7'*18' V-Nose Cargo Trailer Toy Hauler Conversion

[dancam]

You should verify that it does draw 5 amps while its been running for a while. that may just be inrush.
So @ 110v its 550w and thats 46 amps at 12v but a good inverter is 90% efficiant and a normal one is 85%. So thats 51-55amps if you have zero voltage drop on your wires. Typically when people run loads that big the wire is slightly undersized and there is some voltage drop.
If you put it on a timer to run say 8hrs before the batteries get fully charged again you need an 880 amp hour battery bank which is huge and thats only if you run absolutely nothing else off it

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[bc toys]

ok let me tell you what I got it is a frog said it draws 5 amps 120v I have 2 panels 265 watts 24v down to 30amp charge controller 2x6v batteries 250amp hours
to a 1000watt inverter that Ill be plugging the frig into

[flboy]

Agree.. That's why I said roughly. If you want to be exact, you need to account for all the inefficiencies with power conversion and line losses.

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[flboy]

What is a "frog" in this case?

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[dancam]

Ok, cool. So at night you can run it 2.5hrs from batteries at full charge if your not running any lights or fans or anything else off em.
In the middle of a bright sunny day when solar panels are putting out full power if you mean they are 265 watts total you can go 5hrs starting with full charged batteries. But then they are dischaged...

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[bc toys]

sorry Don refrigerator they are 265 each 530 total

[McDave]

Keep in mind that frogs don't run 100% of the time. Especially at night. Mine is at about 25% depending on ambient air temp., and "door cycles". 1-3 min on, 10-12 off. So 5amp is more like 1.25a/hr.

McDave

[bc toys]

Don you have a small frig in your trailer is it 12volt or 120 volt if 12v where did you get it and if 120v how long can you run off your batteries boon docking my goal is to be able to go out in the middle of no where and stay 4-5 days off my solar system and keep my food cold sense there want be any ice I want a frig dont mind a 12v but 120v dorm frig is cheeper

[m.colley]

BC
I think Don's fridge is similar to mine. I bought mine at Home Depot. Its a dorm style fridge and if I remember correctly its either a 3.2 or 3.7 cubic ft . Mine is rated at 1.87 Amps at 120V. Its energy star rated so it pulls less amp draw then some. It was a bargain at $99.00.


Martin

[McDave]

Hey bc,
Check those numbers again. 5amps at 120vac = 600 wts per hour! If it ran all the time. But still, that's a huge load. My Norcold Rv frig is small, I'd guess 2.0cuft.? It has a built in inverter so its a 2 way. 12vdc and 120vac. It draws 48 watts, or .4amps at 120vac, or 3.5amps at 12vdc. And it really only runs about 25% of the time. But if you have to try to replace say 3000+ watts or 250 AH everyday, that seems like a lot of solar.

McDave

[flboy]

@ bc toys: My fridge is 4.3 CU ft Magic Chef dorm fridge that runs off 110vac. I have an inverter that runs it from battery power when boondocking and on the road. The fridge was drawing 54w as measured by amp meter I installed on the main line input (that has varied a few watts over time). When running from the inverter, you can add 10% for inverter inefficiency. In any case, with my setup I have 345ah of batteries and 500w of solar. The fridge only runs about 15 minutes an hour.

It will run idefinetly on the batteries with the solar keeping batteries charged and running the fridge . It works really well and has plenty of room for a week long trip.

The nice thing about the dorm fridges and inverter setup, is that the inverter is available for other appliances (blender, TV, Microwave, etc.) as well and these dorm fridges like I bought come on sale for about $125 and are normally $169. I've used them like this for years with no troubles as have others, so they are plenty robust for the CTC and very efficient. Mine is strong enough to keep ice cream frozen and make Ice cubes in the freezer box.

Some rough calculations put this fridge at about 2 amps an hour continuous with inverter.. at that rate with 172.5 ah of battery capacity available for use (assuming fridge only usage) i could run it for 86 hours or about 3.5 days without recharging.. but, with the solar.. it is not an issue and I use the batteries for lights, fans, etc. during dark hours with the batteries usually totally recovering by high noon if in full sun. If in shade or bad weather.. I keep a small Honda generator to supplement the charge and run the Air Conditioner when needed for comfort.

You really need to add up all your power needs with the fridge only a part of that and then work backwards into how much battery capacity is needed for that overnight and how many solar panel needed for batteries to recover during the day assuming good conditions. Generator is for bad conditions and to run large items like the AC only when needed.




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[flboy]

Back home... unloading. Great trip
The CTC worked great with no problems. Made A few notes I will share later on things I will add to improve after 8 days out with the wife.

Martin.. Thanks again for the Vogel St. Park recommendation. Will be doing that again!


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[flboy]

Depending on what Irma does this week, I may be packing up and heading out in the CTC again... Hopefully she will miss us and likely will... just gotta keep one eye on the storm in any case.

[bc toys]

Thank you Don for getting back to me and answering my question. I fill better about going with a dorm frig now, those 12v one are pricey to just use once a month.
Well anyway thanks to all that commented on this this is the best place to get answers.
If you are ever coming out this way let me know and if I'm off work we can get a camping trip in or if not maybe we meet up for a cup of coffee .

[hankaye]

flboy & TommyB. Howdy;

Just got bumped up to Cat. 5 Hope it turns before it gets to y'all,. In any
case you've got your escape pods handy. Use'em if ya need'em.
Stay safe and as dry as ya can.

hank