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Marine Fridge vs. Dorm size fridge & invertor
On Fri, 01 Aug 2003 07:21:38 +0000, Michael Sutton wrote:
If I want to put a fridge on my boat I can go buy a 12v Marine fridge for $500 or so. Why can't I go buy a $100 dorm size fridge from Walmart/Home-Depot, etc and use a $50 inverter to power it? any advice? I don't understand why items used on boats have to cost more just because they are 'marine'. -mike Short answer: effiency and longevity. The bar-fridge/inverter will work fine, but would draw a LOT of power from your batteries. My NorCold (?) DC fridge draws 4 amps, which on a hot day converts to under 100AH a day (including other draws like stereo, lights...). The barfridge/inverter would probably draw 6-8A, resulting in 150AH a day or so (depending on duty cycle). You could stay on a hook for about a day, tops, without Major Recharge, using golfcart batteries. I can stay 2 days with a bit of help from my solar panel. The barfridge is probably NOT stainless-steel. In a marine environment, it would last 5 years, tops (and look pretty ratty after a year or two). I replaced the compressor after 10 years of constant use, and the fan several times, but the rest of the fridge is still fine. Lloyd Sumpter "Far Cove" Catalina 36 |
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