Love your work and enjoy the videos. Thanks. As for the fridge ...we live up a couple miles of 4 wheel drive road in a little cabin built on a 19 foot trailer and have added a couple small rooms, barely wider than the bed mattress. Here in Eastern Washington near the Canadian border, land of sagebrush and a few Ponderosa Pines, the summer days can be above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Our propane fridge makes enough heat that even with doors and windows open it can get hotter inside than outside in the summer sun. Meanwhile the propane eating fridge runs full time against the heat ...and the ice cream melts in the freezer. .. .. Decades ago, early 1970's, I spent some time around ferro-cement boats ...which interest recently drew me to your vlog. .. I've used those welded wire panels for tarp covered hoop shelters, greenhouses, and chicken homes. Lots of snow here, so the welded wire panel hoop shelters need internal support to not bend and collapse. Your a-frame cabin idea would solve that and inspires me. .. I think I need one in a hole in the ground for root cellar and another for the fridge. .. Only electricity is from generators, 5000 watt gas eater for well pump ...and 1500 watt for 12 volt backup battery and device battery charging and nightly computer. Sunshine and 4 solar panels for daytime electricity ...except in winter snow cloud weather.
Being in an urban area and with reliable (for now) service I wouldn't be able to help you with the toasting-yourself issue. Do you have the ability to put in insulation, or did you have mould issues when you did that?
Some manufacturers now make actual chest fridges-freezers. Typically they have a dial where the first 2 settings are for fridge settings and the rest of the dial automatically freeze the contents. Bought one unit (a Hisense) at Walmart 6 months ago and was so impressed that I bought a 2nd from Elektra Goods store (brand name on the unit was Oster) and use that as a freezer (dial is clearly marked "fridge settings" or "freezer settings"). It takes a while to get used to storing food in a chest fridge but the electric usage savings are dramatic, especially in warm countries like Mexico where daytime temps never fall below 20 degrees C in winter and are always 30 to 40 C in summer, because the units are not constantly cycling on and off every time you open the lid (cold air stays in a chest unit instead of "falling out" of an upright). Just had my 2-monthly electric bill and it was less than $10 for 200 kWH whereas before I was using an average of 350 kWH every 2 months when the upright was running. Basically anyone looking to cut electric usage costs should look at buying chest-type units asap. Great video, subscribed.
I was looking online to see if a deep freeze had the ability to be set warm enough to be a refridgerator and came across an article explaining how the freezer thermostate was nearly identical to the refridgerator thermostat in design, just different temps. Here is an amazon link for the one I bought. www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07VKJSWWJ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Guys, besides no defrost cycle another reason for energy savings is a freezer by it's very nature has much more robust insulatation and as such needs to cycle less often.
Yup. We had a new, smaller, full size refridgerator at first and it always wanted to run a defrost cycle when it was cloudy! Lol. We live off grid and it would completely drain my battery every time. Thanks for watching.
Hello, thanks for asking your question. There was no change in the power (amps/watts) of the unit. The change was substiruting in a different thermostate intended for a refridgerator which has a warmer range of opperation than the original thermostate which was intended as a deep freezer. It is likely that the unit uses less energy (watt hours / amp hours) then as a freezer. Thanks for watching.
I'll bet it did take some getting use to a fridge like a freezer. Does the old one still work to were you could put it elsewhere? We got 12" of snow fri and sat, been 30 couple days, then to bottom out on us. Maybe you guys also. Stay warm. Iowa is watching :)
No snow here, just barely went south of us. Sold the stand up fridge. It worked great but the automstic defrost couldnt be disabled for off grid application and ours sat right in the heat of the stove. We just sold it yesterday for the price we paid for the new chest freezer and regulator. Wish we had gotten some of that snow! 😁
That's cool, thanks for showing I'm going to do the same now you've given me the confidence to proceed. My electricity has gone up to 38p per kwh here in UK and I never have much in my mini fridge at once anyway I'm always loading it up with water bottles to reduce the amount of air exchange and its already on the floor anyway seems silly not to have a chest fridge.
Thanks for watching. It has been working out well for us even now in the summer when its hot and we rarely run the mini split AC because that takes starting tge generator. I think the biggest savings has come from it not having an automatic defrost.
@@johansenfamilyvlog8972 That's good to know I think I choose the right thermostat then it was a general refrigerator one one not a fridge/freezer one, I don't think it should need to defrost at all really. A refrigerator repair man was telling me it couldn't be done because water would end up in the bottom and when I said I was going to try myself anyway he seemed to recommend I get the fridge freezer type thermostat but that didn't seem right. Not sure he fully understood the concept of what I was trying to do.
We get some condensation on the items in the converted refridgerator but it is not bad at all. No build up in the bottom yet for us but to be safe we placed a cookie cooling rack at the bottom to give the water a place to be below any of our items. Also, almost every chest freezer has a drain at the bottom to let the water out when/if a manual defrost is conducted. Yes, i went with the refridgerator settings one and it is still capable of freezing if we set it that low. We put a piece of tape across the thermostate selector because as a friddge the unit is placed in a high traffic area and we didnt want it to get bumped and change the sttings. It takes a few hours to adjust after a setting change so be patient with it at first until you get used to it.
@@johansenfamilyvlog8972 ,I just got my thermostat just like this one you used, and my wires on my magic chef 3.5 freezer has a green and red and black wire, on the new thermostat where should the red wire plug and where should the green wire plug? I plugged the black into the L and plugged the red into the C and the green into the H and when I turn the thermostat on it kicks my breaker off ? Thankx
Yes, very. Mostly because it does not have an auto defrost which all modern conventiinal refridgerators do. It is also smaller in volume by half than the refridgerator it replaced. It is shorter than the previous refridgerator so it is continuously in cooler air as our previous refridgerator was affected by the wood stove in winter and hotter temoeratures in summer since we rarely run our air conditioning. Finally it is a chest and does not allow cooled air to escape when opened. The draw backs we have noticed is that the very top of the chest is about 10 degrees warmer than the very bottom. In order to keep the top of the chest refridgerator near the recommended 40 degrees F would require the bottom to be below freezing. We have learned to keep liquids that are ok to partially freeze, or form small ice chunks at the bottom and items that are ok to be a little warmer at the top. These are items like condinents. It also tends to be moist inside the chest refridgerator as many contsiners that are retrieved from inside have condensation on them. We have not yet attempted manually defrosting and there can be seen a thin coating of frost on the inside walls when the appliance has been running for a while which turns back into condensation shortly after it cycles off. We keep a short rack in the very bottom to keep food items from setting in any condensation that may gather and there is a drain plug at the very bottom but we have not noticed enough moister to drsin yet after 5 months of opperation. Looking at the inverter it uses slightly less watts when running than the conventional refridgerator did but typically cycles less frequently and for shorter periids of time. Thanks for your question. Hope this was info you were looking for based on my experiences.
I've never understood why many off gridders start out with un upright frig. Basic science tells you that every time the door is opened ALL the cold air dumps out, and requires more precious energy to chill it down again. We use a Danzinger (?) DC chest refrig at our offgrid cabin. Got it 12 yrs ago when they were more affordable ...$800.
Sounds like a cool idea but my experience has been that most cool ideas in electronics come with an energy consumption "cost." The ones I have seen all come with a concerningly large heat sink and even possibly a fan. Thanks for the comment.
@@johansenfamilyvlog8972I have to agree, those 'plug and play', seamed good. UNTILL I SAW YOUR CONVERSION. -- this is what I will do too. (Just to find the right thermostat).
There are more differences between a freezer and a refrigerator than just the thermostat. The actual refrigeration components are different. The compressor and metering device are made for the different pressures. It will be interesting to see how well it works.
Do you think it might just be a case of not needing to work as hard or as long/often as it's built too, or do you think it could be an issue over time with running on unintended pressure cycles? Hopefully would just mean it lasts even longer, still maybe doesn't run at the optimum speed or rate to be truly as efficient as it could be, even if it is still a lot more efficient than not. If only they just made chest fridge for sale in the first place, surprising it isn't already an option really.
@@leifcian4288 The technology of these appliances are changing and I guess that the usage is expanding. Making a freezer cool like a refrigerator is probably more likely than making a refrigerator into a freezer.
Perhaps in the winter, you build a box outside to store things you want frozen. Seemed to be pretty cold there.
Can we doo this to upright double door fridge and convert a freezer into a refrigerator and have some more space???
No. Thanks for watching.
Love your work and enjoy the videos. Thanks.
As for the fridge ...we live up a couple miles of 4 wheel drive road in a little cabin built on a 19 foot trailer and have added a couple small rooms, barely wider than the bed mattress. Here in Eastern Washington near the Canadian border, land of sagebrush and a few Ponderosa Pines, the summer days can be above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Our propane fridge makes enough heat that even with doors and windows open it can get hotter inside than outside in the summer sun. Meanwhile the propane eating fridge runs full time against the heat ...and the ice cream melts in the freezer. ..
.. Decades ago, early 1970's, I spent some time around ferro-cement boats ...which interest recently drew me to your vlog.
.. I've used those welded wire panels for tarp covered hoop shelters, greenhouses, and chicken homes. Lots of snow here, so the welded wire panel hoop shelters need internal support to not bend and collapse. Your a-frame cabin idea would solve that and inspires me.
.. I think I need one in a hole in the ground for root cellar and another for the fridge.
.. Only electricity is from generators, 5000 watt gas eater for well pump ...and 1500 watt for 12 volt backup battery and device battery charging and nightly computer. Sunshine and 4 solar panels for daytime electricity ...except in winter snow cloud weather.
Have you tried using a plug in outlet, Digital Cooling Thermostat Controller, seemed less work converting.
I don't believe laziness is real, but I know factually that complacency and unfamiliarity with everyday technologies is.
Being in an urban area and with reliable (for now) service I wouldn't be able to help you with the toasting-yourself issue. Do you have the ability to put in insulation, or did you have mould issues when you did that?
Great idea!👍👍
Thanks for watching.
In your refrigerator, I don’t understand why your freezer would thaw if the room temperature got below freezing? What was the reason for that?
The freezer was thawing when the room temperature was above freezing yet below the internal temperatue of the refridgerator. Thanks for watching.
@@johansenfamilyvlog8972 I understand now..
why not use an electronic thermostat be much easier to fit and temp control is more accurate
How much would such a device cost? How does it install?
Some manufacturers now make actual chest fridges-freezers. Typically they have a dial where the first 2 settings are for fridge settings and the rest of the dial automatically freeze the contents. Bought one unit (a Hisense) at Walmart 6 months ago and was so impressed that I bought a 2nd from Elektra Goods store (brand name on the unit was Oster) and use that as a freezer (dial is clearly marked "fridge settings" or "freezer settings"). It takes a while to get used to storing food in a chest fridge but the electric usage savings are dramatic, especially in warm countries like Mexico where daytime temps never fall below 20 degrees C in winter and are always 30 to 40 C in summer, because the units are not constantly cycling on and off every time you open the lid (cold air stays in a chest unit instead of "falling out" of an upright). Just had my 2-monthly electric bill and it was less than $10 for 200 kWH whereas before I was using an average of 350 kWH every 2 months when the upright was running. Basically anyone looking to cut electric usage costs should look at buying chest-type units asap. Great video, subscribed.
Thanks for the comment and the additional information. Glad to have you along on this adventure.
Just noticed that the Walmart link has a few different models available and also different sizes.....scroll to the bottom of the page
awesome, where did you learn that you could change the thermostat. I have a small frig that keeps freezing beer and water.
I was looking online to see if a deep freeze had the ability to be set warm enough to be a refridgerator and came across an article explaining how the freezer thermostate was nearly identical to the refridgerator thermostat in design, just different temps. Here is an amazon link for the one I bought.
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07VKJSWWJ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Guys, besides no defrost cycle another reason for energy savings is a freezer by it's very nature has much more robust insulatation and as such needs to cycle less often.
Yup. We had a new, smaller, full size refridgerator at first and it always wanted to run a defrost cycle when it was cloudy! Lol. We live off grid and it would completely drain my battery every time. Thanks for watching.
Do you know if there was wattage or amperage difference ?
Hello, thanks for asking your question. There was no change in the power (amps/watts) of the unit. The change was substiruting in a different thermostate intended for a refridgerator which has a warmer range of opperation than the original thermostate which was intended as a deep freezer. It is likely that the unit uses less energy (watt hours / amp hours) then as a freezer. Thanks for watching.
Well, I converted my freezer last night. Only 170 watts used in 22 hours.
Thank you for this informative video, which brand of thermostat and model number did you use?
I was just looking through the comments again and found you already answered my question, sorry I missed it, thanks for the info.
Common, load, high-voltage.
I'll bet it did take some getting use to a fridge like a freezer. Does the old one still work to were you could put it elsewhere? We got 12" of snow fri and sat, been 30 couple days, then to bottom out on us. Maybe you guys also. Stay warm. Iowa is watching :)
No snow here, just barely went south of us. Sold the stand up fridge. It worked great but the automstic defrost couldnt be disabled for off grid application and ours sat right in the heat of the stove. We just sold it yesterday for the price we paid for the new chest freezer and regulator. Wish we had gotten some of that snow! 😁
BTW great job.
That's cool, thanks for showing I'm going to do the same now you've given me the confidence to proceed. My electricity has gone up to 38p per kwh here in UK and I never have much in my mini fridge at once anyway I'm always loading it up with water bottles to reduce the amount of air exchange and its already on the floor anyway seems silly not to have a chest fridge.
Thanks for watching. It has been working out well for us even now in the summer when its hot and we rarely run the mini split AC because that takes starting tge generator. I think the biggest savings has come from it not having an automatic defrost.
@@johansenfamilyvlog8972 That's good to know I think I choose the right thermostat then it was a general refrigerator one one not a fridge/freezer one, I don't think it should need to defrost at all really. A refrigerator repair man was telling me it couldn't be done because water would end up in the bottom and when I said I was going to try myself anyway he seemed to recommend I get the fridge freezer type thermostat but that didn't seem right. Not sure he fully understood the concept of what I was trying to do.
We get some condensation on the items in the converted refridgerator but it is not bad at all. No build up in the bottom yet for us but to be safe we placed a cookie cooling rack at the bottom to give the water a place to be below any of our items. Also, almost every chest freezer has a drain at the bottom to let the water out when/if a manual defrost is conducted. Yes, i went with the refridgerator settings one and it is still capable of freezing if we set it that low. We put a piece of tape across the thermostate selector because as a friddge the unit is placed in a high traffic area and we didnt want it to get bumped and change the sttings. It takes a few hours to adjust after a setting change so be patient with it at first until you get used to it.
@@johansenfamilyvlog8972 ,I just got my thermostat just like this one you used, and my wires on my magic chef 3.5 freezer has a green and red and black wire, on the new thermostat where should the red wire plug and where should the green wire plug?
I plugged the black into the L and plugged the red into the C and the green into the H and when I turn the thermostat on it kicks my breaker off ?
Thankx
My thermostate had labels on it. I followed that. Other than that I dont know. Sorry
Which thermostat conversion kit did you use?
I added a link to the description of the one I used. Thanks for watching.
@@johansenfamilyvlog8972 after 5 months of use how is it working out? Is it much more efficient than your old upright fridge?
Yes, very. Mostly because it does not have an auto defrost which all modern conventiinal refridgerators do. It is also smaller in volume by half than the refridgerator it replaced. It is shorter than the previous refridgerator so it is continuously in cooler air as our previous refridgerator was affected by the wood stove in winter and hotter temoeratures in summer since we rarely run our air conditioning. Finally it is a chest and does not allow cooled air to escape when opened. The draw backs we have noticed is that the very top of the chest is about 10 degrees warmer than the very bottom. In order to keep the top of the chest refridgerator near the recommended 40 degrees F would require the bottom to be below freezing. We have learned to keep liquids that are ok to partially freeze, or form small ice chunks at the bottom and items that are ok to be a little warmer at the top. These are items like condinents. It also tends to be moist inside the chest refridgerator as many contsiners that are retrieved from inside have condensation on them. We have not yet attempted manually defrosting and there can be seen a thin coating of frost on the inside walls when the appliance has been running for a while which turns back into condensation shortly after it cycles off. We keep a short rack in the very bottom to keep food items from setting in any condensation that may gather and there is a drain plug at the very bottom but we have not noticed enough moister to drsin yet after 5 months of opperation. Looking at the inverter it uses slightly less watts when running than the conventional refridgerator did but typically cycles less frequently and for shorter periids of time. Thanks for your question. Hope this was info you were looking for based on my experiences.
I've never understood why many off gridders start out with un upright frig. Basic science tells you that every time the door is opened ALL the cold air dumps out, and requires more precious energy to chill it down again. We use a Danzinger (?) DC chest refrig at our offgrid cabin. Got it 12 yrs ago when they were more affordable ...$800.
LOL. That’s a silly comment.
I bet you $50.00 I can walk through YOUR house, and find waisted money. Not everybody realized the same things!
@@jwdundonlearn to spell. Go back to school.
@@jwdundonlearn to spell.
@@TheBigfoot567 voice software.... State of the art technology!
next time instead of that mod you can buy a inexpensive china pid controller, then you can easily prog it to work as a freezer or fridge.
Sounds like a cool idea but my experience has been that most cool ideas in electronics come with an energy consumption "cost." The ones I have seen all come with a concerningly large heat sink and even possibly a fan. Thanks for the comment.
@@johansenfamilyvlog8972I have to agree, those 'plug and play', seamed good. UNTILL I SAW YOUR CONVERSION. -- this is what I will do too. (Just to find the right thermostat).
There are more differences between a freezer and a refrigerator than just the thermostat. The actual refrigeration components are different. The compressor and metering device are made for the different pressures. It will be interesting to see how well it works.
So far, great!
Do you think it might just be a case of not needing to work as hard or as long/often as it's built too, or do you think it could be an issue over time with running on unintended pressure cycles? Hopefully would just mean it lasts even longer, still maybe doesn't run at the optimum speed or rate to be truly as efficient as it could be, even if it is still a lot more efficient than not. If only they just made chest fridge for sale in the first place, surprising it isn't already an option really.
@@leifcian4288 The technology of these appliances are changing and I guess that the usage is expanding. Making a freezer cool like a refrigerator is probably more likely than making a refrigerator into a freezer.
Johnson Controller