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Greetings from Ottawa where it finally broke 65 degrees and people are running around half naked and delirious.... after a long winter the sun is a welcome sight indeed, perhaps nowhere more than right here among any Canadians on this forum....
I am continuing to think about lower-power options for the future, and was hoping to connect with someone who has built or used a holdover or pumpdown cooler. I see many options pre-made for boats and trucks, but to me it doesn't look too hard to build something custom and then connect a compressor/evap and cold plate. I suppose the success of it depends on training the family to open the case as little as possible, and to build a top-down access case that would be practical to use. I mean it takes x amount of energy to soak up the btu's in your food no matter which way you cut it, but the idea of only cycling the system once every few days appeals to me, especially considering the on-off availability of usable power. I realize that this method may appear a little strange, but I don't see it as too hard to build. Also to have the evap a few feet away outside the house, which would boost the efficiency in the summer. Like a minisplit except freezing the plate instead of cooling the air.
Any experience/pointers?? Anyone have a boat/ reefer truck using pumpdown plates?
Just curious about the practicality of building my own. I know there are propane and 12 volt alternatives ready-made, but the idea of pumping the fridge down and leaving it unpowered for a few days is attractive, even if I have to use the inverter or (gasp!) the genny to run the compressor.
I am continuing to think about lower-power options for the future, and was hoping to connect with someone who has built or used a holdover or pumpdown cooler. I see many options pre-made for boats and trucks, but to me it doesn't look too hard to build something custom and then connect a compressor/evap and cold plate. I suppose the success of it depends on training the family to open the case as little as possible, and to build a top-down access case that would be practical to use. I mean it takes x amount of energy to soak up the btu's in your food no matter which way you cut it, but the idea of only cycling the system once every few days appeals to me, especially considering the on-off availability of usable power. I realize that this method may appear a little strange, but I don't see it as too hard to build. Also to have the evap a few feet away outside the house, which would boost the efficiency in the summer. Like a minisplit except freezing the plate instead of cooling the air.
Any experience/pointers?? Anyone have a boat/ reefer truck using pumpdown plates?
Just curious about the practicality of building my own. I know there are propane and 12 volt alternatives ready-made, but the idea of pumping the fridge down and leaving it unpowered for a few days is attractive, even if I have to use the inverter or (gasp!) the genny to run the compressor.
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