I have a 12 volt DC, chest-style refrigerator (ARB) that isn't cooling as well as it used to. It is seven years old. So refrigerating foods has cost me about $120 per year. I should be happy with that.
 |
| What I have now: this post will refer to this as a "12 VDC fridge." |
Of course I would like the next generation of refrigerator to be work out even better. The 12 volt DC chest-style fridges are rather small (meant for 4WD guys in jeeps) and expensive (because 4WD guys use expensive everything.*) So why not separate your RV fridge approach from 4WD culture? Why not find an appliance that is mass-produced, non-specialized, and not priced for enthusiasts of some kind?
And if you can't get the functionality you want from a single mass-produced inexpensive appliance, then alter it, or better yet, combine it in a cleanly modular way with a second low-priced appliance?
Consider searching 'converting freezer to refrigerator' on You Tube. You can find people using small (3.5 cubic feet, 120 VAC) chest freezers to merely cool food in their RV or backwoods home. The temperature control of a freezer doesn't usually go as high as 35 F for refrigerating foods, so they add a temperature sensor and a controller to the freezer to shut the AC power off at the right temperature.
 |
| What I am considering going to: this post calls this a "small 120 VAC freezer." It is meant for houses, offices, or garages -- not for the 4WD industry. |
Despite the thick insulation of these small 120 VAC freezers, I don't expect the daily amount of electrical energy to improve much, compared to the 12 VDC fridges of the 4WD industry like I have now. These small, household, 120 VAC freezers hold twice as much food as the 4WD industry's 12 Volt fridges, and perhaps they will be more durable because of a heavy-duty compressor.
We'll see. In the mean time it is fun to try to imagine meals in rural America in 1900, before electrical refrigerators became common. How did they preserve food without cooling? (Ice houses or ice-delivery by a service only existed in the city.)
Fermentation, fresh eggs from a chicken that morning, slaughtering another animal when it was needed, salting or drying the meat, using the flour of grains for pancakes, turning fresh milk into salted butter or cheese, cool (not cold) storage in cellars for root vegetables and beans, beans, beans. My goodness, a cat must have been useful to protect your food from rodents!
Canning fruits and vegetables was probably quite common for them, unlike today.
Once again I can see the charm in backwoods home living. They are much more likely to wrestle with some of these issues than RV van nomads, who solve all of their problems by buying another gadget or lithium battery, and who live on grocery stores, coffee shops, and laundromats.
Imagine a young trendy hip van nomad trying to survive as a gluten-free vegan in a cold climate in the year 1900!
Thinking about living without a fridge is one of the benefits of camping: it forces us to look at the big picture, historically. It can encourage us to appreciate modern conveniences more. Or it might convince us to become more self-reliant.
_____________________________________
Comments
You have worked out the issue of 12v solar, battery storage, inverter to 110v and what the freezer will draw. A blog posting talking about all that would be interesting. Hint, hint!
Once the hogs were smoked, where did the meat go? Was it just hung up in a cool cellar? Of course, cold winter air was pretty good at preserving things!
And I have a real hang-up with spilling all the cold air onto the floor every time you open the frig door. Granted, 99.9% of cold-content is in the water inside the food, and not in the air. Still, the air is your heat-transfer medium.
I was toying with the small/dorm type fridge option as a replacement for my gas refrigerator went that finally goes. I will need to do some more research.
I assume you have explored the viability of adding refrigerant to the ARB? If it lacks a charge port, there are self piercing saddle valves to solve the problem.
With nothing to loose, a little commonly available 134a could work, even though probably not the original gas.
I hope something comes from this.
If the ARB has service ports, you are golden. This is a relatively straight forward DIY if you don't find satisfaction with the locals. Just need a can of R134a, and a can tap/valve. There are plenty of videos for guidance.
If no service ports, you can search Amazon for R134a saddle valve and find plenty more info. Without a gauge set, just add a little at a time until the evaporator side gets real cold.