$2000 to connect to grid again... Should I just go solar?

[HJ99]

Originally Posted by terracore

A lot of off-griders don't have conventional refrigerators but instead invest in a $30 gizmo that converts a chest freezer into a refrigerator. They use about 10% of the power of a conventional upright frostless refrigerator.

You can get 12V SunDanzer refrigerator or freezer, but they aint cheap. My ancient Frigidaire (from when it was a division of RCA) went to appliance heaven after long run. I couldnt find a simple manual defrost refrigerator to save me, well except the tiny dorm refrigerators. I bought a 10cf GE chest freezer (special order they didnt stock them) and not knowing any better spent maybe $15 on generic refrigerator analog thermostat conversion kit. Works fine. Found out I could bought same same thermostat for $5 minus the few little extra bits that supposedly made it a "kit". Live and learn. Extra $10 not something to worry lot over. Oh you can buy an electronic wonder you put on wall, just plug your freezer into it and set existing freezer thermostat to maximum. The electronic wonder takes over thermostat duties to keep your freezer at refrigerator temperatures. However beware if electric goes off some of the electronic ones need to be reset. So if you somehow forget to reset it... Or so I have heard, no personal experience with one. Now the plus side to the electronic wonder is that no changes to freezer itself will have been made so doesnt void warranty. If you are worried about warranties. I wasnt and less electronics involved in kitchen appliances the better. The analog thermostat I used replaces the analog freezer thermostat.



My electric bill with the old Frigidaire had crept up to $50 a month. After going to the converted GE freezer my bill back down around $30 to $35. It really is very efficient. IF I use zero electric my bill is still $25 a month just to be connected to the grid. I must be old, can still vaguely remember electric bills less than $20 a month.


Oh one warning on a chest refrigerator. If you live where there is high humidity, water will collect in bottom of freezer, condenses out of room air. You need to wipe it out with towel once a week or so.

[hapci534]

Originally Posted by hapci534

The used 20 year old panels were $1000 total. (They work OK.)

Feedback, 3 years later: the panels are still working like a charm. By now I made their cost back on power bill savings, and I'm getting free electricity. The only hitch is, I can't get a hold of Keith and Matt, the two electricians who installed this well-working 2400W system to add another 3000W to it. Looks like both have new phone numbers.

The main thing I had to do to make the rig reliable is to dump the Schumacher charger for an Iota DLS-55/IQ4 combo. The Iota cost 3 times the price of the Schumacher but it just works. Though soldering a custom hook-up cable that wasn't included with it from a cannibalized jump-start cable was 7 days of instense suck. (I'm not good at soldering. Not many people are.)

I still come up against the terminal corrosion issue every 6 months, even though I applied Radio Shack Contact Cleaner / Lubricant to the terminals. It helps to an extent but it didsn't totally eliminate the problem. Ah well, sandpaper is not too expensive.

[Grassyknoll]

[quote=hapci534;62122784]I still come up against the terminal corrosion issue every 6 months, even though I applied Radio Shack Contact Cleaner / Lubricant to the terminals. It helps to an extent but it didsn't totally eliminate the problem. Ah well, sandpaper is not too expensive.[/QUOTE]

Couldn't you clean the wire and then coat it with either plastidip or liquid wire coating? I've used it in the past for similar scenarios.