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Sarahupnorth
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# Posted: 13 Jul 2019 02:07pm
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Sorry to the same question again.....
I want to run a roughly 3cu chest freezer off grid as cheaply and simply as possible. Just the freezer, nothing else. Big box store sell one for $200 that's rate 172/kwh/yr. It would be located in NW ontari, in an unheated cabin with temperatures in 80s at most.
I have no clue what I'm doing, can someone spellout the minimum solar requirements to accomplish this? The freezer would run 24/7 in the summer, full but very rarely opened.
Looking for the cheapest way to accomplish having some frozen food permanently stored at the cottage so if we decide to stay the night unplanned I have something to eat on hand.
I did try to read the other forums about this but got lost pretty quickly. It stated freezer startup required AC 115 V ~60 Hz 100 W Current: 1.2 A.
But I don't any further specs about the freezer so I apologized ahead of time fir incomplete info.
Thanks
Bonus points if you can link me to exactly what I need on Amazon ;)
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Just
Member
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# Posted: 13 Jul 2019 06:28pm
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You need 1. , 200 watt 12 volt solar panel = 200$
Plus a south facing roof to mount it on.
1 , 20 amp charge controller 40$
1 , 300 watt pure sane 12volt to 110 volt inverter 75 $
2 , 100 amp hour Cosco 6 volt gulf cart batteries 250 $
1short battery cable gauge 2 ,,10$
1 battery disconnect switch 10$
2 inline20 amp fuse 10$
1 ground wire to a ground 5$
50ft 8 gauge shielded 3 wire outdoor cable
The rest of the wiring should come with the inverter
There is a lot of fancy things you could add but that should work . About 700$
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Sarahupnorth
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2019 10:12am
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Thank you so much for such a clear and concise answer!
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2019 11:01am
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Agree with the great reply above but if you don’t have great all day sun exposure id go for a larger panel or 2 panels
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2019 11:42am
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That little chest freezer is going to cost you a whole lot to run on solar.
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Just
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2019 03:27pm
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Just once Brettny just once!
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slgerber
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2019 06:01pm
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Setting up a solar powered freezer just so that you have some food on hand for the rare occasion that you want to stay overnight seems like a much more complicated solution than necessary. Why not just keep a small supply of canned and dried foods? Also, if you're not there to monitor the system some part of the system could malfunction causing the food to spoil. If there is a long rainy period, the battery may run low, then the charge controller will shut the power off to protect the battery. The food could that and spoil and then refreeze when the sun returns after the long rainy period. Then you'll have frozen spoiled food. 
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Atlincabin
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2019 12:26am
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I agree with slgerber - lot of $ for a complicated little freezer setup on the off chance of staying an extra night or two. Backpacker's food, dried food, canned food, things like noodles, rice that don't spoil would be more cost effective for the odd occasion that you end up spending extra time at the cabin.
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aktundra
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2019 01:12am - Edited by: aktundra
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I read this wrong initially... I used my freezer as a fridge.
I have a solar set up and the freezer conversion doesn’t use much at all. It’s been great to leave things at the cabin, like condiments, drinks, etc.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2019 07:33am
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Well said way more complicated and expensive than needed for a few weekend trips. There are other options, a rv fridge being one. I have spent 6 days with no power and no resupply of ice with two $45 coleman coolers. You can pre make or buy a whole lot of ice for $700+$200 for the chest freezer.
You may think you only have to buy solar once but you are quite wrong. Batterys go bad in 3-5yrs, solar chargers go bad and a whole slue of other things.
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SCSJeff
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2019 08:22am - Edited by: SCSJeff
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Just to add my two cents...
I have a chest freezer fridge conversion also (Just a Johnson Controls sensor). Anyway, as I run the generator periodically throughout the day/night, it runs the "fridge". Being a chest freezer, things stay cool even if we are away all day without it running. (Especially, if we bring a couple of frozen water jugs to put in)
Last trip up, I tried to see if my solar would run it...
I have (1) 240W panel (facing west) & (1) 100W panel charging 210AH of 12v battery and a 600W ProWatt Inverter.
I figured as long as we had a sunny day, it would be enough to run it while we were out riding/hunting, etc. Using the Kill-A-Watt, I knew the freezer only used about 100W while running, but, I'm not sure what it pulls on startup.
At any rate, too much for my setup apparently... It blew my 60A fuse from the battery to my inverter. As per another thread I had, my 60A fuse is a bit low for the inverter (80A would be the max). But, I left the 60 as a safeguard. At this point, it's not worth the risk of my inverter to test again with an 80A fuse...
Some day, when I'm not spending money on finishing the cabin and/or I need to replace batteries, I'll upgrade my solar to more AH and a larger Inverter and I'll try again 
Update: My chest freezer is 7cf.... So bigger than what you're thinking about
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2019 09:17am
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That's weird.
I just can't see the fuse blowing on a 7cf freezer and 600w inverter. Most folks can run fridge/freezer combos (wilbour) on a 500w inverter. And that prowatt is a pretty good unit.
How old is that freezer? 60a x 12 is 720w. So your inverter should surge to 1200-1800w. Maybe try the 80a. The fuse should have some surge flex in it.
But that set up should run a small freezer no problem.
And sort of speaks to going 24 or 48v. At 24v 60a would be 1400w. And at 48v you would be good for 2800.
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Brettny
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2019 10:26am
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A 120v appliance useing 100w is 0.88amps at 120v. The same appliance at 12v is 8.33 amps...not including any inverter loss or DC line loss.
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SCSJeff
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2019 11:54am
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creeky,
I agree, I expected the Inverter to be able to surge for the second or two needed to start the freezer. The fuse may also have been ready to go too. IDK. I now have 80A fuses in, but I'm afraid to try again 
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Just
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2019 06:59pm
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Sarahupnorth
Upon reflection it may be better to buy a 24 volt 250 watt panel and a MPPT Charge controller to bring down the voltage to 12 volts things have become cheaper in higher voltage .
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