Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:20:44 -0800
Reply-To: colorworks@GCI.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Troy <colorworks@GCI.NET>
Subject: Vitrfrigio install report
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=Windows-1252
All I can say is do the math! Manufacturers Amp hour ratings on batteries tends to be optimistic and it has been said many times on this list and elsewhere that a standard lead acid battery should not be drained more than 50% routinely or you will kill it quickly. 20% or so is better. Deep cycle batteries can be drained more, but have their own set of problems, like needing a higher voltage to charge them completely and they are expensive. A solar collector might be ideal for these as they produce higher voltages for charging. Admittedly, a 30 W solar panel is barely adequate for a vanagon. I believe that puts out something like 1.5 amps, maybe 1.8amps, and that's under ideal conditions. A MPPT controller can at least squeeze out every ounce of power if you have one. Personally, I would think something in the 80 to 90 watt would be much better, but I'm not a solar panel expert. Perhaps the squirrel guy could answer that one--Rocket?
I think the one week claim, originally came from Karl's site, but not sure if it was meant to be taken literally. At the very most, you could run the fridge for three days, if it was not too hot and you had a killer deep cycle battery in the 100 amp hour range. Supplemented by solar, you could run the thing indefinitely, assuming you have sun and not overcast days and a large enough panel. Despite all this, I still think the refrigerator is wonderful, and have no regrets about installing mine. I generally just camp overnight, so have never had really had a problem, although I've come close to running out of juice a few times. I just ordered a couple more 22AH batteries to supplement what I have, which will bring me up to about 90 AH of reserve capacity.
Troy
I'm sitting here on a cliff in Cape Ann, MA enjoying the view AND my
Vitrifrigo but I'm curious about the battery life. The fridge performs =
well
beyond my expectations but I am lucky to get a day and a half with the =
frige
and that includes using my 30 watts of solar panels. I have 2 aux =
batteries
now so I can get a whole weekend. Where is that "will run for 1 week on =
one
battery" come from? I've met 2 other Vitrifrigo owners and they both say
they get about a day. Is it one week on one of those huge batteries =
that
span the length of under the rear seat?
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