fridge recommendations

[Rock]

Based on the "Fast Freeze" feature, does anyone know if these fridges are based on the Waeco Danfoss technology? I looked at these at Compact Appliance.com but they just seemed too good to be true for the price.

I'm glad they're working out for people.

Eric

[brian_bp]

Based on the "Fast Freeze" feature, does anyone know if these fridges are based on the Waeco Danfoss technology? I looked at these at Compact Appliance.com but they just seemed too good to be true for the price.

The CompactAppliance.com site for the FP430 - EdgeStar Portable Fridge / Freezer - 43 Qt. offers the manual for downloading. This is a compressor-based unit, but neither the manual nor the Edgestar web page for the FP430 indicate the brand or type of compressor.

[greg755]

I don't know who makes the compressor but the one in my 63 quarter, is about the size of a small cantaloupe and the only way I can tell if it is running is to touch it, darn sure cant hear it. It will vibrate a little if I lift the cooler up about a foot on one side.

[greg755]

Hey Steve and MadJack,

It only took 6 weeks but I finally got the 63 quart Big Mahunga bad boy cooler installed. The Behemoth takes up a lot of the galley space but I think it is worth it.

I have a thread called "56 Sierra Makeover is on" under the General discussion which is showing the whole rebuild, but if you don't want to go to all the trouble you can take a look at it if you go to this link.


http://tinyurl.com/d7et7l

[greg755]

I talked to tech guys today - nothing wrong just had some questions.


So this is what I found
1 It draws 5.5 amps in 12 volt 2.275 in 24 volt (is that per hour?)
2 You CAN leave it plugged into both 110 an 12 volt at the same time and it will automatically seek the higher source.
3 It will retain the temperature you set it at so you don't have to reset when you switch between power sources, however he did not know for how long the memory would last.
4 It has a rotary compressor made by BAIXUE and uses r-134a.

You can download a manual on their website (they up date them from time to time.
They are also thinking about making a vertical version, and we talked about putting the controls on the front and the electrical jacks in the back....


See you later...

[xrover]

I currently own a "good" version of the coolatron style which are based on maintaining a ambiant temperature different of 40 degrees between the outside and the inside. Can I assume that the Engel/Edgestar use a totally different technology? I have found the coolatron type fairly useless at keeping things cold. If it's 80 degrees, 40 degrees makes for some prime bacteria growth!

[madjack]

Greg...interesting info...the 5.5A draw, if used for an entire hour would equal 5.5 Amp Hours...however, it is doubtful is the unit would run more than a quarter of that time...maybe even less...at a 25% run time, you would use 5.5 amp Hours in 4 hours.....

xrover...the unit you have is powered by a Peltier chip...a solid state chip that gives/takes heat away and like you stated is only good for 40* Max below ambient...the units under discussion here are regular compressor type units, similar to what you have at home, they just happen to have a 12vdc compressor...........
madjack

[xrover]

That's what I was hoping and figured. Thanks madjack.
On the other question you answered, is it possible the mfr already takes into account that the unit will not be running for a full hour and therefore the 5.5 is a total hour consumption? You know how those marketing folks like to spin the numbers.

[brian_bp]

It draws 5.5 amps in 12 volt 2.275 in 24 volt (is that per hour?)

An amp is a rate of current flow, so the "per unit of time" is already in there. It draws 5.5 amps; if you keep it running for 10 hours during a day, for instance, then that's 55 amp-hours (multiply current by time to get charge capacity) and you have used up half of the available charge in a 110 amp-hour battery over that day.

It's like what you see on your home electrical bill: while you are running ten 100 watt light bulbs together, that's a power level of 1,000 watts (which is one kilowatt). Do that for 80 hours in a month, and you will have used 80 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electrical energy (multiply power by time to get energy) so the utility charges you $8 or so for that much energy.

[brian_bp]

That's what I was hoping and figured. Thanks madjack.
On the other question you answered, is it possible the mfr already takes into account that the unit will not be running for a full hour and therefore the 5.5 is a total hour consumption? You know how those marketing folks like to spin the numbers.

Yes, marketing is often institutionalized lying, but my bet is that the rating is actually 5.5 amps while it is running. If they wanted to show averaged consumption over a period of time, they would say (using madjack's example of running 25% of the time) 33 amp-hours/day, because 6 hours of operating time multiplied by 5.5 amps while running is 33 amp-hours in that time period of 24 hours.

The problem with quoting this sort of charge used per day is that it depends on operating conditions (if the room is hot the compressor will need to run more of the time), so there needs to be some sort of standard. The current while running (5.5A), on the other hand, is true no matter how much or little it has to run.

Government standards (such as Energuidein Canada) have pushed home appliance manufacturers to show how much energy their appliances use in a typical month or year, but you can't compare appliances that way unless there is agreement on the operating conditions, which is what is in those standards. I suspect that there is no standard established for portable appliances, and that RV refrigerators are not rated against the household appliance standards; for instance, EdgeStar does not appear among the manufacturers listed as having Energuide ratings.

[iOpine]

Greg...interesting info...the 5.5A draw, if used for an entire hour would equal 5.5 Amp Hours...however, it is doubtful is the unit would run more than a quarter of that time...

The 43 qt EdgeStar has been sitting in my office for a couple of weeks now. I decided to time the cycles today in order to get some idea of the power usage.

The parameters: 2 gallon jugs of drinking water and 2 12 oz. colas (roughly half capacity), 72° office, set to 35°, plugged into a/c.

I timed it for 2 complete cycles. Both times the compressor came on when the temp reached 36° and ran for about 13 minutes, which brought it down to 32°. It then took 90 minutes the first time and 80 the second time for the temp to increase to 36° and turn the compressor back on. So the compressor ran for 26 minutes out of 3:16. That's about 14% of the time and with a 5.5 amp draw that works out to 18.1 Amp Hours per 24 hours.

[greg755]

Hey john
Could you do that again for the next three days, and maybe open it up 7 times a day, and put in some warm stuff every five hours and hook up a volt meter to the batteries and record it every 1/2 hour, and....

Just kidding thanks for the info.

[brian_bp]

...
I timed it for 2 complete cycles. Both times the compressor came on when the temp reached 36° and ran for about 13 minutes, which brought it down to 32°. It then took 90 minutes the first time and 80 the second time for the temp to increase to 36° and turn the compressor back on. So the compressor ran for 26 minutes out of 3:16. That's about 14% of the time and ...

Excellent info! Thanks for making the observations and letting us know about the results.

Not to be picky, and just for clarity, this:

... at 5.5 amps/hour of runtime works out to 18.1 amps per 24 hours.

really means

... at 5.5 amps, running 14% of the time works out to 18.1 amp-hours per 24 hours.

[iOpine]

Hey john
Could you do that again for the next three days, and maybe open it up 7 times a day, and put in some warm stuff every five hours

Uh, no. But IF the weather ever warms up again, how 'bout if I just take it camping for a couple of days? That new TD hasn't even been slept in yet!! It just sits out there, whimpering and crying to me from the garage like a new puppy!

[iOpine]

Excellent info! Thanks for making the observations and letting us know about the results.

Thanks! Mostly it was just a way to add a little interest to a quiet day at the office.

Not to be picky, this... really means ... at 5.5 amps, running 14% of the time works out to 18.1 amp-hours per 24 hours.

Thanks for pointing that out. I've edited the original post. I'm really enjoying learning so much from this outstanding forum.