Hi everyone,I have a 3 way Dometic Americana 4.3cu.ft. refrigerator, with a small freezer section inside, as of now it's installed in its place but not hooked up yet.I'm looking into installing at least one 300w solar panel, maybe 2 (600w total)I heard that my 3 way is not a very good option for solar, so I looked into getting a power efficient 12v refrigerator that would work with solar.I'm not sure if I really need a freezer? I don't eat meat (please don't judge me)I really like the 12v refrigerator shaped like a cooler (top open) because they don't loose all the cold every time you open the door. My cabinets are already done so I wanted a 12v freezer that would fit.I found this model from Whynter (FM-951GW) 95quarts/3.2cu.ft. 70watts running power, but I havent found much info on it (nothing on this forum).What do you guys think? any other models would fit?https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WO43IMW/ref=asc_df_B00WO43IMW5435728?tag=cnet-us-genius-20&smid=A3K90JHFOGRITA&linkCode=df0&creative=395105&creativeASIN=B00WO43IMW&ascsubtag=f1ccd160-3dbf-11e8-a943-85496de1b7a6https://www.whynter.com/product/whynter-95-quart-portable-wheeled-freezer-door-alert-12v-option-gray/#prettyPhotohttps://www.whynter.com/wp-content/uploads/FM-951-Comsumption-Chart-2018.pdf

Nothing will beat the efficiency of a fridge running on propane.

A 300 watt solar panel? What are the dimensions? You must have lots of roof real estate.X2, Pauldub.

pauldub wrote:Nothing will beat the efficiency of a fridge running on propane.True....But like my whynter 86 quart......its portable, it runs on 120v, 12v, 24v, auto switches over.It cools down to freezing in 30 minutes not 7 hours.You set the exact temp , digital.Chest means less cold loss when open.

It looks deep. If you use it as a refrigerator the items you want will always be on the bottom of the fridge, so you will have to remove all the items piled on top of the desired item, and then replace them all.With a regular fridge, everything is on shelves, so easy to see what there is. And there is no danger of your fruit and veggies being squashed and flattened on the bottom.I like having a freezer, so we can carry frozen meats, but also bread, ice cream, ice cubes, and other frozen treats. Freezer may not come into play for weekends, but if you do a week or month long trip, then it may be nice to have the option.If you add solar , don't forget to add enough battery storage to get through the night as well, unless you will always have 120v to keep things cold.

pauldub wrote:Nothing will beat the efficiency of a fridge running on propane.Do you know by any chance how much propane would my 4.3cu.ft. fridge use, let say in a week of boondocking?

Whynter 12v refrigerator vs 3 way refrigerator | Good Sam Community

landyacht318
Explorer
Apr 12, 2018
The 12v compressor fridges can be made even more efficient with extra insulation and insuring the coolest possible air is pushed/pulled through the condenser.

Last time I put my wattgemter inline on my vitrifrigo c51is powercord for 3 days with 75F ambient days and mid 60's at night it consumed 0.62Ah each hour on average as I normally use it.

Whats great about compressor fridges with Danfoss/secop compressors is not only is the compressor RPM variable, from 2000 to 3500 rpm, but it can power upto 0.5 amps worth of computer fans(1 amp 5 second surge) that come on with the compressor. Makes it easy to add another fan to assist the internal fan.

Evacuating the generated heat reduces duty cycle, and also reduces the compressor temperature and the conpressor contoller temperature, increasing their lifespan and reliability.
mockturtle
Explorer II
Apr 12, 2018
I have a 4.3 cu ft NovaKool refrigerator in my Tiger and run it off two 6V batteries per 200W solar. It even has a small freezer. It is very efficient, is less vulnerable to ambient temperature changes and, as has been observed, doesn't require leveling. Admittedly, this was the one item in the Tiger I had been most concerned about, having always had propane refrigerators in my RVs. But the concerns were needless and I would never go back. If I needed a bigger refrigerator, that might require more solar.
jplante4
Explorer II
Apr 12, 2018
Dometic has a 12 VDC / 120 VAC compressor drop in replacement for the Americana. Just came out. Draws about 8 amps DC. We hooked one up to a new group 27 marine/rv battery and it ran for 40 hours before drawing the battery down to 50 percent SOC.

Click
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Apr 12, 2018
Ok A standard RV Absorption Cooling Unirt (Fridge) Draws agbour 350 watts on A/C. or around 200 on DC, that's about 20 amps The fuse is 25 amps as I recall) so that's going to take ALL your solar power

Dometic & NOrcold (And others) make a Compressor unit using a high effiency compressor.. I have an "other" 45-40 watts running. Nuff said.
SoundGuy
Explorer
Apr 12, 2018
DrewE wrote:
I would guess maybe you could get a month from a 20 lb bottle under decent conditions, but that's just a guess.

A small 1.7 cu ft gas absorption fridge with a burner flame that runs 24/7 will be rated at ~ 625 BTU/hr, which in turn means a 20 lb tank would keep that fridge running for about a month. Logically a larger capacity fridge such as the OP's 4.3 cu ft fridge would consume gas at a much greater ... that being the case a 20 lb tank would run dry much sooner.
time2roll
Nomad
Apr 12, 2018
Go with 600 watts solar.
landyacht318
Explorer
Apr 12, 2018
Benefits of a 12v compressor fridge over a 3 wat absorption fridge:

Can operate off level safely without cumulatively damaging it.
Quick cool down.
Ability to maintain safe temps in hot ambient temps
2 cubic feet of 12v compressor fridge consumes about 1Ah each hour in 75F ambient.

In sunny environemt, can get aay with 60 to 80 solar watts dedicated to the fridge, and buy propane only for cooking.

Detrations, the compreesor makes noise.
12v compressor fridges usually come with horrible ciggy plug connectors and these will at some point fail and will likely destroy some food in the process.

Price compared to household/residential 'dorm' fridges.

If you have lots of solar, you do not need an absorption fridge, nor have to go through the process of refilling propane and relighting fridge, and not knowing when or where you will run out of propane.
DrewE
Explorer II
Apr 12, 2018
evy wrote:
pauldub wrote:
Nothing will beat the efficiency of a fridge running on propane.

Do you know by any chance how much propane would my 4.3cu.ft. fridge use, let say in a week of boondocking?

A reasonable rough guide for an RV fridge is about a pound of propane a day, of course varying a good bit based on the conditions (more if it's a hot climate) and the size and quality of the fridge installation (somewhat more for larger fridges). I would guess maybe you could get a month from a 20 lb bottle under decent conditions, but that's just a guess.
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Apr 11, 2018
Soundguy is a math/engineer guy. I’m a estimate guy. But we agree!
SoundGuy
Explorer
Apr 11, 2018
pauldub wrote:
Nothing will beat the efficiency of a fridge running on propane.

evy wrote:
Do you know by any chance how much propane would my 4.3cu.ft. fridge use, let say in a week of boondocking?

A small 1.7 to 1.9 cu ft manual light fridge like a Norcold 323 consumes ~ 625 BTU/Hr so it's seems reasonable that a fridge twice that size would consume twice as much gas, somewhat less if it's a DSI fridge that only runs the burner as necessary. Since yours is a 4.3 cu ft let's call it 1500 BTU/Hr x 24 hrs = 36,000 BTU/Day x 7 days = 252,000 BTU/Week. A 20 lb tank of propane is worth ~ 431,000 BTU, which is sufficient to run that fridge nearly 2 weeks, longer if it's a DSI fridge that doesn't run the burner 24/7.