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Looking to put a fridge in my Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by Jasminealeiah, Jul 20, 2021.

  1. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    When you are living out of the Prius, how are you charging the Powerstations? Switching the refrigerator off as a power saving strategy rarely makes sense since it will just draw high current to bring down the temp and its purpose is compromised as the food thermally cycles.
     
  2. Jasminealeiah

    Jasminealeiah Junior Member

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    That's about what I was hoping, to be honest, so it really makes me feel better about it all knowing it's not as bad as I was afraid it would be. The fridge brand I chose (Iceco) uses the Danfoss Secop compresser in all of its fridges, so it's actually really efficient for what it is. I was just worried the higher consumption in the bigger fridges would be too much, but if I have room for the bigger fridge and the prius can handle it well enough, it would save me money later on because I wouldn't have to get a new fridge when I upgrade to a van.

    The powerstations really are convenient to have around, with or without constant solar access. The ones I'm looking at are the newer models that Light Harvest Solar sells; they'll run at similar prices as Jackery, more or less, but they're really good quality, and I'm planning to use Light Harvest Solar on my van when I manage to get one, so it just makes sense to go with them for the powerstation, as well. Less stuff I have to buy later if the stuff I get now for the prius can be repurposed in the van later.

    If I ever have to unplug the fridge from the car (like at night), I plan to plug it into the powerstation, which I will try to charge frequently using solar or by plugging up any time I have access to electric, otherwise (like when I'm visiting family or sitting somewhere while I work on my laptop). I still haven't dialed in exactly which solar method I'll be using, but I'm definitely going to have something. I don't think I could really manage to keep everything charged up well, otherwise, and I don't like actually leaving the fridge unplugged, outright, because of what the temperature changes can do to the food.
     
    #22 Jasminealeiah, Jul 22, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 23, 2022
  3. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    which type of battery will be your setup with solar when all is done.
     
  4. Jasminealeiah

    Jasminealeiah Junior Member

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    I'm looking at the solar generators from Light Harvest Solar (would post a link but I'm apparently still too new to do so) because they're basically an all-in-one system that contains all the same things as you would expect a full solar setup to have (like what you'd put into a van). And considering the prices of some of the powerstations I've seen online, it's a really good price for what it is, especially since I'll be needing at least around a 2000 watt capability to power everything while living out of my car. The page does say that it has a "2000 Watt Hour Lithium Iron Phosphate battery capacity" though? That's really all I know about the battery, itself.
     
  5. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    there are geological online maps that shows regions of the US that will give you a ball park of sun concentration throughout the year to see if you’ll harvest enough solar power for your application so you may be better off financially wise no going with solar depending on your location. The Phoenix region appears to be the best from the maps I’ve seen. My Prius solar sun roof collects and stores it into a lithium iron phosphate battery, but if you want more panel power, the sonata hybrid limited has a solar roof that pushes 200 watt.
     
  6. Jasminealeiah

    Jasminealeiah Junior Member

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    I'm going to be travelling around a lot once I get everything dialed in on my setup and save some money to live on, so if nothing else, I'll just go where the sun is or make sure to avoid areas known for bad weather. Whatever happens, I'm sure it will work out if I can get some good panels to fit on a prius. If I can find some good panels, of course. I'm still not sure what kind of panels will work best with all of this, tbh, but I'm leaning more towards some kind of folding panels so I won't have to worry about mounting and drilling holes in the roof and all that.
     
  7. black_jmyntrn

    black_jmyntrn Senior Member

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    I've traveled the lower 48 since last June, Alaska and Hawaii are next. All out of the Prius. I have a Plug-in which after months of working on these cars is a different beast with the batteries and its BMS. All that said, your best bet to start versus solar is an additional 12v battery or upgrade your current one to an 85AH. All of these refrigerators have a cut offsetting based on 12v battery voltage. An 85AH battery by its self will run your fridge for a long time, I know, I've gone 36 hours with Fridge, routers, raspberry pis, 5g modem, and cell phone booster on an 85AH battery. Will I have solar soon, maybe, just to keep them topped off when the car is not in Ready mode.

    Dual 85AH batteries in my Toyota Prius with a Victron BMV-712 - black_jmyntrn

    Adding a Second Battery to my Prius - Part: 1 - black_jmyntrn

    Replacing an OEM 12v battery with an 85AH battery is a success! - black_jmyntrn
     
  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    If money is tight initially, there's also the simple, cheap, immediately-available option of using the car and battery as-is, using READY as much as possible, and just finding out how long your fridge in fact can go on the stock 45 AH battery when OFF, and if you can make that meet your needs, you can defer any further bigger-battery shopping to when things are convenient for an upgrade.
     
  9. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    You can get little fridge/freezer temperature alarms with adjustable setpoints for under $15 these days. Takes hardly any space, display gives you an idea how close to the edge you are (useful for power tracking) and the beeper might save you from the expense of replacing food or other unhealthy possibilities.
     
  10. Jasminealeiah

    Jasminealeiah Junior Member

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    Yeah, that's a big part of my plan, depending on how long it takes me to save what money I need with the job I've got now, but it's apparently very easy to save money where I'm at because the job includes housing for a super low price, so maybe I'll be okay on everything after a few months here. Who knows.

    I might look into that when I get the fridge, actually. Thanks for the suggestion.

    First off, I just want to say thank you for all your suggestions. It's been really helpful conversing about all of this stuff here on the chat. Honestly, though, as helpful as a platform is, my plan with removing the back seats (and also the passenger seat if I think it's necessary for the buildout; it's just me, after all) is to expand on my storage options while getting a platform at the same time. I'm planning to replace the seats with a chest style box, of sorts, similar to what these two youtubers do in the playlists I'm linking below (for anyone who wants to see what I'm visualising). Mine will be slightly different, of course, but the general idea is about the same.

    This one: HOW TO: CAR BUILD/FIXES/MAINTENANCE - YouTube
    And this one: Prius Cyber Truck Camper Build! - YouTube
     
    #30 Jasminealeiah, Aug 8, 2021
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 23, 2022