Well I was at an auction tonight, I need a nice small refrigerator for my little motor home right. Ok, they got this nice NEW white Chefmate 120Vac counter top frig, the little bar type. I grabbed it for $35 not looking at it much. I expected it to be same as any other counter top type bar fridge, like the brown ones selling for $100 at wal-mart and such, a real fridge with the little ice tray etc... real compressor, coils, condensor and all that stuff!
Well, OOPS! Looked inside, NO ice tray! Just a vent cover in the center of the back inside, big vented cover on rear, 2 large fans, dust filter removable for cleaning, etc.
Sure enough the manual inside calls it a Refrigerator, but it looks more like a peltier cooler to me so far! I looked in the vents with a flashlight, all I see are heatsinks! I don't see any condensors, evaporators, compressor, nothing, but I have not yet taken it apart to look deep. If it works decent I won't tear into it. So far just the idea I am not happy! I expected a fridge to be a fridge! I did not expect a Fridge to be a cheap peltier cooler running on 120V!!! I have 12V peltiers from cooler type ice chests, and junk bar type counter top fridges, for this I could build my own at 12V and not need the inverter for 120V, if that's what this is!!!
So the ratings on the back say 70watts, well my cheap 300watt inverter squeals when I plug it in! So I plugged it into the Watt A Meter on the grid, shows 70watts or so starting up. But press for amps it shows 1.11 amps? 133.2 watts? If 1.11amps X 120volts is 133.2 watts, but watts shown on Watt A Meter is 70watts (the rating for the fridge) then what is my grid bill figuring, and also more important what will my battery consumption be?
After 3:32 hours/minutes in use from warm start about 70F I am showing 26watts being used right now. Tempature inside is about 46F, I have it set to the coldest setting also. KW used shows 0.20 on the Watt A meter. Temp of fridge case is 72F and kitchen table is 73F, so does not look like much loss there so far.
Ok, looking at the rating plate, 110V input, 1.0amps, 70watts ??
Does this compute correctly? 1amp at 110V, should that not be 110watts? Watt A meter did show start up at 70 watts. 70 watts at 110volts, should that not be like 0.63amp?
If no compressor then no locked rotor right, so why did my 300watt cheapo inverter squeal like an over load on a 70watt load? I'll check the connections and such later to be sure, but I ran over a 100 watt load the other day on same wires and inverter just fine.
Manufactor date on this unit is 05/07 so kinda new perhaps to the market, if you need a counter top small fridge like I do then check them out and maybe beware also! I don't know in just 3 hours if this will be decent or junk just yet, but I do know it's not what I expected when I bought it!!!
Rants & Opinions, well I didn't know where else to put this, it's NOT a diary.
So I guess the rant is if it's NOT a fridge then DON'T call it a fridge, and opinion is if it's a peltier device then it is not a real fridge!! A 12V peltier cooler is NOT a refrigerator, making it 120V and upright instead of a chest does not make it a refrigerator either, just an upright 120Vac cooler!!
Ya, like lasagna! REAL lasagna is LAYERS of meat and noodles and cheeses, and sauce, etc... in a casarole type dish! I cook this myself, costs about $20 a pan to make at home for real stuff!!
That mixed up slop in a can is NOT lasagna even if the slop makers want to call it such! It is just slop in a can with a false name! I will eat that slop in a can at home or on the road when in a rush for $0.75 a can sometimes, but never more.
I walked the ticket after an arguement in a fancy restaruant over that also and I won!
Slop in a can on a plate is not a $10 lasagna meal no matter what they call the slop!! And a Peltier cooler may not be a real refrigerator either!!
