Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » 115V Refrigerator Again? (Operating on inverter?)
| 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200729] |
Tue, 05 March 2013 19:16  |
John Sharpe
Messages: 489
Registered: February 2006
Location: Texas
Karma: 1
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Refrigerator quit. Ordered a replacement cooling unit. After I installed it, I discovered it was leaking refrigerant. So I'm returning the unit and considering just using a 115V refrigerator since I have only run this one on 115VAC for the last 3 years.
There's a Chinese refrigerator that the label says requires: 'Input Current' of 1.1A @ 115V and 'Power Input' of 95W; Estimated Yearly Electricity Use of 311 kWh. Looks like the 7.5 cu ft box (6 cu ft refrigerator and 1.5 cu ft freezer) would fit nicely in my space. If I'm figuring right; and I'm no engineer, that input power of 10amp @ 12V would be adequate. I wouldn't think at that rate that it would overtax the alternator while traveling. Battery use maybe another matter as I have no idea of compressor run time per hour. Is this in the ball park? Is it worth a try to run it on 12V?
John Sharpe
Humble,TX
'78 Eleganza TBI
'89 Spectrum 2000 MPI V-10
'40 Ford Panel Delivery TPI
johnasharpe@gmail.com
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| Re: 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200732 is a reply to message #200729] |
Tue, 05 March 2013 19:23  |
Craig Lechowicz
Messages: 541
Registered: October 2006
Location: Waterford, MI
Karma: 0
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John,
Matt Colie and some other people are doing this already, and may chime in. I think Matt said you had to go with a larger than you might think inverter to handle the very short, but high starting loads. Seems like he was using maybe a 300 or 400 watt one? but don't remember for sure. If everything is working right, at steady state (after being cooled down) I think most fridges are set up to run around 1/2 the time. I used a Kill-a-watt meter on my original Norcold, and it was right at 50% on time at least.
Craig Lechowicz
'77 Kingsley, Waterford, MI
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| Re: 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200743 is a reply to message #200739] |
Tue, 05 March 2013 21:26 |
John Sharpe
Messages: 489
Registered: February 2006
Location: Texas
Karma: 1
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| Quote: |
...After our OEM electric fridge died, we installed an Avanti 7.5cuft 115volt fridge. it fits in the space almost perfectly.
According to the manual it takes 95w, and the inverter display says from 70-100 watts. However it takes 500-600watts to start it.
We have a 1500 watt pure sine wave inverter. I need to rewire it to the battery with heavier wire than the 6 gauge that is currently there.
The fridge runs great. It take more than the 60 watts the OEM but it does not run nearly as much as the OEM. ...
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Bruce, was your 60 watt OEM fridge the GMC swing compressor? The Avanti is the one I'm considering. What are the brand and model of you inverter? A link would be helpful.
John Sharpe
Humble,TX
'78 Eleganza TBI
'89 Spectrum 2000 MPI V-10
'40 Ford Panel Delivery TPI
johnasharpe@gmail.com
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| Re: 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200774 is a reply to message #200729] |
Wed, 06 March 2013 09:24 |
JohnL455
Messages: 4447
Registered: October 2006
Location: Woodstock, IL
Karma: 12
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Pay attention to "pure sine wave inverter". Some devices do not like chopped wave and loose efficiency as motor heat. As a test or demonstration, take a cheap box window fan and run it off a UPS. It will run slower than plugged onto wall sine wave.
John Lebetski
Woodstock, IL
77 Eleganza II
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| Re: 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200797 is a reply to message #200729] |
Wed, 06 March 2013 16:25 |
Nicholls
Messages: 36
Registered: January 2008
Location: Pensacola, FL
Karma: 0
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John, I have one of the early 12v DC to 36v AC refrig which need some sprucing up but it does run when plugged into 120v (haven't tried it on 12). It was given to me and you can have it if you want it. I am in Pensacola.
John
John Nicholls,
78 Royale w/455
Pensacola, FL
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| Re: 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200807 is a reply to message #200729] |
Wed, 06 March 2013 18:35 |
Ken Burton
Messages: 10030
Registered: January 2004
Location: Hebron, Indiana
Karma: 10
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I am sitting here thinking about inverters. I have no need for a high power inverter in my GMC so I never contemplated their cost or availability. Now after thinking about it, a UPS like we use in wiring closets and server rooms in most businesses would make an excellent inverter. After all, a UPS is nothing more than an inverter and a couple of batteries. These things become available for next to nothing from time to time, usually with dead batteries. In a GMC we would not want the batteries anyway. Unfortunately I did not consider this a few months ago. They are tearing doing a local hospital and at least 50 of these types of UPSs went to a local recycler. I now wish I had though about it then.
I sold and installed these same UPSs to them a few years back. Some were rack mounted and some were stand alone units. Most were 120 volt with a few 220 volt. Any of these would have been good enough to supply 1500 watts or more.
My point of this posting is to suggest that people keep and eye open for these things in their area if they are wanting a decent UPS. One thing to look at when using one of these is the input voltage. The most common ones are 12 volt and 18 VDC. Obviously you want the 12 volt ones. Some UPSs have the ability to plug in external battery pack for extended run time.
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
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| Re: 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200811 is a reply to message #200797] |
Wed, 06 March 2013 19:31 |
John Sharpe
Messages: 489
Registered: February 2006
Location: Texas
Karma: 1
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| Quote: |
....I have one of the early 12v DC to 36v AC refrig which.....
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John, thanks for the offer. If I were able to make Dothan I'd take you up on it. The distance is just too great otherwise.
John Sharpe
Humble,TX
'78 Eleganza TBI
'89 Spectrum 2000 MPI V-10
'40 Ford Panel Delivery TPI
johnasharpe@gmail.com
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| Re: 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200813 is a reply to message #200732] |
Wed, 06 March 2013 19:40 |
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Matt Colie
Messages: 8547
Registered: March 2007
Location: S.E. Michigan
Karma: 7
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| Craig Lechowicz wrote on Tue, 05 March 2013 20:23 |
John,
Matt Colie and some other people are doing this already, and may chime in. I think Matt said you had to go with a larger than you might think inverter to handle the very short, but high starting loads. Seems like he was using maybe a 300 or 400 watt one? but don't remember for sure. If everything is working right, at steady state (after being cooled down) I think most fridges are set up to run around 1/2 the time. I used a Kill-a-watt meter on my original Norcold, and it was right at 50% on time at least.
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Well, yes I did this and I am not completely sure where to begin. To me, this is still in the development process. What I have does work, but I am not very happy with the power consumption. The singularly best thing about it is that it cost a lot less than any thing else.
There are several big issues with this rig.
Chinese compressors are not very good (as in a piece of crap).
- Their starting load is way higher than a similar Danfoss or Tecumseh.
- Their overall efficiency is poor.
- They run hot even on clean line power. (This is never good.)
And, the design uses the case for cooling, not a condenser on the back like a Norcold. (Notice that on the unit that Bruce linked to it says it must be located so it has lot of cooling air - in the owner's manual, it says it needs 5" on the sides and back. Do they think that this apartment is a gymnasium?)
The modified Square wave inverters (I refuse to call a modified sine). Do not run motors very well and and when the motor is a Chinese POS, they are particularly poor.
There is a hidden issue in that MSW inverters do not understand power factor at all. 95W at 13VDC should be something close to 7 amps. Not happening. Mine (a Chinese Frigidaire) is supposed to be 55W, that would be about 4amps. It hasn't been yet. It runs at 7 which is very close to the current alone without and PF consideration. I would be willing to bet that this unit will be drawing closer to the 11 that is 10* the 120V current. Oh, just for grins, a Kill-A-Watt does not speak MSW and just gets pissed off and tells you nothing is working.
I tried to start ours on a 500 watt unit (HF - 500 continues 1000 peak) and it could not handle the load. Fortunately, the 750 was on sale. (Buy the extended warranty - one let the smoke out real early on.)
When you have an inverter running, you can always find other things to do with the 120V.
The saving grace of the project is that we did it for less than 200$us. It got us back on the road.
In the near term future, I am going to take a collection of muffin fans scavenged from old compute power supplies and try to position them to move more air around - into and out of the reefer space.
I hope that this is a help to someone.
Matt
Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
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| Re: 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200824 is a reply to message #200807] |
Wed, 06 March 2013 21:16 |
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RF_Burns
Messages: 2277
Registered: June 2008
Location: S. Ontario, Canada
Karma: 3
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Further to Ken B's message about using a UPS as an inverter.
Be careful connecting an external battery to an inverter designed for internal batteries. With internal battery inverters, the batteries may not be isolated from line voltages. In an effort to save money, the manufacturers have some interesting circuit designs and since the battery is inside the housing, there is no shock hazard.
Once you get handy and wire up an external battery, the sparks can fly, or give you a nasty shock where you were expecting only 12volts.
Bruce Hislop
ON Canada
77PB, 455 Dick P. rebuilt, DynamicEFI EBL EFI & ESC.
1 ton front end
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=29001
My Staff says I never listen to them, or something like that
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| Re: [GMCnet] 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200837 is a reply to message #200824] |
Thu, 07 March 2013 03:22 |
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fitzmorrispr
Messages: 137
Registered: February 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Karma: 0
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Wasn't there someone talking about building a modern 12vDC to 36vAC
inverter to replace the old, inefficient, and sometimes failed units
the old electric only units had? Got shut down because everyone
figured a Xantrex or w/e was good enough?
I ask, because the original inverter on mine's dead as a doornail. PO
disconnected it from the system (judging by some of the things he did,
it looks like he was trying to swat an electrical bug of some kind)
and i'd really rather have something sized to the specific needs of
the fridge than a generic unit with six outlets and a fiery yellow
paint job.
On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 7:16 PM, Bruce Hislop <bruce@perthcomm.com> wrote:
>
>
> Further to Ken B's message about using a UPS as an inverter.
>
> Be careful connecting an external battery to an inverter designed for internal batteries. With internal battery inverters, the batteries may not be isolated from line voltages. In an effort to save money, the manufacturers have some interesting circuit designs and since the battery is inside the housing, there is no shock hazard.
>
> Once you get handy and wire up an external battery, the sparks can fly, or give you a nasty shock where you were expecting only 12volts.
>
>
> --
> Bruce Hislop
> ON Canada
> 77PB, 455 Dick P. rebuilt, DynamicEFI EBL EFI & ESC.
> Hubler 1 ton front end
> http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=29001
> My Staff says I never listen to them, or something like that
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
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The Greatfruit: 1973, 26', Canyon Lands or Painted Desert, in Pineapple Yellow
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| Re: [GMCnet] 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200852 is a reply to message #200837] |
Thu, 07 March 2013 06:59 |
jhbridges
Messages: 8412
Registered: May 2011
Location: Braselton ga
Karma: -74
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Is it repairable? i.e. components on a ciorcuit board which isn't too burnt up? Or is it a potted 'thing with wires sticking out of the tar'?
--johnny
'76 23' transmode norris
'76 palm beach
________________________________
From: Patrick Fitzmorris <fitzmorrispr@gmail.com>
To: gmclist <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2013 4:22 AM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] 115V Refrigerator Again?
Wasn't there someone talking about building a modern 12vDC to 36vAC
inverter to replace the old, inefficient, and sometimes failed units
the old electric only units had? Got shut down because everyone
figured a Xantrex or w/e was good enough?
I ask, because the original inverter on mine's dead as a doornail. PO
disconnected it from the system (judging by some of the things he did,
it looks like he was trying to swat an electrical bug of some kind)
and i'd really rather have something sized to the specific needs of
the fridge than a generic unit with six outlets and a fiery yellow
paint job.
On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 7:16 PM, Bruce Hislop <bruce@perthcomm.com> wrote:
>
>
> Further to Ken B's message about using a UPS as an inverter.
>
> Be careful connecting an external battery to an inverter designed for internal batteries. With internal battery inverters, the batteries may not be isolated from line voltages. In an effort to save money, the manufacturers have some interesting circuit designs and since the battery is inside the housing, there is no shock hazard.
>
> Once you get handy and wire up an external battery, the sparks can fly, or give you a nasty shock where you were expecting only 12volts.
>
>
> --
> Bruce Hislop
> ON Canada
> 77PB, 455 Dick P. rebuilt, DynamicEFI EBL EFI & ESC.
> Hubler 1 ton front end
> http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=29001
> My Staff says I never listen to them, or something like that
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
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Foolish Carriage, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell
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| Re: [GMCnet] 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200857 is a reply to message #200852] |
Thu, 07 March 2013 07:20 |
Jim Bounds
Messages: 842
Registered: January 2004
Karma: 0
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To be honest, the original frig was not that efficient and given their age, chances are there are not that many still around. Another issur on a frig should be considered-- GM's vision of the GMC was nore of an all around travel/camp vehicle. Folks didn;t track "carbon footprints" that much back then so the frig really was a power hog. Today, we know that an absorption frig is so much more effecient-- cooling with gas is a really great thing as far as energy consumption. Not only did the original inverter of the frig suck down your battery, any inverter that could replace the old one would also suck the battery your battery. OUr 12 volt electrical systems are not robust enough to sustain an inverter like that.
Yea, a new 2 or 3 way frig costs bucks but hey, keeping your beer frothy is important! Pulling miniscult current to run the control board, you can sit out there off the grid for a good while with a new frig. It all comes down to your carbon footprint or more specifically how much you have to spend to maintain your lifestyle A new frig is a lote easier to live with.
I'm not trying to sell you a frig, shipping 1 from me would cost way too much, it's just a fact that a new frig will service you well and hey, if you can't take it with you shouldn;t you be cofortable waiting for your turn to go?
Building a breadboard inverter is not a good idea, if you must flog that old frig back into service, pick up a good, continuous duty inverter, plug it in and just keep an eye on your battery condition.
Jim Bounds
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________________________________
From: Johnny Bridges <jhbridges@ymail.com>
To: "gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org" <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2013 7:59 AM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] 115V Refrigerator Again?
Is it repairable? i.e. components on a ciorcuit board which isn't too burnt up? Or is it a potted 'thing with wires sticking out of the tar'?
--johnny
'76 23' transmode norris
'76 palm beach
________________________________
From: Patrick Fitzmorris <fitzmorrispr@gmail.com>
To: gmclist <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2013 4:22 AM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] 115V Refrigerator Again?
Wasn't there someone talking about building a modern 12vDC to 36vAC
inverter to replace the old, inefficient, and sometimes failed units
the old electric only units had? Got shut down because everyone
figured a Xantrex or w/e was good enough?
I ask, because the original inverter on mine's dead as a doornail. PO
disconnected it from the system (judging by some of the things he did,
it looks like he was trying to swat an electrical bug of some kind)
and i'd really rather have something sized to the specific needs of
the fridge than a generic unit with six outlets and a fiery yellow
paint job.
On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 7:16 PM, Bruce Hislop <bruce@perthcomm.com> wrote:
>
>
> Further to Ken B's message about using a UPS as an inverter.
>
> Be careful connecting an external battery to an inverter designed for internal batteries. With internal battery inverters, the batteries may not be isolated from line voltages. In an effort to save money, the manufacturers have some interesting circuit designs and since the battery is inside the housing, there is no shock hazard.
>
> Once you get handy and wire up an external battery, the sparks can fly, or give you a nasty shock where you were expecting only 12volts.
>
>
> --
> Bruce Hislop
> ON Canada
> 77PB, 455 Dick P. rebuilt, DynamicEFI EBL EFI & ESC.
> Hubler 1 ton front end
> http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=29001
> My Staff says I never listen to them, or something like that
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://temp.gmcnet.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gmclist
_______________________________________________
GMCnet mailing list
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| Re: 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200859 is a reply to message #200729] |
Thu, 07 March 2013 07:39 |
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RF_Burns
Messages: 2277
Registered: June 2008
Location: S. Ontario, Canada
Karma: 3
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Senior Member |
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"Wasn't there someone talking about building a modern 12vDC to 36vAC inverter to replace the old, inefficient, and sometimes failed units the old electric only units had? Got shut down because everyone figured a Xantrex or w/e was good enough?"
I think the inverter is 24VAC (nominally about 26-27V)
That could have been me. When I purchased my MC back in 2008, the fridge worked on 120v but not on 12v, the inverter was toast. But the inverter was just on old square wave inverter so I knew I could make something better. I put it up on the forum and was shot down as a dumb idea.
So I designed a microprocessor controlled semi-sine wave PWM (the PWM was a learning experience that I never did get really close to a pure sine wave) MOSFET switching inverter with 3 temperature sensors and an LCD display.
It displayed freezer, fridge and the cooling plate temperatures - battery voltage (at the inverter)
- If the fridge was currently running the number of minutes
- How long it ran in the last cycle
- % of time ran in the last hour
- Freezer highest and lowest temp in the last 24hrs
and a few other features I can't remember.
It ran well for several years, then the running times became longer and longer till even running continuously did not cool. We ended up buy ice to make it through the trip. I tried adding Dura-cool to some success but couldn't get the freezer near cold enough. That's when I replaced it after looking at how we use the coach vs pros and cons of electric vs propane.
I went with all electric because we never dry camp and safety reasons.
I kept the circuitry and sent the old fridge to recycling. I reprogrammed the board for another purpose.
Bruce Hislop
ON Canada
77PB, 455 Dick P. rebuilt, DynamicEFI EBL EFI & ESC.
1 ton front end
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=29001
My Staff says I never listen to them, or something like that
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| Re: 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200868 is a reply to message #200729] |
Thu, 07 March 2013 09:00 |
Bob de Kruyff
Messages: 4260
Registered: January 2004
Location: Chandler, AZ
Karma: 1
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Senior Member |
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| John Sharpe wrote on Tue, 05 March 2013 18:16 |
Refrigerator quit. Ordered a replacement cooling unit. After I installed it, I discovered it was leaking refrigerant. So I'm returning the unit and considering just using a 115V refrigerator since I have only run this one on 115VAC for the last 3 years.
There's a Chinese refrigerator that the label says requires: 'Input Current' of 1.1A @ 115V and 'Power Input' of 95W; Estimated Yearly Electricity Use of 311 kWh. Looks like the 7.5 cu ft box (6 cu ft refrigerator and 1.5 cu ft freezer) would fit nicely in my space. If I'm figuring right; and I'm no engineer, that input power of 10amp @ 12V would be adequate. I wouldn't think at that rate that it would overtax the alternator while traveling. Battery use maybe another matter as I have no idea of compressor run time per hour. Is this in the ball park? Is it worth a try to run it on 12V?
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I went to all electric several years ago and never looked back. They both work flawlessly:
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/g4435-refrigerator.html
Bob de Kruyff
78 Eleganza
Chandler, AZ
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| Re: [GMCnet] 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200880 is a reply to message #200857] |
Thu, 07 March 2013 10:22 |
A Hamilto
Messages: 4508
Registered: April 2011
Karma: 39
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| Jim Bounds wrote on Thu, 07 March 2013 07:20 |
To be honest, the original frig was not that efficient ...
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The original single door fridge was extremely efficient, even by today's standards. At 50% duty cycle, on AC power, it would use about 35 watts. The built-in inverter was so poorly designed that it caused the swing motor compressor to use more power on DC than on AC.| Quote: |
...if you must flog that old frig back into service, pick up a good, continuous duty inverter, plug it in and just keep an eye on your battery condition.
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Good recommendation to use a modern inverter for running it off DC. Even with the power loss in the new inverter, it should waste less electricity than the original built-in inverter.
Ref http://www.bdub.net/Refrigeration_in_the_GMC.pdf
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| Re: 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200882 is a reply to message #200729] |
Thu, 07 March 2013 10:38 |
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Matt Colie
Messages: 8547
Registered: March 2007
Location: S.E. Michigan
Karma: 7
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Senior Member |
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I must disagree with two of JimB's points...
He stated, "Today, we know that an absorption frig is so much more effecient-- cooling with gas is a really great thing as far as energy consumption." That is false. If it were true, don't you think someone other than Amish and those with remote-off grid dwellings would use absorption refrigeration? The fact is that the COP (Coefficient of Performance) of an absorption (Servel) cycle is not as good as any decent R12 unit. I can't speak for R134a, because I have not seen a published study.
He also stated,"OUr 12 volt electrical systems are not robust enough to sustain an inverter like that." This may have been true of a '73 23' with a single Grp27 for a house bank, but I will wager than very few still exist in that form. That is a system that is SO EASY to improve and make as robust as needed, I don't see that as any real issue. When I still had the Norcold, we can and do dry camp for two days before I had to worry about DC power from a pair of GC-2s.
Now, even with the POS Chinese reefer and inverter, I can hold DC power for a solid day, but if it is hot, we will want the A/C and then the problem is immediately solved. (Ok, my first try a a cheap automatic transfer didn't work out, so I have to go an move the plug.)
I also don't have to worry about shutting it off when going through some tunnels or when fueling and I have no fire hazard there.
There is also the neat part about having 120AC always available. A lot of things used to require starting the APU or connecting a small inverter we now do by tapping the reefer inverter.
Matt
Matt & Mary Colie - Chaumière -'73 Glacier 23 - Members GMCMI, GMCGL, GMCES
Electronically Controlled Quiet Engine Cooling Fan with OE Rear Drum Brakes with Applied Control Arms
SE Michigan - Near DTW - Twixt A2 and Detroit
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| Re: [GMCnet] 115V Refrigerator Again? [message #200929 is a reply to message #200857] |
Thu, 07 March 2013 19:12 |
jhbridges
Messages: 8412
Registered: May 2011
Location: Braselton ga
Karma: -74
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Senior Member |
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True all dat. And I have a new 3 way anyhow. But the question was, the original electronics, discrete or potted? I got a bud who restores old radios. Sound lousy, heat the room, and are heavy. But there are people who like the original. Samesame in this case.
--johnny
'76 23' transmode norris
'76 palm beach
From: Jim Bounds <gmccoop@yahoo.com>
To: "gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org" <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2013 8:20 AM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] 115V Refrigerator Again?
To be honest, the original frig was not that efficient and given their age, chances are there are not that many still around. Another issur on a frig should be considered-- GM's vision of the GMC was nore of an all around travel/camp vehicle. Folks didn;t track "carbon footprints" that much back then so the frig really was a power hog. Today, we know that an absorption frig is so much more effecient-- cooling with gas is a really great thing as far as energy consumption. Not only did the original inverter of the frig suck down your battery, any inverter that could replace the old one would also suck the battery your battery. OUr 12 volt electrical systems are not robust enough to sustain an inverter like that.
Yea, a new 2 or 3 way frig costs bucks but hey, keeping your beer frothy is important! Pulling miniscult current to run the control board, you can sit out there off the grid for a good while with a new frig. It all comes down to your carbon footprint or more specifically how much you have to spend to maintain your lifestyle A new frig is a lote easier to live with.
I'm not trying to sell you a frig, shipping 1 from me would cost way too much, it's just a fact that a new frig will service you well and hey, if you can't take it with you shouldn;t you be cofortable waiting for your turn to go?
Building a breadboard inverter is not a good idea, if you must flog that old frig back into service, pick up a good, continuous duty inverter, plug it in and just keep an eye on your battery condition.
Jim Bounds
---------
________________________________
From: Johnny Bridges <jhbridges@ymail.com>
To: "gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org" <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2013 7:59 AM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] 115V Refrigerator Again?
Is it repairable? i.e. components on a ciorcuit board which isn't too burnt up? Or is it a potted 'thing with wires sticking out of the tar'?
--johnny
'76 23' transmode norris
'76 palm beach
________________________________
From: Patrick Fitzmorris <fitzmorrispr@gmail.com>
To: gmclist <gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, March 7, 2013 4:22 AM
Subject: Re: [GMCnet] 115V Refrigerator Again?
Wasn't there someone talking about building a modern 12vDC to 36vAC
inverter to replace the old, inefficient, and sometimes failed units
the old electric only units had? Got shut down because everyone
figured a Xantrex or w/e was good enough?
I ask, because the original inverter on mine's dead as a doornail. PO
disconnected it from the system (judging by some of the things he did,
it looks like he was trying to swat an electrical bug of some kind)
and i'd really rather have something sized to the specific needs of
the fridge than a generic unit with six outlets and a fiery yellow
paint job.
On Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 7:16 PM, Bruce Hislop <bruce@perthcomm.com> wrote:
>
>
> Further to Ken B's message about using a UPS as an inverter.
>
> Be careful connecting an external battery to an inverter designed for internal batteries. With internal battery inverters, the batteries may not be isolated from line voltages. In an effort to save money, the manufacturers have some interesting circuit designs and since the battery is inside the housing, there is no shock hazard.
>
> Once you get handy and wire up an external battery, the sparks can fly, or give you a nasty shock where you were expecting only 12volts.
>
>
> --
> Bruce Hislop
> ON Canada
> 77PB, 455 Dick P. rebuilt, DynamicEFI EBL EFI & ESC.
> Hubler 1 ton front end
> http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=29001
> My Staff says I never listen to them, or something like that
> _______________________________________________
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Foolish Carriage, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell
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