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MtnDon
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2014 06:08pm
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We have received our 12 VDC refrigerator that will be used in out cargo trailer conversion. It occurred to me that this would be a great refrigerator for a fixed off grid location as well as a mobile one. It uses a Secor, formerly Danfoss, compressor unit. Runs on 12 VDC or 24 VDC. 4.2 cu ft interior capacity, so about half the size of the Servel propane fridge we have in the cabin.
I plan on adding 2 inches of XPS foam to both sides, under it, on top and behind. Maybe more behind against the exterior wall and more on top. With 2 inches extra a very similar fridge, the Novacool, can use as little as 240 watt/hours a day (70 degrees environmental temperature).
Photos...
It is a "Truckfridge", model TF130. $599 + shipping $100
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Dillio187
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# Posted: 17 Jan 2014 10:22am
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good info Don. keep up updated on how it runs for you. I'm still looking for something a bit more efficient than the RV fridge I picked up this summer.
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Deep South
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# Posted: 18 Jan 2014 12:33pm
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1st post here, but have learned a lot lurking so I though I would try to contribute.
Look at the ARB and National Luna models favored by the overland community for ultra low draw dc. Most have lids on top so that the cold air doesn't spill out when you open them, increasing efficiency. A big plus is that you can use them to travel with if your location is remote or not as secure as we would like.
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Truecabin
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2014 11:42am
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i had trouble with a smaller truck fridge using danfoss unit it ran 3minuts on 3 minutes off always if the freezer is empty
so i had to put a bag of of ice half as big as the freezer to make it work you lose half of that tiny freezer to give it some mass and it aint big to start with
it made no difference with stuff in the fridge part the mass had to be in the freezer over the sensor then it ran less than 50% but still a lot i got fed up with it now i turn it off at night to save the battery and the noise
suggest you run it in your bedroom a few nights at home before your sure you want to make it permanent i didnt test in the bedroom
i never was happy with the power consumption but then i got a little wakeup call if ya know what i mean 
i did the same as you added 2 inches insulation all around and paid attn to the mfr spec of airflow to the coils the only thing that changed the off time was a bag of water in the freezer
sorry i hope yours is better this was 5 years ago
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 21 Jan 2014 08:42pm
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Quoting: Deep South Look at the ARB and National Luna
We have an ARB. It is excellent but too small for what we want for this project.
Quoting: Truecabin danfoss unit it ran 3minuts on 3 minutes off always
Something strange there. With an average half full sort of a load this one runs about 3 minutes then takes a break for 13 minutes or more. That's in a room that is about 74 F. When I get my DC watt meter back from being loaned out I plan to run some consumption tests with some more accurate timings.
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cityconvert
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# Posted: 22 Jan 2014 12:30pm
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I'm considering the Sundanzer DCR 50. Does anyone have experience with it? My concern is that it may be too small for my full time needs. Also I need help designing a PV system to power it or the next size up.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 29 Jan 2014 09:59pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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I got my meter back and ran the fridge for a few days measuring the power used. The fridge was in a room that would run up to 74 -75 F during the day and cool off after 10 PM to a low of 65 F. The internal temperature of the fridge was 36 to 38 F.
The TF130 used an average of 350 watt hours in 24 hours. Or, another way to look at that, it used 26 amp-hours running off a nominal 12 VDC. At that rate a pair of 6 volt 220 amp-hour batteries in series would last slightly over 4 days, with a maximum discharge of 50%, with no recharging at. I figure that is pretty good.
Compared to that Sundanzer DCR 50, it is 4.2 cu ft, or 2.33 times bigger than the Sundanzer DCR 50. Sundanzer claims 9.6 amp hours in 24 hours which puts the TF130 at using 2.70 times the power. Considerig the TF has only 1 inch of insulation and the Sundanzer DCR 50 2 inches, pretty good.
With 2 inches of extra foam both sides, rear, top & bottom the TF should get better.
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ErinsMom
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# Posted: 30 Jan 2014 05:49am
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Did I read correctly, you are doing a cargo trailer conversion? More info please!
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 30 Jan 2014 10:53am
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Quoting: ErinsMom you are doing a cargo trailer conversion? More info please!
Yes, we are.
We bought a 6x12 by 6'6" interior height cargo trailer with a deep vee nose and an RV door installed in the nose. I'd rather not get into running a thread here as I don't want to run parallel threads on the topic in many different forums. I'll post a few pictures here later today to show what we started with and include a link to where the topic can be viewed. I'll go out on a limb and say that I believe that will be okay with cabinbuilder.
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CabinBuilder
Admin
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# Posted: 30 Jan 2014 05:18pm
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I think just few pictures will suffice for the purpose of this thread.
Thanks, MtnDon.
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MtnDon
Member
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# Posted: 30 Jan 2014 05:30pm - Edited by: Admin
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Couple of shots. sorry for the central lens flare in the interior shot. The window is 49 x 27, and is a slider with screen.
I have been doing the first layer of polyiso foam insulation and am not quite done.
Best.
front
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inside, from rear
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RV window to be installed
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 31 Jan 2014 10:40am
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links to topic were removed. Try Googling if you have interest in cargo trailer conversions.
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