Most economical fridges

The Four Most Energy Efficient Refrigerators On The Planet

Just thought it might be of interest...

What is efficient for a dirt house has very little to do with a boat fridge ,

unless the boat operates the noisemaker 24/7/365.

Remember the energy used daily heating thin insulation and door seals is seldom counted in house consumption figures.

The Sun Frost is probably the best for a boat of sufficient size to get one aboard.

The Servelle best for propane .

I only posted it as an FYI after finding it on the net...grumpy bugger...

Thanks for that heads-up, Craig. I'm about to buy a new refer for the dirt dwelling, and it was good timing. At least for boats, I'll have to concur with FF and the Sun Frost. Although there's not a darned thing wrong with the gas/110 unit I have now, I'm trying to make the mods necessary in my Manatee right now to fit a Sun Frost unit in. Otherwise, the planned solar-panel array will be unnecessarily taxed.

Check the comments section below the reviews.

Steve said:

Check the comments section below the reviews.

Click to expand...

Yes, those comments pretty much covered the questions I was going to ask, those are are huge fridges, and side-by-sides are not as efficient as freezer on top.

I have the worlds cheapest fridge in this boat. I set it to make the freezer cold enough to keep ice cream frozen and it froze everything in the fresh food section. Unfortunately I only have a 24" wide space, which means about an 8 Cu Ft model. You don't have many options in this class. I'd love an ice maker and/or a water dispenser, but haven't found any with those options.

I plan to stick with a 120VAC-only model, and let the inverter run it. One good thing, just about all the fridges this size nowadays have a lower Amp rating than the crappy one I have, so I'll be moving up in quality and down in current draw.

Steve said:

Check the comments section below the reviews.

Click to expand...

I see what you mean. Hmmm. It makes one wonder about the legitimacy of the report, perhaps not from a standpoint of comparing similar models, but like most consumer information sources, there's a bit of "truth not told" rather than an out and out lie.

Wiring an extra fan will probably improve the efficiency of any fridge or freezer,
this digram from Danfoss shows where to connect either a relay (then onward to the fan) or a extra fan directly to the controller:

http://www.ra.danfoss.com/Technical...d50f_r134a_12-24vdc_06-2011_dehced100e602.pdf

I run 2 domestic units off my batteries via the inverter on my boat. Ok they are not large 120 lts each. 1 all frig the other all freezer and I also have one 110 lt freezer and a 110 lt frig that are 12 volt Danfoss units. These domestics are efficient enough and I don't have to run the gen set 24/7. the freezer is great as it gets down to about -22dec C, gthis is great for freezing fish.
At present I run it about 5 hours a day but then that is at cooking time morning and evening plus water making time .
Once the solar capacity is increased the gen set time should decrease as well.
120 lts equals about 4.2 cubic feet.
Cheers
Benn

AussieCraig said:

I only posted it as an FYI after finding it on the net...grumpy bugger...

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Thanks Craigo. I appreciate your help! Don't let know it all's get to ya!

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The biggest hassle with most cheapo house fridges is the lack of insulation.

No problem installing an extra 2 ,3, 4 inches of good foam with glue on every surface IF you have the room.

FF said:

The biggest hassle with most cheapo house fridges is the lack of insulation.

No problem installing an extra 2 ,3, 4 inches of good foam with glue on every surface IF you have the room.

Click to expand...

True that. I made my own 'Yeti' cooler from a thick but cheap stryrofoam cooler from wally world then put 3 layers of closed cell house siding foam over the whole thing. Works like a charm....no reason why the same shouldnt work for a fridge. The real trick is then to not make it look like a fridge covered in house siding LOL...

Thanks Hendo, much appreciated !

AussieCraig said:

True that. I made my own 'Yeti' cooler from a thick but cheap stryrofoam cooler from wally world then put 3 layers of closed cell house siding foam over the whole thing. Works like a charm....no reason why the same shouldnt work for a fridge. The real trick is then to not make it look like a fridge covered in house siding LOL...

Thanks Hendo, much appreciated !

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Meh ... Anywhooo How'd ya get on locating the scanned copy of the Ozbike cover from Natli Enterprises Craigo?

You still living in Texas?

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Yup

Hendo78 said:

Meh ... Anywhooo How'd ya get on locating the scanned copy of the Ozbike cover from Natli Enterprises Craigo?

You still living in Texas?

Sent from my iPhone using Trawler

Click to expand...

How did you know I was looking for that mate ? I never did get it, it was more difficult than I thought....I am still in TX, I moved from Fort Worth to New Braunfels which is a really pretty spot...

Where in Oz were you born ?

AussieCraig said:

How did you know I was looking for that mate ? I never did get it, it was more difficult than I thought....I am still in TX, I moved from Fort Worth to New Braunfels which is a really pretty spot...

Where in Oz were you born ?

Click to expand...

Its a small world mate

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Super Insulation Products ?

FF said:

The biggest hassle with most cheapo house fridges is the lack of insulation.

No problem installing an extra 2 ,3, 4 inches of good foam with glue on every surface IF you have the room.

Click to expand...

Wasn't there some 'super insulation' products out there they were more effective than just plain foams?

Seems to me I remember some sold by Glacier Bay years ago?

If you can keep that house refrig from having to come on so often, and limit its current draw (which I think a lot of the more modern motors do), then likely it could be run by the inverter.

I've forgotten where I stored some info on this subject.

brian eiland said:

Wasn't there some 'super insulation' products out there they were more effective than just plain foams?

Seems to me I remember some sold by Glacier Bay years ago?

If you can keep that house refrig from having to come on so often, and limit its current draw (which I think a lot of the more modern motors do), then likely it could be run by the inverter.

I've forgotten where I stored some info on this subject.

Click to expand...

If there are those types of products around I would be very interested ! I have used polyisocyanurate foam boards before with limited success....

RParts

RPARTS.COM - Vacuum Insulation Panels - www.rparts.com

FF said:

The biggest hassle with most cheapo house fridges is the lack of insulation.

No problem installing an extra 2 ,3, 4 inches of good foam with glue on every surface IF you have the room.

Click to expand...

Adding extra insulation to the exterior of a fridge will NOT work if the condensor coil is located directly under the exterior cabinet skin. Some fridge units have the condensor coil located in back of, or under the fridge, you could add extra insulation to these, as long as you did not impede airflow around the condensor coil.

Make sure to keep the condensor coil clean and dust free to allow the best transfer of heat from the coil to the surrounding air. This will keep your fridge running the most effecient.

Aerogel, Ultra-R, etc

brian eiland said:

Wasn't there some 'super insulation' products out there they were more effective than just plain foams?

Seems to me I remember some sold by Glacier Bay years ago?

I've forgotten where I stored some info on this subject.

Click to expand...

Found a couple of references to the subject....rather lengthy discussion and photos of the use on aerogel
Aerogel - Spaceloft Insulation for Fridge / Freezer

That Glacier Bay material was called Ultra-R
Aerogel - Spaceloft Insulation for Fridge / Freezer - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

theran5317 said:

Adding extra insulation to the exterior of a fridge will NOT work if the condensor coil is located directly under the exterior cabinet skin. Some fridge units have the condensor coil located in back of, or under the fridge, you could add extra insulation to these, as long as you did not impede airflow around the condensor coil.

Make sure to keep the condensor coil clean and dust free to allow the best transfer of heat from the coil to the surrounding air. This will keep your fridge running the most effecient.

Click to expand...

Interesting observation.