12 Volt 17 cubic Ft. RV Refrigerator

[early]

Just wondering if anyone has a 17 cubic ft. 12 volt refrigerator in the RV. We want one and need to know its exact dimensions account its going in a slide out in our kitchen. Have contacted and have received dimensions but they aren't always the exact numbers. Would love to know someone that owns one so we can here what they have to say about them.

[Bob Denman]

Welcome aboard!
Which brand RV 'Fridge are you interested in?
(There could be minor differences...)

[early]

17 cubic ft Everchill 12 volt.

[DavidEM]

Originally Posted by early

17 cubic ft Everchill 12 volt.

I looked at the manual for this unit. It does not give any power specs. The only indication is that it should be connected to a DC source of >= 15 amps. That tells me that it will consume a lot of current. I suspect it has a standard residential 120V AC compressor powered with an internal inverter. That is because it is too big for the typical Danfoss compressor unless it uses two, one for the freezer and one for the fridge.

In any case it will consume a lot of DC. On a typical day I bet at least 100 amp hours.

David

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

I looked at the manual for this unit. It does not give any power specs. The only indication is that it should be connected to a DC source of >= 15 amps. That tells me that it will consume a lot of current. I suspect it has a standard residential 120V AC compressor powered with an internal inverter. That is because it is too big for the typical Danfoss compressor unless it uses two, one for the freezer and one for the fridge.

In any case it will consume a lot of DC. On a typical day I bet at least 100 amp hours.

David

Poster is asking about a 12V RV fridge and not a 120V residential fridge.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by DavidEM

I looked at the manual for this unit. It does not give any power specs. The only indication is that it should be connected to a DC source of >= 15 amps. That tells me that it will consume a lot of current. I suspect it has a standard residential 120V AC compressor powered with an internal inverter. That is because it is too big for the typical Danfoss compressor unless it uses two, one for the freezer and one for the fridge.

In any case it will consume a lot of DC. On a typical day I bet at least 100 amp hours.

David

I thinki that David addressed that...

[16ACE27]

None of these "DC compressors" or Brushless motors actually run on DC. They have either an integral or external controller that takes the DC input and inverts it to a 3 phase AC signal. It may, or may not actually be 120 VAC on the compressor, it doesn't really matter: what matters is the DC current to power the device.

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

None of these "DC compressors" or Brushless motors actually run on DC. They have either an integral or external controller that takes the DC input and inverts it to a 3 phase AC signal. It may, or may not actually be 120 VAC on the compressor, it doesn't really matter: what matters is the DC current to power the device.

David mentioned a spec of it needing better than 15 amps worth of DC power...

[Chance]

“early” seems more interested in dimensions — as in physical size.


Not that electric current usage is a bad thing to have; but it’s very likely it will use less battery capacity than a similar-size 120V powered by an inverter (not that that was the question). Of the ones I’ve looked at specs, Everchill are not the most energy efficient 12V refrigerators according to power ratings, but then they are not the most expensive either.

[DavidEM]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

David mentioned a spec of it needing better than 15 amps worth of DC power...

Well, almost. What I meant to say is that the circuit that supplies DC to the fridge must be capable of supplying 15 amps or better. That implies a fairly high current draw. I would guess about 10 amps.

That would be consistent with what 6 cu ft DC fridges draw.

And further to Chance's post above, I understand that the Danfoss compressor takes DC and produces AC at some variable frequency. Its controller adjusts the frequency to match the load. I have seen the controller drop DC input from 5A to 3A over time as it adjusts the frequency.

David

[BASSMAN]

I just bought an ICECO fridge/freezer, not sure the volume of the one I got, it was the the right size for what I wanted, they have several different models and you can use it as fridge or a freezer or get a unit with two compartments and both compartments can be used for fridge or freezer, its set to run on 12/24 vdc or 120/240 vac and you can leave both cords plugged in at all times an it will switch over on its own, it has a compressor and uses R-134A an has a 5 year warranty on the compressor, mine through Amazon was just over $800.00, I made a trip to the desert 2 weeks ago and it ran the entire time off the 12 vdc and the solar panels kept the batteries charged, it really worked good, my friends bought one a little over a year ago and use theirs just as a freezer in their 5th Wheel, they are full timers and do a lot of fishing so they always have a place for their catch. I was using coolers for additional storage but the ice took up 3/4 of the cooler and after 4 days I was running to buy ice,

[BASSMAN]

I just checked that ICECO fridge/freezer is a 78 qt capacity and it pulls 60-65 watts, its a well built unit, not plastic so its gonna last for a wile