Samsung 17.5 Fridge Data Plate

AllegroD wrote:
Found a Lowes near which had the data plate. Got a pic. Max amps 3.0 if anyone else needs the info.

3A name plate rating is most likely including the auto defrost heaters which typically are around 250W.

You WILL need an inverter size of 1,000W continuous as a minimum.

Most home fridges use the same compressor which typically will be 1A-1.2A running current. The induction motors in the compressors however has a real high startup surge current. That startup surge will be somewhere around 9A-10A at 120V or 960W-1200W at 120V.

Some folks have been successful getting a 800W inverter to work but it IS better in this case to OVERSIZE the inverter to ensure the compressor can start every time.

DON'T GO CHEAP on the inverter, many cheap inverters found in stores typically do not have enough surge capacity in time.

I used a Tripplite PV1250 which is an honest 1250W continuous with a surge capacity of 2500W for an hr and 3,000W surge for 10 minutes. Yeah, it will cost about $290 but it WILL power your fridge and not break a sweat.

PV1250 also has a power save feature which turns the inverter output on when the t stat turns on the compressor and turns the invert off when the t stat is satisfied.. Saves a lot of battery capacity.. I have mine set that the fridge light bulb will trip the inverter on when the door is opened.. Newer fridges are now using LEDs so it might be difficult to get the inverter to see the fridge lights.

And for those naysayers, YES the PV1250 IS a "MSW" inverter, and NO it WILL NOT KILL OR HARM THE FRIDGE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. The PV1250 is an industrial designed inverter and IS built specifically to handle high surge currents of inductive motors.

Go BIG on the 12V wire and keep the 12V wire SHORT AS POSSIBLE.

Voltage drop at 12V is a killer and to minimize the drop you need to use a heavy ga wire and keep the run short.

I used extra flex 1/0 and the total run for pos and neg cables is six feet or about 3 ft away from the battery.

For goodness sake, FUSE the wire going to the inverter, no further than 18" from the battery!!! You will need for the PV1250 a min of 150A-200A fuse..

You will want at a minimum of 210Ahr battery capacity which should allow you to operate the fridge for about 20-24hrs before needing to recharge..

I use a pair of 6V Golfcart batteries which are wired in series to get 12V.

Group 24/27 "RV/marine" batteries are not going to cut it for this application..