD$1112. Depending on the week, that's about half that.

 

[HRTKD]

It seems most of the posts here are concerning larger systems for full-size RV's, 5th Wheels, etc., so I'll throw this out there.

Best $900 I've spent on my Lance 815 was replacing the original Norcold 3-way refrigerator with a Vitrifrigo Danfoss type compressor fridge a few years ago. I've measured daily energy usage on the unit at between 280-340Wh, depending on ambient temps and how often I'm in it. Measuring the 12V load pulled by the older Norcold unit showed 10x that energy usage.

With the 100Ah LiFePO4 I've had in the rig until about 3 weeks ago (now have DIY 280Ah installed) and between 200w-400w solar panels active at any given time (2x100W on rig and 2x100W portable), I never have to worry about power, even during extended cloudy/rainy day periods. I also gained over a cubic foot of capacity and no longer have to worry about parking on a non-level site at times. I have a real freezer section and I know I'm not going to have to either shut off the propane or worry about the burner getting blown out by crosswinds or passing vehicles.

When I take the camper off the truck when I'm at home, I leave the fridge run with basic items in it and I'm ready to go. No need to plug into shore power unless over the Winter when I run a small space heater on the coldest nights. The two 100W fixed solar provides more than adequate power to make up for fridge use and parasitic loads even when I've had a week or more of overcast/rain.

I originally added solar and the LiFePO4 battery in an attempt to make the 3-way fridge more useable for off-grid...use propane at night and 12VDC/solar during the day. With 4 panels active on mostly sunny days, I could run the fridge all day and charge the batteries to make up for nighttime power usage for lighting, recharging or running a fairly high-powered laptop for photo/video editing. My rig only has one 20lb propane tank and if I used it for the fridge full-time, cooking, hot water heating and occasionally the furnace, I was only good for a 10 days to 2 weeks, sometimes less if really cold weather. Not good!

Cost of the original solar setup was: $1640 consisting of...
4 x 100W Renogy Eclipse Panels $170 ea - $680.
1 Renogy Rover 40A MPPT Controller $160
1 Battleborn 100AH LiFePO4 battery $800

I could have saved quite a bit on cheaper panels, but I liked the small size of the Eclipse panels and have been very pleased with their performance. The Battleborn battery has now been replaced with the DIY 280Ah unit I put together, but it still tests out at 102Ah after almost 4 years of usage, so I'll repurpose it or maybe sell it. With the larger capacity battery that I have in the rig now, I leave the truck/camper 12V interconnect open...never bother charging from the truck when driving, just let the solar keep it topped off as I drive.

Bottom line, it all just works...and no worries about having enough power or charging/discharging profiles being adhered to with FLA or AGM batteries.

Cheers!

Heck of a first post!! Nice job.

 

[K8MEJ]

Info about the Everchill I got from Way Interglobal. (It seems to me they aren't trying very hard to sell this fridge, given the lack of information.)

My personal opinion is that they mean to sell primarily to OEM RV manufacturers and selling to Joe Public is a side business.

 

[AlanH]

List price $1549au

Now google 130L fridge and come up with the 240v kogan bar fridge at $169au
Similar dimensions. The 1.5kg weight saving could go towards a energy absorbing mat for it to sit on and some door latches.

A problem with running a mains fridge off a inverter is the need for some constant load to stop the inverter going into standby mode as I cant see the compressor startup current doing much good to the compressor motor or to the inverter when in standby mode.

Yes but that’s typical of most 12v against 240v fridges with the 240v being so much cheaper. Absorption fridges are a ripoff no different. Have a look at the price of a car fridge. No different. You dont say to people run a Kogan 240v fridge off an inverter instead of a 12v car fridge!

 

[AlanH]

It seems most of the posts here are concerning larger systems for full-size RV's, 5th Wheels, etc., so I'll throw this out there.

Best $900 I've spent on my Lance 815 was replacing the original Norcold 3-way refrigerator with a Vitrifrigo Danfoss type compressor fridge a few years ago. I've measured daily energy usage on the unit at between 280-340Wh, depending on ambient temps and how often I'm in it. Measuring the 12V load pulled by the older Norcold unit showed 10x that energy usage.

With the 100Ah LiFePO4 I've had in the rig until about 3 weeks ago (now have DIY 280Ah installed) and between 200w-400w solar panels active at any given time (2x100W on rig and 2x100W portable), I never have to worry about power, even during extended cloudy/rainy day periods. I also gained over a cubic foot of capacity and no longer have to worry about parking on a non-level site at times. I have a real freezer section and I know I'm not going to have to either shut off the propane or worry about the burner getting blown out by crosswinds or passing vehicles.

When I take the camper off the truck when I'm at home, I leave the fridge run with basic items in it and I'm ready to go. No need to plug into shore power unless over the Winter when I run a small space heater on the coldest nights. The two 100W fixed solar provides more than adequate power to make up for fridge use and parasitic loads even when I've had a week or more of overcast/rain.

I originally added solar and the LiFePO4 battery in an attempt to make the 3-way fridge more useable for off-grid...use propane at night and 12VDC/solar during the day. With 4 panels active on mostly sunny days, I could run the fridge all day and charge the batteries to make up for nighttime power usage for lighting, recharging or running a fairly high-powered laptop for photo/video editing. My rig only has one 20lb propane tank and if I used it for the fridge full-time, cooking, hot water heating and occasionally the furnace, I was only good for a 10 days to 2 weeks, sometimes less if really cold weather. Not good!

Cost of the original solar setup was: $1640 consisting of...
4 x 100W Renogy Eclipse Panels $170 ea - $680.
1 Renogy Rover 40A MPPT Controller $160
1 Battleborn 100AH LiFePO4 battery $800

I could have saved quite a bit on cheaper panels, but I liked the small size of the Eclipse panels and have been very pleased with their performance. The Battleborn battery has now been replaced with the DIY 280Ah unit I put together, but it still tests out at 102Ah after almost 4 years of usage, so I'll repurpose it or maybe sell it. With the larger capacity battery that I have in the rig now, I leave the truck/camper 12V interconnect open...never bother charging from the truck when driving, just let the solar keep it topped off as I drive.

Bottom line, it all just works...and no worries about having enough power or charging/discharging profiles being adhered to with FLA or AGM batteries.

Cheers!

Perfect.

Just like a generator, why would you bother with an LPG fridge!

 

[JeepDaddy]

Perfect.

Just like a generator, why would you bother with an LPG fridge!

Because they work on propane?

 

[HRTKD]

If my LPG fridge was working great I wouldn't be considering a 12v fridge.

 

[K8MEJ]

To bring my part of this thread to a conclusion, I wanted to share the installed pictures of the Everchill 11cu ft 12 volt DC compressor refrigerator in my 2018 2800BH. I'm not going to write up a step-by-step HOWTO, but I thought a few pictures would show it's possible and not terribly hard if you know what you're doing.
The width and depth fit the original opening just fine, but I needed to remove the dead space above the opening because the Everchill is about 6" taller than the original opening. That turned out to be an easy fix. I removed the upper rail, plywood cover, and lower rail. I removed the small strip of wood from the back of the larger rail, attached it to the lower (smaller) rail, and reinstalled it at the top. I made sure to secure it very well since the fridge is held in place by upper and lower brackets installed along the front edge of the fridge. Those brackets screw into the face of the cabinet opening. Those brackets are visible, but they are black and with the doors on aren't very visible. In the newer 2800BH models with light colored cabinets, the black brackets will show more unless you paint them.

The new fridge has nearly 2x the interior space the old fridge had, has a built-in travel latch for the doors, draws about 60 watts during initial cool down and then about 30-40 watts when running to maintain the temperature. I have not measured the duty cycle or the 24 hour power draw once cold. This is a helluva lot better than the 325-440 watts AC plus 8-12 watts DC my old absorption fridge took to run.

 

[HRTKD]

New fridge looks great! Do you need to do anything with the old vent space going to the roof?

 

[K8MEJ]

New fridge looks great! Do you need to do anything with the old vent space going to the roof?

There was a 1/8" thin piece of plywood acting as a baffle that I removed from the inside. Other than that, I left the roof-top fridge vent in place. I have a thought that I might replace the existing rooftop 15K BTU air conditioner for a mini-split system. If I were to remove the roof top unit and not replace it with a ceiling mounted condenser unit (use a wall unit instead) then I would close the existing A/C opening and likely do the same for the rooftop fridge vent. Removing both of those gives me space for three or four additional 200 watt panels. But, that's for another day. At this point, I just want to get out and enjoy all my work for on the off-grid system.

 

[HRTKD]

There was a 1/8" thin piece of plywood acting as a baffle that I removed from the inside. Other than that, I left the roof-top fridge vent in place. I have a thought that I might replace the existing rooftop 15K BTU air conditioner for a mini-split system. If I were to remove the roof top unit and not replace it with a ceiling mounted condenser unit (use a wall unit instead) then I would close the existing A/C opening and likely do the same for the rooftop fridge vent. Removing both of those gives me space for three or four additional 200 watt panels. But, that's for another day. At this point, I just want to get out and enjoy all my work for on the off-grid system.

Ditching a couple of vents would make adding a couple of panels possible.

Happy camping!

 

[HRTKD]

@K8MEJ , how is the new refrigerator working out?

The Everchill that I had bookmarked on Amazon is no longer available there. I found only one Everchill product on Amazon now, and it's a dinky 120v AC fridge. Everchill is still available from the Way Interglobal website.

 

[willo]

I saw you can get a bougerv unit pretty cheap

 

[K8MEJ]

@K8MEJ , how is the new refrigerator working out?

The Everchill that I had bookmarked on Amazon is no longer available there. I found only one Everchill product on Amazon now, and it's a dinky 120v AC fridge. Everchill is still available from the Way Interglobal website.

I'll give four stars and I'd still recommend it even considering the following:

• The travel latch kind of sucks. If you have a lot loaded on the door cubbies, the weight of the door can still cause the doors to open partially and spill contents. I've had to jerry rig a strap the last time I traveled.
• Similar to the old absorption fridge, some items in the fridge can still freeze. A simple battery-powered circulating fan works wonders, but I didn't think this was going to continue to be an issue.
• If you send an email to the customer support address at Way Interglobal, you will never receive a reply. You have to call them to get someone to talk to you.

It cools quickly, has nearly 50% more internal space, and uses a lot less power. It uses about 65 watts steady state, but I've not measured the actual power usage over the course of a day. I don't even bother to turn the fridge off anymore and I rarely plug in my camper. It's the single best mod I've done to my RV. My experience is limited to the 11 cu ft model.

 

[tazmann]

I played around with dorm fridges ,10 CF fridge, and 5 CF chest freezer in the rv . The problem I found with the fridges is leaving them on 24/7 without using ac or heater you have problems, winter when temps drop below 50f they don't run and the freezer defrost summer when it gets 105F they run full blast and create a lot of heat getting the in side of rv even more hot , these were free standing models . the chest freezer worked the best converted to fridge sipped power and was not affected much by the outside temps but only worked as fridge or freezer so if you want both you would have to run two, moisture was a problem running it as fridge

 

[JWreno]

I installed a Unique 12 volt compressor fridge about a year ago. I love it. It works very well and I run it for the entire camping season off of my solar system. My Norcold was very inconsistent and affected by the sun shinning on the side of the trailer. It would get warm in the day and too cold at night unless I adjusted the settings after sunset.

I went we the Unique because Home Depot sells them online and will ship them to your local store for free pickup. These fridges are made by a Canadian firm that markets to off grid cabins.