Replacing Outside Kitchen Refer. with Freezer

[TitanMike]

Since I've owned my TT I have only used the outside refrigerator for storage, only rarely turning it on.

My inside refrigerator has more than enough refrigerator room for my needs but way too little freezer space.

I just ordered a small upright freezer that fits the outside kitchen space perfectly. Power consumption of .66 kwh per day so it won't be a major draw on my battery bank (200 ah Battleborns) while boondocking. After a week or so the food in the outside freezer will be depleted and i will then use frozen foods from the inside freezer section of refrigerator.

Only $168 on Amazon and a whole lot less than an equal sized 12 volt unit. I already have the inverter that can run it with ease.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


As for battery "power", I have a portable solar setup that will provide about twice the running wattage of the refrigerator and my usual practice is to run the generator about an hour in the AM and same in the evening. When I start it for the microwave I just let it run for an hour each time. Mostly to just recharge the generator's battery and take advantage of a "boost" to the main batteries.


The smallness of the inside freezer has curtailed a lot of my bringing along frozen meats, etc and often I have to drive 40-50 miles to a real grocery store.

Just curious if any others that like to boondock mostly have done the same.

[Jay2504]

This is a great idea. We are currently shopping for a new camper, some have outside kitchens. Replacing the fridge with a freezer sounds like that would help us a lot. Jay

[camaro80]

We did seasonal camping for a couple of years in an unserviced camp site, and had a fairly decent solar setup I put together myself. 470W of solar panels (2x235) feeing 450 amp-hours of batteries (4x6V 225ah each). We had a smaller upright freezer in the trailer that we ran full-time (we're a family of 5). It might be bigger than what you're looking at, as ours would not have fit most outdoor kitchens. When the compressor ran it only pulled 5 for 6 amps DC from the batteries. Note that due to the size of our solar system, we only used a generator to run the A/C.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by camaro80

We did seasonal camping for a couple of years in an unserviced camp site, and had a fairly decent solar setup I put together myself. 470W of solar panels (2x235) feeing 450 amp-hours of batteries (4x6V 225ah each). We had a smaller upright freezer in the trailer that we ran full-time (we're a family of 5). It might be bigger than what you're looking at, as ours would not have fit most outdoor kitchens. When the compressor ran it only pulled 5 for 6 amps DC from the batteries. Note that due to the size of our solar system, we only used a generator to run the A/C.

Mine arrives Wednesday but from manufacturer's spec's it should draw about the same amount of current as yours.

I'm a "Family of One" so my smaller sized unit will most likely be more than enough for me

As for battery bank, the two Lithium's give me almost the same usable capacity (if following 50% DOD rule) as four 6V batteries in series/parallel. They also charge quicker so I'm guessing my smaller solar system will keep up with most of the charging detail and any generator running will "top off".

Nice thing about the unit I purchased is that it has almost exactly the same footprint as the existing refrigerator and is only a few inches shorter. This way I can swap back and forth if ever necessary. If my Son comes along I'll need more refrigerator space for just his beer

[john221us]

I am planning on doing this for an upcoming 6 week trip, where we will be on shore power and in one spot for a month, so I am not worried about batteries (ours outside fridge only runs on shore power, now).

[n1acguy]

Hmm. It never dawned on me that I could run the outside refrigerator on an inverter when in travel. I don't want to hijack the thread, but i might have found a reason to install an inverter.

[tomkatb]

Isn’t .66 kw about 50 amps of battery? In modest weather.

I am still waiting for lithium batteries to get cheaper. Hoping my batteries last a few more years.

[nayther]

I had one of those small freezers in my garage before we bought a new kitchen refer and moved the old one out to the garage. I replaced the thermostat with one that had more range and converted the freezer into a refer. Then if you still wanted a freezer just turn it down to 0. Worked great. Might be an option.