12v Refrigerators

[rossvtaylor]

Originally Posted by 52Flyer

Is there someone that can suggest a good fridge manufacturer for an old style fridge? We are rebuilding a 1952 Western Flyer. I saw one in a posting on Instagram a while back but can't find where it was again.

Any Help is much appreciated.

Yes, like Sasquatters said...Unique has 12V versions of their retro fridges. https://uniqueappliances.com/product...-and-freezers/

[52Flyer]

Originally Posted by rossvtaylor

Yes, like Sasquatters said...Unique has 12V versions of their retro fridges. https://uniqueappliances.com/product...-and-freezers/

That is exactly what I was looking for!
Thanks Guys.

[Rucker]

Before you go there, consider just buying a cool retro fridge and piping a 120 VAC cable to it from an inverter.

I guess, assuming you'll have a battery bank...

[52Flyer]

Originally Posted by Rucker

Before you go there, consider just buying a cool retro fridge and piping a 120 VAC cable to it from an inverter.

I guess, assuming you'll have a battery bank...

Yes Sir, there will be a high capacity battery bank as well as solar panels mounted on the roof.
I am currently searching for a good source on the solar equipment. I am super impressed at how knowledgeable and nice everyone is on this site!!

Great Group of Peeps!

[Rucker]

My two cents: find a brand new 120VAC retro look fridge. Paying extra dollars for 12v is a waste of money on two counts: the 12v doesn't give you anything special (if you have a battery bank), AND, when you go to fix it or replace it you're going to pay the extra dollars again.

I just typed in 'retro fridge' in amazon and saw more cheap fridges than I could look at on one page. I'm guessing the 12v retro is a pricey item.

[52Flyer]

Ya the 12V is about $1300. Definitely have to consider a cheaper option.

[52Flyer]

Originally Posted by Rucker

My two cents: find a brand new 120VAC retro look fridge. Paying extra dollars for 12v is a waste of money on two counts: the 12v doesn't give you anything special (if you have a battery bank), AND, when you go to fix it or replace it you're going to pay the extra dollars again.

I just typed in 'retro fridge' in amazon and saw more cheap fridges than I could look at on one page. I'm guessing the 12v retro is a pricey item.

Leaving off the RV and 12v options makes a huge difference.

[BeNimble]

Looks at my "Custom fridge" thread..you can power one of the newer inverter compressors with a cheap square wave inverter, very efficient. And really buying a new compressor at $500 might even be cheaper than a new 12v compressor, but you can find a full-size fridge cheap and just use the compressor on a smaller fridge.

[Simplicity]

Originally Posted by PNW_Steve

I have looked at the SunFrost.

They look nice but cost $2000-$3200.

I am leaning towards buying a $350 refrigerator and spending an extra $1000 on solar gear & inverter to support it.

I'm doing the same thing. I'm eyeing a 4.5cuft 110v that daily uses about 900w/90a (inverted and adjusted up 20% for inversion loss). But, it's only $220. That leaves a lot to put towards my inverter/charger, solar gear and batteries.

I also looked at the 12v chest dual zone refrigerator/freezer. Yet, the cost for a decent size, about 3cuft, seemed really high. Especially for the inconvenience of having to pack food on top of food and to dig through stuff to find stuff.

Seems to me, while the cold air stays in the chest unit, the extra time the lid is open to collect or put back your food might offset any savings.

They also take up more horizontal space, and if you store them in a cabinet, you have to slide them out to open them.

Best of luck!

[Danjo]

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Especially for the inconvenience of having to pack food on top of food and to dig through stuff to find stuff.

I thought the same thing, but the chest style combined with the baskets that come with them, make organization easy so there isn’t much digging.

Food also packs more densely so more fits in less space. Shelves leave a lot of unused space above the items that sit on top of it. So you don’t need as big of a fridge to store the same amount of stuff.

[Rucker]

I also thought about a chest freezer. It was a choice between a dorm style fridge and chest freezer, but the deciding factors were cost (dorm style fridge is ~$120), ease of replacement, and how to mount the chest freezer at an easy height without putting it on a complex slideout or losing all the space above it.

I didn't want to bend over and fish through baskets; also, we only need about four days of storage (we're not full time).

I have a temp sensor and circuit to power the fridge only when it calls for cooling; otherwise the dedicated inverter shuts off, so no vampire draw. I also added 1.5" of rigid insulation in the cabinet to increase R value.

The fridge is in a cabinet at waist height.