combo frige

[thirteen]

Has anyone here had switching problems with operating a propane / electric combonation fridge? I do not have enough sun during the winter months but I have enough for the summer months. I'll use micro hydro during the winter months until it freezes (30 to 40 days) There is not enough water during the summer for the micro hydro system to work. I plan on buying a fridge next year and need to decide before fall which way to go. 110v ac or DC 24v or 48v / propane. I'll have a propane tank on a trailer so i can take it out to the road to get filled once a year.The tank will be for the fridge and the on demand water heater only. I heat with wood and cook with wood. Just after some ideas.

[Volvo farmer]

Modern eighteen-cubic-foot 120V refrigerators can be purchased new for about $500 that use less than 1KW/day.  An absorbtion type refrigerator can never even approach this type of efficiency.  With 5 winter sun hours and factoring in some inefficiencies, you can power a $500 18 cubic foot refrigerator with about 300W of solar on a decent  off-grid system all year long.

An 8CF propane frig will use about a gallon of propane every 4 or 5 days...Forever. Propane in the US currently costs almost $3/gallon.

To me, it is a no-brainer in an off grid situation to ditch the whole propane idea and pony up the bucks up front to run a modern. efficient refrigerator.  If you don't mind paying $.60/day for eight cubic feet of cold storage in the times you don't make enough electricity, I guess you could continue down your proposed path.

Just IMO

[bj]

   Thirteen--the one I have is 110v/propane, it's a '93 Dometic.  There have been no issues with switching.
It cools slightly better on 110, but is just fine on propane.  I only use it on 110 at home, when we're not on the
road.
  Not sure if that helps

[DanG]

I have a 40-year-old RV ammonia refrigerator that is 3-way, on 12VDC it is a battery flattening behemoth, and will run a 30-lb tank dry way too fast unless you're a weekend warrior. There are better units, a very good unit uses 1.7 gallon per week for a 14.4 cuft w/ 4.7 cu ft freezer (30x36x68") but runs $2500 delivered - their smallest uses a gallon a week (24x30x64" - 8/2.1 cuft) and runs about $1750 delivered.

I also have a 12/24V compressor run mini-fridge but they aren't really built for 24/7365 usage - Seals, trim, shelves are all flimsy, and the internal voltage inverter is as fragile as any inverter and costs a bunch if/when they fail.

Converting a 120VAC chest freezer into a cooler and running it off a high efficiency pure sine inverter sure might be the most efficient way.

[thirteen]

Volvo Farmer 
Problem for me is that during the winter I only have about 2-2.5 hrs of sunlight at best. And sometimes my water will freeze. I could get maybe 4 hrs of solar during the winter but the distance would be around 700 ft. I'm in a steep canyon. I might just try and figure out my needs for not needing a fridge during the winter months. It would be cold enough outside for just a cold storage room .  A good efficient fridge 110v sounds like a pretty good idea. There will be times I will be gone for maybe two months at a time. I like the idea of 110 vs propane if I am not going to be there. And a fridge without food in it doesn't need any power.
Thanks to all for the information given. Thirteen