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I have a fridge-freezer on a houseboat, which is spending a lot of time off grid at the moment. I’m trying to set up the a.c. usage so that the inverter stays in standby mode for as much of the time as possible, automatically activating only when a load is applied. With the fridge plugged in, the inverter won’t go into standby mode even when the compressor isn’t running because the control board draws enough current to activate the inverter. In any event, if the inverter did go into standby mode, the thermostat would then stop functioning whilstever the board wasn’t powered up. It should be possible to use an electromechanical fridge thermostat in place of the electronic board and thermistors. Then, when the thermostat switches on the compressor, the current draw will activate the inverter. Can anyone suggest a suitable thermostat and give any guidance about where the probe should be located for best results?
Thanks, LenRe: Electromechanical stat instead of control board
Highly not recommended.
But to even begin, you’d need to know the setup and, if it’s all low voltage stuff and an inverter compressor then it’s probably not even possible.
However, I’d suggest you thoroughly read the following two articles:
http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/fix- … components
http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/buyi … tallations
Refrigeration for boats and caravans etc are specifically designed to cope and work in those environments, normal domestic units are not. It’s pretty much that simple.
Virtually no modern domestic appliances are designed for off grid use, they just can’t cope with it.
K.
Re: Electromechanical stat instead of control board
Apologies if I didn’t make clear that the inverter provides a.c. power and is not part of the fridge. Although the appliance is a domestic model, it works perfectly well on 230V a.c. provided by the inverter, and has done for years. The issue is that the inverter has to run to provide current to the fridge 24/7, just to power the control board. It’s certainly possible to run the fridge with the board by-passed, because I’m doing it at the moment with a d.c. powered interval timer which switches the compressor on and off via a relay. This makeshift arrangement obviously gives rather haphazard temperature control. I’m sure it will be possible to use an electromechanical thermostat to achieve better control, but it would save me some trial and error if I knew which stat was likely to be most suitable and where the probe is generally located in a wet wall fridge freezer.
Re: Electromechanical stat instead of control board
Trouble is, it was never designed to be used that way.
So, where do you put the phial tip, what stat you use? Who knows, at best it’d be an educated guess.
At worst, it’ll ruin food or poison you.
K.
Re: Electromechanical stat instead of control board
I’ve just come across this fascinating read. It never surprises me what the public at large get up to in the fervent hope of attaining a compromise, or as we say in the trade ‘a bodge’.
But, we’re here to help, when we can. So, here’s an idea. Buy an old mechanical stat type caravan/boat fridge from eBay OR a large cooler box.
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