[VAC] Re: refrig

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gerald,
 Sunfrost makes refrigerators and freezers with 12VDC compressors.
Norcold *may* make them also, but I'm not sure. I also don't know what
sizes are available. However:

These units use about 5 amps at 12VDC, and run about half the time. That
means about 60 AH/day. If you can install 4 golf cart batteries, you
could operate w/o external power for at least 3 or 4 days and not
over-discharge your battery bank. A small genset, coupled with an
Inteli-Power converter/charger would recharge that bank in a few hours,
so you could go another few days.

You'd need a big trailer, with a lot of roof, to supply that power from
solar panels. It would require approximately 300 watts of panels just
for the power for the fridge; that translates into 4, 75-watt panels of
21" X 48" in size. It is doable, just not real easy.

If you never boondock, a small 115VAC fridge might well be a good
alternative, many folks have done just that. They're cheap, and like
other compressor-type fridges, aren't fussy about being level.

Web sites are at http://www.sunfrost.com and http://www.norcold.com

                                     <<Jim>>