Homebrewed Electricity > Controls
12V fridge
kitestrings:
I googled this from a post I’d done back in 2014:
One of the first off-grid appliances that I ever bought was a Dometic refrigerator from an AE dealer (and there weren't many of them then) in ME named Peter Talmage, Talmage Engineering; nice fellow I'd gotten to know in my wind days. It is 8 CF, like many RV units, but uses a Danfoss compressor instead of the less efficient, and more common "3-way" absorption units.
Anyhow, this frig is still with us. It is now 30 years old. Works like a champ. A few years ago it acted a bit flakey and I thought it was going to die, so I tried contacting Dometic; still had the manual. Well, they never made such a thing I was told fairly curtly, but I explain to a couple folks there that the thing said Dometic RM760 front and center. And, I had their manual in my hand.
Eventually I spoke to a guy who'd been there too long I suspect. He explained, that they were actually labeled by Dometic under a contract for Winnebago, but manufactured by a company called Novakool. Sure enough I called Novakool out in BC, CA. They shipped me a new controller and we were back in cold beer. And, our off-grid home had a new-found Winnebago prestige .
Jump ahead another ~7-8 years, and I figured our fridge had finally died. It was making this high-pitched, straining squeal when it wanted to start. I boosted the voltage a bit and it went away, but not for long. After a quick search of just how expensive new ones had become, and how long you had to wait now… I pulled the thing out of it’s pocket. I was hoping perhaps that it was just the controller. Those are discontinued now too, but I guess you can get aftermarket ones.
I tried by-passing the thermostat, and was please to hear it roar to life again. Well okay, it is more like the sound of a fish-tank aerator, but it was music to my ears.
I had a little trouble finding a replacement – not an exact match – but in the end I match the application (fridge, manual defrost), the capillary length (1200 mm), and roughly the temps stamped on the old one.
There’s a movie “Free Solo” about the young climber, Alex Honnold, who free climbed El Capitan. At one point Alex and his love interest are searching for refrigerator for their new apartment. Up until now he’s been living, eating, training in a van. She likes the larger, thru the door water dispenser & ice models, he focuses on a modest ~10-12 CF, no-frills. He explains that it is “perfectly adequate”. It’s a running joke here, when one of us is cussing about the size of this thing, that it is “perfectly adequate”.
kitestrings:
This was the original thermostat:
This is the thermostat we used:
The description reads:
Danfoss 077B6175
Product description
This is the Danfoss Thermostat Original Part Number 077B6175 [W5-30240]•: Type:077B6819•: Connection:4.8 mm•: Cap.tube length: 1500 mm•: Cold out:-18.5º:C•: Cold in:+4.5º:C•: Warm out:-5.5º:C•: Warm in: +4.5º:CSuitable for: HELKAMA 0610200
The capillary tube had a white "PE coating + shrinkable flex. tube 135 mm". I'm not familiar enough with these things to know when/why they use that. I might assume it is when it travels through a warmer space (near the evap coils), or where it might have incidental contact with energized parts? Anyway it seems to work well, and I'M set maybe 1/3 of the way up the dial, so we have room to move a bit warmer , and much colder.
DamonHD:
Interesting, thanks!
Damon
Mary B:
--- Quote from: kitestrings on September 23, 2021, 04:37:56 PM ---I googled this from a post I’d done back in 2014:
One of the first off-grid appliances that I ever bought was a Dometic refrigerator from an AE dealer (and there weren't many of them then) in ME named Peter Talmage, Talmage Engineering; nice fellow I'd gotten to know in my wind days. It is 8 CF, like many RV units, but uses a Danfoss compressor instead of the less efficient, and more common "3-way" absorption units.
Anyhow, this frig is still with us. It is now 30 years old. Works like a champ. A few years ago it acted a bit flakey and I thought it was going to die, so I tried contacting Dometic; still had the manual. Well, they never made such a thing I was told fairly curtly, but I explain to a couple folks there that the thing said Dometic RM760 front and center. And, I had their manual in my hand.
Eventually I spoke to a guy who'd been there too long I suspect. He explained, that they were actually labeled by Dometic under a contract for Winnebago, but manufactured by a company called Novakool. Sure enough I called Novakool out in BC, CA. They shipped me a new controller and we were back in cold beer. And, our off-grid home had a new-found Winnebago prestige .
(Attachment Link)
(Attachment Link)
Jump ahead another ~7-8 years, and I figured our fridge had finally died. It was making this high-pitched, straining squeal when it wanted to start. I boosted the voltage a bit and it went away, but not for long. After a quick search of just how expensive new ones had become, and how long you had to wait now… I pulled the thing out of it’s pocket. I was hoping perhaps that it was just the controller. Those are discontinued now too, but I guess you can get aftermarket ones.
(Attachment Link)
I tried by-passing the thermostat, and was please to hear it roar to life again. Well okay, it is more like the sound of a fish-tank aerator, but it was music to my ears.
I had a little trouble finding a replacement – not an exact match – but in the end I match the application (fridge, manual defrost), the capillary length (1200 mm), and roughly the temps stamped on the old one.
(Attachment Link)
There’s a movie “Free Solo” about the young climber, Alex Honnold, who free climbed El Capitan. At one point Alex and his love interest are searching for refrigerator for their new apartment. Up until now he’s been living, eating, training in a van. She likes the larger, thru the door water dispenser & ice models, he focuses on a modest ~10-12 CF, no-frills. He explains that it is “perfectly adequate”. It’s a running joke here, when one of us is cussing about the size of this thing, that it is “perfectly adequate”.
(Attachment Link)
--- End quote ---
We used to cram 12 + people in a 35 foot camper and manage to feed them all for a week out of a fridge that size. Of course all beverages were kept in coolers under the camper, dad had built a locking box under the front to hold coolers, fishing gear, life jackets, wet clothing had a space to hang and dry if it was rainy. Beer alone for 12 adults for a week at the lake takes a LOT of space LOL
bigrockcandymountain:
"Perfectly adequate" I like that line. The line in our house is, "people raised kids in tipis you know"
Our fridge is just an energy efficient, plain, bare bones frigidaire. It is about 13 cu ft and with a family of 5 it is fine. It is a good thing christmas is in the winter though. When 20 people show up for a few days it doesn't quite cut it.
My mom has a fridge in her house plugged in in 1958 and still going strong. To my knowledge it has never had any parts replaced.
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