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Subject:Re: Vitrifrigo
From:Richard A Jones
Date:Mon, 27 Oct 2008 06:21:51 -0600

Jake wrote:
> Can you report on your Vitrifrigo?  I just finished mounting
> mine in the Westy cabinet.  Haven't installed the aux batteries yet.

Here's my Vitrifrigo installation:
http://jones.colorado.edu/jones/Vitrifrigo/

In my experience, in hot weather the fridge runs
4 minutes and then shuts off for 8 minutes.  This
is 85-90+ in the van.

When cooler, it runs 4 minutes and stays off longer.
Cold nights it runs every 45 minutes or less.

It is rated at 3.2 amps, so 4 on/8 off would mean
~1+ amps.  So, worst case, ~24 amps per day.

I think Karl (or others) have estimated something
like 18 amps/day.  I'd agree with that except in
hot weather.

I have a second Interstate group 41 battery--the
Frank Condelli solution.  It is probably around
60 amp/hours.  It ran my van for 36 hours a few times.
The last two trips I've had trouble around 30 hours,
but I think it is not getting fully charged, so I'll
have to look into that.  Should start out about 12.5 V
or a little more; it was 12.2 or so.

Fridge is great.  Last trip--Buses in Ruins--I had in
the freezer a steak, some chicken, some other stuff--
and ice cubes.  I had ten days worth of food in the
fridge section and it wasn't quite full.  :-)

Richard