Refrigerator Current Draw

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William Matley
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Posts: 167
Refrigerator Current Draw

Do we have any consensus on the daily refrigerator current draw down on the battery?

I understand our owners in the southern states will have a different current draw that I do, in the northern Great Lakes.  I'm looking for a winter southern state temperature in the 70 degree range.

I'm planning to install a solar panel next year and I want to size it correctly. 

Bill Matley
Duncan Bay Boat Club
Cheboygan, Michigan
Lakes Huron, Michigan,
Canadian North Channel
"Spirit of Aloha" Hull #1252

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clennox
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We just got back from a two week cruise. We used 60 to 70 amps each day for everything. 80 to 85 degree weather. Lights, pumps a little TV and music. My refrig draws 4.6 amps when running.

Chuck Lennox
97 MKii Ventura Ca
Island Girl Hull #1611

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HowLin
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Posts: 355

Hi Bill;
It's hard to quantify a correct value because, as you stated, different outside temperatures, how full the fridge is, how good the seal is and how often it is opened; will affect the daily draw...
That being said, my fridge draws about 5 amps and the duty cycle can be as high as 40% an hour in hot weather,
 For what it's worth, we have a100W solar panel and in summer weather (when the sun shines bright and for longer days!) I get about 5.5 to 6 amps to the batteries.   *You will need to calculate the Ah depending on your stats)...  This allows us about 4 days at anchor before the batteries are down to where I would need to run the engine for a charge.  (We cruise the west coast of Canada and often don't see a dock for a week or two unless needing fuel).
Hope this is of some help.
 

---- Howard & Linda Matwick ----

--- S/V "Silhouette" - Nanaimo, BC ----

--- 1999  C36 MkII  #1776 M35BC ---

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GaryB
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I'd say about 5 amps after initial draw and runs approximately 40-50% of an hour on a warm to hot day here in Maine waters approximate temp about 75 degrees. So that would make it approximately 2.5 amps per hour and 60 amps in 24 hrs.

Gary Bain
S/V "Gone With The Wind"
Catalina 36', Hull #: 1056, Year: 1990, Engine: M-35
Standard Rig
Moored: Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Home: Auburn, Maine

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mutualfun
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If this helps anyone. We have 240 watts of solar with a Kiss wind gen. We anchor out for 6 months of the year with only one night in a marina. Our fridge Is only turned off to defrost.

Randy Sherwood
Mutualfun 1990 # 1057
T/R W/K M35a
Home. Charlotte, Mi.
Boat. St Augustine,Fl.

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mutualfun
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Bill. We came out of Lake Michigan 4 years ago and now boat Florida and the Bahamas for 6 months in the winter. We have 240 watts of solar and a kiss wind gen. Our fridge is only turned off to defrost. We have never had a issue with lacking for power with how I have our boat set up. We charge our laptops and run the 120 volt vac when needed.

Randy Sherwood
Mutualfun 1990 # 1057
T/R W/K M35a
Home. Charlotte, Mi.
Boat. St Augustine,Fl.

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newguy
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Posts: 408

Our refrigeration runs at about 75% duty cycle, so about 90 amp hours for a 24-hour period.  We're on a mooring and just use solar, so we need to average 10 amps of current into the system for the 9-hours of meaningful sunlight here in the Northeast during the summer.  We have two flexible solar panels on the bimini, each rated at 100 watts, and they ALMOST keep up.  Refrigeration, especially air-cooled units, are power hungry.

I would suspect that using an ambient temperature of 70 degrees that your duty cycle would be about 50%, so about 60 amp hours for a 24-hour period.  Best guess (given your latitude) that 200 watts of solar panel would be a good place to start.  You could always use matching flexible panels in 50 watt increments, use MC4 y-cables to parallel the panels, and dial-in almost your exact needs,

Nick Caballero
Retired C36/375IA Mk II Technical Editor

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mutualfun
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We have lived on the hook for 3 winters now of at least 5 months each. We have 240 watts of solar and we run a Kiss wind gen. Our fridge runs 24 /7 and is only turned off to defrost at times. We have never lacked fee power with our set up.

Randy Sherwood
Mutualfun 1990 # 1057
T/R W/K M35a
Home. Charlotte, Mi.
Boat. St Augustine,Fl.

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William Matley
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Posts: 167

Thanks, to each of you for your input, I believe we have this problem well "bracketed".

I have Kato davits installed on the boat and they make a stainless steel set of brackets that bolt onto their davit cross arm.
I intend to put a single solar panel on these brackets.
I had settled upon the 180 to 220 watt solar panel range and just need a little support with this decision.

Thank you all
Bill Matley

 

Bill Matley
Duncan Bay Boat Club
Cheboygan, Michigan
Lakes Huron, Michigan,
Canadian North Channel
"Spirit of Aloha" Hull #1252

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