lamont
,va
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keeping food cold;
get some Dry Ice---welding suppliers can get it for you---I live in VA. and I get it from welding supplier in Lynchburg-call them 3-4 days in advance-
some grocery stores carry it---just not around me,
rich in Va.
1998 Bounder 34'
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Viginia
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ARODofBA
Broken Arrow, OK
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T_Bone wrote:I would also line the outside walls, top & bottom with 2" styrofoam, not in the compressor area.
I would advice against this while it's running. Chest and upright freezers almost always have static condenser coils that are wrapped directly behind the metal outside casing. The heat transfers through the casings wall to the outside air. That is why the sides of these units are usually warm when they're running.
* This post was
edited 10/28/09 10:42pm by ARODofBA *
ME '78, Wife '80 & Weiner Dog '99
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Oldtymeflyr
Littleton, CO
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Joined: 04/18/2004
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You could try insulating the inside of the freezer.
The problem with any electrically run refrigeration unit is that they take a lot of electrical power, no way around it. Even the most efficient ones will take a big chunk out of most battery banks.
From my experience with boats you should consider a larger battery bank and go with solar. I am convinced that solar is a good way to go for a boondocking RV.
Why run a generator just to keep a freezer going? You will become a slave for that freezer. Get rid of you noisy generator and go solar.
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Oldtymeflyr
Littleton, CO
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T_Bone said: Quote:buy a solar 130w PV, about $257
This is a pretty good price, where is this available?
Rick
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T_Bone
Arizona
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Joined: 09/20/2001
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ARODofBA wrote:T_Bone wrote:I would also line the outside walls, top & bottom with 2" styrofoam, not in the compressor area.
I would advice against this while it's running. Chest and upright freezers almost always have static condenser coils that are wrapped directly behind the metal outside casing. The heat transfers through the casings wall to the outside air. That is why the sides of these units are usually warm when they're running.
Thanks but I wouldn't know anything about that 
T_Bone<---45yrs ASHREA HVAC&R Design Engineer, Indoor Air Quality Engineer, Energy Management Engineer, AWS-CWI, Retired, Ranked in the top 60 of 150,000 of my peers, designing & troubleshooting multi-million dollar control systems.
T_Bone
02 F350, 4x6, CC, DRW, PSD, 6spd, 3:73
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Please do not trust everything you read on the internet. Use only valid engineering information from well established Companys.
Buy UNION Work UNION
It pays off in the long run !
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T_Bone
Arizona
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Oldtymeflyr wrote:T_Bone said: Quote:buy a solar 130w PV, about $257
This is a pretty good price, where is this available?
Rick
Hi Rick,
That would be sunelec.com. I've never used them so your on your own
T_Bone
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smkettner
Southern California
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I would get a sine wave inverter and some additional battery. Recharge as needed.
2001 F150 SuperCrew
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atreis
Yellow Springs, OH
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Normally, I'm a big advocate of solar on RVs, but not for the purpose of running a freezer... Anything with a compressor takes too much power in typical commercial models and won't be cost-effective. Keep in mind that the sun only shines when it's shining. You'd be running off batteries the rest of the time, so would need sufficient solar capacity to charge those batteries and sufficient battery capacity to run the freezer during the dark/cloudy periods.
There are extremely energy efficient freezers that run straight off DC (so you don't lost energy to conversion) available that are designed specifically to be run off solar panels - used primarily for the transport of medication in rural/3rd world areas - but they're very expensive.
Google: sundanzer freezer
or: sunfrost freezer
They also have highly efficient (and just as expensive) home models that run off 110 for those that are off-grid.
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bananadanna
Cambridge, MA
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I have one of those expensive Engel fridge/freezers. It holds 65 qt (about 2/3 of yours) and consumes 18w/hr average as a fridge. That's almost half a battery per day. Freezer mode is almost triple the use. So a good guess is that your proposed use would require 2 kw-hrs a day in 70 degree weather.
If you're running a gen set once a day you'd need to allocate two batteries to freezer use alone if you depleted them to the half-power point. Maybe need a second charge cycle during the hottest weather.
Buy yourself a Kill-a-watt meter and plug it into your freezer under typical or worst case conditions and you'll see better what battery bank you'll need.
Extra insulation is probably the most cost effective thing you could do.
Solar is actually well-matched to the freezer since the day is hotter and you'll rarely open the freezer at night. Worthwhile for full-timers in the southern desert. But I don't think it'd pay off since you already have lots of sunk costs in the gennies.
Dan
02 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 long tall home brew conversion
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everymilesamemory
Everywhere Around the United States
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We have 3 100 watt solar panels and a 2000 watt inverter and can run our 10cubic foot Norcold off the solar panels during the daytime. We only have to run it off the propane at night as long its been sunny all day long
Every Miles A Memory
Photo's of our Travels
When we realize our insignificance in this world,
it some how relieves the pressures from society to succeed
- Cindy Bonish
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