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Freezers


JanB

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Just while I'm getting my head around this, can I ask what is possibly a stupid question, and that is...would linking two of these Dell power supplies create 24v, or are there 24v versions anyway?

Also, when I use my power pack on my Dell Computer, it gets hellish hot, are they up to 24/7 use, or is this a totally different product?

Many thanks again, Stuart

 

24V supplies may be had off Ebay quite cheaply these days, though need careful mounting and wiring with well crimped ring terminals:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-24V-5-10-15-20A-40-60-120-240-180W-DC-Switch-Power-Supply-Driver-Transformer-/281108042860?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Test_Measurement_Equipment_ET&var=&hash=item417358546c

 

What makes things tricky putting 2 Dell DA1/DA2 supplies in series is they have a copper screen connected to both earth and 0V output.

 

So it would mean taking the supply apart and unsoldering the screen it from the 0V output, they're not glued together fortunately like a lot of smaller supplies, but they have the small torx screws under the rubber feet. unsure.png

 

As for the heat issue I know what you mean, the PSU for my 23" widescreen monitor is like the size a small pack of ciggies and gets quite hot in summer so I have set up a small fan to cool it. :)

 

For 24/7 running I think it's sensible to derate by 40-50% for reliability, but intermittent running at full load shouldn't be a problem, a lappie adapter will typically only see full load when the lappie is on while the batt is charging.

 

If the supplies run too hot for too long typically the output caps bulge and dry out and the supply just stops working, no fireworks, but it's a relatively easy fix though cracking open the glued together supplies is a bit tricky, but where there's a will ;)

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

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Folk with freezers are generally greedy pigs and love gloating over and stocking up masses of food, they pay very dearly for they're obsession though in power costs.

Most folk shop every two or three days and if nice fresh food is bought and stored in a cool place there's no need real for a fridge never mind a freezer. Ice lollies and ice cream could be a problem, though lovely cool Yogurt is a much healthier substitute.

Excuse me Chum! I use a freezer on shore and will have one in my boat if at all possible. Not because I use ready meals (foul things) or because as you claim I am a "greedy pigs and love gloating over and stocking up masses of food" but because it is cost effective. I can buy four steaks and freeze them seperately. I like to buy my meat from the butchers whenever possible and discounts on say chicken thighs means I can often get 3 0r 4 meals for the price of 1.

 

With food prices continuing to rise while incomes either remain flat or decline You need to be canny on these matters rather than knee jerk!

Apart from which this site is for sharing INFORMATION of Canal living rather than IDEOLOGICAL OPINION and insults! So wind it in!!

  • Greenie 2
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Woah Laurie, Bizzard's posts are usually tongue in cheek. Just for the record I have both a under counter 12v fridge and a under counter 12v freezer. As a OAP it makes sense for us to buy wisely to eke out pensions by taking advantage of special offers, BOG0FFs etc and filling the freezer.

 

Phil

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Woah Laurie, Bizzard's posts are usually tongue in cheek. Just for the record I have both a under counter 12v fridge and a under counter 12v freezer. As a OAP it makes sense for us to buy wisely to eke out pensions by taking advantage of special offers, BOG0FFs etc and filling the freezer.

 

Phil

Are you on a shore supply Phil?

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Yes we are Brian,but we still run them while cruising because as you know shops near the river are few and far between round here so when we are out we don't have to worry about provisions. In fact we have our entire weeks shopping including milk delivered by Tesco. Makes for an easy life.

Edited by Phil Ambrose
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Excuse me Chum! I use a freezer on shore and will have one in my boat if at all possible. Not because I use ready meals (foul things) or because as you claim I am a "greedy pigs and love gloating over and stocking up masses of food" but because it is cost effective. I can buy four steaks and freeze them seperately. I like to buy my meat from the butchers whenever possible and discounts on say chicken thighs means I can often get 3 0r 4 meals for the price of 1.

 

With food prices continuing to rise while incomes either remain flat or decline You need to be canny on these matters rather than knee jerk!

Apart from which this site is for sharing INFORMATION of Canal living rather than IDEOLOGICAL OPINION and insults! So wind it in!!

Well I'm sorry, I seem to have offended you old bean. Indeed my post was tongue in cheek as Phil Ambrose said and not aimed at anybody at all in particular. However if your boat is not almost permanently on a mains landline, which is what I really meant, no way will a freezer be cost effective no matter how cheaply you buy food in bulk to stock it up with, the cost of very expensive high powered inverter chargers, big battery banks, the fuel costs, maintenance costs, wear and tear of running the main engine and or buying a generator plus its fuel costs ect ect and all hopefully reliable enough to keep the battery bank charged to power a freezer 24/7, way way exceeds hugely any savings on bulk buying of frozen foods. Solar panels might help out a bit but not much during the winter. If you cruise along each and every day for hours you should be able to keep the batteries charged up enough to keep the freezer satisfied but if you don't you'll be forced to keep running the main engine or generator whilst stationary.

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I been running 240V Coolzone A+ Undercounter Fridge-Freezer off a Prosine inverter for a number of years with no problems and it does not use masses amount of amp's. During last months heatwave it was only using on average of 40 amps a day.

 

Good ventilation around the unit is the key. The compressor has open access to the base plate and vents are fitted into the wall at the back of the fridge, which vent into the undersink towel cupboard in the bathroom. As for the inverter it is now in its fourteen year of service,

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I been running 240V Coolzone A+ Undercounter Fridge-Freezer off a Prosine inverter for a number of years with no problems and it does not use masses amount of amp's. During last months heatwave it was only using on average of 40 amps a day.

 

Good ventilation around the unit is the key. The compressor has open access to the base plate and vents are fitted into the wall at the back of the fridge, which vent into the undersink towel cupboard in the bathroom. As for the inverter it is now in its fourteen year of service,

Yes but correct me if I'm wrong but I think your on a landline most of the time, as I'm sure you know there's a big big difference if your not.

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I keep doing the sums and trying to make it workable to have a freezer when we never hookup to shorepower. Mr Bizz is right - I sob quietly to myself when I forgo the cheap meat on the reduced counter or the multibuys that in previous days I would have shoved in the freezer but every time I run through the numbers yet again with Dave they come out the same - the cost of running a freezer if you're not on shorepower far outweighs the savings.

 

<sob> I miss my ice cream <sob>

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I keep doing the sums and trying to make it workable to have a freezer when we never hookup to shorepower. Mr Bizz is right - I sob quietly to myself when I forgo the cheap meat on the reduced counter or the multibuys that in previous days I would have shoved in the freezer but every time I run through the numbers yet again with Dave they come out the same - the cost of running a freezer if you're not on shorepower far outweighs the savings.

 

<sob> I miss my ice cream <sob>

Ahoy Ange. You would probably get away with it all right because you do a lot of cruising to keep the batteries charged, but of course the continual extra electrical load will still be on your alternator, batteries ect. In mid winter when you can't cruise very much would be the main problem and would mean keep running your main engine or genny whilst stationary, but perhaps you go on a landline then.

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I keep doing the sums and trying to make it workable to have a freezer when we never hookup to shorepower. Mr Bizz is right - I sob quietly to myself when I forgo the cheap meat on the reduced counter or the multibuys that in previous days I would have shoved in the freezer but every time I run through the numbers yet again with Dave they come out the same - the cost of running a freezer if you're not on shorepower far outweighs the savings.

 

<sob> I miss my ice cream <sob>

You can have ice cream with a gas fridge

  • Greenie 1
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Ahoy Ange. You would probably get away with it all right because you do a lot of cruising to keep the batteries charged, but of course the continual extra electrical load will still be on your alternator, batteries ect. In mid winter when you can't cruise very much would be the main problem and would mean keep running your main engine or genny whilst stationary, but perhaps you go on a landline then.

Our cruising pattern is very sporadic - we're having a lazy summer this year and stopping for two weeks at a time regularly :) Never been on landline - our boat wasn't made with one so nowhere to plug it into.

 

I'm being a bit of a drama queen about the ice cream - isn't it the case that it's only when you can't have something that suddenly you want it more than anything :D

 

You can have ice cream with a gas fridge

We did look into this option but now we've got solar having a gas fridge just doesn't make financial sense. Shame, because I quite fancied the idea

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Yes but correct me if I'm wrong but I think your on a landline most of the time, as I'm sure you know there's a big big difference if your not.

I have only had the landline for a few months (There's long waiting list) and it is only a six amp supply which is sporadic at the best of times with the marina grid tripping at least once a week in the summer, more so in the winter, Hence only the battery charger is plugged in to the shoreline circuit. With the boat AC circuits powered by the inverter. It also means that I have a clean AC supply with a fixed voltage. The line voltage in the marina is a bit high for my liking (245V-247V). As I prefer to use a PC rather than a laptop, I do need the AC supply.

 

I been running the fridge-freezer off the inverter for the passed few years with no trouble when away from base for up to three months at a time, The boater next to me runs his AC fridge and his boat off his solar panels (400 watts) rarely has to use his engine. even in winter.

 

As for having a fridge-freezer, I hate shopping and prefer to do it once or twice a month and just buy the bread and milk when required.

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Excuse me Chum! I use a freezer on shore and will have one in my boat if at all possible. Not because I use ready meals (foul things) or because as you claim I am a "greedy pigs and love gloating over and stocking up masses of food" but because it is cost effective. I can buy four steaks and freeze them seperately. I like to buy my meat from the butchers whenever possible and discounts on say chicken thighs means I can often get 3 0r 4 meals for the price of 1.

 

With food prices continuing to rise while incomes either remain flat or decline You need to be canny on these matters rather than knee jerk!

Apart from which this site is for sharing INFORMATION of Canal living rather than IDEOLOGICAL OPINION and insults! So wind it in!!

Calm down, old boy. Being able to recognise a joke is a useful talent anywhere, and especially on an internet forum. I suggest you acquire it.

 

Also, the economics of freezers ON SHORE are so well known as not to need repeating. On board, as Bizzard and others are trying to point out, the cost of generating electricity usually outweighs the savings on bulk buying. As you will find out.

 

Of course, if you have a massive solar PV system, it might make sense IN SUMMER.

 

Incidentally,tests have shown that a chest freezer loses much less "cool" than an upright. If I were to install a freezer, it would be a chest type with significant additional insulation and a method of using canal/river water to cool the element.

The obvious solution to all this is to do what our ancestors did, and start smoking, pickling and salting. Hot salt beef, soused mackerel, smoked salmon. Yummy. You could even start a biltong business. Apparently most of the biltong sold in UK comes from Poland nowadays, not from remote farmsteads in the Transvaal as I had fondly imagined.

  • Greenie 1
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Do folk remember the original Iceland stores when they first opened. Very spooky, like a morgue, folk creeping about in complete silence, gingerly and nervously opening the lids of chest freezers, peering into they're depths, letting all the cold out, buying a frozen pea and creeping out again. closedeyes.gif

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Liebherr do an under counter freezer that only needs 100kWh/y, might be viable for an off grid liveaboard.

 

http://www.appliance-world.co.uk/Liebherr_GP1486_Freezer.html

 

Trouble is it costs over £400 so a bit of a lifestyle choice that one. huh.png

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

Cheaper than a 12 volt fridge

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