Nova Kool refrigerator
Anyone here have a Nova Kool fridge? I need to hear about dry camping with one. Surely, there are many variables, such as ambient temperature, battery bank, etc., and I know that a 4.3 cu ft. Nova K...
Forum Discussion
NovaKool uses the danfoss/Secop compressors. The compressor speed is variable with these and compressor amperage consumption will depend on what the compressor speed is set to, anywhere from ~2.2 amps at 2000 rpm to ~5 amps at 3500 rpm for the bd35f compressor.
I have an~ 2 cubic foot Vitrifrigo with the danfoss/secop. It came with a 277 ohm resistor in the thermostat circuit to increase compressor speed to 2500.
I removed it to run at 2000 rpm.
I have added extra insulation, and my condenser has no chance to recycle preheated air which is where the biggest inefficiencies lie in my opinion
Mine runs about a 20% duty cycle in 70f. When the compressor first kicks on it draws~ 3 amps and this tapers down to about 2.2 amps by the time the compressor kicks off 4 to 6 minutes later.
IIRC, NovaKool uses a passive condenser. No fans forcing air over the compressor or condenser. Making sure the condenser can transfer heat to a larger space via adequate ventilation will make or break the duty cycle. If the condenser if forced to stew in its own heated airspace, well it is like a car radiator with a piece of cardboard in front of most of it.
So Installation is just as important as the manufacturer of the unit.
Also the number of times the door is opened, how long it is left open, and how much warm things are placed within will have huge effects on battery consumption, so there is no real answer to your question.
Best thing you can do is add extra insulation where you can, make sure the condenser can breathe easily, and educate users of the fridge so that the door is not opened more often than needed or for longer than needed. The latter is very hard to impress on a huge segment of the population.
I have an~ 2 cubic foot Vitrifrigo with the danfoss/secop. It came with a 277 ohm resistor in the thermostat circuit to increase compressor speed to 2500.
I removed it to run at 2000 rpm.
I have added extra insulation, and my condenser has no chance to recycle preheated air which is where the biggest inefficiencies lie in my opinion
Mine runs about a 20% duty cycle in 70f. When the compressor first kicks on it draws~ 3 amps and this tapers down to about 2.2 amps by the time the compressor kicks off 4 to 6 minutes later.
IIRC, NovaKool uses a passive condenser. No fans forcing air over the compressor or condenser. Making sure the condenser can transfer heat to a larger space via adequate ventilation will make or break the duty cycle. If the condenser if forced to stew in its own heated airspace, well it is like a car radiator with a piece of cardboard in front of most of it.
So Installation is just as important as the manufacturer of the unit.
Also the number of times the door is opened, how long it is left open, and how much warm things are placed within will have huge effects on battery consumption, so there is no real answer to your question.
Best thing you can do is add extra insulation where you can, make sure the condenser can breathe easily, and educate users of the fridge so that the door is not opened more often than needed or for longer than needed. The latter is very hard to impress on a huge segment of the population.
