Anyone here use a solar fridge they like/dislike? ("If I had to do it over, I would______")

We are very close to 100% solar-able. Outside our present home, which is being prepped for sale, there are 3 of the big 300+ watt panels on the roof of our RV.
We can get the top of our solar controllers output, about 60 amps, from 9AM to sundown.
In the RV, we found three of the big deep cycles to provide more than enough power for us to last through the night.
(Internet, phones, movies, audio, ham radio, lights, fan...)
Our fridge in the RV worked great on propane, so we put cash elsewhere instead of looking into a solar fridge. (Cost $35 a month in propane though...)

The side by side in the house quit on us.
Even though we did not plan on buying a solar fridge yet, spending money on the side-by-side "pig" in our present kitchen, does not sit right with either of us.
(We planned on leaving it for the new owners.)

The 8 cubic foot models seem to have enough space for us.
Anyone have any advice on which brand?
Did you think the chest style would be a pain in the butt, but then you found it wasn't that bad???
Did the power draw they list in the specs agree with what you saw in real life?
12V is how we have it now. Would like to stick with 12 actually, for simplicities sake.

Is there a brand who gave you stellar support?
Or a brand that was a nightmare?

Looking at the fridge freezer combos, (which is what we would like to have) the power draw goes up.
Any of you found this to be true, or not so much?

Opening the door twenty times an hour seems to be the biggest enemy of (any) fridge.
Have you found your own model to be touchy in this way?
(Our "chip" cooler is quite good if you leave it closed and only open it three or four times per day. Wonder if these are the same way.)

Any other data or sites that you found helpful?
Companies that sell scratch/dent for reduced prices?

A thread you found helpful, not found in the basic Google search?

Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.

We opted for the chest type because of power efficiency. Since we tend to open the door several times a day, the thought of dumping all that cold air bothered us. I wasn't too sure I'd like a chest frig, but I adapted very quickly to it. I don't ever plan to return to an upright. But I can easily see why some people wouldn't like a chest.

We too started out with an upright propane frig because we inherited it with the property we bought. While it worked well, it was quite expensive to run. So when we had the money saved up, we switched to DC chest types. For years I had wanted to have a chest freezer, so we sprung for both a frig and a separate freezer.

Power efficiency has been great. Absolutely no complaints there.

Things I've learned:
...don't overload them. That's a bad habit for any frig or freezer, but I was guilty of that habit because I got lazy about it with the upright frost-free types. Besides, if I put too much stuff in them, I lose things in the corners and bottom, never to be identifiable again.
...they are not self defrosting in any fashion. The freezer will build up frost around the top 6 inches if you don't watch it. The refrigerator will build up condensation on the walls. If you don't wipe the condensation off on a regular basis or have rags strategically placed along the bottom to catch the moisture, then you will have water pooling up on the bottom. There is a drain plug in the bottom for removing moisture build up, but rather than waiting until it gets that bad, I use rags.
...they operate better if you don't pile up the food right along the interior walls. I've gone to using wire baskets to hold the food items. It's forced me to become much better organized.
...allow good airflow around them. They dissipate heat via the exterior covering, especially along the front and sides. We keep a 6 inch air space although the owners manual says at least three.

We started out several years ago by buying two Steca units. The fact that they were so simple to change from freezer to frig was the deciding factor. One unit has been perfect. Never a problem. The other has had thermostat issues, compressor problems, rusting, and paint issues. One perfect, one a problem child. A major problem for me was that parts took weeks, sometimes months, to show up. Three months without an operating freezer wasn't acceptable. Finally the problem child totally failed, so we replaced it with a Sundanzer, It has been perfect so far. No problems. The only drawback I see it that in order to switch between freezer and frig, you have to manually go in a replace the thermostat, which is a hassle. Otherwise the two are very similar.

I know several people around me who have either a Steca or a Sundanzer. Everybody appears to be very happy with their choice. It just takes a change of mindset to switch over to using a chest type.

By "solar fridge" I assume you mean 24VDC? I am looking at the Kodiak 27.2"W model. I cannot find many reviews. I am 100% off grid and have no regular AC power source. I do not want a chest type due to a bad back.
 I agree about propane. They use far too much gas and despite the local repair shop said, I was never able to find a "mobile tech"; much less one who would come out to my remote location. I have a 2800W 24V system with an older Outback inverter that has to be on due to a pump for my radiant heat. I have had suggestions about buying a regular AC one, which I find absurd. If anyone has a review of Kodiak fridges, let me know..!

Lynn,

I have Sundanzer DDR165 directly connected to a 275 W panel with no battery. I would not like to live here without it. During 6 month long summer I need to drink at least 5 liters of cold home made beverages per day. My well water is a little bit too warm to cool my body from the inside.
I purchased it in 2014. For last 5 years I kept it outside in the elements. Works wonderfully.

Negatives:
1. Top loaded fridge is always dirty, it gets filthy in one week, because everything drops to it, liquids leaks out, butter falls, etc. For someone who would like to make some civilized cakes, tiramisu, cheesecakes, that need refrigeration would not be happy.
2. The seal has broke off and Sundanzer does not offer replacement parts any more for this model; they told me I would have to replace entire lid - what a waste! I tore off the glued seal and bought some adhesive universal white and wide seal. Just replaced it a week ago. They use the body of Electrolux fridges, but it was impossible for me to find the model number and SKU of the parts.
Also the side plastic compressor compartment cover got broken (when we played soccer) and there is no replacement either. I will have to fabricate it.

Of course in winter when it's overcast here, the fridge does not work too much with no battery backup and mold quickly develops inside.
I consider it to be my favorite tool.
I also have the same size freezer that I still need to connect to a panel and battery.

I will never buy a 'Unique' brand product again. My DC fridge and propane range have both been lousy, particularly the fridge.

I replaced it with a convertible chest fridge/freezer. Ac powered. Cheap, locally available, efficient, bigger, keeps food fresh longer. Inverters stay on overnight now.

Doing it again, I might well plan for a dedicated lower capacity high efficiency inverter that would run fridge, small water pump, ac lighting, etc. Then just skip all household DC wiring, and the bigger twin Victron inverters with higher idle consumption could be turned off probably 85% of the time.

Solar panels have become so cheap now that I personally when the whole-AC method, and went with standard AC appliances I bought at Home Depot.  With a 18cuft refrigerator/freezer, I find myself consuming about 0.8kWh in winter, and 1.8kWh in summer.  With 15 300W panels wired 3S5P, I can keep the batteries fully charged even in the rain on a December day.  Do NOT try to buy panels online from Amazon or Ebay.  Shop for local panels on Craigslist, and buy locally with cash and carry pricing.  I would ignore anything less than 3W/$ for brand-new uninstalled panels, and I think now 5W/$ is a good deal.  Bring a voltmeter with you if you are concerned about panel quality.  Don't buy anything with a Voc more than 10% less than the documented Voc pasted on the back of the panel.

I am running a full sized fridge off solar.        But I have over 30 kWH of battery storage, and about 5,000 watts of solar which has me off the electrical grid, but not the propane grid.

The first limit you have is how much space do you have for a fridge....     This helps to limit down what you can have..


If you have lots of space,  then the Amish made freezers are good options.

Other options include converting a freezer into  a fridge....     Extra complication, but if you don't need the freezer function may be useful depending on the needs.



There are many options to choose from, so starting with how much you are willing to spend, and what your space is is a good place to limit down the choices.

D Nikolls wrote:I will never buy a 'Unique' brand product again. My DC fridge and propane range have both been lousy, particularly the fridge........
.............. twin Victron inverters with higher idle consumption could be turned off probably 85% of the time.

I'd like to ask what was wrong with your fridge? I'd like to stock spare parts, if necessary.
We bought a Unique 24V DC 16?c.f. fridge and 9 c.f. chest freezer, can also be run on 120AC. I was under the impression they were made in Canada, having never seen one in person. Fridge at least appears to have been shipped from Vietnam. Been very happy with them, although the chest freezer has seen very limited use. Soft, ramped startup to avoid large power draw and compressor wear, quiet. The fridge and freezer draw about 65-70w ea. running. My only complaint would be the fridge doesn't have enough insulation for a 24V DC off grid in my opinion, was hard to tell having never seen one.
We also have have about a decade of part time service from a Unique propane fridge at one of the other cabins, great unit.  
I doubled the usage I get from a 100lb propane cylinder to well over three months by taking our old, reliable, but small Consol propane fridge out of the loop, replacing with DC. Might take years to pay for the new fridge, even though propane seems to just keep incrementally climbing in price, and we never would have had the option to upgrade to our current freezer capacity just on propane. Also, propane was unavailable locally for just a short time during Covid terror, lesson learned. I can now stock enough tanks for almost 2 years of service.  

I'm sure I've written this before, but I have done everything up here on microgrids. Every building and large task, (houses, garage, skid shack, domestic lake water pump, yard water, fire suppression) has it's own power. Allowed me to build over time with less expensive sourced equipment, no hugely expensive cabling, large arrays or inverters/controllers. Our needs are very modest, small house, no TV or large draw appliances. A 30 yr old Trace 4k 24V inverter runs the house. Rock solid, hand built in the U.S.A. I bought a pair of them, never used, at a great price from a solar dealers storage room. Much of our lighting is simple rechargables. As I build out my work and living spaces, I expect to upgrade.
The garage inverter grid runs a 6c.f.70W MagicChef AC chest freezer in a cool, insulated, back room, our primary storage freezer. Low power draw, on a timer set to run during daylight hours. Purchased cheap, used, 6 yrs. of great service.

I ran a dedicated 24V DC circuit for the new appliances. On the advice of my supplier I added a Victron 24-24V converter to avoid exposing the appliances to the high voltages of battery equalization as well as a steady, unvarying supply voltage. Seems like a formula for longer DC appliance life.
We live remote and leave home for extended periods of time. Having an inverter running when gone just seems like a short-sighted, unnecessary, layer of complexity, risk, wear and tear. We have gotten more than 35yrs of part time service from the 4024 Trace in the other cabin. By babying this one I expect to get a couple decades from it.
Only thing I would do differently from my current setup would be to bypass the cheap, Chinese junk inverters, controllers, small pumps I experimented with building here. Kindergarten, disposable, 12V is fine for a small RV or whatever, but anything that needs real, permanent power runs better on 24V and quality, modest sized 12V is not that much more expensive.

Hello @Mart Hale, you mention an Amish made freezer, what is that?

We don't currently use any major solar, other than some small rechargeable items with built-in solar panels. I want to change that. My plan is to start putting up solar panels next year, then add batteries, inverter, charge controller. Then, as various appliances need to be replaced, I want to replace them with 12v. Eventually we should have the whole house running on solar, or close to it, leaving the grid wiring in place if we still need it for a few things (like the two window AC units that keep us cool in Kentucky summers). Most of what I want to replace won't even be wired in - there are plenty of rechargeable lights, fans, and so on, that just need to be plugged in once in a while.

What I'm thinking for refrigeration is to replace the frig with a good-quality ice chest, a large one, and keep it cold with gallon jugs of ice from our chest freezers. (Eventually, we'll replace the chest freezers, too, with a 12v freezer.) The first few months that we lived here, we got by that way - I had brought a small chest freezer with us, so was able to keep jugs of water frozen. That ice chest wasn't ideal, because it was a cheap one with no insulation in the lid. But it did work. Now we have two chest freezers,  so making ice for an ice chest isn't a problem. I've been researching ice chests, and there are some nice-sized ones that will stay cold for several days (and they don't cost nearly as much as buying a new refrigerator!).

Kathleen Sanderson wrote:We don't currently use any major solar, other than some small rechargeable items with built-in solar panels. I want to change that. My plan is to start putting up solar panels next year, then add batteries, inverter, charge controller. Then, as various appliances need to be replaced, I want to replace them with 12v. Eventually we should have the whole house running on solar, or close to it, leaving the grid wiring in place if we still need it for a few things (like the two window AC units that keep us cool in Kentucky summers).  

I would strongly admonish you to skip 12V, and graduate directly to 48V.  Did you know that at the dawn of the 20th century, 6V automotive electrical systems were the standard?  By the 1930's, everyone could see the limitations of 6V and starting moving to 12V.  By the 1950's, 12V was ubiquitous.  Today's new generation of electric vehicles are all 48V, and 48V will be the new standard of the future.  You might as well get on the new standard now.

I myself started out at 12V, and attempted to run my own homestead cabin on a 12V to 120VAC system.  It worked, sort of, but left a LOT to be desired.  Certain LARGE items, like the 240VAC well-pump absolutely could not run on a 12V system.  I graduated to 48V in 2017, got a dual 120/240VAC inverter, and have been powering my well-pump with that ever since.  My 48V system powers everything else effortlessly.  Running your power at higher voltage allows you to use thinner copper wire, which is obscenely expensive now.

All the 12V/24V DC appliances out there are overpriced niche products, and you end up spending less money overall going with a standard AC system, with mass-market appliances bought at your local store.

Don't start buying stuff until you've fleshed out a plan.  A lot of those "great deals" end up costing more in the long-run as you attempt to fit them into a system.  Put together a plan and we here can help you troubleshoot the design so you can have the best operating system.

I bought a used RV electric/propane refrigerator for WAY less than any solar fridge I had purchased in the past - all of which were supposedly reputable brands, and all of which broke down quickly (one of them within weeks of purchase).  

Since then it's been used fridges - the one that lasted longest was old (1940s model) and worked perfectly for about 25 years. When it finally broke down it turned out that no one was selling the part needed anymore and no repair service would touch it because of liability issues.

That was very sad.

I'm currently running the RV fridge on electric start with propane doing the actual cooling because my PV system is not currently running at full capacity. I know when all my panels are hooked up again I will have the system capacity to run it all on solar, and will change over then.  I don't have a lot of incentive to do the switch because I've had the fridge for two years now, and it turns out that it doesn't use that much propane.

Hello,
I have both a Sunstar 16 cu ft fridge (ac/dc) and a their 15 cu ft chest freezer (and I love them.  I have had trouble free operation for a couple of years and
When I had a question I talked to someone within minutes.  I would highly recommend them. If I can help or answer any questions let me know  :)

Welcome to permies, Lynn Maguire!
Make sure to let us know where you are hailing from and growing zone, soil etc. It probably doesn't matter for a post on solar fridges, but it helps when folks answer other queries.
Nice to have you here.

Mart Hale wrote:I am running a full sized fridge off solar.        But I have over 30 kWH of battery storage, and about 5,000 watts of solar which has me off the electrical grid, but not the propane grid.

The first limit you have is how much space do you have for a fridge....     This helps to limit down what you can have..


If you have lots of space,  then the Amish made freezers are good options.

Other options include converting a freezer into  a fridge....     Extra complication, but if you don't need the freezer function may be useful depending on the needs.

I had heard about this conversion and am planning to do it, but the video was good because I wondered about the best freezer model and external thermostat to use. Thank you for sharing!

Tommy Bolin wrote:  The fridge and freezer draw about 65-70w ea. running. My only complaint would be the fridge doesn't have enough insulation for a 24V DC off grid in my opinion, was hard to tell having never seen one.

disposable, 12V is fine for a small RV or whatever, but anything that needs real, permanent power runs better on 24V and quality.

Great advice.  Anymore?  I’m in the middle of below grade room build for this exact purpose, as well as increased insulation to zero degree, regular freezer, fridge that will reside in that room.  Brands and models any advice greatly appreciated.  I like the buy in person with voltmeter and testing.  We did that at a moderately upscale appliance dealer and found a few probs, higher load draws, shorts, all kinds.
As well is Sol-Ark 15K worth $$$ vs MyGrid $$ 10K givin likelihood of solid state battery tech coming in next 10 years? Thanks, Cheers the micro grids.

L Garnaat wrote:Hello @Mart Hale, you mention an Amish made freezer, what is that?

There are two types I am aware of.  

One that uses electricity with a brand name my friend will get back to me later with...

The other one uses the old "ice house"  method with very thick insulation.

Here is a video of creating ice to fill the ice freezer.

https://rumble.com/vwm3dl-freezing-ice-blocks-for-the-ice-house.html?e9s=src_v1_cbl%2Csrc_v1_upp_v

Tommy Bolin wrote:

D Nikolls wrote:I will never buy a 'Unique' brand product again. My DC fridge and propane range have both been lousy, particularly the fridge........
.............. twin Victron inverters with higher idle consumption could be turned off probably 85% of the time.

I'd like to ask what was wrong with your fridge? I'd like to stock spare parts, if necessary.
We bought a set, 24V DC 16?c.f. fridge and 9 c.f. chest freezer, can also be run on 120AC. I was under the impression they were made in Canada, having never seen one in person. Fridge at least appears to have been shipped from Vietnam. Been very happy with them, although the chest freezer has seen very limited use. Soft, ramped startup to avoid large power draw and compressor wear, quiet. The fridge and freezer draw about 65-70w ea. running. My only complaint would be the fridge doesn't have enough insulation for a 24V DC off grid in my opinion, was hard to tell having never seen one.
We also have have about a decade of part time service from a Unique propane fridge at one of the other cabins, great unit.  
I doubled the usage I get from a 100lb propane cylinder to well over three months by taking our old, reliable, but small Consol propane fridge out of the loop, replacing with DC. Might take years to pay for the new fridge, which seems to just keep incrementally climbing in price, and we never would have had the option to upgrade to our current freezer capacity just on propane. Also, propane was unavailable locally for just a short time during Covid terror, lesson learned. I can now stock enough tanks for almost 2 years of service.  

I'm sure I've written this before, but I have done everything up here on microgrids. Every building and large task, (houses, garage, skid shack, domestic lake water pump, yard water, fire suppression) has it's own power. Allowed me to build over time with less expensive sourced equipment, no hugely expensive cabling, large arrays or inverters/controllers. Our needs are very modest, small house, no TV or large draw appliances. A 30 yr old Trace 4k 24V inverter runs the house. Rock solid, hand built in the U.S.A. I bought a pair of them, never used, at a great price from a solar dealers storage room. Much of our lighting is simple rechargables. As I build out my work and living spaces, I expect to upgrade.
The garage inverter grid runs a 6c.f.70W MagicChef AC chest freezer in a cool, insulated, back room, our primary storage freezer. Low power draw, on a timer set to run during daylight hours. Purchased cheap, used, 6 yrs. of great service.

I ran a dedicated 24V DC circuit for the new appliances. On the advice of my supplier I added a Victron 24-24V converter to avoid exposing the appliances to the high voltages of battery equalization as well as a steady, unvarying supply voltage. Seems like a formula for longer DC appliance life.
We live remote and leave home for extended periods of time. Having an inverter running when gone just seems like a short-sighted, unnecessary, layer of complexity, risk, wear and tear. We have gotten more than 35yrs of part time service from the 4024 Trace in the other cabin. By babying this one I expect to get a couple decades from it.
Only thing I would do differently from my current setup would be to bypass the cheap, Chinese junk inverters, controllers, small pumps I experimented with building here. Kindergarten, disposable, 12V is fine for a small RV or whatever, but anything that needs real, permanent power runs better on 24V and quality, modest sized 12V is not that much more expensive.

The fridge exceeded rated power consumption while still pretty new; it just ran the compressor more than I would expect. The insulation is pretty thin, and all the parts were on the flimsy side.. At that time it cooled ok, but the top freezer compartment iced up badly and often.

Over time the compressor ran an ever increasing portion of the time; when it was pulled from service it would no longer keep cool enough and ran constantly. Slow refrigerant leak?

By that time I'd gotten married and found that life with my wife required more fridge space, and I had no faith in the unit, so I didn't look into repairs. The AC convertible chest freezer was about 30% the cost, keeps food much longer, and generally feels better built. It's also very power efficient due to extra insulation and top opening..

L Garnaat wrote:Hello @Mart Hale, you mention an Amish made freezer, what is that?

My friend got back to me....

They bought the

sun star model st 15cf

https://www.sunstarappliance.com/product-page/sunstar-solar-ac-chest-freezer-15cu-st-15cf-ac

Specs..

Mart Hale wrote:

L Garnaat wrote:Hello @Mart Hale, you mention an Amish made freezer, what is that?

My friend got back to me....

They bought the

sun star model st 15cf

https://www.sunstarappliance.com/product-page/sunstar-solar-ac-chest-freezer-15cu-st-15cf-ac

Specs..

Hmm, what's Amish about the Sunstar?

Looking at the specs it is 'designed specifically for off grid', but only runs on 115 AC?

>>Hmm, what's Amish about the Sunstar?





From

https://offgriddistribution.com/collections/sunstar-appliances-1

The story of SunStar appliances begins with an Amish factory located in America’s remote & beautiful heartland. Renowned for their craftsmanship and careful attention to detail, every product they manufacture is made with functionality and durability in mind. After many years of designing and testing, the SunStar line of refrigerators and freezers are unmatched in their category.

Ideal for off-grid applications, SunStar appliances are well suited for use in off-grid homes, cabins, cottages, lodges, homesteads, and other situations where superior quality, reliability, and energy efficiency are a priority.

SunStar is the only company that designs and manufactures solar and DC appliances right here in America. From scratch.

If they are partnering with the Amish and not just exploiting the name, this sounds promising. However, when the marketing starkly contradicts itself between products, I'd hesitate to order anything online from them.

Efficiency – SunStar appliances use an exclusive Keota DC compressor sized specifically for the appliance for faster cooling on start-up, combined with ultra-thick polyurethane wall and door insulation, making each appliance super-efficient.

SunStar Vs Conventional Household AC models:

No inverter required! – SunStar operates on solar and DC systems, and automatically detects and functions using 12v or 24v battery banks

and the model you originally linked:

Input Power 115VAC

Coydon Wallham wrote:If they are partnering with the Amish and not just exploiting the name, this sounds promising. However, when the marketing starkly contradicts itself between products, I'd hesitate to order anything online from them.

Efficiency – SunStar appliances use an exclusive Keota DC compressor sized specifically for the appliance for faster cooling on start-up, combined with ultra-thick polyurethane wall and door insulation, making each appliance super-efficient.

SunStar Vs Conventional Household AC models:

No inverter required! – SunStar operates on solar and DC systems, and automatically detects and functions using 12v or 24v battery banks

and the model you originally linked:

Input Power 115VAC

If you read thru the tread above, I mention 2 models.    1)  with no electricity.    2)   with electricity.

Choose as you will.

I chose a 60L Iceco chest cooler. It has two compartments with separate thermostats that can be set anywhere down to 0*F. It can run directly on 115AC or 12/24/48DC. Being off grid I appreciate that it can be powered directly from my base 24V battery or 48V once I upgrade. Most importantly I can run it directly from a car or truck electrical system in case the home system fails or on a trip, and plug it in to AC while staying somewhere on grid. Pricey, but I went with an all metal body to take abuse and the compressor has double the warranty of the common Amazon cheapie knock offs.

Back to the question that started this thread, what is implied by "solar fridge", something that has an inverter and can run directly off a solar panel? I was thinking of something like a wofati freezer when I first clicked on this, a way to refrigerate without electricity (using the sun, not blocks of ice)...

[quote=D Nikolls
At that time it cooled ok, but the top freezer compartment iced up badly and often.

Over time the compressor ran an ever increasing portion of the time; when it was pulled from service it would no longer keep cool enough and ran constantly. Slow refrigerant leak?

By that time I'd gotten married and found that life with my wife required more fridge space, and I had no faith in the unit, so I didn't look into repairs. The AC convertible chest freezer was about 30% the cost, keeps food much longer, and generally feels better built. It's also very power efficient due to extra insulation and top opening  

The ice on the freezer walls is a function of the cooling system, the evaporator coils are in the walls, and there is no fan to circulate air like a conventional freezer. My backroom AC chest freezer does the same, but does not get opened few times a day, so no humidity to freeze. My Unique chest freezer has an interior clear partition under the lid, I suppose to create dead cold air space for insulation and to allow you to check contents without letting heat in. Also works to limit humidity, therefore frost on the walls. I throw a towel over the contents of my backroom freezer, and in fact all my ice chest/coolers for the same reason, helps create a dead air space over the contents.
I have proven it to myself. I was structural superintendent and carpenter's foreman in Death Valley when Furnace Creek was renovated in 2018, built the new 'Oasis'. I have a Grizzly 100L, the original 'super insulated' cooler. Left out all day at 120+ degrees F. I sat on it at the end of the day to have a cold beer and burned my butt. Okay. Got the heat gun out, 162 deg surface temp. 72 degrees surface inside. 38 at the wall just under the towel. Towel keeps the ice from having to chill air above the ice line.

Poor cooling is a different deal. I'm no fridge tech but seems like weak compressor or refrigerant loss. Have to look into that. Thank you.

Tommy Bolin wrote:[quote=D Nikolls
At that time it cooled ok, but the top freezer compartment iced up badly and often.

Over time the compressor ran an ever increasing portion of the time; when it was pulled from service it would no longer keep cool enough and ran constantly. Slow refrigerant leak?

By that time I'd gotten married and found that life with my wife required more fridge space, and I had no faith in the unit, so I didn't look into repairs. The AC convertible chest freezer was about 30% the cost, keeps food much longer, and generally feels better built. It's also very power efficient due to extra insulation and top opening  

The ice on the freezer walls is a function of the cooling system, the evaporator coils are in the walls, and there is no fan to circulate air like a conventional freezer. My backroom AC chest freezer does the same, but does not get opened few times a day, so no humidity to freeze. My Unique chest freezer has an interior clear partition under the lid, I suppose to create dead cold air space for insulation and to allow you to check contents without letting heat in. Also works to limit humidity, therefore frost on the walls. I throw a towel over the contents of my backroom freezer, and in fact all my ice chest/coolers for the same reason, helps create a dead air space over the contents.
I have proven it to myself. I was structural superintendent and carpenter's foreman in Death Valley when Furnace Creek was renovated in 2018, built the new 'Oasis'. I have a Grizzly 100L, the original 'super insulated' cooler. Left out all day at 120+ degrees F. I sat on it at the end of the day to have a cold beer and burned my butt. Okay. Got the heat gun out, 162 deg surface temp. 72 degrees surface inside. 38 at the wall just under the towel. Towel keeps the ice from having to chill air above the ice line.

Poor cooling is a different deal. I'm no fridge tech but seems like weak compressor or refrigerant loss. Have to look into that. Thank you.

That's a cool trick with the towel!

Ya, I get that the icing is inevitable with the design of that particular fridge. I hadn't anticipated it being such a nuisance, having not had one like it before. While there is some condensation with any fridge or freezer, a freezerless fridge is at least comparatively quick and easy to wipe down, and if you need a freezer compartment a fully separate compartment in a larger fridge/freezer is far less obnoxious in my experience.

Coolers-towels.
Coolers are often for travel. I did a lot of it for work, oilfield/construction. I found that clean towels, slightly damp, always in short supply living out of my truck.
Bonus: In really hot weather, that big, cool, damp bath towel is great for a short bit of heat relief.
Good luck.

David Nightingale wrote:
Great advice.  Anymore?  I’m in the middle of below grade room build for this exact purpose, as well as increased insulation to zero degree, regular freezer, fridge that will reside in that room.  Brands and models any advice greatly appreciated.  I like the buy in person with voltmeter and testing.  We did that at a moderately upscale appliance dealer and found a few probs, higher load draws, shorts, all kinds.
As well is Sol-Ark 15K worth $$$ vs MyGrid $$ 10K givin likelihood of solid state battery tech coming in next 10 years? Thanks, Cheers the micro grids.

I've got not much to add, sorry. But, if you can, concentrate on using less rather than buying more capacity. I know that is not an option for a lot of people.
We love our small bush home dim, warm, and quiet. Especially in the stillness and solitude of a heavy winter. No neighbors, no noise, period. We are usually shocked when we go home to Nevada and the brightness and noise.
I marvel at the (huge) cost, complexity, and capability of current solar tech. Like everything, it seems to be a cult of have/have not. I built the mini-grids to allow me to piece build from scratch and put power where it needs to go at lowest cost.
The original (70's) owner of this house lived with hand pumped cistern, wood heat, Coleman lights, propane and a battery system comprised of used 6V? large telephone batteries he would place in the bed of his pickup and charge from the alternator on a run into town. Although the house in now upgraded for AC and indoor plumbing, we still have no running water. We heat our house and water with a Fisher woodstove. Water is taken from the lake or melted from snow in the yard, battery lighting mostly, some DC fluorescent, and one very pretty old Rayo kerosene lamp. Lincoln Ranger for welding/power and generators for heavy tool loads/battery charging.
I bargain sourced quality parts, Morningstar, Victron, BlueSky, AIMS, Trace, Renogy, US Battery, Trojan. Bought cable 200ft at a time on sale, did all my own work. Bought most of a crate of leftover 325W Canadian Solar panels from an installer, cash. I also have no grid here to tie to, solves that complexity layer, although my 4000W Trace would do so.
I'm not sure the tech is ready or proven for me, lithium batteries mainly. Anything that needs a brain and heater to run, sounds like two extra failure paths in a tech not field proven for more than the last decade, really. IF battery tech changes, I'm sure with what I have now and the spares, I'll be able to just change solar charge controllers if necessary.
Good luck.