Cheap Fridge <$400 shipped

[magentawave]

Hey that is good to know. I have a few questions for you please...

1) Did you make any modifications to it like more insulation surrounding it or anything else?

2) What did you use to keep it running? A deep cycle battery charged by solar panels?

3) Did you ever figure out how any amps per day it used?

Thanks!

Unless it's the biggest, baddest, most elegant, and unnecessary, it isn't ExPo.


I ran an Edgestar through Central/South America with no issues at all, and it was used hard. It was then brought inside (in Colombia) and has been used daily plugged into AC power since then. That was almost exactly 1 year ago. It certainly isn't ExPo, but for me, I would run it again without question.

 

[4x4junkie]

What I meant by "fool" is would it be foolish to expect the far cheaper Edgestar (I paid only $278 shipped to my door for the 80 quart) to perform well in hot tropical conditions in a foreign country where getting parts could be a major problem? And what do you mean when you say "it certainly wouldn't be expo"?

As long as it works, who cares what it is??
Seal the gap inside around the condenser coil & fan and you should have no problem in just about any climate (I did this on mine and posted in the Edgestar fridge modifications thread).

 

[CaliMobber]

I would say got for it, Mines been running strong for over 2 years. It lives in the back of my 4runner and i have a solar panel on the roof to keep everything topped off. I added foam insulation and reflective tape to help it be more efficient. My mods are on the modification thread as well.


Worst case, it breaks for some reason(im sure it won't) just throw some ice in there and use it as an ice chest.

 

[saburai]

Mine has been running for 4yrs in S.W. FL. Go for it.

 

[expedition4x4]

sitewide free shipping and 25% off this weekend

http://www.compactappliance.com/FP4...html?cgid=Appliances-Freezers&mtcpromotion=cj

 

[CaliMobber]

sitewide free shipping and 25% off this weekend

http://www.compactappliance.com/FP4...html?cgid=Appliances-Freezers&mtcpromotion=cj

That's. basically full price. It's always free shipping and at least 25% off, but thanks for the heads up. A normal low price is around $420 shipped. Keep an eye out around valentines day they have sales then.

I paid $380 shipped

 

[HenryJ]

I paid $380 shipped

He is right. Wait and watch. I paid $219 shipped for mine

 

[magentawave]

Does anyone know how much the Edgestar spikes at when it first turns on? (Mine is the 80 quart if that makes a difference.) I'm trying to calculate its energy usage so I can figure out the solar system and batteries I'll be needing.

 

[Ziv]

Does anyone know how much the Edgestar spikes at when it first turns on? (Mine is the 80 quart if that makes a difference.) I'm trying to calculate its energy usage so I can figure out the solar system and batteries I'll be needing.

Model: FP430
Peak Amps: 4.782
Compressor-On Duty Cycle: 16.67% (holding 36F at 72F ambient)
Total Amp-Hours (24H elapsed): 14.1151
Avg. "Amp-Hours per Hour": 0.58823

Check out page 72 post 713.

 

[susswein]

The power on spike is less than 10 amps, but it's for such a short period of time (less than a second) that it doesn't affect your energy useage requirements. The number to look at is total amp-hours per day, as mentioned in the last post. Based on those numbers a 60 watt panel should be enough to keep up with the fridge, but if you're going to be in significantly hotter conditions I'd recommend going with at least 120 watts.

 

[magentawave]

Hey thanks for sharing that info Ziv and susswein!

Excuse my dumb questions here but I'm just learning this stuff...

1) Would the Peak Amps of 4.782 be for maybe starting the fridge from room temperature?

2) Do you think the energy consumption of the 80 quart model would be much different than the 43 quart model he tested?

Thanks again.

 

[susswein]

answers:

1) No. The fridge compressor cycles on and off via a thermostat to maintain temperature. The 4.7 amps mentioned above is what it draws while the compressor is running. The inside/outsode temperatures just affect how much of the time the fridge is running (AKA duty-cycle). When you first turn the fridge on (room temperature) it'll run continuously (drawing the 4.7 amps) until it reaches the preset temp, then cycle on and off to maintain that temperature.

2)Yes. I recently posted a separate thread with test results on the 63 quart model (titled something like "edgestar actual power consumption"). I came up with a duty cycle of about 50%, or 33 amp-hours/day. I would expect the 80 quart to consume even more.

 

[trasko]

1) Would the Peak Amps of 4.782 be for maybe starting the fridge from room temperature?
.

The "peak" power consumption is ocurring for a matter of 1-2 seconds when the motor first starts up. It is a function of the motor starting from a dead-stop -- not the ambient temperature. It's really not important in your calculations.

The number that matters more is the "normal running" number multiplied by the duty cycle. The tester got roughly 0.6 "amp hours per hour" holding a 36F spread (72F ambient holding 36F inside the fridge). You should expect a higher duty cycle to hold higher spreads. That could easily double. I assumed 1.5 ah per hour for my calculations (spread over morning, noon and night calculations).

 

[4x4junkie]

I would expect probably around 25-40% more power consumption on a 80qt fridge vs the 43qt one.
With that in mind I'm thinking at least 100W of solar to extend the time before you'll have to start your engine (160-180W if you want to extend it indefinitely).

 

[ExploringNH]

Hey that is good to know. I have a few questions for you please...

1) Did you make any modifications to it like more insulation surrounding it or anything else?

2) What did you use to keep it running? A deep cycle battery charged by solar panels?

3) Did you ever figure out how any amps per day it used?

Thanks!

1) Nope. Bone stock.

2) It ran off of a normal, yet high capacity, starting battery. Truck was rarely left for more than one day without starting the truck. At one point it was left for three nights and still started just fine. That was the longest I let it go. usually if I was leaving the truck for more than a night I would kill the power, for theft reasons. I had a dual battery setup but it was manually controlled and I never needed the spare battery. Basically I was hauling around a second battery just in case I needed a jump start from myself. I had installed it thinking that it would give me a few days longer of fridge run time with the truck off but the reality is that if I was going away from the truck for 5+ days without starting it, the food in it would probably be bad anyway, refrigerated or not, and if I was gone that long, I would rather take my battery cutoff key with me.

3) Nope.