refrigerators
Paul Fredricks
We have a pop up with 2 small refrigerators. I am thinking about
hooking them up so they will operate when we are towing. Does anyone
know if there's a problem running them with the pop up closed for
extended periods of time? (12-24 hours)
I'm trying to figure out what I need electricly. I figure an
inverter for the 120v, a battery to run the inverter, an automatic
change over for when we plug into power, and some sort of a batery
isolator with a 10ga wire running from the altenator. Does this sound
like the way to go? Is there an easier way? Should I pack extra ice in
the cooler and move the food around when we get to the campground?
Any help would be appreciated.
Paul Fredricks
Vigilance Committee
Paul Fredricks wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> We have a pop up with 2 small refrigerators. I am thinking about
> hooking them up so they will operate when we are towing. Does anyone
> know if there's a problem running them with the pop up closed for
> extended periods of time? (12-24 hours)
We're talking compressor type refrigerators here? You'll have to make
sure air can circulate around the cooling coils, otherwise I see no
problem. We keep a 4.8 cu ft freezer (110V) in the washer-dryer closet.
>
> I'm trying to figure out what I need electricly. I figure an
> inverter for the 120v, a battery to run the inverter, an automatic
> change over for when we plug into power, and some sort of a batery
> isolator with a 10ga wire running from the altenator. Does this sound
> like the way to go? Is there an easier way? Should I pack extra ice in
> the cooler and move the food around when we get to the campground?
>
> Any help would be appreciated.
>
> Paul Fredricks
Add up the amps the two refrigerators use. What are the starting amps?
I wouldn't have them both kicking in at once.
Allow some margin when choosing an inverter. Get a large enough battery
or two 6-volt golf cart batteries in series. I would put a separate
ammeter on the charging line so you can see the rate of
charge/discharge.
LZ
mo_drew@yahoo.com Mo
Start adding up the cost involved here =
- inverter
- 2 gc batteries
- ammeter
- wiring
- labor unless you are a do-it-yourselfer & from the sound of your posting I
would guess that you are not used to doing this type work yourself.
Question - is this something you are doing on a regular basis & moving from
spot to spot or is it something that is like a holiday trip a few times a
year? If the latter, I would look for a supplier of dry ice that you could
pack into the freezer section of the refrigerators as it will last many days
and you shouldn't need a very large piece of dry ice in each one.
(This is just using the "K.I.S.S." principal)
Mo
Vigilance Committee
Forget camping entirely. Stay home and count your cash. This will
simplify your life and you can really appreciate the annual showing of a
happy guy named "Scrooge".
LZ
Paul Fredricks
sense to buy two 12v refrigertors. The dry ice sounds like a good idea
also, but wouldn't that freeze everything in the fridge?. I can easily
do the electrical work my self, but it may not make sense from a cost
standpoint.
We are going to Nova Scotia for a week this summer. The idea was
to load the fridges thursday evening and close up the camper. Leave
Friday morning. Staying in a hotel on Friday night to facilitate
catching the 8AM Bar Harbor ferry. We wouldn't reopen the camper until
Saturday evening. Then campground hop for the week. Long days in
between campgrounds would make it better to have the fridges running.
My wife wants to limit the number of coolers we carry. That's the
reason for loading the refrigerators.
AnneWatson
menu planning before heading out and pick up things that need refrigeration
later. Just a thought.
****************************************
"Paul Fredricks" <pa...@hepalmer.com> wrote in message
news:b6623427.0205...@posting.google.com...
Paul Fredricks
Sometimes it takes a clear mind to recognize the obvious. I know the
boss would rather be "self-sufficient" but I'll have to discuss it
with her.
Thanks
Paul Fredricks
Neon John
>Thanks for the responses. I've done more looking and it may make more
>sense to buy two 12v refrigertors. The dry ice sounds like a good idea
>also, but wouldn't that freeze everything in the fridge?. I can easily
>do the electrical work my self, but it may not make sense from a cost
>standpoint.
Before I learned better, early in my catering career, I used dry ice in
coolers to transport food (after I learned better, I used electric upright
freezers operated from either inverters or generators, depending on the
application.) Dry ice is a bitch you probably don't want to court.
Dry ice evaporates at -109 deg F at sea level. Its rate of evaporation is
determined by the heat transferred into it. Inside a closed and insulated
container, it will continue to evaporate until the container is reduced to
near that temperature. This will a) freeze everything beyond solid, b) will
likely crack the plastic walls, and c) will use a ton of dry ice. Item a) is
much more of a problem than you might realize because it adds hours to thaw
time.
The only way to regulate the internal temperature is to insulate the dry ice.
Wrapping it in several layers of cloth is one method. This is unregulated.
That is, you have to manually balance how much heat you allow to get to the
dry ice against the inleakage. It is very difficult to impossible to regulate
the temperature to avoid freezing things. Commercial dry ice refrigerators
put the dry ice in a highly insulated box with a damper connecting it to the
refrigerated space. A thermal element varies the damper to control the
refrigerated space temperature. Not practical for your application. The only
place I've ever seen this was on reefer trucks.
You gave me far too little info to be able to recommend anything for your
existing setup. What kind of refrigerators, etc.
What you might want to consider is one of the fairly new tri-mode portable
absorption refrigerator/freezers. Here's $CW$'s page on 'em:
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/categories/index.cfm?deptID=4&catID=40&subOf=25
The first item, the Artic Cool and the last item the very similar Norcold
unit, are the best and most expensive options. This same unit is widely used
in the concession and catering world. 12 volt or 120 volt operation using a
compressor and conventional refrigeration. This unit will move the most heat
and therefore will perform the most satisfactorily in the hottest weather.
These are fairly large (about the size of a large Igloo ice cooler) but that
might not matter much if you're setting it in and out of a popup. It has the
advantage of being able to operate in a sealed environment.
An alternative is this:
http://www.campingworld.com/browse/skus/index.cfm?deptID=4&subOf=40,25&skunum=17919
This is a smaller absorption type unit (like regular RV units) that will
operate on 12 volts, 120 volts or propane. It has the advantages of size and
multi-fuel, being able to run from weeks on a 20 lb propane cylinder. The
primary disadvantages include lower refrigeration capacity, the loss of
capacity with ambient heat and the internal flame. Operated inside your
popup, you might have to provide some bit of ventilation.
I've seen both types listed with other vendors for less money so don't take
the references as a recommendation to buy from CW.
We're about to buy one of the later units to carry with us when we go shopping
or to places where we'd want to buy local food and haul home. Seafood from
the coast, things like that. The ability to run the thing on a propane torch
tank, from a portable tank or via a flex hose to the RV propane system is a
major plus for our camping style.
John
>
> We are going to Nova Scotia for a week this summer. The idea was
>to load the fridges thursday evening and close up the camper. Leave
>Friday morning. Staying in a hotel on Friday night to facilitate
>catching the 8AM Bar Harbor ferry. We wouldn't reopen the camper until
>Saturday evening. Then campground hop for the week. Long days in
>between campgrounds would make it better to have the fridges running.
>
> My wife wants to limit the number of coolers we carry. That's the
>reason for loading the refrigerators.
---
John De Armond
johngdDO...@bellsouth.net
http://personal.bellsouth.net/~johngd
Cleveland, Occupied TN
Vince Wirth
wrote:
>Before I learned better, early in my catering career, I used dry ice in
>coolers to transport food (after I learned better, I used electric upright
>freezers operated from either inverters or generators, depending on the
>application.) Dry ice is a bitch you probably don't want to court.
John,
I agree 100%. Let me tell you how I learned Dry Ice is a bitch.
I was in Florida for a Launch in 1969 and had to return to
Pasadena for a meeting. My wife who stayed back here suggested
that I bring back some Florida sea food. Stuff like Rock shrimp,
regular shrimp and other - only in Florida stuff-.
I decided that I could borrow a buddies leather suitcase and load it
up and fly home with it. How to keep it cold? No problem.. Just
pack some Dry ice in with the stuff. I called the Dry ice dealer in
Cocoa and asked how much and all that. The price was two bucks
a pound but there was a five pound minimum so I had to buy five
pounds.
I borrowed the suitcase, bought the Sea food and purchased the
Dry Ice. Back at the Motel I lined the suitcase with crumpled
news paper and stacked in some of the food. I then added some
of the Dry ice. added more food and a bit more ice. I used up
about one pound of ice in the process. When I was done, I looked
at the remaining ice and could not bring myself to junking it. ($8).
SO, I added the remaining ice to the package.
All was well until the Los Angeles Airport. I was waiting for my
luggage at the baggage turnstile where the bags come down a
conveyer belt from above. As I was watching, This chunk of ice
with vapor trailing comes down. Yep, My Sea food. The
suit case was covered with ice and frozen solid. If this happened
in today's security environment, I would still be waiting to get out.
After paying the Ex- buddy $200 for his leather suit case, I came
out short on the deal. I could have gone to the local fish store
and came out ahead but then I would not have this memory. As they
say the only thing you take with you are your memories
Vince
b b
vince...@earthlink.net says...
> All was well until the Los Angeles Airport. I was waiting for my
> luggage at the baggage turnstile where the bags come down a
> conveyer belt from above. As I was watching, This chunk of ice
> with vapor trailing comes down. Yep, My Sea food. The
> suit case was covered with ice and frozen solid.
>
we visualized the "smoking" suitcase slowly descending the baggage
conveyor. I think I really would have considered abandonment rather than
walking up to claim it. Your courage is to be applauded! <VBG>
Regards,
Barrie B
Neon John
wrote:
>All was well until the Los Angeles Airport. I was waiting for my
>luggage at the baggage turnstile where the bags come down a
>conveyer belt from above. As I was watching, This chunk of ice
>with vapor trailing comes down. Yep, My Sea food. The
>suit case was covered with ice and frozen solid. If this happened
>in today's security environment, I would still be waiting to get out.
Glad I have an original IBM keyboard that's waterproof! Really needed a nose
coffee alert on that one. I'd have paid admission to have been standing there
when that suitcase came out!
John