Thank you for the information. I have read several of your posts bemoaning the excessive power draw of absorption fridges. I was just curious about your experience with same. Sorry to be off topic.
Total Noob wants to run a mini fridge
- Thread starter DIY_And_Artsy_Guy
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robstrom
New Member
I'm in Canada, so everything is more expensive.
Dorm fridges ( about 3 cu ft) are cheap, n easily replaced.
12V compressor/ absorption fridges are expensive.
I bought a 4.5 cu ft AC fridge/ freezer from Home Depot for $248.
It's disposable.
The others in that size at least $1500.
Spent the difference on the solar side.
Just my .02 CDN (.0135 U.S) heh.
Dorm fridges ( about 3 cu ft) are cheap, n easily replaced.
12V compressor/ absorption fridges are expensive.
I bought a 4.5 cu ft AC fridge/ freezer from Home Depot for $248.
It's disposable.
The others in that size at least $1500.
Spent the difference on the solar side.
Just my .02 CDN (.0135 U.S) heh.
Rednecktek
Solar Wizard
A dorm fridge + inverter is always going to be cheaper than an efficient 12v fridge, especially for the capacity. Plus, if the fridge dies it's easy enough to hit a WallyWorld or Home Despot and grab a replacement off the shelf today rather than waiting a week for another to come in the mail.
Doggydogworld
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At really small sizes, e.g. 0.5-2.0 cu ft., 12V compressor fridges can be as cheap and less hassle than 120V + inverter. Some are like portable ice chests, but a few aimed at truckers and such look like the 1.7 cu ft "cube" dorm fridges.
Amen. Sometimes, the simplest possible solution is the right solution.
a small ecoflow of bluetti + 100 watt panel is way easier to deal with than a battery + inverter + charge controller. And actually cheaper. And small DC compressor "cooler" style fridges have advanced lots in the last 5 years. You can get them dual zone fridge/freezer and even with an ice maker, if desired.
I dunno. Have you had a look on amazon lately? I don't see that much of a price difference between a dorm fridge and a small 12v compressor fridge. A little, but not that much.
Rednecktek
Solar Wizard
Yup, the cheapest DC fridhe is 23qt (0.78cu ft) for more than double what I spent last week on a 1.7 cu ft fridge...
CaliSunHarvester
Solar Enthusiast
I bought one of these for about $30, I use it in my ummm... special apartment which is DC wired. It runs on 12V and really works. Takes a few hours but cans of coke will be really cold. IIRC it took 2 hours to drop the temperature inside the unit by 25F (room temperature: 65F, inside fridge: 40F).
It pulls 40W.
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Rednecktek
Solar Wizard
Too bad it's only 0.2 cu ft. Still not bad for $30. The 1.7 cu ft I bought thursday was only $70. Add in $60 for a 300w Giandel pure sine and still much cheaper.
CaliSunHarvester
Solar Enthusiast
I bought it to store medicine. Not for food.
Maybe so, but you can most likely make up the small difference by simply buying a cheap power station (~$100) and 100 watt panel (~$60). Then you avoid the hassle of cobbling together an inverter, charge controller, battery, and ac charger and sourcing a box to mount it all in neatly. Any difference in price is lost in the convenience gained. It's really not worth niggling with on such a small problem.
Rednecktek
Solar Wizard
Aaahhh, yeah that makes a difference.
Doggydogworld
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That one probably uses Peltier cooling instead of a compressor. They're very cheap, but inefficient. Efficiency matters less with such a tiny cooler, though. Especially these days with cheap/free panels.
CaliSunHarvester
Solar Enthusiast
Yes Peltier, as with the flip of a switch, it goes from cooling to heating.
My 2 cents. I was running a 10 yr old mini fridge in our cabin last summer off an ecoflow river 2 and it used a lot of power, 8-900wh daily. Once we got a more permanent system up, we bought a basic 18 cu ft top freezer fridge from the big box store. It barely uses more electricity than that tiny fridge that was nearly useless as a fridge anyway. Skip the toys, it costs very little more to run a full size fridge, although admittedly it cost a bit more than 30 bucks.
S Davis
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I have run a ARB 50qt for three years in my work truck, it has worked well but I am tired of it taking up floor space so decided to replace it. I found two 12-24volt compressor refrigerators for less than the cost of one. I don’t have them het so we will see how it goes, I have trade assurance on the order.
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I recently moved 4 refrigerators I've owned from family to family like musical chairs. I now use a mini fridge bought 10 years ago which I will give to another family without one when I leave in 3 weeks. It's connected to the Kill-A-Watt since getting it, because why not? It now reads 7.33 KwH over 327 hours for an average 22w per hour, about 530 watts per day. Not great, but not bad and compared to the exorbitant pricing of a 12v of the same size, 3.5 Cu.Ft. it is a decent choice.
That said, a new mini fridge I used when I bought a Delta 2 showed 66w when running and pass through of 77w. So 600w daily with inverter loss.
I been looking all over….. in canadian dollar, a cheap 12v compressor fridges 1.7cu cant be found for less then 500$. That is about as cheap as it gets. I m not sure how good that cheap 500@ fridge is. I live right on the border and checked the us market and it s the same ballpark.
The same 1.7cu fridge in 120v can be had for 30-40$ used or 99$ new and you get a top of the line Victron phoenix 500w (200$) inverter and you got yourself a set up for half of the cost of 12v.
120V plus quality inverter is the cheapest option. It will burn a few more watts but the difference is very small. And if something goes wrong..you just get another cheap fridge. At 40$… it s disposable.
Doggydogworld
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This Recpro is $209 US. I think some others cost less, but not going to look.
RV Refrigerator 1.7 Cubic Feet 12V Stainless Steel
Upgrade your RV or camper with the RecPro 12V refrigerator. With a spacious 1.7 Cu. ft capacity, adjustable temperature control, and a stainless steel finish that adds a sleek look.
www.recpro.com
That is amazing! I look everywhere in canada and there is nothing that come close to this. That said, this one as no review and i cant find any online review of people using those. But yep….. at that price, if it work reliably, it s a simple solution!This Recpro is $209 US. I think some others cost less, but not going to look.
RV Refrigerator 1.7 Cubic Feet 12V Stainless Steel
Upgrade your RV or camper with the RecPro 12V refrigerator. With a spacious 1.7 Cu. ft capacity, adjustable temperature control, and a stainless steel finish that adds a sleek look.
