Refrigerator amp draw.

[Chaz]

Is 15 amp draw too much for a Frige??
I was just playing around with laying out the interior in my bus (again) and a lot of it hinges on the frige. I have a Dometic Americana  that works fine but I want to get away from propane anyway and I wanted to find a good house type for an RV.
 So for the heck of it I went looking around on the net. I found this one - LG LRBP1031. This is a site that gave me a lot of reviews - http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/LRBP1031.html?mv_pc=br  Seems to be pretty good.
But I was wondering about the 15 amps. Is that too much? I was also under the impression that a frige that the defroster can be turned off is a better unit for the amp draw. If this would be a good frige, could the auto defroster be modified after the fact??

 Thanx Guys,
    Chaz

[bobofthenorth]

It can't possibly consume 15 amps Chaz.  I know that's what that page says but you couldn't run it on a household circuit if it actually drew that for any period of time. 

[rdbishop]

The 15 amp draw is probably when it's in auto defrost.

Richard

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Chaz,

It's either a miss print or the total amp draw, meaning compressor, defrost, door frame heaters, and lights all together..??

If it's energy star rated, it's running amps will be about 2 to 3. I would only dissconect the defrost system if you will be on

battery power for long extended pieriods. Otherwise, you will freeze over the evap coil and your temps will rise.

This unit looks nice and at counter depth, it will be a perfect match for your bus.

Good Luck
Nick-

[Don4107]

Sounds like LRA from the ID plate.  Locked rotor amps.

[bobofthenorth]

Sorry about hijacking your thread Chaz - we've all gone off on a tangent about the 15 amp thing and nobody has directly answered whether you can turn off the auto-defrost mechanism.  I @$#/u/me you can but Nick would actually know - maybe he'll chime in again.

[TomC]

Chaz-this is very close to the refer I want to use, except it is 75" tall-more like 13.8 cu/ft.  It is a Summit FFBF280W.  What I like about it is the refer is made in New York (instead of Korea that the LG is), and pulls 1.8 amps when running. It is rated at 440kw per year, which is low.  It is more expensive then the LG, but take a look at Summit-they have many different apartment sized refers.  Good Luck, TomC

[Len Silva]

I looked at all I could find on the web site but no information as to current draw or wiring.  It does have a vacation mode which may indeed turn off the auto defrost.  I suspect that this box is micro processor controlled and that you may not be able to defeat the auto defrost.  Can't tell for sure without a schematic.

If you find a simpler box where the auto defrost can be turned off by wiring in a switch, it would be fairly simple to use a relay so it is only turned off when operating from the inverter.

[boogiethecat]

They are probably referring to the peak current that the fridge could draw but not the average current.  When the compressor motor is starting up, it momentarily requires almost 2KW (16 amps), but only for a quarter of a second until the start windings kick out.  That's why I have to use a 1kw/2kw peak sine inverter for my Summit- even though it only draws 115 watts when running, it almost eats the inverter when starting up.

  And as others have said, the defrost heater, if it has one, is a big consumer of power and usually draws about a kilowatt (8 amps) when  it's running.   Fortunately most fridges have a relay that never lets both the compressor and the defrost heater operate at the same time.

So I don't see a 15 amp requirement out of the question, even though it's only for a short time period.

[belfert]

A lot of fridges have wiring diagrams available.  You may be able to add a switch to the wires to the defrost heater.  Some of the fancy fridges with lots of electronics may have a fit if they don't 'see' the defrost heater.

I have my eye on a Frigidaire 15 CF fridge that uses less than 400 KW a year per the Energy Guide.  It is full depth though and a lesser depth may be desireable.

[TomC]

Gary-which Summit are you using?  Thanks, TomC

[Chaz]

Hey, thanx guys!!!!!!! As usual, you guys are a wealth of info and I REALLY appreciate it.

I guess I will try and wade my way thru the LG company and try to find someone to tell me if I can wire a defrost switch in it. I'm not really sure how the defrost cycle actually works - does it do it's thing on a regular interval from the first initial plug in or does it "sense"? How I would use it, I think a switch would be handy.

I may call the company and see if the 15 amp thing is actually 1.5amp. That might be wishful thinking but from what you guys have said, it looks possible. I really like the frige and even the titanium color except it is just a little too tall so I would have to cut into the overhead compartments. A hassle, but not impossible.

Thanx again!!!!!!!
   Chaz

[John Z]

Hey Chaz,

Pretty sure it will not turn out to be 1.5 amps. When i called Summit and talked to one of their engineers to find the most efficient model they had, it used 1.8 amps and 10 - 11 at startup. It was an 8 cubic foot model. A very basic fridge i was told without goofy electronics to fail.

I called them to find the dual-evaporator model they used to make, but in the standard fridge sizes, they no longer make that model. Ahh well, still getting along with the old Dometic.

[Duff]

Another piece of information for you--I've run a Whirlpool 10cf refrigerator (fits perfectly where my old Norcold fridge was) that I installed over the summer for a few days.  It registered an average of 30 watts (or about 1/4A average).  On compressor startup, it requires about 150W (1.25A). 

[scanzel]

Modify a new frig under warranty and you void the warranty.