ouR escaPOD mods

Originally posted by offgrid That works out to 30 amphours per day for a 20C delta T (25 ambient vs 5 in the fridge). Sounds about right. For a hot conditions 40C delta T (40C vs 0 in the fridge/freezer) that would double to 60 amphours, assuming the COP of the compressor stays the same. But it doesn't. It drops to about 1.5 from 2.0. So now we're at about 80 amphours per day (2/1.5*60). And we're still not opening the fridge door or taki g things in and out. Reality is almost never what the specs say. It's a lot like the fully loaded trailer weight vs the manufacturer's empty weight specs.

Not sure what was wrong with your previous measurement but you can use the clamp on ammeter.

Let the fridge stabilize, then measure the current. Then use the ammeter to get duty cycle with a stop watch. On time/(on+off time) = duty cycle.

Multiply the duty cycle by the current and then by 24. That is the daily amp hours.

You'll need to capture a couple of cycles to be sure that the duty cycle isn't changing and the fridge has stabilized.

Works fine, done it many times.

I think the thing that folks are missing is that unlike an absorption fridge which always uses pretty much the same amount of energy a compressor fridge is more like owning a car.

Two people own the same car, but one uses 100 gallons of fuel a month and the other uses 10. Why? The one using 100 gallons drives like a demon, has a long commute, and tows a trailer. The one using 10 gallons is retired, drives like a little old lady, and only uses the car to go to the store a couple times a month. No one would ever say that any two ppl will burn the same amount of fuel just because they own the same car.

Ditto for the compressor fridge. There are way too many variables (ambient temp, internal temp setting, what you're putting in and taking out, how often and how long you leave the door open, etc) to say "if you get xx fridge you can power it with yy solar array and zz batteries.

Sorry that it's not that simple but that is the way with most things in life. It's really the same reason some folks here are perfectly happy with their absorption fridges while other ppl think they're junk.

Sounds like a good plan. If you look at the high end "expedition" rigs they all seem to be going fully electric now, with large Li battery packs, solar arrays, and high capacity alternators.

The other thing you could consider is to keep your existing battery and add another one with a marine style rotary switch (bat 1, batt 2, both and off) so you have full control over your electrical storage system