How long can a Server Rack Battery run a Fridge?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

-Growatt 3000 48 ES All-in-one inverter: signaturesolar.com/growatt-48v-3kw-250vdc-stackable-off-grid-inverter/?ref=DiySolarPowerFun -EG4 LL (V2) LiFePO4 server rack battery: signaturesolar.com/eg4-ll-lithium-battery-48v-100ahd?ref=DiySolarPowerFun -Eg4 LiFeP04 Battery: signaturesolar.com/eg4-lifepower4-lithium-battery-48v-100ah?ref=DiySolarPowerFun -Used Solar Panels(discount code:"DiySolarFun5"): www.santansolar.com/product/used-trina-245w-solar-panel/?ref=DiySolarPowerFun&campaign=HowLongCanAServerRackBatteryRunAFridge -Kill-a-watt power meter: amzn.to/47ukY0V Other Recommended suppliers: SanTan Solar (Used Solar Panels): shorturl.at/vSW28 (Discount Code: "DIYsolarfun5") Signature Solar: shorturl.at/fPW27 CurrentConnected: shorturl.at/pLNR1 ShopSolarKits: shopsolarkits.com/1302 (Discount Code: RAY101) Ruixu Batteries: www.ruixubattery.com/?ref=fOKapj_VLUpGf4 (The above links are affiliate links that help support the channel)

[@rasras4749]

I think I’m going to learn a thing or two subscribing to this guy’s channel because he seems to be very knowledgeable

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks, you sound like a bot but I'll still take it :)

[@rasras4749]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay not a bot at all lol! I’m just searching for knowledge. 🤣🤣

[@javiercoronel1169]

Not really😅

[@DyslexicDancer]

Don't forget in a power outage that your home's HVAC will not be working, so the indoor temps will be hotter in the summer and the fridge's power consumption will rise since the temp delta between the fridge and it's environment will be greater

[@abdulali8738]

1  In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful. 2  Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds. 3  The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 4  Master of the Day of Judgment. 5  It is You we worship, and upon You we call for help. 6  Guide us to the straight path. 7  The path of those You have blessed, not of those against whom there is anger, nor of those who are misguided. 2  God, there is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal.  To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth. He is the Sublime, the Magnificent. Originator of the heavens and the earth. He made for you mates from among yourselves, and pairs of animals, by means of which He multiplies you. There is nothing like Him. He is the Hearing, the Seeing. 3  He sent down to you the Book with the Truth, confirming what came before it; and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel. 4  Aforetime, as guidance for mankind; and He sent down the Criterion. Those who have rejected God’s signs will have a severe punishment. God is Mighty, Able to take revenge. 5  Nothing is hidden from God, on earth or in the heaven. 6  It is He who forms you in the wombs as He wills. There is no god except He, the Almighty, the Wise. 1  Say, “He is God, the One. 2  God, the Absolute. 3  He begets not, nor was He begotten. 4  And there is none comparable to Him.” 13  To Him belongs whatever rests in the night and the day. He is the Hearing, the Knowing. 14  Say, “Shall I take for myself a protector other than God, Originator of the heavens and the earth, and He feeds and is not fed?” Say, “I am instructed to be the first of those who submit.” And do not be among the idolaters. 100  Yet they attributed to God partners-the sprites-although He created them. And they invented for Him sons and daughters, without any knowledge. Glory be to Him. He is exalted, beyond what they describe. 101  Originator of the heavens and the earth-how can He have a son when He never had a companion? He created all things, and He has knowledge of all things. 102  Such is God, your Lord. There is no god except He, the Creator of all things; so worship Him. He is responsible for everything. 103  No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. He is the Subtle, the Expert. 104  “Insights have come to you from your Lord. Whoever sees, it is to the benefit of his soul; and whoever remains blind, it is to its detriment. I am not a guardian over you.” 143  And when Moses came to Our appointment, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, “My Lord, allow me to look and see You.” He said, “You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it stays in its place, you will see Me.” But when his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, He turned it into dust, and Moses fell down unconscious. Then, when he recovered, he said, “Glory be to you, I repent to you, and I am the first of the believers.” 144  He said, “O Moses, I have chosen you over all people for My messages and for My Words. So take what I have given you, and be one of the thankful 145  And We inscribed for him in the Tablets all kinds of enlightenments, and decisive explanation of all things. “Hold fast to them, and exhort your people to adopt the best of them. I will show you the fate of the sinners.” 36  To every community We sent a messenger: “Worship God, and avoid idolatry.” Some of them God guided, while others deserved misguidance. So travel through the earth, and see what the fate of the deniers was. 16  And mention in the Scripture Mary, when she withdrew from her people to an eastern location. 17  She screened herself away from them, and We sent to her Our spirit, and He appeared to her as an immaculate human. 18  She said, “I take refuge from you in the Most Merciful, should you be righteous.” 19  He said, “I am only the messenger of your Lord, to give you the gift of a pure son.” 20  She said, “How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, and I was never unchaste?” 21  He said, “Thus said your Lord, `It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign for humanity, and a mercy from Us. It is a matter already decided.'“ 22  So she carried him, and secluded herself with him in a remote place. 23  The labor-pains came upon her, by the trunk of a palm-tree. She said, “I wish I had died before this, and been completely forgotten.” 24  Whereupon he called her from beneath her: “Do not worry; your Lord has placed a stream beneath you. 25  And shake the trunk of the palm-tree towards you, and it will drop ripe dates by you.” 26  “So eat, and drink, and be consoled. And if you see any human, say, ‘I have vowed a fast to the Most Gracious, so I will not speak to any human today.'“ 27  Then she came to her people, carrying him. They said, “O Mary, you have done something terrible. 28  O sister of Aaron, your father was not an evil man, and your mother was not a whore.” 29  So she pointed to him. They said, “How can we speak to an infant in the crib?” 30  He said, “I am the servant of God. He has given me the Scripture, and made me a prophet. 31  And has made me blessed wherever I may be; and has enjoined on me prayer and charity, so long as I live. 32  And kind to my mother, and He did not make me a disobedient rebel. 33  So Peace is upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the Day I get resurrected alive.” 34  That is Jesus son of Mary-the Word of truth about which they doubt. 35  It is not for God to have a child-glory be to Him. To have anything done, He says to it, “Be,” and it becomes. 36  “God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.” 37  But the various factions differed among themselves. So woe to those who disbelieve from the scene of a tremendous Day. 38  Listen to them and watch for them the Day they come to Us. But the wrongdoers today are completely lost. 39  And warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded. Yet they are heedless, and they do not believe. 40  It is We who will inherit the earth and everyone on it, and to Us they will be returned. 41  And mention in the Scripture Abraham. He was a man of truth, a prophet. 42  He said to his father, “O my father, why do you worship what can neither hear, nor see, nor benefit you in any way? 43  O my father, there has come to me knowledge that never came to you. So follow me, and I will guide you along a straight way. 44  O my father, do not worship the devil. The devil is disobedient to the Most Gracious. 45  O my father, I fear that a punishment from the Most Gracious will afflict you, and you become an ally of the devil.” 46  He said, “Are you renouncing my gods, O Abraham? If you do not desist, I will stone you. So leave me alone for a while.” 47  He said, “Peace be upon you. I will ask my Lord to forgive you; He has been Kind to me. 48  And I will withdraw from you, and from what you pray to instead of God. And I will pray to my Lord, and I hope I will not be disappointed in my prayer to my Lord.” 49  When he withdrew from them, and from what they worship besides God, We granted him Isaac and Jacob. And each We made a prophet. 50  And We gave them freely of Our mercy, and gave them a noble reputation of truth. 51  And mention in the Scripture Moses. He was dedicated. He was a messenger and a prophet. 52  And We called him from the right side of the Mount, and brought him near in communion. 53  And We granted him, out of Our mercy, his brother Aaron, a prophet. 54  And mention in the Scripture Ishmael. He was true to his promise, and was a messenger, a prophet. 55  And he used to enjoin on his people prayer and charity, and he was pleasing to his Lord. 56  And mention in the Scripture Enoch. He was a man of truth, a prophet. 57  And We raised him to a high position. 58  These are some of the prophets God has blessed, from the descendants of Adam, and from those We carried with Noah, and from the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and from those We guided and selected. Whenever the revelations of the Most Gracious are recited to them, they would fall down, prostrating and weeping. 59  But they were succeeded by generations who lost the prayers and followed their appetites. They will meet perdition. 60  Except for those who repent, and believe, and act righteously. These will enter Paradise, and will not be wronged in the least. 61  The Gardens of Eden, promised by the Most Merciful to His servants in the Unseen. His promise will certainly come true. 62  They will hear no nonsense therein, but only peace. And they will have their provision therein, morning and evening. 63  Such is Paradise which We will give as inheritance to those of Our servants who are devout. 64  “We do not descend except by the command of your Lord. His is what is before us, and what is behind us, and what is between them. Your Lord is never forgetful.” 65  Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them. So worship Him, and persevere in His service. Do you know of anyone equal to Him? 111  And say, “Praise be to God, who has not begotten a son, nor has He a partner in sovereignty, nor has He an ally out of weakness, and glorify Him constantly.” 85  Whoever seeks other than Islam as a religion, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers. Read The Quran “I am to you a clear warner.”  “That you shall worship none but God. I fear for you the agony of a painful Day.”

[@DanangAlta]

Solar power is fun to play with and learn about. I love my 10,000 Watt solar panel array backed up with a few hundred pounds of Lifepo4. My neighbor is absolutely floored about me giving him a Bluetti AC200P, I used it for 4 years straight and it still ROCKS. Thus far living off-grid without a single power bill to pay for almost ten years. Let me tell you, I did my math and we're on the winning team. By not paying for power during the past decade, I have on hand four Honda EU3000IS inverter generators as backup. I gave one to my neighbor along with three brand new 330W rigid solar panels to keep the Bluetti juiced up.

[@colosilverado]

Could you use a dual fuel portable to recharge the Bluetti?

[@robingong9451]

i would love to be your neighbor lol

[@OurBlackCatCottage]

Great video. I did a similar test with my fridge (about the same size as yours) and I was pleasantly surprised at how low the power consumption was. Peaked out about the same as yours and was almost nothing when the compressor was off. Also, I have those same $50 250w SanTan panels and I love them.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Nice, Yeah I was super surprised as well. It doesn't take much to keep it going. My RV fridge consumes over 300 watts though..ouch

[@seymourpro6097]

For a refrigeration load one of the auto-sleep functions on the Victron inverters would save you all the off-time standby consumption. The inverter wakes up every few minutes and looks for load, it feeds the load or stays off if no load is present.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Yes, I am running a test with a victron inverter in standby eco mode right now. It's saving a ton of power!! I'll post it shortly.

[@Capoe3]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay the growatt 5 k has a function that does that as well.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

@Capoe3 Nice. I didn't know that.

[@otm646]

It doesn't take minutes, it takes seconds, the default on the Victron is to look every 2.5 seconds.

[@joshm3342]

Nice test. Note that most fridges have an auto-defrost feature that turns on a several-hundred watt heat strip for a set time, every so many hours of use. I discovered this during one power outage where my fridge drew more power than expected. Old fridges allowed you to set when defrost happened, I don't know of any newer units that do.

[@mondavou9408]

You're video was helpful. I liked that you did calculations then compared them to real world results. Also liked that you identified the power "consumer". Those darn all in ones are great but they sure are power hungry.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Yea, It's about 150 watts of solar connected to off set it.

[@leeloy2108]

Oh wow. Now I see and understand what has happened to the remaining of that battery pack capacity. Thank you sir

[@Justin-rh2nw]

Great test of all the gear. Really well done. Just a note- the refrigerator compressor runs, not the condenser.

[@PaintSlinger99]

Cool video and format idea. Keep it coming!

[@PWoods-cd6tk]

Great idea with the two Kill A Watts.

[@WeThePeopleSurvival69]

Great video!! If you turn the refrigerator down to low..or energy saving..it can RUN ALOT LONGER❤..Our 43 inch LG TV uses about 76 watts standard..57 low energy saving mode...43 at medium..and 23 watts in maximum saving setting...twice the run time...I'm running my identical refrigerator and 43 inch tv + for 23 hours on a 2 kilowatts Pecron E 2000 LFP... during the day with sun and a lil under 1200 watts of solar panels..only half the panels hooked up( currently testing my newest purchase)..I can run much more❤.As an Electrician.I think your voltage loss could be a lil more than calculated do to multiple connections..but you will know more in Time.. Excellent 👍🏻 video!!🎉

[@iron0xide974]

Thanks for the information. That was a good test of that server rack battery from signature solar.

[@wagnerheitner2070]

Great content, looking into buying some batteries as well. Thanks for the tests and keep up with the videos... love it!

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thank you!

[@christopherstaples6758]

5.2kWh exported from battery , 2250w used from the inverter (50w per hr constant) 2.97kwh from fridge ~150w on/off cycles , maths adds up , for you to work out the efficancy you need to max out the inverters output as its always going to use 50w

[@fordguyfordguy]

This was awesome! So to make sure I understand - the growatt actually ate a huge portion of your battery capacity?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Yes, It's normal for a system like this. The 50 W idle is not a big deal to me. It's basically just an extra 100 watt panel on top of my solar array.

[@MasterCommandCEO]

This is an amazing test, and you showed good science and explained everything very well!

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Joshie2256]

It's not. It's a crap test. He leaves a out some important things and injects faulty information.

[@jonjohns8145]

If your fridge is consuming less than 200 watts, then you are better off using a small 300 watt inverter with a 12V battery. It would me FAR more efficient than the Growatt (and less expensive). I think the Growatt type charger/inverter all in ones should not be used unless your energy demands are greater than 1000 watts. Anything lower and you probably should use a 12 or 24V system.

[@dennydewaal137]

You are absolutely right. A small inverter draw about 5w compared to the growat 60/70 wat .. that’s 120w compared to 1,7kw standby power alone the fridge would have run twice Aslong

[@nw-bound2413]

It is true that an oversized inverter has too much idle consumption for a small load. It's like driving a PU truck to the grocery store. However, a 200W fridge may need 3x that power or 600W when the motor starts up. The inverter needs to have enough reserve power for that initial surge.

[@jonjohns8145]

@@nw-bound2413 Unless you can get a soft start added to the fridge. I know they make them for ACs, not sure if they make it for fridges too.

[@dennydewaal137]

@@nw-bound2413 i got 6kw solar …a 6,2kw inverter and a studer 400w inverter whit a ring core coil it can handle it fine I’m of grid in Rotterdam Holland in the winter I use the small inverter and the big one if I need the washing machine ore something.. it’s enough for ligt tv and fridge .. that 6,2 uses 45kw standby power a month and kils the battery bank in the winter.. solved it this way.. and planning to get a istabreeze i200 for the next winter

[@nw-bound2413]

@@dennydewaal137 My big 30 cu.ft. (850 liter) fridge draws 350W running. I run it off a 2.4 kW inverter which draws 25W at idle. This inverter still has enough capacity left to run a microwave, or an induction burner, or an air fryer. By the way, I have a total of 4 inverters powering different circuits of the house. They burn 100W at idle (yikes). I have 10 kW of solar panels, and 32 kWh of lithium battery. I am off grid during the day, and on grid at night when the battery runs out.

[@DIY_All_The_Things]

Im curious as to your thoughts on modifying the fridge by disconnecting the internal freezer de-froster. I have read that this is a major source of power draw on a fridge over 24hr. You could modify your fridge by wiring in a manual switch on the defrost heater circuit so that if you had to go on solar for a few days during an extended outage, you could switch off the defroster. I have some experience with diy solar myself and have noticed that pretty much anything with a heating element, even small ones, really sucks up the power form the batteries. Im mulling over the idea of doing a full size fridge with no defroster on my off-grid cabin.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks for your that's an awesome suggestion. I'll try it. I don't think my defroster turned on. At least based on looking at the battery monitor data. But I could be wrong

[@mybeachshack]

With no defrost-cycle, you'll soon realize why that feature exists.

[@thisoldminewithlars5324]

I have been considering the 12 volt version of this battery to replace my old lead-acid batteries. I run 4, 6 volts in series/parallel setup. They are at the stage that they struggle just to hold a charge. Looks like I am getting an EG4 unit. I’m sold.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

The 12 volt model is good. You could always get a 48v and use a 48v to 12v convert to for your 12v stuff.

[@thisoldminewithlars5324]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay I am currently running a 2000 watt pure sine inverter/charger. I can’t afford to replace the battery and inverter together. If I could, I would upgrade to 48v in a heartbeat.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks, Where do people usually buy their solar equipment over there? Those are very good prices.

[@thisoldminewithlars5324]

Usually people near me buy from solar installation companies in order to get the California tax credits. My system is at an off-grid location so it is a do-it-yourself installation. There are four separate small systems up here to support 3 trailers and one cabin.

[@extendedp1]

Thanks for the video. Where did the rest of the losses happen? Was it all from the inverter I guess? Would have liked to see that calculation.

[@Hollywood4Fun]

Love the real world tests. Thanks. I wonder if the same battery in 48v would produce any different results? Subscribed.

[@Snerdles]

So, instead of the batteries, you could just buy an EV or PHEV like an Outlander and have a 20kwh-100kwh battery that also happens to double as a vehicle when you don't need emergency power. In many cases (especially where I am in Canada) you get pretty good rebates making them pretty cost effective for mobile battery storage. The outlander is both a portable battery and generator all in one!

[@krisk1547]

Yea also there is 2 years wait time to get one 😅

[@Snerdles]

@@krisk1547 On some, sure. Outlanders in my area aren't that bad, and they have a Chademo port so should be good for vehicle to home through that.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Yes. This would be a great way to go. hear the F-150s have a huge battery. I think they also have a plug in the back where you can run a welder. Awesome!

[@Snerdles]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay They do, and also can do Vehicle to Home. The KZbin channel Transport Evolved did some videos of their system with an F-150 Lightning as home backup. The drawback is they are very pricey . . . But then again, so is 100kwh of battery backup. That would take 20 5kwh server rack batteries, at 1.7k each that's 35k in batteries alone, and you can't even use them to tow a trailer! Many Nissan Leaf vehicles that use Chademo can also natively do V2H or V2L. Even those have something like a 60kwh battery in the big battery version.

[@ohiowoodburner]

Can you install a separate 24v inverter to a buss bar off the Growatt and plug a 24/7 appliance into it? You can leave the Growatt inverter off but still use the MPPT? I'm just thinking this could be a solution when you are running small loads for an extended period such as the fridge... or have poor sun thru the winter as a way to mitigate the Growatt 50w consumption.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

So same that 50w idle If you turn the dc to ac inverter off it still is capable of charging the battery over the mppt solar. So yeah you could hook anything up to your battery to run your DC loads. This specific model can connect to a 48 volt or a 24 volt. I have it hooked up to a 48 volt battery but I also have a cheap but super efficient 48 volt to 12 volt step down converter to power my 12 volt loads.

[@nickldominator]

5:10 I think you need to ass these resistances together, as that is the actual resistance of the circuit loop. Therefore, your actual powerloss of the cords is ~10W, not 2W.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Nice! You're right! I should have added both resistances together. Thanks, I'll mention this in the pinned comment.

[@uhjyuff2095]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay formula for just the wire (not including connections) "Vd = ( 2 x Z x I x L )/ 1000 ---> for single phase system Vd = voltage drop Z = impedance of the conductor per 1000 ft. (see NEC chapter 9 table 8 or 9) I = load current in amperes L = length in feet 1000 = constant to compensate with "per 1000 ft" in impedance value."

[@p.b.7861]

Let us calculate the real watts 1. Take 2 reading of voltages at beginning and the ending of your long extension cable. 2. Subtract them. 3. Get the Amp reading from Kill-a-watt meter and multiply by delta Voltage (No.2)

[@mondavou9408]

Thank you. I wouldn't have know it was incorrect.

[@amythinks]

So, I am just researching and do not have your experience. But let me run a few things I’ve seen that contradict some stuff from your videos and you can give me your thoughts. Will Prowse has mentioned that 48v will kill you because in practice, it really throws over 50. Explorist has said that you can’t hook multi-strand wire under your outlet screws. He uses the little fork connectors. Some of the reviews on that combiner box say the wire gauge is undersized…I guess that one depends on lots of factors. I don’t have any opinions on this myself but curious about your thoughts. I’m really looking forward to seeing how you hook it all up to the house.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks for the comment. Sorry for the late reply. I really like to 48v systems. Yes, it's higher voltage but It's only on the 2 wires connecting the battery and the inverter. It's easy to turn the power off while you hook those up and then you can cover them so it's safe. The rest of they system is on 120 volts(which can kill you also) but the low voltage what runs throughout my entire RV is still 12v which is coming off my step-down converter. Can you send me the video where Explorist said that you can't hook multi-strand wire under your outlet screws. That's interesting. I haven't looked into the wires for that combiner box. I read the review of the guy who swapped out the breakers for larger ones and then noticed things were hot...WOW. that's very dangerious. They sold it on signature solar's site so I'm pretty sure it's fine. They are very short wires so they don't need to be as thick as wires you would use for longer length runs. It's been good for me.

[@amythinks]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay I'll go back and see if I can find the video. I literally watch like hundreds of these, so I'm not sure if I will be able to find it.

[@donaldhoudek2889]

The one thing that was not included in the video was that the newer fridges have a defrosting cycle. Each fridge determines when that defrost cycle will run and is not on a set schedule. I just looked at my 24 hour graph for my home fridge and it did not show that the defroster cycle was activated yesterday. The defroster cycle is a battery killer. I could keep going day by day to see when the last time it ran, but unfortunately, I am rerunning 8AWG wire from the service panel to where I will be parking the RV in a few months. Yesterday my home fridge shows 1.5kW for the 24 hour time frame. Not to bad. A few years ago a fellow member of an RV forum asked if there was a way to control the defrost setting in his 5th wheel. It was a Frigidaire and he sent me the wiring diagram. I sent him a wiring diagram with parts list that would disable the defrost mode when the 5th wheel did not have 120VAC and was running off his batteries/Solar. He said it worked perfectly. I still like the LP/Electric fridge in the RV. Good Video.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks for the comment. My RV fridge is super inefficient. It runs on propane or electricity. When I switch it to electricity it consumes 300 to 400 watts idle. And it doesn't seem like it ever shuts down.. it's a constant draw. My sister has a new RV and they put a pure Electric fridge in her's. I think it's because the propane/electric ones are just inefficient. I wonder if it's related to my defroster?

[@donaldhoudek2889]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay Get a copy of a wiring diagram for the fridge. Look for the defrost unit wiring. Disconnect the wire that triggers it just for a test. You can then decide how you want to set it, possibly adding a timer circuit or maybe just adding an on off switch with an LED to display the on/off status. Every little bit helps.

[@evil17]

Interesting vid & info mate. Have you considered converting the fridge to 12v/24v compressor, or just buying a 12v/24v fridge and use a 48v-24v DC converter to mitigate the 50W loss of the inverter, not cheap, but neither are batteries. Absorption type fridges are not very efficient in a van for the convenience of having the gas aspect, a DC compressor fridge will be much more efficient when using batteries negating the need for an inverter idle loss. There are other issues with household fridges, not the least is if it has a electric element defrost cycle. Cheers

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks, I haven't considered that. I think my fridge is efficient enough for my needs at the moment. I have considered removing my 120v ac / gas RV fridge. That small thing pulls a constant 300+ watts.

[@preacher031163]

Very good video ty...and as far as the negative comments...play with hot cables in the rain...

[@leeloy2108]

2.9kw out 5.12kw was consumed by the fridge? Did I missed something here? May be I did. So where did the remaining of battery capacity go? Thanks

[@Castorios]

I think the Inverter @~50W for ~45hours gives the missing ~2.2kwh.

[@dlloyd6300]

That inverter eats 50W at idle?! 😲😲

[@Naushadkhan78623]

Yes😂😂😂

[@timhartherz5652]

That's awful efficiency. Thats an incandescent light bulb worth of heat. I feel like it should be around 10-30W max for a household size inverter.

[@ehombane]

@@timhartherz5652 Damn that hurts. So if you run on batteries, better use DC appliances. But then maybe there are more losses on the wires.

[@timgerk3262]

​@@timhartherz56521% standby load is 99% efficient, haha doesn't sound so bad. My bargain-bin 4kW inverter uses 30W in standby. It has an econo mode that pulses voltage to sense a load & to reduce standby losses, but is not compatible with low wattage things or adaptive electronics like laptop chargers or maybe inverter-based refrigeration compressors. The standby wattage is more like a minimum load, to keep the voltage up, than a constant leak. Under actual 300W load, internal consumption is considerably less than 30W.

[@christianeaton]

Yeah, my (non-American) fridge freezer uses 50W, and is only on half the time. My inverter uses 10W idle. Still ¼kWh a day with nothing plugged in. Made a simple thermostat switch that powers on both my inverter and fridge freezer only when needed.

[@JamesAmbrose48]

That’s encouraging. I have 2 of those batteries

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Nice. I love mine!

[@afreemanreigns]

We have bought from Santan Solar, right now you have to buy 10 panels min. Been totally Off the Grid since Dec 2017. We used Ford C-Max salvaged battery banks, 7.6kwh per battery. Building a new system for our retired Yellowstone bus we are converting into an RV so the solar it will have is at the moment 30.4 Kwh (4 batteries x 7.6kwh) I am trying to fit more batteries, I want at least one more bank @ 38 kwh for two people in a 35 foot MCI (bus) should be enough with at least 2400 watts of solar on top. I want to go park in the deep woods for months if possible just to get away, retired now so I will return to the woods..lol.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Nice, that a ton of power. with that you could add a mini-split for heating during the winter.

[@EasyyokeFilms]

I have a great suggestion to make your system more efficient . With my 302L fridge freezer combination, I get 11-13hours use out of my 1280wh battery. If I had a 5120wh battery, mhen, I will be getting almost 44hours use. Your growatt inverter is a waste of power. To save your power, get a smaller inverter. If you are lucky and you use an inverter fridge like mine(you can look that up), you don't need more than a 300w inverter which is what I use. My fridge is an inverter fridge… meaning when I put it on, the compressor does not kick off immediately creating a power surge. It climbs from 0watt to 80watt gradually then drops down back to about 48watt. So I can easily power it with a 300w inverter which is very very efficient. I even sometimes still power my small home appliances with the fridge and I can still squeeze out about 10hours of use with a 1280wh battery. So in your case, if your fridge isn’t an inverter fridge, get a 1000w inverter. This will be way more efficient and you will be able to get more time out of your battery. All in one inverters are usually power hungry.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks, The 50 watt idle equates to 1200 watts per day or about an hour of sun hitting my small solar array. I'm doing another test with a victron now and it's a lot more efficient. I think it was 17 hours on a 1280wh battery

[@johnnguyen685]

Thank you for your info... do you know any reliable solar parts used or new in California specially used solar panel

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Near Phoenix San Tan solar has a very large office with good used solar panels. They do offer free shipping right now on specific pallets if you want to order a pallet. Otherwise check Craigslist or Facebook marketplace. A lot of people buy from SanTan solar and then sell them on local classifieds for a little markup.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

www.santansolar.com/product/used-trina-245w-solar-panel/?ref=DiySolarPowerFun&campaign=BottomLink

[@Obsfucation]

To determine the power loss in any wire (or extension cord) it would be more accurate and to the point to measure the output voltage at the inverter and then at the load (in this case the refrigerator). Subtract the two and then multiply by the current draw. This will give you the power loss accurately and simply. Measuring the resistance, to determine the power loss, is difficult to do accurately since the low resistance (hopefully) of the extension cord is not easily measured with a cheap, garden variety ohm meter.

[@jaysunkreuze1466]

Yeah, Will Prowse did a review of the grow watt and I couldn't believe the power consumption at idle. It's ridiculous. I passed on buying it.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

There are some units that are twice this. It's equivalent to about a extra 100 watt panel attached to your system. Can I ask what you ended up getting instead?

[@Wavefront101]

50w in idle.. I'd be curious to know does that 50w consumption reduce, when the load is engaged?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

That's a good question. I'm not sure. I'll try and test that in a upcoming video.

[@GadgetMan777]

Cool vid! Fyi (which you probably already know) but the 10 year warranty on that battery is only if you use it with their inverter, otherwise its 5 yr

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Ah.. good to know. Forgot about that

[@DanangAlta]

It will easily do five years and then some.

[@KungPowEnterFist]

Few observations. There are power losses associated with the DC to AC conversion that are significant. Generally speaking, at the lower end of the draw on the inverter the conversion efficiently is terrible. It is not unusual to see around a 5kWh drawdown from the batteries to provide around 3kWh for only a residential style refrigerator over a 24 hour period. Especially if its hot and that fridge compressor needs to run most of the time, which it will inside a relatively poor insulated RV (vs a house). This is the main reason why residential style refrigerators should be avoided like the plague in RV's, unless your idea of camping is to always be on unmetered shore power.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks for the comment. My RV fridge(dual fuel: propane or electricity) will consume over 300 watts pretty much the whole time its' on. and my house fridge shown here consumes around 100 watts on average.

[@KungPowEnterFist]

@diySolarPowerFunWithRay My 8 cuft absorption fridge uses less than 10W when on propane. A 30lb propane tank lasts about 25-30 days when only running this fridge. Anyway, what I am pointing out is that your fridge does not actually consume a mere "100W" in your test. It is a lot more than that. Solar panels lose a lot of energy as heat during power generation. Solar charger losses. Losses internal to the battery when being charged. Losses internal to the battery when discharging. Battery self-discharge losses. Losses in the DC to AC inversion. Your monitoring/control system also consumes energy. To make available that "100W" to your fridge means you have to produce via solar a lot more than that amount when all the losses are considered. This generally gets more efficient with bigger loads, because the baseline losses stay about the same. For RV-ing, it is better to stay with the RV absorption fridge on propane and turn off your AC power system until it is needed for cooking, A/C, etc. Although, in that scenario, you will end up needing a small generator at some point unless you spend megabucks on dozens of kWh's worth of batteries and 5000W of panels. The whole thing is crazy.

[@b3owu1f]

How well do the solar panels generate energy on cloudy days? I would love to go full off grid but don't think you can with solar alone in winter months with days of rain and no sun.. and I would imagine it would cost 10s of 1000s to buy enough batteries to last a week or longer without sun charging the batteries. Do they work at all in cloudy/rainy days.. I assume not. So how do folks live off grid if solar wont charge? Only other way I can think of is wind power but likely not possible in most residential areas.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks for the comment. From Echowatch.com " On average, solar panels will generate 10 to 25% of their normal power output on days with heavy cloud coverage".... I'm waiting on a stormy few days in the forcast and I'll do another video showing how many panels I'll need to keep my fridge running. But most have a backup generator that can kick on when their batteries go dead. Solar is cheap so it makes sense to get a bunch of those, batteries will cost the most.

[@b3owu1f]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay So as long as I get about 5x more panels than I might normally need (no joke intended) I could potentially produce enough energy even on cloudy/rainy days to generate some power. Ideally I would assume a true off grid solution would be enough batteries to sustain a week or longer but also cut down on things if you know ahead of time it will be a week of rain (or longer), and enough panels to offset use to extend the duration of how long you can go without good generation. I am talking like if you wanted to live in mountains where you're a few 100 miles from grid/fuel. Obviously extreme.. but just trying to understand if its possible. I would assume in such an extreme situation some sort of hybrid solar + wind farm (small ones obviously) might provide a potentially longer 100% off grid setup.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

@@b3owu1f In theory that is what you'd need. Bifacials do better in cloudy conditions from what I hear. It's called "over paneling".. and people do it all the time. You just need to space for the panels. Ground arrays can be cheap if you're not worried about wind. I'll do a cloudy video when a storm comes through. Used solar panels are really good for this: www.santansolar.com/product/used-trina-245w-solar-panel/?ref=DiySolarPowerFun

[@b3owu1f]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay Ooh.. I did get the 220watt ecoflow bifacials with my river pro 2.. was $850 for the combo vs 500 for battery and 550 for panels so I jumped on that. Never even had heard of that before.. but from various tests they seem to add about 10 to 15 watts at most in added output on sunny days. Another video if you haven't already done it yet.. how about those $500 or so kits that rotate up to like 8 panels with the sun? That seems like space wise you'd actually save room cause you'r putting several panels on the one gimbal vs spread out, but also from what I read they can deliver 2 to 3x more energy throughout the day.. seems like a no brainer.. if you can buy 6 to 8 panels that fit on one, and it rotates from sun up to sun down maximizing the sun.. would make more sense than buying even more panels I would think.

[@relaxcity4197]

So for 12 house on the battery how much battery size we need with same fridge?

[@CanesFan65]

Did you account for the power consumption of the inverter???????

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I ran this test a while ago... but the actually test will definitely account for the inverter load.

[@kimleangoh3024]

Hi, very interesting, however with a 50W idle consumption of you invertor and an (estimated) on duty cycle of you fridge (thermostate), you could -if fridge or freezer is only thing you are powering with this invertor - use a timer switch/clock , which switches invertor off for an hr and on for an hr etc reducing idle loss from 50*24 to 50*12 is a 600Wh saving in a 24 hr period helping to extend your off grid time capacity... Another thing you could is to set fridge/ freezer thermostate lower during sunny period of day using - when battery is full - your solar panel power to cool "deeper" during day and such reducing battery load during night as "buffered" cold inside fridge/freezer will reduce (after sun goes to sleep) time that thermostate goes on again... (of course you might need a momentary on push button if you want inside light goes on when you open door..)

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

A timer is a good suggestion. You're the 2nd person that's mentioned this. I'm doing another test now with a victron and a 12v battery. I'll try to do a test with the timer vs not using the time.

[@douglassamuel9731]

Good vid, a frigde cycles on and off so i would like to see a vid on a constant load, like a tv.

[@europana7]

Also depends on ambient temperature.

[@callmebigpapa]

Cant wait till the Sodium batteries arrive!

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Interesting

[@Nemsis19]

thanks for the test bro you got yourself a subscriber and i eally would like to know of how much time can that battery handles like a typical home off grid maybe

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks for the sub. Really depends on the appliances you are running.

[@longtimber1]

Use Phase Chance ICE Blocks instead or to store/ extend Chemical energy aka. Battery. Yeti sells them.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Interesting. Thanks

[@longtimber1]

Use solar direct to make ice. 1 cal per gram to coll pure water till to hit zero degrees C . Then it takes 80 to phase change to solid.

[@ChaJ67]

Seeing you are using a 3 kW inverter and a trailer, what about setting up TT-30 plug and say a 100 ft TT-30 extension cord, just reverse it to go to your home? From here, try powering your whole kitchen for 24 hours with the solar panels on. The idea being just demonstrating you can do all of your kitchen stuff for a day without overloading the inverter and without too much voltage drop over the 100 ft TT-30 extension cord say during an extended power outage. I mean a fridge is a nice start, but then you get into using things like your microwave oven, toaster oven, blender, rice cooker, air fryer, induction burner, etc because you also want to eat that food you have, not just preserve it until the grid power comes back. One thing to spice it up is to get a comparable output inverter generator, say a 4 kW, max, ~3 kW continuous portable generator and compare how the generator handles the bursty loads kitchen appliances will put on it versus your 3 kW inverter. This in particular may be a real eye opener to people as my testing around this came up with the generator, even going the inverter generator route, has some real issues with this. I think an inverter running off say that server rack battery you have will handle it a whole lot better because you have instant power from the battery where a generator needs to spool up and down and adjust its throttle, which takes time while the load shifts from kitchen appliances are instantaneous and often surge on startup from hard starting motors. Then when you go camping, you will have the outlets and extension cable ready to plug in at powered camping spots or if it is overcast and an off-grid camping spot, maybe you could run the generator to recharge your batteries and coast for a while. Could be particularly interesting if you could setup an electric start generator to automatically run as your batteries went down and only run during national park allowed hours. May be a bit of a project, but highly useful to have the automation and comply with national park regulations.

[@SacredHeart0520]

Is ac power like DC 2 or 3 volts won't run a 12v device . Like 10v is to low is it the same with 110

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I believe there is a little bit of flexibility there. For example 110v ac can still power 120 appliances. I'm not sure what the cut off it.

[@ImASurvivorNThriver]

AWESOME! Thanks for sharing.

[@bryanward7451]

Thanks so much for this detail sir. cheers

[@dhlwood]

GREAT DETAIL WILL WATCH MANY MORE

[@CoryTaylor904]

My solark uses like 2watts at idle. Ind it uses a huge contactor to connect towthe grid

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

What model solark? That seems hard to believe.

[@corba197]

Not the 15k, that's for sure... Those large inverters draw 90w idle.

[@W9HJBill]

What would be interesting is leaving the solar panels plugged in to your inverter/charge controller/battery and see if you can perpetually run your fridge.

[@pinpointautodiagnosticsene9655]

I would say yes

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Yes, definitely. I'm going to do another video showing this and also attempt to keep it running when there's cloud cover. I'm just having a hard time with having a good solid 2 day rain in the forecast though.

[@cowluver96]

Any idea if that battery could be used marine environment?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

It does have fire suppression built in and is Ul 1973 listed, but on their website it doesn't mention anything for or against marine use. Sorry, I don't know for sure without calling and asking.

[@gosolarng9639]

How did you measure the resistance in the extension cord?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

You can do it with a basic cheap multi meter. You just measure ohms on it.

[@frankcoffey]

There are some really expensive refrigerators with computers and TVs built in but none with s backup battery

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

That's a good point.. Hmmm.

[@mochouinard]

We really need more efficient Inverter !

[@abdulali8738]

1  In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful. 2  Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds. 3  The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 4  Master of the Day of Judgment. 5  It is You we worship, and upon You we call for help. 6  Guide us to the straight path. 7  The path of those You have blessed, not of those against whom there is anger, nor of those who are misguided. 2  God, there is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal.  To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth. He is the Sublime, the Magnificent. Originator of the heavens and the earth. He made for you mates from among yourselves, and pairs of animals, by means of which He multiplies you. There is nothing like Him. He is the Hearing, the Seeing. 3  He sent down to you the Book with the Truth, confirming what came before it; and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel. 4  Aforetime, as guidance for mankind; and He sent down the Criterion. Those who have rejected God’s signs will have a severe punishment. God is Mighty, Able to take revenge. 5  Nothing is hidden from God, on earth or in the heaven. 6  It is He who forms you in the wombs as He wills. There is no god except He, the Almighty, the Wise. 1  Say, “He is God, the One. 2  God, the Absolute. 3  He begets not, nor was He begotten. 4  And there is none comparable to Him.” 13  To Him belongs whatever rests in the night and the day. He is the Hearing, the Knowing. 14  Say, “Shall I take for myself a protector other than God, Originator of the heavens and the earth, and He feeds and is not fed?” Say, “I am instructed to be the first of those who submit.” And do not be among the idolaters. 100  Yet they attributed to God partners-the sprites-although He created them. And they invented for Him sons and daughters, without any knowledge. Glory be to Him. He is exalted, beyond what they describe. 101  Originator of the heavens and the earth-how can He have a son when He never had a companion? He created all things, and He has knowledge of all things. 102  Such is God, your Lord. There is no god except He, the Creator of all things; so worship Him. He is responsible for everything. 103  No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. He is the Subtle, the Expert. 104  “Insights have come to you from your Lord. Whoever sees, it is to the benefit of his soul; and whoever remains blind, it is to its detriment. I am not a guardian over you.” 143  And when Moses came to Our appointment, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, “My Lord, allow me to look and see You.” He said, “You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it stays in its place, you will see Me.” But when his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, He turned it into dust, and Moses fell down unconscious. Then, when he recovered, he said, “Glory be to you, I repent to you, and I am the first of the believers.” 144  He said, “O Moses, I have chosen you over all people for My messages and for My Words. So take what I have given you, and be one of the thankful 145  And We inscribed for him in the Tablets all kinds of enlightenments, and decisive explanation of all things. “Hold fast to them, and exhort your people to adopt the best of them. I will show you the fate of the sinners.” 36  To every community We sent a messenger: “Worship God, and avoid idolatry.” Some of them God guided, while others deserved misguidance. So travel through the earth, and see what the fate of the deniers was. 16  And mention in the Scripture Mary, when she withdrew from her people to an eastern location. 17  She screened herself away from them, and We sent to her Our spirit, and He appeared to her as an immaculate human. 18  She said, “I take refuge from you in the Most Merciful, should you be righteous.” 19  He said, “I am only the messenger of your Lord, to give you the gift of a pure son.” 20  She said, “How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, and I was never unchaste?” 21  He said, “Thus said your Lord, `It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign for humanity, and a mercy from Us. It is a matter already decided.'“ 22  So she carried him, and secluded herself with him in a remote place. 23  The labor-pains came upon her, by the trunk of a palm-tree. She said, “I wish I had died before this, and been completely forgotten.” 24  Whereupon he called her from beneath her: “Do not worry; your Lord has placed a stream beneath you. 25  And shake the trunk of the palm-tree towards you, and it will drop ripe dates by you.” 26  “So eat, and drink, and be consoled. And if you see any human, say, ‘I have vowed a fast to the Most Gracious, so I will not speak to any human today.'“ 27  Then she came to her people, carrying him. They said, “O Mary, you have done something terrible. 28  O sister of Aaron, your father was not an evil man, and your mother was not a whore.” 29  So she pointed to him. They said, “How can we speak to an infant in the crib?” 30  He said, “I am the servant of God. He has given me the Scripture, and made me a prophet. 31  And has made me blessed wherever I may be; and has enjoined on me prayer and charity, so long as I live. 32  And kind to my mother, and He did not make me a disobedient rebel. 33  So Peace is upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the Day I get resurrected alive.” 34  That is Jesus son of Mary-the Word of truth about which they doubt. 35  It is not for God to have a child-glory be to Him. To have anything done, He says to it, “Be,” and it becomes. 36  “God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.” 37  But the various factions differed among themselves. So woe to those who disbelieve from the scene of a tremendous Day. 38  Listen to them and watch for them the Day they come to Us. But the wrongdoers today are completely lost. 39  And warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded. Yet they are heedless, and they do not believe. 40  It is We who will inherit the earth and everyone on it, and to Us they will be returned. 41  And mention in the Scripture Abraham. He was a man of truth, a prophet. 42  He said to his father, “O my father, why do you worship what can neither hear, nor see, nor benefit you in any way? 43  O my father, there has come to me knowledge that never came to you. So follow me, and I will guide you along a straight way. 44  O my father, do not worship the devil. The devil is disobedient to the Most Gracious. 45  O my father, I fear that a punishment from the Most Gracious will afflict you, and you become an ally of the devil.” 46  He said, “Are you renouncing my gods, O Abraham? If you do not desist, I will stone you. So leave me alone for a while.” 47  He said, “Peace be upon you. I will ask my Lord to forgive you; He has been Kind to me. 48  And I will withdraw from you, and from what you pray to instead of God. And I will pray to my Lord, and I hope I will not be disappointed in my prayer to my Lord.” 49  When he withdrew from them, and from what they worship besides God, We granted him Isaac and Jacob. And each We made a prophet. 50  And We gave them freely of Our mercy, and gave them a noble reputation of truth. 51  And mention in the Scripture Moses. He was dedicated. He was a messenger and a prophet. 52  And We called him from the right side of the Mount, and brought him near in communion. 53  And We granted him, out of Our mercy, his brother Aaron, a prophet. 54  And mention in the Scripture Ishmael. He was true to his promise, and was a messenger, a prophet. 55  And he used to enjoin on his people prayer and charity, and he was pleasing to his Lord. 56  And mention in the Scripture Enoch. He was a man of truth, a prophet. 57  And We raised him to a high position. 58  These are some of the prophets God has blessed, from the descendants of Adam, and from those We carried with Noah, and from the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and from those We guided and selected. Whenever the revelations of the Most Gracious are recited to them, they would fall down, prostrating and weeping. 59  But they were succeeded by generations who lost the prayers and followed their appetites. They will meet perdition. 60  Except for those who repent, and believe, and act righteously. These will enter Paradise, and will not be wronged in the least. 61  The Gardens of Eden, promised by the Most Merciful to His servants in the Unseen. His promise will certainly come true. 62  They will hear no nonsense therein, but only peace. And they will have their provision therein, morning and evening. 63  Such is Paradise which We will give as inheritance to those of Our servants who are devout. 64  “We do not descend except by the command of your Lord. His is what is before us, and what is behind us, and what is between them. Your Lord is never forgetful.” 65  Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them. So worship Him, and persevere in His service. Do you know of anyone equal to Him? 111  And say, “Praise be to God, who has not begotten a son, nor has He a partner in sovereignty, nor has He an ally out of weakness, and glorify Him constantly.” 85  Whoever seeks other than Islam as a religion, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers. Read The Quran “I am to you a clear warner.”  “That you shall worship none but God. I fear for you the agony of a painful Day.”

[@AlexJones-yw6mo]

Can you run a 4 ton central air ac unit on off grid batteries for 8 hours?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

If you have enough batteries, yes! Maybe I'll do a test of this later once I get a decent battery back for my home. It will have to be a big bank 😀

[@AlexJones-yw6mo]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay how big we talking? I was thinking that one of eg4 battery rock of five is enough ?

[@ML-jr1yz]

Can the inverter run in only 2 solar panels?

[@p.b.7861]

1. Correction I think you meant to say Compressor instead of Condenser. 2. Keep in mind that Refrigerator do have the defrost cycle and use More power than Compressor alone.

[@Just_An_Idea_For_Consideration]

please test an eg4 18kPV inverter

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I'd love to. I wish they would send me one of those :)

[@ronb6182]

There is one thing to check some UPS units are not pure sine wave they are modified sine wave and should not be used for motor run appliances but some UPS are. I would think a pure sine wave inverter and a battery bank would be better. Its just more convenient and automatically better using UPS because the UPS is hooked to the 120 volts all the time. 73

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks. They mentioned this is a pure sine wave but I haven't checked with an oscilloscope. I don't have one of those right now but if or when I get one I will check for sure. 73, KJ7TQC.

[@mybeachshack]

Did I miss it, or did you state this was (or was not) an inverter-type refrigerator ? Inverters are superior in that there is not abrupt Start-up current. Slow start is their claim to fame. Same as mini-split air-conditioners.... 😊🎉

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I wasn't aware of a "Inverter-Type" fridge. But I can see that my fridge is turning on and off when looking at the my battery monitor... So I think that means it's a condenser type and not the inverter type.

[@rasras4749]

Very knowledgeable guy

[@amythinks]

Sorry, I'm totally blowing up your comments here. But I found you because I was searching for videos specifically for the Growatt. It's the one I want to buy. But 40% efficiency is awful. Manufacturer's spec is in the 90s. I was so close to buying this unit that I contacted Signature Solar to ask them about it and they are pretty baffled. Do you have any idea why the efficiency is so bad?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I personally like the growatt 3000 48p model better. It does better in shade. I am out camping right now and this morning I had two full 315 watt panels in the Sun and that wasn't enough to get the inverter to generate any real power. It only really functions well when I have four panels with sun. Not super awesome. But I guess it depends on what you're using it for. And how many panels are you going to connect. I would say that the idle is about center of the pack. Some of the low frequency mppt all in one brand systems consume 100 watt to idle. The 50 W idle is not a big deal to me. It's basically just an extra 100 watt panel on top of my solar array. That will cancel the inefficiencies out. Any inverter you have can have a really bad efficiency rating if you plug a small enough load into it. Really if you have an inverter on with no power it will eventually run the battery dead and you'll have a 0% efficiency rating out of the system. That's an interesting question though I wonder if IThat's an interesting question though.. If I subtract the inverter idle consumption I wonder if I hit a 90% efficiency. That would be interesting to measure. I thought I heard somewhere that inverters are most efficient when they are running at a 70% load.

[@abdulali8738]

1  In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful. 2  Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds. 3  The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 4  Master of the Day of Judgment. 5  It is You we worship, and upon You we call for help. 6  Guide us to the straight path. 7  The path of those You have blessed, not of those against whom there is anger, nor of those who are misguided. 2  God, there is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal.  To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth. He is the Sublime, the Magnificent. Originator of the heavens and the earth. He made for you mates from among yourselves, and pairs of animals, by means of which He multiplies you. There is nothing like Him. He is the Hearing, the Seeing. 3  He sent down to you the Book with the Truth, confirming what came before it; and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel. 4  Aforetime, as guidance for mankind; and He sent down the Criterion. Those who have rejected God’s signs will have a severe punishment. God is Mighty, Able to take revenge. 5  Nothing is hidden from God, on earth or in the heaven. 6  It is He who forms you in the wombs as He wills. There is no god except He, the Almighty, the Wise. 1  Say, “He is God, the One. 2  God, the Absolute. 3  He begets not, nor was He begotten. 4  And there is none comparable to Him.” 13  To Him belongs whatever rests in the night and the day. He is the Hearing, the Knowing. 14  Say, “Shall I take for myself a protector other than God, Originator of the heavens and the earth, and He feeds and is not fed?” Say, “I am instructed to be the first of those who submit.” And do not be among the idolaters. 100  Yet they attributed to God partners-the sprites-although He created them. And they invented for Him sons and daughters, without any knowledge. Glory be to Him. He is exalted, beyond what they describe. 101  Originator of the heavens and the earth-how can He have a son when He never had a companion? He created all things, and He has knowledge of all things. 102  Such is God, your Lord. There is no god except He, the Creator of all things; so worship Him. He is responsible for everything. 103  No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. He is the Subtle, the Expert. 104  “Insights have come to you from your Lord. Whoever sees, it is to the benefit of his soul; and whoever remains blind, it is to its detriment. I am not a guardian over you.” 143  And when Moses came to Our appointment, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, “My Lord, allow me to look and see You.” He said, “You will not see Me, but look at the mountain; if it stays in its place, you will see Me.” But when his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, He turned it into dust, and Moses fell down unconscious. Then, when he recovered, he said, “Glory be to you, I repent to you, and I am the first of the believers.” 144  He said, “O Moses, I have chosen you over all people for My messages and for My Words. So take what I have given you, and be one of the thankful 145  And We inscribed for him in the Tablets all kinds of enlightenments, and decisive explanation of all things. “Hold fast to them, and exhort your people to adopt the best of them. I will show you the fate of the sinners.” 36  To every community We sent a messenger: “Worship God, and avoid idolatry.” Some of them God guided, while others deserved misguidance. So travel through the earth, and see what the fate of the deniers was. 16  And mention in the Scripture Mary, when she withdrew from her people to an eastern location. 17  She screened herself away from them, and We sent to her Our spirit, and He appeared to her as an immaculate human. 18  She said, “I take refuge from you in the Most Merciful, should you be righteous.” 19  He said, “I am only the messenger of your Lord, to give you the gift of a pure son.” 20  She said, “How can I have a son, when no man has touched me, and I was never unchaste?” 21  He said, “Thus said your Lord, `It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign for humanity, and a mercy from Us. It is a matter already decided.'“ 22  So she carried him, and secluded herself with him in a remote place. 23  The labor-pains came upon her, by the trunk of a palm-tree. She said, “I wish I had died before this, and been completely forgotten.” 24  Whereupon he called her from beneath her: “Do not worry; your Lord has placed a stream beneath you. 25  And shake the trunk of the palm-tree towards you, and it will drop ripe dates by you.” 26  “So eat, and drink, and be consoled. And if you see any human, say, ‘I have vowed a fast to the Most Gracious, so I will not speak to any human today.'“ 27  Then she came to her people, carrying him. They said, “O Mary, you have done something terrible. 28  O sister of Aaron, your father was not an evil man, and your mother was not a whore.” 29  So she pointed to him. They said, “How can we speak to an infant in the crib?” 30  He said, “I am the servant of God. He has given me the Scripture, and made me a prophet. 31  And has made me blessed wherever I may be; and has enjoined on me prayer and charity, so long as I live. 32  And kind to my mother, and He did not make me a disobedient rebel. 33  So Peace is upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the Day I get resurrected alive.” 34  That is Jesus son of Mary-the Word of truth about which they doubt. 35  It is not for God to have a child-glory be to Him. To have anything done, He says to it, “Be,” and it becomes. 36  “God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.” 37  But the various factions differed among themselves. So woe to those who disbelieve from the scene of a tremendous Day. 38  Listen to them and watch for them the Day they come to Us. But the wrongdoers today are completely lost. 39  And warn them of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded. Yet they are heedless, and they do not believe. 40  It is We who will inherit the earth and everyone on it, and to Us they will be returned. 41  And mention in the Scripture Abraham. He was a man of truth, a prophet. 42  He said to his father, “O my father, why do you worship what can neither hear, nor see, nor benefit you in any way? 43  O my father, there has come to me knowledge that never came to you. So follow me, and I will guide you along a straight way. 44  O my father, do not worship the devil. The devil is disobedient to the Most Gracious. 45  O my father, I fear that a punishment from the Most Gracious will afflict you, and you become an ally of the devil.” 46  He said, “Are you renouncing my gods, O Abraham? If you do not desist, I will stone you. So leave me alone for a while.” 47  He said, “Peace be upon you. I will ask my Lord to forgive you; He has been Kind to me. 48  And I will withdraw from you, and from what you pray to instead of God. And I will pray to my Lord, and I hope I will not be disappointed in my prayer to my Lord.” 49  When he withdrew from them, and from what they worship besides God, We granted him Isaac and Jacob. And each We made a prophet. 50  And We gave them freely of Our mercy, and gave them a noble reputation of truth. 51  And mention in the Scripture Moses. He was dedicated. He was a messenger and a prophet. 52  And We called him from the right side of the Mount, and brought him near in communion. 53  And We granted him, out of Our mercy, his brother Aaron, a prophet. 54  And mention in the Scripture Ishmael. He was true to his promise, and was a messenger, a prophet. 55  And he used to enjoin on his people prayer and charity, and he was pleasing to his Lord. 56  And mention in the Scripture Enoch. He was a man of truth, a prophet. 57  And We raised him to a high position. 58  These are some of the prophets God has blessed, from the descendants of Adam, and from those We carried with Noah, and from the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and from those We guided and selected. Whenever the revelations of the Most Gracious are recited to them, they would fall down, prostrating and weeping. 59  But they were succeeded by generations who lost the prayers and followed their appetites. They will meet perdition. 60  Except for those who repent, and believe, and act righteously. These will enter Paradise, and will not be wronged in the least. 61  The Gardens of Eden, promised by the Most Merciful to His servants in the Unseen. His promise will certainly come true. 62  They will hear no nonsense therein, but only peace. And they will have their provision therein, morning and evening. 63  Such is Paradise which We will give as inheritance to those of Our servants who are devout. 64  “We do not descend except by the command of your Lord. His is what is before us, and what is behind us, and what is between them. Your Lord is never forgetful.” 65  Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them. So worship Him, and persevere in His service. Do you know of anyone equal to Him? 111  And say, “Praise be to God, who has not begotten a son, nor has He a partner in sovereignty, nor has He an ally out of weakness, and glorify Him constantly.” 85  Whoever seeks other than Islam as a religion, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Hereafter he will be among the losers. Read The Quran “I am to you a clear warner.”  “That you shall worship none but God. I fear for you the agony of a painful Day.”

[@cvelasquez4205]

Could you do the same test on AC?

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

On an Air conditioner? What kind do you have?

[@cvelasquez4205]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay inverter split type

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

@@cvelasquez4205 I don't currently have one of those. Let me see what I can do. It's really like one of those.

[@Electronzap]

Good test. I was wondering how long my 1280Wh power station would power a fridge.

[@davefroman4700]

10-13 hours. Depending how efficient the fridge is and how often/long it is open for.

[@zodaguado6655]

I got new Samsung 28cu with 1280 generator and it last 13 hours

[@davefroman4700]

@@zodaguado6655 Thank you for confirming my projection.

[@davefroman4700]

Good display of how inefficient the Growatt is.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I would say it's about center of the pack. Some of the low frequency mppt all in one systems consume 100 watt to idle. Throw an extra 100 watt panel out there to compensate for the power loss.

[@bgrey55]

Not sure why these guys don't try a 1500W heater. People are in the cold climate also.

[@justlikeyouful]

Word to the wise: Never attempt these types of calculations on your wife's credit card spend.

[@miketlane]

Humm. I have 2 200wh litium battrys and 3 250w pannels and all day arizona sun. If inrun a box fan on low i run out of power by 10pm. About 3hrs after sunset. If i run my 60 inch tv during the day about noon i lose battry/inverter power. Cant even keep up with the led tv. Guess i meed more pannels and maybe my battries are not fully charging

[@zodaguado6655]

If that is a new fridge, which it looks like, 150 watts is horrible , newer ones are like 85-95 watts an hour

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

you're right. It was more like 85-90 watts. Google didn't do me any favors here :)

[@nickaltvater5592]

I bought a EG4. It didn't work. It took them 6 weeks to get them to refund me money.

[@naidol]

Hahaha someone unplugged yr power cord😅 ... Dude that was funny. But thanks for a nice video. Take care.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Kids :)

[@humbertoazzalin9042]

And the error of instruments?

[@humbertoazzalin9042]

You should revert the position of the the kwh meters and run the test again

[@humbertoazzalin9042]

Plus log the ambient temperature. Please comment on the friedge use? Was the door always closed or the friedge was used normally?

[@WhatSmellsLikeToast]

I was just wondering what John C Riley was up to

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

??

[@ometofu]

Good enough. I have my hand truck 5k battery with 4KW of solar from my roof and 3k inverter. it runs 28 hours until power came back….

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Nice setup, With that solar you should be good indefinitely to run your fridge.

[@ometofu]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay normally is grid tie. my hand truck only comes out when there is power outage. will improve next summer with some automation. but for now. it saved me 3 times already

[@krisk1547]

Too bad there not in Canada. 3000km drive is a bit far for few panels😮

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Yeah, I wonder what the cost is for shipping to Canada versus the United States.

[@sevenhornets]

Went to order and YES shipping DOUBLES the cost. AND there is some crazy “Crime Control” charge of $36.00. What? So they make their money on unguaranteed, shipping fees, and airline like fake charges.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Are you referring to the used solar panels? There are some work arounds I mention in another video.

[@obnox7601]

Good video, but I question the results. You show a measured overall efficiency of 55%. If you lose 2% over the extension cord that means the inverter/battery combo is losing almost 43% of the power. That makes no sense at all, sorry. If that's true there is something wrong with your sysem. Newer inverter/batteries combos are in the high 90's percentage wise of efficiency. I suspect your kilowatt measuring devices are wrong. I know for a fact my fridge (looks just like yours) draws 6 amps when it's running which is about 720 watts. Something doesn't compute!!

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

It is more efficient if you have a larger load. I think I heard 70% efficiency is best. I could have a super light load and all the power would be going into keeping the inverter running... It that case I could get 10% efficiently. Or if you don't have a load connected at all and the inverter is just idling you'd get a 0% efficiency because no power went to something useful. I didn't do a good job explaining this in this video.

[@BryanKerr1]

The loss on those extension cords is not ideal

[@HoneyBerighthere-Saysarath]

Power go out.. go get ice at the store next door.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

yes, unless the whole town/city looses power.

[@rontech34]

All them cords you have at different wire size is not good

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Definitely not ideal.

[@iron0xide974]

You need a place where that inverter can breathe. That cubby in your RV is not a good place. In real hot weather that will overheat. Or if you close that door it will overheat. Bad place really bad place.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Good point. I haven't noticed it getting too hot in there because it's a large area but That's a really good point...I'm going to watch this closer.

[@x81reaper]

Only 45 hours??? That's a really short time

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Yup. I just did another test with a victron inverter. The efficient inverter makes a big difference. The 50 watt idle equates to 1200 watts per day or about an hour of sun hitting my small solar array.

[@DanangAlta]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay right on - every watt counts until you've passed that 'hurdle' of having enough electricity to share some with your neighbors. You're choosing the right equipment. It's a great feeling!

[@Joshie2256]

This test looks good on the surface, but is shot full of errors. Ray is leaving out the inefficiency of the inverter. His measurement of the cord resistance is faulty. Only the run time results are of any use and only for his particular refrigerator at the average temperature of his house. If you really want to know the resistance of the extension cord you have to put a load on it and measure the voltage at each end. Then calculate the resistance from the where R=V/I. A common multimeter is not accurate at low resistances. You need a milli-ohmmeter for small resistance measurements. Tons of people know just enough to be dangerous and even more know less and think this is good information!

[@BurkenProductions]

ohms law for voltage drop on a cable using ac isn't feasible.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Why not?

[@nw-bound2413]

It works the same for AC as for DC power. The difference here is that what causes the high power loss is the higher current for the DC low voltage. AC power is either 120V or 240V, and that higher voltage means less current required than DC power at 24V or 48V. The higher the voltage, the lesser current (amps) and the less ohmic loss for the same power.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

I could have also figured it by using "Resistance x Resistance x Current) or "I" squared times "r" as explained in this professor's video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZetm32OiZaorMU He does a pretty good job explaining it. Using my formula or his it comes out the same. His formula is easier.

[@wittjeff]

Fast jump cuts are infuriating.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

Thanks for the feedback

[@omaralvarado1080]

I guess you have to account for loss of power through the extension cords. And the inverter itself. If it’s not good enough, it will lose power to with heat.🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♀️ but if you have a very good inverter, you could save all that power, but it’s more expensive🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♀️🫡

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

The 50 watt idle equates to 1200 watts per day or about an hour of sun hitting my small solar array. It's a tough decision. With the money you could save you could buy another solar panel to off set the losses. I'm leaning towards the more efficient inverters for smaller loads where you may not have solar around to off set the losses.

[@shmayazuggot8558]

50% battery loss by the inverter is atrocious. Might as well use Acid Lead batteries.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

It really depends on how heavy of a load you have connected to the inverter. For example, Lets say I don't connect anything to the inverter(a super light load)... eventually with the inverter on, it will run the battery down to zero. In that case you'd have 100% battery loss by the inverter. Lead acid will produce the same results.

[@FRESNEL_COOKING_SOLAR_OVENS24]

12v 24v marine grade fridge and stop using the inverter. Not worth for the inefficiency, energy draw and inverter price. Better to invest in a new 24v dc fridge

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

But I need this fridge for 120 volt house

[@FRESNEL_COOKING_SOLAR_OVENS24]

@@diySolarPowerFunWithRay inefficient to stay with an inverter on 24 hours a day if your inverter is not sitting on 2w standy and search for load. My 12v fridge takes 70w per hour wired directly on a 12v battery. Inverters are expensive. Running of inverter does not save any money at all if your inverter cost $800-900. This is the money for electrical bill of a fridge in 8 years. You can't even save the money for the inverter, not including battery, solar power which is not always available enough to keep up with with 1.2kwh consumption per day from the solar battery and inverter. A house powered by solar must have 12v 24v available for lights and fridge 24h a day. 93% energy efficiency on dc-dc. Inverters are needed for cooking and washing only. Anything else in your house is DC. FRIDGE can be DC Microwave can be DC TV is always dc All led lights are dc Usb is dc All power adaptors are for dc appliances. All monitors, computers are dc. 98% in a house is DC. The solar system must have the highest voltage in the dc range. Because all dc conversion must be made on step down (buck converters). 48v-60v buck converters step down efficiently to 24v, 12v and 5v for all your needs. DC lighting must stay on 12v 60v range, for example 4w led bulbs 12v 24v 48v which are self controlled (DoRight AC/DC wide voltage lights 12v 60v) have bridge rectifiers, are self regulated and will work 5-8 years life time. I just posted a video with garden lights with the bulbs I bought separately for this conversion. Personally, I won't have an inverter switched on, only turning on for cooker and washing machine. Cooking 1 hour and washing machine 1h20mins. Peak consumption 2kw cooker and 1.8kw washing machine.

[@lin018]

Not really.. refrigerator breaks itself.

[@diySolarPowerFunWithRay]

?