4:20 Ramblings About Batteries, Solar, and keeping it Simple.

[DuncanS]

Just came across this which has plenty of points previous posts have mentioned.

Note the comment about from opening ones being less efficient. This means mechanical fridges will consume more energy.

Duncan

[Sodo]

I'm impressed how complicated simple has become.

Kinda glad my Truckfridge and 150Ah LiFePO4 and 100w Solar system is all done, I might have been inclined to "simplify".
Solar was costly and a bit of work/fun, but I added all that stuff back when it was essential (way back in Lead battery times) so it's now 'legacy'.
I do enjoy gathering Solar energy though, for some strange reason.

Altering "solar" a little to keep the start battery topped up, would add more value.
I wonder if there's a simple add-on for that. 100 watts is only 7 amps.

One thing that is kinda simpler, is the option of just leaving the refrigerator on full-time when parked at my house.
It gets enough sun where I park to run continuously in the summer .
Then I don't have to empty the fridge.

But if I forget ------- that the refrigerator is running...
and we had a 4or 5 days of "no sun" the battery would run down.
This is a real possibility.

But there are forecasts, when I'm certain the truckfridge can run from one weekend into the next outing.

I added more sophisticated thermostat that controls the truckfridge.
I haven't confirmed if it saves the battery power but it should as it definitely runs less often at night.
_________________


'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[pdm777]

OOPs
I invariably omitted mentioning
the Importance of Cubed Ice when Camping.

A bag of cubed ice from the home freezer
is reserved for evening beverages.

_________________
1990 Westy Full Camper

[pdm777]

I dissagree about the Stanley cooler being 'too tall' for a seat.

The Stanley cooler makes for a great seat inside or out,
and also doubles as a convenient step up to the poptop area.

I choose it because of the small footprint,
fits perfectly behind pass seat. doesn't intrude
on the way to the front seats.

Never had an issue with drain plug leaking.
It is positioned perfectly for the sliding door.

My complaint with the Stanley is about
the clousures. The Snaps could be easier
to close and open.

_________________
1990 Westy Full Camper

[vanagonjr]

[shagginwagon83]

If any of my cooler friends camp with me, my portable dometic fridge features an 'freeze plate' where I can make y'all some ice if you are low.

_________________
Brandon
"Jo Ann" - '83.5 Westfalia EJ22e w/Peloquin
Instagram @joannthevan

[DuncanS]

4 pages of four AM musings on iceboxes/fridges and the like. Who wooda thunkit?

My closing shot here is for guys like Dave and me for whom camping is an accessional thing, a kilabuck and a half for mechanical refrigeration is something we could better put into a new throttle body and CV joints and a new power steering rack and SS coolant pipes.

Over and out.

Duncan

[djkeev]

[DuncanS]

Dave--Agree the Stanly has a nice small footprint. Also appears to have adequate thickness of insulation. More is better, but it looks OK. Of course with my Compulsive Modification Disorder, I would have to change the side handles which stick out and could interfere with storing properly. Maybe:

Another choice which looks good is: https://www.amazon.com/RTIC-20-Tan/dp/B01M1CXGLH?r...a0b2870245 A bit more money, but more volume and 3" of insulation along with no sticky-outty side handles.

But now in looking more closely, it has pretty deep indents for the swing up handle and I wonder if the 3" foam they brag about is only at the corners where there is no indent. And it has a bigger footprint. But does come in white which is a better color for heat reflection and longer ice retention. One oddity is it talks about rope handles for picking it up. It doesn't have rope handles.... In retrospect, go with the Stanley and change the handles and paint it white.

Duncan

[djkeev]

My truckfridge chest had big handles like that.

I din't put them on and used seat belt webbing to make soft fold down flat handles.

This change decreased the vertical "footprint" by inches!
_________________
Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[djkeev]

[djkeev]

Summer is back!

At 10 am I filled the Stanley with 20 lbs of cubed ice. (No pre cooling, it was at room temperature.

I put in a wine bottle before the ice just to see……. It stands upright and the lid latches.

The cooler now sits in the Sun waiting for the ice to melt.

I'm glad I chose the white unit, even the light grey top on the white one is almost untouchably hot!
I cannot imagine how much solar heat the forest green one sucks up.

Let's see how long this 20 lbs of ice lasts........

Dave
_________________
Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[djkeev]

Well, their claim of holds ice for FOUR days is truth.

20 lbs of ice to start.

96 hours later it was reduced to but a large handful of ice.

I drained off the water at least once a day
I opened it 4-6 times a day
It sat in the Sun all day, two days in the mid to upper 80's One day overcast but in the 80's and finally a Sunny 80 degree day.

Dave
_________________
Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[BCE56]

I'm no techy but I can appreciate modern electrical upgrades.
I figure Vanagons are complicated enough without them.

So, I opt for the blue and white Coleman chest as in pics above.
One block and one bag of ice lasts about 3 days and can be replenished at gas stops. Ice cubes are needed for cocktails, block ice lasts longer.
Riding behind the passenger seat, it can be accessed from the driver's seat, and when parked, meltwater from the drain can be used for quick washups.
The top covers of these coolers are not insulated. But by filling the void with spray foam insulation, efficiency can be significantly increased.
(One of these days I may do this...)
_________________
=BCE56=

'86 Syncro tintop
EJ22, OBD II early SC adapter plate conversion

Side project: '69 Frankenbug "It's alive!"

[dabaron]

i drank the Flavor-Aid and went down the LiFePo4 and 12VDC fridge path in my Westy. the system is based around the Renogy DCC50S DC to DC with MPPT charger to keep a 150aH battery topped off.

on the EPIC New England adventure last month the system would not charge from the alternator. it was later diagnosed as an issue with the voltage regulator on the alternator.

i do not have a solar panel and the battery was depleted on day 3. i picked up a cooler from Walmart to get us thru the rest of the trip.

the lesson learned is if you have a DC to DC with MPPT charger, you should also have a solar panel. i would not have needed to spend the $40 on a cooler in New Hampshire had i simply invested $60 more into a solar panel. it wasn't the end of the world and we managed.

i was not sold on 12V fridge when i first got the Westy, but the convenience is very nice. last weekend i went for a last minute day trip cycling along a canal and it was nice to be able to turn the fridge on, load it up with lunch and lots of cold water. no need to get the cooler from the basement, no need to stop and get ice, i could just hit a button, load up the fridge and enjoy the trip.

with the cooler i felt we had to limit our food options to things that could get wet in a cooler full of ice and water. i bought a three pack of plastic food storage containers to ease some of that anxiety and it did a good job, but i could not do that for all the food. i wanted to avoid having meat touch the water at all costs, and that limited our food options. with the fridge i don't think about it, i open the door, toss in the food and drinks and enjoy the adventure.

on a cost basis, since i'm an engineer and like to run the numbers...

$550 - fridge
$250 - DCC50S charger
$550 - 150aH LiFePo4
$1350 total cost (wires and connectors included in the rounded figures)

with a $325 45L Yeti and $100 of ice per year (one weekend per month of camping and one day trip per month ) it would take 10 YEARS to equal the cost of the battery system and fridge.

but i won't have soggy bread or gross meat juice water. i can have frozen treats like Klondike bars, on day 3 at camp. plus the battery system powers the internal lighting and the bumpin sound system.

it's 4:20 somewhere.
_________________
1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo

BiWerks Design, LLC

[kamzcab86]

[Timwhy]

[kamzcab86]

[MsTaboo]

We still use frozen water bottles to fill out the electric fridge if we have room.
Reduces the electric load for a couple days.

Your complaint about finding block ice is answered with the math on air entrained cube ice. Why sell block ice which lasts longer and uses more water when you can sell the tourists frozen air?
_________________
Currently:
'90 Syncro Westy 3 knob w/Zetec

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[kamzcab86]