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Alm
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2753
Registered: 5-10-2011
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Hi David,
yes a bucket with detergent and "human power" will work, though most detergents are hard on skin. I'm soaking clothes in detergent overnight instead.
Yes, most fridges need better insulation in Baja climate. The solution for fridge door is to put a few carpet tiles on it. Looks even better than
standard shiny surface. Yes, people often add small "muffin fan" for cooling the compression fridge coils and/or compressor. If fridge is 12V or
propane (which also has 12V circuit), there is no need to run the fan directly off the panels - you can tap it into the fridge 12V circuit and it
will turn on when fridge is cycling. Panels usually generate odd voltages like 17V, 29V, 40V, this isn't good for 12V or 24V fan, and besides, there
is always a proper 12V supply from controller or battery.
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wessongroup
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21152
Registered: 8-9-2009
Location: Mission Viejo
Member Is Offline
Mood: Suicide Hot line ... please hold
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Thanks all, doesn't get any better than "in the field" reports ... lots of great information .. 
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1499
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
I like two 5 gal buckets half full of warm water and detergent. Put in a few pieces of clothes, step barefoot into both buckets, and churn while
reading a paperback. When you finish a chapter the load has been washed. Good for clean toenails too.
Clad any refrigerator with two inch rigid foam insulation panels, and carefully spray aerosol closed cell foam behind not on to coils and pipes, motor
compressor, and then coat the underneath. With a good door gasket this will reduce energy costs by over half and keep food cold on a 45C day (electric
fridge) and reasonable with an absorbsion ammonia refrigerator. Close off, that means encase the refrigerator so the rear half is sealed from room
air. Make a 6" X 12" vent 6" off the ground and use wire mesh to stop critters. Run the enclosure all the way to the ceiling and make another vent.
Let mother nature's convection work for you. If you want to get fancy, get a surplus 24V computer style fan and run it directly off solar panels. Play
the air across the fins on the rear of the refrigerator. I have enjoyed rock hard ice cream on a 45C day this way. The refrigerator door doesn't look
too cool clad in rigid foam but you can't have everything. |
I guess I am lazy but I would put the sealed clothes buckets into the back of the truck and drive to town on a washboard road. Then manually clean my
toe nails.
As far as refrigeration on a solar system, this is the best I have found: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=47172
It uses less power than a 14 watt curlicue flourescient light bulb. Very easy on a solar system.
Larry
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
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Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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COLD BEER !!!!!!
A DOMETIC or a norcold on propane works well and no elec is needed...my folks on the east cape have a couple old (60's) full size propane fridge...now
@#$%^&* I cant think of the brand name....anyway the asorp type work good and quiet and hardly uses any propane..just make sure the fins and
exhuast is WELL vented...I had a dometic in costa rico and always had COLD beer!!!!! K & T 
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1499
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by captkw
A DOMETIC or a norcold on propane works well and no elec is needed...my folks on the east cape have a couple old (60's) full size propane fridge...now
@#$%^&* I cant think of the brand name....anyway the asorp type work good and quiet and hardly uses any propane..just make sure the fins and
exhuast is WELL vented...I had a dometic in costa rico and always had COLD beer!!!!! K & T |
I am going to guess that you didn't read my post about the propane freezer. It worked great till the stinky ammonia leaked out of it. True they use
very little propane but the electric uses zero propane. The 5 cf freezer that I have now holds 5 times more product, cools down to 35 degrees within
10 minutes of turning it on, was significantly cheaper than buying another propane freezer, and doesn't have to have a propane bottle changed
periodically. Also holds extra food if I need the extra space. All in all a much better option for me. Your milage may vary.
Larry
[Edited on 7-4-2012 by larryC]
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
Member Is Offline
Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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LarryC,
Was not that the Dometic FC-140 chest freezer? 1.5 cubic feet capacity, 3-way cooling? On a beach with 111F inside temperature, the freezer held -5F.
WOW! Absolutely rock-hard ice-cream fifteen miles distant from the nearest power pole.
BTW, "ice is not ice". Ice that comes out of a box at -5F is totally different than ice at +20F.
I like the VestFrost line of upright freezer. Huge capacity, misery energy consumption. Heavy, expensive, desirable nevertheless.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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captkw
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3850
Registered: 10-19-2010
Location: el charro b.c.s.
Member Is Offline
Mood: new dog/missing the old 1
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Sorry Larry
NO,,I did not see that post....But I just went from the start to finish and read your post,,me, late agian !! K & T
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larryC
Super Nomad
Posts: 1499
Registered: 8-11-2008
Location: BoLA
Member Is Offline
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David and Captkw
Yes that was the fc-140, I thought they were only 1.1 cf. Anyway they were and still are one of the best freezers. Mine was 30 years old when it died.
I found a place that could maybe recharge it with ammonia, but I decided to go with the electric chest freezer conversion for my garage beer cooler. I
have since found and bought 2 good working Dometic fc 140's and use those for camping trips so that I do not have to rely on finding ice every few
days. One 5 gallon propane tank lasts 3 weeks or more with the Dometic.
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