bob day

Hi David, I don't actually have a kill a watt, you're  right about getting more precise specs on the performance over time would help me plan it out better. The good performance today was encouraging, lets see how it works on a cloudy day. With these simple lead acid batteries I really want to minimize the drain to  prolong the life. So far I haven't really done any discharge cycles, but I can only wonder how long that can last.

Thanks for all the info and great ideas, they've helped a lot

Quick update. The new regular electric fridge is doing fine, looks like it will be viable with the batteries and solar panels dedicated to it.
The batteries are reading at 26 plus all day with occasional ventures into the 27 range, and most of the day it was running, bringing the box down to temperature.

I'm not going to disable the propane fridge right away, but I have started to transfer some of the stuff. Most important will be how well the freezer holds temperature overnight with the fridge switched off. I expect partial sunlight days will also give me vital information about battery status,

These details may not be as relevant to this conversion thread,  but since I broached that topic earlier explaining my lack of work on the conversion I though it good to keep everything up to date. Assuming the tests on this "normal" 110 v ac fridge continue to be good it will be a long time -hopefully- before I have to deal with this again--unless a used fridge falls into my lap, then I might not be able to resist the temptation.

By the way, even though the maximum load spelled out 6.5 amps, it looks like most of the run time was working at about 1.6 amps @ 120 v, closer to 200 watts, which was what I expected.

A little addendum here to bring this bobcat episode up to date. Anyone familiar with cat bite infections probably knows more than I knew going into this whole trauma. Shortly after I wrote the last post I decided my home brews were not keeping up with the infection so I went to the nearby clinic and was scheduled right away and seen by the best doctor there-I guess being bit by a bobcat makes me a celebrity of sorts.

There was an infection drainage point above my heel  and lab tests on that pus revealed a nasty bacteria that required a different antibiotic, and I was told  other doctors might send me to the hospital, cut open that area and scrape everything, but it was pretty obvious that I wasn't up for that, so that first week he spent 4 appointments removing crap through that drain hole, this white fibrous stuff --no pain killers just white knuckle time. In all he saw me 6 or 7 times over the first two weeks, then once the next week, and just Friday I went back because I saw my prescription running out, and even though almost all the swelling was gone, I didn't want to take the chance that it might start up again.

I feel like I've abandoned my natural healing principles sometimes, and trust this won't become an everyday thing -running to the doctor that is, but in this particular trauma it was clear that I was not doing enough to control the infection. Some of that was my own laziness, some of it was just I didn't understand soon enough how serious my condition could get. Maybe natural antibiotics would have worked in a more disciplined application, maybe not.  Maybe the prize I take away from this whole mess is a deeper understanding and greater respect  of serious infections.

Anyway, I'm almost back to totally normal walking, carrying stuff, climbing ladders, etc etc,  so when the last signs of infection are gone I'll be a  happy camper.  Although, really, through the whole thing I was very careful to keep a tight hold on my sense of humor.  I mean, what are the odds? You almost have to laugh -or at least chuckle a little.

Long story short, fridge is working- I think, using a 24 volt system with new batteries it's draining them slowly--overcast day here, and I'm planning to wait till tomorrow for a fuller test, so far it's just a half hour test, one of the keys was the suggestion it did a two minute defrost when it first started, and I noticed it almost didn't seem like the compressor was running at first, but it was making sort of a humming sound. I noticed the battery drain wasn't terrible, so I just waited and after a couple minutes I did feel some cooling and after a half hour or so it's definitely getting cold

So the next tests will just be if it keeps running, and how much does it take from the bats to keep it running. If all that works, then there will be no conversion in the near future, unless I stumble onto  a good refrigerator with a bad compressor.

Thanks to everybody for starting up this thread again. it got me off my butt and gave me some new info to use.

The last test I had to do that seems to have it running was swapping the black capacitor that came with the new relay for the grey cap that was with the old one, that and waiting patiently for it to cycle from defrost and start cooling again. So I don't actually know if the capacitor made a difference, or if it was just being patient to wait for the cooling

Is there a way to keep it from defrosting ?

Wow David, sounds like you know your way around these complicated modern appliances.

That tragic mistake I spoke of that caused this beautiful refrigerator (whirlpool) to stop working was plugging it into a 220 volt inverter- yes, it's a 110 volt -I'll skip the song and dance that led to this tragic error, but I believe it fried the start relay So I have been focusing on replacing that and the capacitor associated with it. That's all I really know to do, so if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them

I never did the conversion--yet-- At this point I don't feel like tearing apart a brand new refrigerator.  Yes, it was energy star rated, which is why the tremendous energy draw surprised me so much. The salesman had talked about it drawing 300 watts and I didn't double check him so I'm still trying to figure the whole thing out-the label says 6.5 amps at full load- more like7- 800 watts, about three times what I was told it would be.

I'm hoping the new batteries will carry the full load better and the actual running load will drop after the box cools down, but i have to get it running first so I can try this new electrical system. If everything  works ok then I won't fix what isn't broken. if not, the conversion may still be on the table. but likely not for a while.

This is really a project for the winter, so I will run my tests with this refrigerator through the summer and any alterations will have to wait.
















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Hey Roger

I followed my own advice and reread all the posts, and it's true all the information is there, but I see now the specific query. funny, I thought you were talking about electrical amps of the compressor,600a, which makes no sense,  but you were talking about mixing and matching different refrigerants with compressors. And the answer is compressors are pretty specific, especially in the difference between freon and propane based refrigerants. At this point I don't know if tubing sizes between compressor and rest of the refrigerator need   adaptors or not, but that is a minor thing. At the middle of this thread there are links to the paper I found and other links to articles describing the conversion and general theory.

Like J McKravits pointed out the compressor determines the refrigerant. One will not work with the other.

I don't think it's necessary to be an expert, but at least read through the papers detailing the conversion, and have the literature available for whoever does the actual project.

You have evidently missed important details of my posts and are responding to things I didn't actually say. If you are actually interested in this process a more thorough rereading will likely answer your questions/comments

I finally gave up on finding a used refrigerator to convert. I know there are likely a million of them somewhere, and I had asked to be notified when an installer/sales guy might find one with a bad compressor, but otherwise in good shape, but after a year of waiting nothing. Anyway, long story short I bought 8 -100 AH batteries, a 6000 watt inverter and a regular ac refrigerator relatively small-14 cu ft-. with the plan of running it mostly during the day while the solar panels were producing  and turning it off or down overnight without opening doors so it used as little battery power as possible.  One thing and another and a stupid mistake blew a protection circuit in the brand new fridge and I have yet to repair it. New fridges don't just have a reset button, rather a complicated relay with computer chips so the supplemental system and operation has yet to be fully vetted.  My 3000 watt inverter on my 12v  house system could run it (before the stupid mistake), but the batteries dropped to 10v while it was on, so whether this will work is still a big question (I think this one is about 600w also) . and the conversion idea is still in my mind if this system fails.

When I was contacting dealers for the alternate refrigerant compressors I was told they needed to know the details/ model of the refrigerator I was converting and got the idea that it wasn't  so much limited by size or wattage, just a question of matching them up.

I found the original dc -isopropene compressors on ebay, but likely there are many other sources

Not sure how often I will update, but so far so good, I learned a couple more things today getting the third shot.

First I learned it didn't matter how Long I waited, they do not stitch cat bites closed.. Too much infection in them.

3rd day of antibiotics and the wound is less inflamed swelling going down, feeling better in general, but the more I do the more it starts swelling again, so I will likely slow down even though the worst of the pain/discomfort seems to be history.

The nurse was pleased with the progress of the healing, clear ooze , and this white stuff i thought was infection she was calling duff, or something. She said it was flesh that was being eliminated, and a normal part of the process, and the piece of flesh the cat was working on tearing loose will probably end up gone. Such a shame, it still looks pink and alive. But it sort of confirms my suspicions about how much of a divot would be left when it was all finished healing.

I did get to see a picture of the dead cat, and to me it looks bigger than 25 pounds.

So about 7 more tablets, 1/2 way through the antibiotics, I expect a few gut issues, but plan to start working on my biome  after the tablets are gone.

Guessing that won't be too hard to rebuild. better find some wheat berries for rejuvelac. Maybe even check for wheat grass in the garden and graze a little.TWT