Using a Household Fridge

[Rover All Over]

Is it possible to use a household fridge in the motorhome?

If so what sort and what to power it with as in solar panels/inverter type stuff.

You can tell this is Cheryl asking can't you I'm sure Alan would make a better go of this men type stuff, but he's asleep on the lounge, and I thought of it so I'm asking it

[madiesmum]

my bus had a household fridge in it run off on inverter. dont know how well it would have operated or how much power it really took from batteries cause before i could do all the tests it came off its attackments and fell over - i got rid of it quick smart.

yes they are cheaper to buy in the first place and like any other fridge make sure its attached properly. thats all i can say on that from me.

[homeless]

I am a naughty boy.

I run a 260 Ltr LG in my bus

I could not afford a 12v one and besides my bus is 24v anyhow.

Regards
Brian

[Rover All Over]

Thanks for the replies

So Brian, how is your fridge attached so that it doesn't fall over, and how is it powered or at least what do you plug it into? Our bus is 24v also.

Ann-marie what sort of fridge did you replace you household one with? Gosh I hope you were not driving when it fell over, what a shock that would have been.

[madiesmum]

Thanks for the replies

So Brian, how is your fridge attached so that it doesn't fall over, and how is it powered or at least what do you plug it into? Our bus is 24v also.

Ann-marie what sort of fridge did you replace you household one with? Gosh I hope you were not driving when it fell over, what a shock that would have been.

i replaced it with a small 110lt 12/24vlt one. my mechanic was bringing it home from its safety inspection when it happened. thank goodness it wasnt while i was driving. it was secured badly but then again most things done in the bus were done badly when i got it lol. so many problems - taken some time to sort them out. think i have all the bugs out now lol.

[madiesmum]

before - fridge in the fore ground left side

madie 001_640x480.jpg

after now with microwave and pantry above

new baby 006_640x480.jpg

right hand side cupboards are no more - now a couch.

madie and bus 005_640x480.jpg

[T1 Terry]

We plan to use one of our Fisher & Paykel 250ltr 2 dr fridge freezers in the big bus. There are 2 of them in our back patio that have run off batteries and solar for around 5yrs now I think. The older one was running on a modified sine wave 600w Jaycar inverter for a bout 3 yrs till one day the alligator clips finally lost their tension causing a poor connection. No idea how long the poor inverter was cycling on and off, as soon as the load hit the poor connection would cause the voltage drop and the inverter shut down, it finally killed the inverter. Then I put it on a 1000w pure sine wave inverter, it was much happier with that, less motor noises and it didn't get as hot. A few yrs later while I was servicing the batteries and the fridge was on the mains a voltage spike fried the motor. It was a CT250E model, we had another motor fitted under insurance but in between times we bought another Fisher & Paykel E249T for $200 on evil bay. What a gem of a fridge, cyclic defrost fridge section, frost free freezer, i was expecting it to be an energy hog, it used about 2/3rd of what the old fridge did... but we were already committed to repair it so now we have 2. The pick is the E249T, a great fridge, cheap as chips and uses less battery capacity than a Waeco 210ltr 12v fridge, 68Ah per 24hrs in winter and a max of 100Ah in the very peak of summer, I expect it will use less when in the bus as it will have a spot to fit in so the sun doesn't shine on it for hrs. I run the 2 fridges from one 1000w pure sinewave Jay car inverter with no hassles at all, I do use lithium batteries now but the same 720Ah capacity as the AGM Yuasa batteries they replaced. The difference is instead of being able to run the two fridges in the long sun days of summer but having to run one fridge and supplement it after a 3 days of rain with a mains charger, i now run bother fridges, a 500Ltr Fisher & Paykel inside the house, the solar hot water control and pump system, the patio lights and a charger for an AGM battery in the big bus to keep the lights running 24/7, stops the birds from nesting.

So there is no logical reason to pay way too much for a 12v fridge, a late model 240vac house fridge will do a better job for the same amount of energy use from the batteries. No annoying evaporator cols on the back that fill with dust, they do their heat exchange through the walls of the cabinet.

Margaret informs me it’s about 8 yrs we have had the first 250ltr fridge and 3 yrs with this newer one.

T1 Terry

[BruceS]

Terry I read somewhere else (I think it was 4X4 forum) where they suggested that the only 240V domestic fridge/freezer that they considered suitable for being installed/used in a mobile installation was the Fisher Paykel as their compressors have better mountings INSIDE the compressor housing. (guts doesn't float around & stuff itself)
I'm glad that you also are recommending the F&P ones.
I recently did some tests on costs to run a 240V mini-fridge using various methods of supplying power to it.
Direct 240V
240V through an inverter. (from 12V)
There was almost no difference in A/Hr between the two. It seems the overhead wastage in more modern inverters is very minimal.

[T1 Terry]

Brian has an LG (I think it is) in his Hino, fitted by the previous owner. It is powered from his 2500w inverter/charger and works fine. He only has 720w of solar on the roof and that is enough in summer to power his bus full electric and run the hot water service as a dump load for the excess solar, sometimes to boiling point and the thermostat shuts it off. That poor hino was treated so rough by the previous owner all the body mounts to the chassis were cracked and broken. he lived at the end of a very rough road, the last km or so wasn't even good enough to call a dirt track, closer to 4 x 4 access point. The guy drove like a maniac, the torsion bar bushes were destroyed when we replaced it, yet the fridge still works fine. In a rock hopper 4 x 4 any fridge is going to do it tough but I think the fridges built these days are very tough and well constructed.
The new ones using propane and a propane/butane mix as a refrigerant use even less power, I would love to get one of those and put it through it's paces to see just how much power they use from a 12v battery. Judging by the Aust standards tests and star rating it appears they would use a lot less than an equivelant 12v fridge but still have auto defrost etc.

T1 Terry

[homeless]

Hi I think Terry answered the question of how much power etc.

My Bus came with the 240v fridge etc so we decided to use it to test the batteries.

If you were starting from scratch the difference between the 12v and the 240v fridge will pay for good batteries.

If you need a replacement then you can get a fridge in any small town retailer, where with the 12v one you need to be in a large city and then perhaps wait for one to come in.

As far as what holds it there DONT KNOW a prayer if I can go by some of the other things I have found.

My fridge is very old by the looks of it and I have considered replacing it and at the cost of under $500 it is not a big issue and I can do it when the need arises. I was going to do a test for Westinghouse but they stopped production in Australia for all fridges under 320 ltr. All made overseas now.

I have gone from a small (i think about 120ltr) to the large 260 ltr and have now decided I don't need the engel so it is to go. Terry, cant tell you the rubbish bin it will be on

I have no gas, though I do have a single burner camping stove (the canister type) just in case for the winter time but I still think I wont need it.

If you are doing a new build or major reconstruction then email or PM Terry and he can fill you in, but I can assure you will be surprised what you can do, and none of our users have expressed any disappointment, just how can I use all this power.

This is only a few of the things I now do every day whilst I bush camp.

Regards
Brian