Most likely, running the ac frige requires running the inverter...
Many inverters needed for house loads pull more watts in standby than a dc frige consumes on its own...
You used 300Wh in one day on ac.
How much would a dc frige pull?
DC Fridge or AC fridge with inverter?
- Thread starter Offgridsteve
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Many inverters needed for house loads pull more watts in standby than a dc frige consumes on its own...
You used 300Wh in one day on ac.
How much would a dc frige pull?
OnTheRoadAgain
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FYI -
I also (at the same time) bought this Galanz 3.1 Cubic foot refrigerator.
It started with no problem with my Jackery 500 explorer and ran at around 50Watts
Idle power consumption is less than 10Watts.
Again, you can easily run even this larger fridge with very little power with an inverter and a solar panel or two.
I also (at the same time) bought this Galanz 3.1 Cubic foot refrigerator.
It started with no problem with my Jackery 500 explorer and ran at around 50Watts
Idle power consumption is less than 10Watts.
Again, you can easily run even this larger fridge with very little power with an inverter and a solar panel or two.
OnTheRoadAgain
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My purpose here is to avoid the pitfalls of sub $400 Chiinese DC refrigerators and the costs of the good ones ($550 - $800 ish)
The TOTAL power consumption for the small fridge is 44watts compressor ON and 3 Watts compressor off (50% or more of the time)
This includes inverter power consumption and loss.
I'm not really concerned with "highest power efficiency" since I consider solar power cheap and plentiful and the cost of running the fridge overnight on battery power well within acceptable ranges.
Yes, using a 5000Watt inverter would be wasteful. Which is exactly why I bought a dedicated high efficiency Renogy 1000watt Inverter for the Fridge.
I also have a 2000watt Xantrex inverter but I don't use that for the fridge.
If you know of something I have missed or am doing wrong I am always open minded and enjoy being educated.
Diysolar123
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unless your goal is to max efficiency, or, "I want a DC/propane fridge", I would lean towards a "commodity" high efficiency compressor fridge/freeze because:
1) they are quite efficient
2)you can walk-in to almost any box store and get a replacement if something breaks
3)you know how it works and how to plug it in
4)they are "cheaper" so even if nothing breaks and you just want more space, head to the nearest box store and buy a new fridge on sale hehe
sometimes it is best to just KISS it ...Keep It Simple Stupid...
1) they are quite efficient
2)you can walk-in to almost any box store and get a replacement if something breaks
3)you know how it works and how to plug it in
4)they are "cheaper" so even if nothing breaks and you just want more space, head to the nearest box store and buy a new fridge on sale hehe
sometimes it is best to just KISS it ...Keep It Simple Stupid...
OnTheRoadAgain
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Agreed. I'm at a loss for why everyone thinks they have to have a DC fridge ?
With readily available cheap solar and high capacity LiFePO4 batteries it's a non issue.
Now in "some" cases where energy conservation is a mission critical issue the power savings could make a difference.
In spite of the AC/DC Amp difference, the power use for a mini DC fridge is not terribly different than a high efficiency AC mini fridge.
Just to clarify.......
A DC fridge is often a "compressor" fridge the same as an AC compressor fridge.
Both can have a compressor. AFAIK, a propane fridge CANNOT have a compressor.
sremick
Mostly competent. Knows enough to be dangerous
It's for small units (portable) where size/space is a constraint. Not every use case has the luxury of unlimited space/weight for more batteries and more panels. When some variables are limited, it's reasonable to want to save the 10-20% lost efficiency of an inverter if a straight-DC solution can be used instead.
OnTheRoadAgain
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Exactly
I use the AC compressor fridge in a converted Dodge Minivan. Works great.
See that space in the rear Left corner under the counter? Perfect for the AC compressor fridge
Been working on building it out to mimic as close as possible a well known YouTuber's minivan
Absolutely love the way he did it. In all honesty, the lens makes this look MUCH bigger than it really is.
The space you see is about 6 feet wide.
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John Frum
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Here is a use case.
Offgrid cottage or cabin used on the weekends.
Owner wants to turn off the inverter but keep the fridge running during the week.
OnTheRoadAgain
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May I ask....what is the problem with leaving an inverter running?
If there is a reason I'm not aware of by all means I'd rather know.
Yes, there is a case for DC as I said.
But even in this case, an AC fridge could be a very good alternative depending on the solar size and battery capacity.
But sure, I see the point and I agree. In "some" cases.
Really, my argument was not "against" DC refrigerators....but FOR an alternative.
For me personally, they were either cheap and unreliable....or too expensive.
If a DC fridge works for you then you should go that route.
Try going to the Alpicool website and try ANY of their phone numbers or email addresses. I dare ya
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sremick
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Phantom power drain even with no load on the inverter.
John Frum
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The inverter itself uses power and leaving the inverter running leaves the possibility that something else is left running via the inverter.
Bud Martin
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Inverter will still consume power when it is running without any loads connected.May I ask....what is the problem with leaving an inverter running?
If there is a reason I'm not aware of by all means I'd rather know.
Yes, there is a case for DC as I said.
But even in this case, an AC fridge could be a very good alternative depending on the solar size and battery capacity.
But sure, I see the point and I agree. In "some" cases.
Really, my argument was not "against" DC refrigerators....but FOR an alternative.
For me personally, they were either cheap and unreliable....or too expensive.
If a DC fridge works for you then you should go that route.
Try going to the Alpicool website and try ANY of their phone numbers or email addresses. I dare ya
You can easily verify how much power the Inverter is consumimg without any load connect to the inverter, just run the inverter without any load connected to the inverter and use DC Clamp on meter to check the current draw by the inverter, then you can easily calculate the power consumption of the inverter without loads. If you look at the spec of the inverter, it will tell you also but I ifnd that most of the time it is higher that what it claims to be.
We just got a DC fridge for our travel trailer- a Norcold version. It is a compressor version, but the compressor is a 12V compressor- you can find people who have converted 120V as well as propane fridges with this compressor. It actually has a 120-12V inverter when we are plugged in.
We got it for two reasons- 1) we eliminated propane from the inside of the trailer. Why? Because. Heater is quieter than the gas one, don't have the CO/propane issues in the enclosure, no worries about venting, and the fire risk is drastically down. So.... 2) the higher end fridge should run better than a 120V with inverter when we are driving around. One other minor thing we learned- when not on propane, the electrical efficiency of that kind of fridge is pretty bad, since it has to heat the fluid like propane does.
The benefit of choosing the compressor vs. propane (other than the venting)- for the small space we had to put a fridge- we gained a lot of interior storage space for food.
But the $1000 DC fridges are not the same as 120V ones- same physics of cooling, sure. But it's not the same compressor pump that does the work.
Is this the best thing in the world? We will find out. I'm pretty geeked about it, especially if we go "off grid" it requires pretty low power all the time. It's supposed to run off of 6A @ 12V- and that's backed up by the specified fuse to run it- which is 10A. We have enough space for a few hundred watts of solar on the roof.
Bud Martin
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How big is this 6A 12VDC (72W) fridge? Any link to the spec sheet?
MrNatural22
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I've had a Massimo (Alpicool) 54qt 12/24v DC compressor fridge running on 12v inside my cargo conversion now since last spring Just to see how it holds up, without any issues. It is set at 32deg F stays quite steady at that temp (I can monitor thru the BT )draws 45-50w and 3.5-4a when cycling. It basically runs on solar power only during most days and only uses battery at night or very cloudy days. 1 flat roof mounted 327w Sunpower PV thru a Victron 100/30 MPPT and keeps everything quite happy.
I would not feel comfortable leaving my 1500w PS inverter on all day and night even thou it only uses .5a when idle and only turned on when needed for 120v goodies.
You could spend hundred more more on a more popular name brand fridge . I paid $300 at Costco for the Massimo.
I would not feel comfortable leaving my 1500w PS inverter on all day and night even thou it only uses .5a when idle and only turned on when needed for 120v goodies.
You could spend hundred more more on a more popular name brand fridge . I paid $300 at Costco for the Massimo.
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The one we specifically got isn't made anymore, but you can get them from WestMarine- where we got ours- https://www.westmarine.com/buy/norcold--de0788b-3-1-cubic-ft-refrigerator-freezer--10899169
3.1 Cu Ft, and it fits into a 30x20" hole. It's actually rated at 36W (which I didn't know)
It's been superseded by this 3.3 Cu Ft one- https://norcold.com/product/norcold-de105-ac-dc-refrigerator/ this one is the 60W version.
We wanted to get that one, but could not find any. Shocking these days. And we got a good price at WM- multiple sales along with the Holiday Season. It was cheaper than most RV places.
It's installed and was on for an hour to try it. Pretty neat.
OnTheRoadAgain
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Bud Martin
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So that is about 288Wh per day (12W each hour) wasted not producing anything, almost the same as your fridge.
"Overnight (10 hours) it uses 300 watt hours. It doesn't even deplete my Jackery 500 overnight.
During the day it runs fine on one, 100watt solar panel.
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OnTheRoadAgain
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Remember, when the inverter is running (in use) that 1A doesn't count as it is included in the running power
And the inverter will be running all the time.
I measured 3-4 watts at idle with the Jackery 500....not 12Watts
If your argument is that DC uses less energy overall.....you win.
That's not my point or my goal.
My point is that AC refrigerators are indeed a viable option.
The inverter DOES NOT use double the power that I posted (300Watt Hours) overnight.
So that is off somewhat. Maybe the actual idle draw is a lot less than you assumed.
Please do not feel obligated to run down to Walmart and buy an AC fridge if that's not your thing.
For some an AC fridge is a good alternative and we work around the issues, if any.
Some say "Potato"....so say Patatoh"
Bud Martin
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I am not arguing about anything, I am just pointing out what inverter will draw even when there is no load connected. I use inverters myself.
The 1A draw do added to the tatal power draw.
BTW, did you actually using current meter to verify the current draw instead of using Jackery as the measuring device?
