115v Fridge-Freezer?

[crusader]

I was just strolling through BJ's Wholesale Club tonight and a compact 2-door fridge/freezer caught my eye...

They were selling Haier HNDE03VS 3.3 cu.ft. fridge/freezers for $149.00. Mind you, this probably won't fit in most modern vehicles because of its 33 7/8" height, but it'll do just fine in my ancient Land Rover.

The label on the back says that there's a 6.0 amp draw on startup and, I think I remember a...1.3 amp...draw while running. That puts it at about 700 watts startup and 150 watts running. Theoretically easy to handle using a $50, 700-watt (continuous) inverter.

Am I missing something here, or is it possible to use a fridge whose 1) contents are in-vehicle accessible, 2) has a separate freezer, and 3) only costs $200 in the end?

I'm not terribly worried about running it off the battery for 5 days without a battery recharge, as I start and drive my vehicle each day when on multi-day excursions.

Haier HNDE03VS:

 

[mtnbike28]

freon/compressor?

I think I read that the problem is with the refrigerants/coolant/ motor (or something) not liking being bounced around (air bubbles?)

So I think the agreement was it does not work in vehicles. I bet the instructions even say, wait 30 minutes after moving it before turning it on...

at least that is what I remember...

YMMV

 

[eugene]

Almost sounds too good to be true. Usually you need a better quality inverter to get a true sine wave to keep electric motors happy and I'd upsize a bit more than the 700W model to give some overhead.
If it did work it would be a perfect replacement for the old one in my camper.

I think I sent an e-mail to them, I filled out all the information in the contact form and jit submit and it came back to a blank contact form, no message about my request being submitted or anything.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

The issue is going to be the bouncing and tilting. The compressor on standard house models just won't like it. I've read that the mobile compressors have bigger bearings, etc.

I have thought about this as well, but I dunno. If it worked, why wouldn't they do this in RV's? They end up using absorbtion cycle fridges typically.

 

[eugene]

I'm thinking they use absorption because they always have. The rv industry seems very slow to change, new rv's are built with the same parts as 30 year old ones. 30 years ago a fridage compressor ran like 10A @120v. Somehwere in the 90's there was a change and they became more efficient, you can see fridges built after that the coil is smaller and on the bottom instead of on the back like they used to be. Thats when 12v compressors started to be a possibility.
Also absorption fridges can run on propane for weeks and rv's used to be used for camping instead of parking in an RV park and being hooked up to short power. I follow a couple rv forums and a lot of people replace the absorption fridge with a dorm fridge since they never run it when not hooked up to outside power. I was saving for a 12v conpressor fridge so I could run from battery but at 5-10x the cost I wonder if it would be worth it even if this only lasted a few years its still cheaper in the long run to buy a $100-$150 fridge and inverter than a $500-$1000 12v compressor or absorption type (a replacement for my old absorption if around $1000, totally overpriced considering the lack of moving parts)

 

[crusader]

The issue is going to be the bouncing and tilting. The compressor on standard house models just won't like it.

The bouncing, perhaps, since it's really not ruggedized, but so long as you don't tilt it so much that the oil can go down the lines, you should be all set. I figure that if I'm tilted enough to get oil down those lines, I've got bigger problems than ruining a fridge.

. I was saving for a 12v conpressor fridge so I could run from battery but at 5-10x the cost I wonder if it would be worth it even if this only lasted a few years its still cheaper in the long run to buy a $100-$150 fridge and inverter than a $500-$1000...

That's kind of my thinking. If the setup doesn't work, I'm out a hundred and fifty bucks. If it only lasts a few years, I can get another 5 brand new fridge/freezers and I'll still break even with some of the 12v units out there. Of course, this won't help me if I'm out in the middle of the woods with melted ice cream!

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Maybe it's worth a shot.

I'm also just... frustrated with the price of the 12V fridges. They are just WAY out of line price-wise. There's absolutely no justification based on materials and labor, compared to a small dorm fridge like these. The only other justification is low-volume inefficiency, and profit, I guess.

 

[Superu]

As with most ideas like this, I'm looking forward to hearing someone else's results. :ylsmoke:

I'd be curious to see how well these units maintain internal temps when subjected to varying external temps (how hot is it going to get sitting in your Rover). I'd expect the compressor to be running a lot more in those conditions than if it were sitting in your dorm room.

Also, what method would you use to secure it in the vehicle and to keep the doors closed while underway? Wouldn't want the Grey Poupon flying out on the trail! I imagine bungees would hold the doors well enough.

I could easily fit one of these in my Suburban alongside the Engel MT-45 and would get a lot more added space for less money than the Two-Zone.

Let us know how it works for you and please post pics.

 

[eugene]

I'm comparing to ones like http://www.dometicenviro.com/marinerefrigerator/frige.html now. $150 for a dorm fridge or even $100 if I buy a smaller non seperated freezer/fridge or $500-$600 for those. Difference is in power consumed too 150w running compared to 20-30w running.
Depends on the cost of a decent inverter, to get true sine wave you may be looking at $150 or so for the inveter, now its close to 12v fridge cost in price.

Those dometic are expensive, there was a thread on this forum a few weeks ago that had some decently priced ones, I can;t find it now.

 

[Herbie]

With a door fridge/freezer you also lose the efficiency advantage versus a "chest" style: Every time you open the door, the cold air "spills" out...

 

[eugene]

I;m thinking of getting a chest type anyway, thought about trying to seperate the back seat of my truck so it can sit between when I don't have the camper on. I just can;t find the thread with the link to the ones that were decent priced.