Date: 12 July 2018. Refrigerator Power Requirements (#1 in reefer series)

© janice142
 

I am not an electrical guru by any means. The boys that know get technical real quickly. They know their stuff. I am more of the practical "what works for me" sort... Powering a refrigerator off the grid involves three things. Here is how I do it:
 

#1) How much power is required in
24 hours to run the refrigerator?

To find out that you're going to have to spend some money. Experts will suggest you need a fancy meter that will tell you everything except the manufacturer of your refrigerator. I don't recommend that level of detail. For me aboard Seaweed I bought a Kill-a-Watt meter. This is the one I purchased:
 

First you plug the Kill-a-Watt meter into your wall socket. Next plug the refrigerator into the meter. The Kill-a-Watt gizmo will give you an elapsed time and power consumed. I would suggest you let it run for at least 24 hours.
 

Now that you have your total, round up to the nearest 10. The reason you will do that is because your reefer is most likely running in an air-conditioned home. When the power goes out your ambient temperature will increase. That will cause the refrigerator to run longer.
 

Aboard a boat it is easy to acquire too much Stuff. I tend to pass along items I no longer need or use. That helps keep the clutter down and the chaos at bay. It also pleases me to share what I no longer need with others.
 

This is my Haier 3.1 cubic foot refrigerator. It is just inside the door to the cockpit.

My Haier uses 60Ah (amp hours) per day when it is 80 degrees outside. When it is hotter the refrigerator requires more power in order for the contents to stay cool. I suspect I'm using closer to 75 amps a day now because of the heat. I am also in and out of the refrigerator more now that temperatures have increased.
 

Whenever estimating amps you will not regret rounding up!
 

Precision works well for Electrical Engineers. For me, it seems I always can find a new way to use power. A netbook gifted to me by a subscriber (how cool is that?!?) running Win7 allows me to write. A tablet provides entertainment and a wifi hotspot. The radio plays Frank Sinatra and Dino, Bing Crosby and Petula Clark among others. All these things take power.
 

As a gal, I can multitask. Right now I've got the VHF radio on, the depth sounder is pinging, a Verizon tablet is providing wifi, I'm writing so the netbook is on, plus the Paperwhite is keeping me occupied while pages load, the cell phone is charging, and the refrigerator/freezer is making ice.
 

I have a switch so I can shut off the power to my refrigerator at night when presumably it will not be opened. There are two schools of thought on switching off the reefer at night versus not doing so. Gurus will say it makes no difference in the quantitative amount of power required.
 

Still, I cannot help but feel it is a good idea to shut down the refrigerator when the batteries are below 12.4. Because I have a large battery bank now, plus lots of solar panels, and a wind genny... well, my batts stay pretty well charged. More on all that in the next article.

Relaxing at anchor is one of the best parts about life aboard Seaweed.

Photo ↑ taken by Island Time's Cheryl off Key West.

Refrigerators that are self-defrosting currently do use more power than models such as my own Haier. It is totally worth it in my view as you are living life not camping. If I had a larger refrigerator I would opt for a model that did not require me to defrost it.
 

 The inside of my Haier Refrigerator looks like this: (↓ affiliate link)

I would not be quick to run out and spend the kind of money required to get an efficient 12-volt reefer. Unless you have the resources that is! If so, the Engel surely does look mighty spiffy. A Dometic would be nice too.
 

We had one of those aboard our boat. Our Dometic refrigerator/freezer used either 12-volts, propane or AC power, depending upon the power input we selected. It was truly wonderful to have that upgrade. I loved ice.
 

Memory Lane: I remember when I was a kidlet a writer came by our boat one day. She'd written about us before in *Motor Boating & Sailing magazine and was preparing another article for the publication. We served her a cold beer. Mother was so proud because we finally had a working refrigerator. When the article came out it said my mother had fished a beer out of the water and served it British-style. Mother was NOT HAPPY!

*Back then there were not very many children living aboard. That is why were were in a couple of boating magazines.
 

Having a refrigerator was a Big Event in our lives.
I appreciated it more than most can understand.

There is a level of decadence found while sipping a beverage glass filled with ice.

Ted, Sarah and Patches ↑ aboard Manatee, their 36' KadeyKrogen.

A nice toddy sure makes an evening on Manatee  delightful.
You met Ted, Sarah and Patches in the Manatee Moves article.
 

I have been around for a while. I remember when "everybody" who could switched over to the 12-volt reefers. Prior to that cruisers either did without or utilized ice boxes. The 12-volt refrigerators were New and a better choice than drippy ice boxes. That said, 12-volt units were expensive. They used quite a bit of power too.

As technology evolved the inverter opened a whole new world for cruisers. Suddenly we could have "real" house-style refrigerators aboard our boats. Of course the inverters were terribly expensive. As with most things, as popularity increased, competition occurred and prices declined.

Save your pennies and get a Pure Sine Wave inverter if you can.

Inverters allowed boaters to switch again. The cheap, essentially disposable AC reefers became another option to consider. With the new technology of Pure Sine Wave Inverters, standard house-type refrigerators last a long time nowadays.  When a $400 fridge dies you are not having a horrible day.
 

Like most folks I would love to have the newest and greatest. For now though I am perfectly satisfied with my nice little Haier. The refrigerator compartment is well designed. The produce compartment fits a smaller cantaloupe with ease. The freezer has plenty of room. One day I might buy a pint of chocolate ice-cream.
 

Continuing... in Part Two: Generating Power
 

Have a great weekend, and thanks for reading.

What refrigerator do you use?
Is it propane, AC or battery powered? 12-volt or 24-volt?

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