Compressor style AC/DC fridge

[bcarey172]

Hello,
Has anyone swapped out the absorption style fridge for a compressor style fridge? We do not Rv in areas without hookups, and also will be adding solar for backup. Our trailer is a 2013 17' FD Casita. What manufacture/model gives the best cooling results? Are there existing threads with more information? We appreciate any input.
Thanks,
Bushman


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[sarahspins]

I put an engel sb70 in my 13' scamp (it's presently removed as I prepare to manage some floor repairs) but it ran great for me off just solar (I have no converter in my scamp). They do make a version of that specific fridge that can also be run off AC power, but it costs about $100 more, and if you have some kind of converter in your trailer I don't really see the need for it - because you could power it just fine connected to shore power.

It only uses 2.7 amps when the compressor is running, and my experience was that it ran about 35-40% of the time. I typically saw current usage rates of 18-23amps over 24 hours, depending on outdoor temps.

[bcarey172]

What were the inside temps like?


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[sbergeron00]

Total Newbie Question--How do you track how many amps the fridge uses if you have other electric using things like lights on the same system? How do you figure it out. Is there a fancy little gizmo that helps with this process?

We are looking at a new Trillium 1500 that has a 100 watt Solar panel and a Dometic 12v only fridge.

Thanks,
Stephanie

[kootenaigirl]

This is an informative thread on doing just that-
AC/DC Refrigerators - Escape Trailer Owners Community

[mmeyer]

I am partial to the ARB. We run it as a freezer to keep meat and fish frozen till we eat them. Freeze water bottles to keep the yeti cooler going. Woks well with 150 watts of solar (50 permanent,100 portable) on the outer banks on NC . NPS campgrounds have no electric. Also run a 210 AH Trojan golf cart battery bank. Monitor use with a nasa system Used on boats in Europe


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[David Tilston]

Stephanie, All you need is a cheep mulimeter. Here is a cheep one at Walmart:
Etekcity MSR-Y500 Digital LCD Voltmeter Ammeter Ohm Meter Multimeter Volt AC DC Tester Meter(Battery Included) - Walmart.com

Not sure why it is only fused up to 200mA. The cheep one I use also has a 10A fuse for the higher range. The fuse comes in handy when you try to measure voltage when the leads are plugged into the amp socket. This one would likely die early, but hey, it's only ten bucks.

The down side to measuring amps is that you have to put the meter in the circuit like a piece of wire. This means disconnecting the appliance and connecting the meter to the wire you pulled out of the terminal, and then the other lead to the terminal.

[sbergeron00]

What great information in many ways! Thanks for the links and such. I'll continue my research in a more methodological way now. Love how fast this happens here!
Cheers,
Stephanie

[bcarey172]

Ditto, thanks all for the input and links.
Bushman

[ajdemo76]

We're looking into a new fridge ourselves and decided on a Nova Kool R3000 for our Trillium 1300. They build theirs to order (at least that model) so there's about a month turnaround. Just a heads up on that one if you're looking.


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[David B.]

William, I put a NovaKool 12volt only refrigerator in our 13' Scamp, with a 100 watt solar panel, and never had any problems with it. We sold the Scamp and then installed a Truck Fridge 12 volt only in our Lil Snoozy with 200 watts of solar. If you order a 110 volt option, it is just a converter you are paying for. I didn't feel it was necessary as I had a battery charger connected to the battery for when we are plugged in. One of the reasons I changed brands of refrigerators was the Truck Fridge had a light in it, and because another Lil Snoozy owner (McDenny) had a great write-up on his Truck Fridge installation, so I knew it fit.
Hope this helps you with your decision, and keep us posted with pictures.
Dave & Paula

[Brentsdeal]

My engel is fantastic!!

[redbarron55]

I have an old Norcold DE-704 I am going to install in my 16" Scamp. The thing works, but was noisy with the swing motor compressor. I got new vibration absorbing runner mounts and that helped a lot.
The next thing it to improve the efficiency of the unit. It doesn't use but 40 watts AC or DC, but it would help if it worked better.
last night I tried using soft aluminum tape stuck to the heat heat exchanger on the back to give the thing more surface area. It seemed to help.
Tonight I am going to work on a little different method to install the tape and get good thermal conduction.
Here is an article from 3m on using the tape for the inner coil during manufacture

*Â*Maximize Cooling Efficiency of Refrigerators

Here is a demonstration video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx1lAsTnE6Y

I plan to put the tape between the small steel rods that run vertically and are welded to the main coil to make lots of fins to transfer the heat away from the coils. this should dramatically increase the heat transfer on the hot coil.

First I tried just wrapping some aluminum tape over the small wires joining the coils like this



Then I added some tape folded back on itself leaving part of the sticky to attach to the base already installed. It is a little hard to see.



A picture from the top



It looks a little messy, but the idea is to add surface area to help get rid of the heat from the compresor. I don't yet know if it helps, but the compressor is quieter. Doing this a little neater with the added fins would help any refrigerator be more efficient and use less power and keep the insides cooler. Cycle time would be shorter.
Painting it flat black would probably help as well.

[redbarron55]

I sprayed a light coat of flat black paint on the aluminum to help radiate more heat and not I still need to find a way to evaluate the system. It seems to work better.
I think that if I do the same thing on the inside under the freezer compartment it would transfer more heat from the inside to the outside.
Perhaps some aluminum tape "fins" under the freezer over the drip tray?
I have a thermal camera at work and I may borrow it and take some pictures of the heat flow.