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 fatboy
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| posted on September 22nd, 2003 at 11:32 AM |
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Fridge Power Consumption
I have got hold of a 2 way fridge (Quite Old) and runs on 240volt / Gas - it works fine.
It is marked as 125 watt and I am planning on running it through an inverter (300 Watt) as I am not keen on running it on gas whilst driving.
Will this inverter be good enough ?
I am planning on installing a dual battery system using the Jaycar kit. Will this setup be OK as far as recharging the batterys go ? (It will be in a
72 Bay)
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KruizinKombi
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| posted on September 22nd, 2003 at 11:37 AM |
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Steve, is it a static type or does it have a motor in it?
Chances are that it is static and 125W will be the maximum current draw, so you'll be fine with a 300W inverter.
Some fridges (like household ones) run a compressor which will draw more than the nominal power when the motor starts up, but even so, a 300W inverter
should cope with a 125W fridge.
The Jaycar dual battery unit has a power handling capacity of 100A, so it should easily cope with the 55A kombi alternator.
Ps. I thought yours was a 74....?
Kruizin Kol
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fatboy
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| posted on September 22nd, 2003 at 11:46 AM |
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I Dont think it has a compressor (But how would I tell ?) It runs silently if that helps ?
When I swapped the speedo it was date 12/72 so I'm going on that but as always with me ??????
I have got the formula to calculate the power consumption here somewhere but cant find atm, but what confuses me is that it is Watts/volts (Or visa
versa) = amps per hours but when going through an inverter does that equate to 12 volt or 240 volt ?
[Edited on 22-9-2003 by fatboy]
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fatboy
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| posted on September 22nd, 2003 at 09:09 PM |
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ne1 ?
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Purple Martin
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 08:51 AM |
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Your fridge doesn't have a compressor, it uses heated ammonia to power it. I know this because you say it runs on 240V and gas.
Look at the back of the fridge. On the right as you look at it there's a thick vertical tube thing: that's the flue. It's got the gas
burner at the bottom and a hole at the top for the gas fumes to come out. Basically, the inside of the fridge gets cold when the flue is made hot
(don't ask how, it's way complicated).
Now notice that part-way up the flue the mains wire goes into the flue: the mains wire is connected to a heating element inside the flue, which is how
the flue gets hot using mains power instead of gas.
Now look more closely, you'll see that right next to where the mains wire goes into the flue is a gap where another wire could go in: this is
where a 12V wire an heating element can be added. This is great news for you: you can wire it up so it can run on 12V from the alternator while
you're driving. There won't be any need for an inverter when it's running on 12V.
When you wire it up for 12V, use a relay so that 12V power only goes to the fridge when the engine is running or it'll flatten your battery
quickly when the engine is off. Make sure you use thick high-current wire, and include an inline fuse to prevent the wire overheating if a
short-circuit happens.
[Edited on 22-9-2003 by Purple Martin]
1959 red & white Beetle
1975 Kombi camper
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fatboy
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 12:43 PM |
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Ah hah ! That would be the whole mysteriousley marked 12v ! just below the one marked 240volt with the wire going in.
Your a hero thanks.:thumb
Now my next question is where will I find a heating element ?
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Purple Martin
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 01:22 PM |
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Good question! I'm planning on doing the same job as you but I haven't got around to it yet.
I'm hoping that when I take the cover bit off the flue on my fridge I'll find that there's already a 12V element in there and all
I'll have to do is connect a couple of wires. Or maybe it uses the same element for both 12V and 240V but just has different connections. I
don't know - like I said I haven't looked at it yet.
Have a look in yours, and post a description of what you find here!
1959 red & white Beetle
1975 Kombi camper
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fatboy
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 02:37 PM |
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The wires go to the heating element which is a solid bar in an "L" shape the sits in one of to pipes very snuggly obviousley the other pipe
is meant for the 12volt heater here are a couple of picks
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fatboy
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 02:38 PM |
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and
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fatboy
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 02:39 PM |
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If ne1 can sya where to look for one of these in 12volt I would be eternally grateful
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Purple Martin
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 03:57 PM |
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As would I.
Thanks for the pics :thumb
[Edited on 23-9-2003 by Purple Martin]
1959 red & white Beetle
1975 Kombi camper
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mnsKmobi
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 04:25 PM |
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You probably won't miss much if you don't end up with the 12v element. It is only for keeping an already cold fridge cool. It is totally
woeful for cooling a fridge that is at ambient temperature. Your best bet is to turn up the fridge to max for a couple of hours before you go
anywhere. Also having those freezer block things in the freezer will help keep it cool for longer.
I apply the same principle (turning it up for a couple of hours) for keeping the fridge cool overnight when I'm running it on gas as I don't
like the idea of that flame going while I'm sleeping in there with it.
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79camper
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 04:25 PM |
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I'm having fridge rpoblems too.. or haven't really looked at yet... when i plug in the 24ov.. there is no noise at all... is that normal
(from the sounds of things.. it may well be).. I haven't left it on long enough to find out.. just tried it once (haven't had the van that
long) and as i herad no noise.. just added to the list of things to be done...
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 Bizarre
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 05:01 PM |
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I do large scale air conditioning and use the following places. They have made several "specials" for us in the past and i am sure the could
as well.
try places like
IEH 9519 7845
General Elements 9979 6020
Thermal Electric Elements 1800 025 287
Anyway ... see how you go with those places. I will try and track down some more
Futue te ipsum!!!
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helterskelter400
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 05:24 PM |
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bros kombi fridge was hopeless on 12v.
got icey on 240v but put the electriccy bill up $30 over 1 month. ouch.
he's got a waeco now & all is good.
:thumb
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Purple Martin
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| posted on September 23rd, 2003 at 05:28 PM |
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| Quote: | Originally
posted by 79camper
I'm having fridge rpoblems too.. or haven't really looked at yet... when i plug in the 24ov.. there is no noise at all... is that normal
(from the sounds of things.. it may well be).. I haven't left it on long enough to find out.. just tried it once (haven't had the van that
long) and as i herad no noise.. just added to the list of things to be done...
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That's perfectly normal! These fridges have no moving parts at all: there's no motor or compressor to make any noise. Plug it in, turn it
up to max, and leave it overnight. By morning it'll be nice and icy ready for a road trip.
1959 red & white Beetle
1975 Kombi camper
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KruizinKombi
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| posted on September 26th, 2003 at 06:09 PM |
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Steve, power consumption is Volts x Amps x Hours, but is probably rated as VA/hr or Watts per hour.
I'm guessing that the power consumption is for 240 Volts, only because these fridges don't work as well on 12V (as others have stated, and
mine is no different). I assume that this is because the resistance in the heating element is too high to achieve full power on 12V, but works fine on
240V. Hence, only 240V will give full power.
It may be possible for you to convert it to run on 12V as well as 240V and gas, but why bother? As everyone has already pointed out, it won't be
very effective on 12V, but works fine on 240V. Why not just use your invertor to run it on 240V at all times?
Ps. Have you checked out the Jaycar "Smart Dual 12V Battery Isolator Kit
For 4WDers" yet?
Kruizin Kol
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