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Small Cabin Forum / Off-Grid Living / Powering This Item?
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hitanktank
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 14:43
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I am looking to buy this for my off grid small cabin. I am also going solar. I cant seem to find specs anywhere for how much power this uses. Any thoughts on how much I would need to run it all the time? THanks.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Q65FE0/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ti nhoulis-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004Q65FE0

VTweekender
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 15:17
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You can figure the little fridge will use about 500 watts a day.....the stovetop burners should be around 1500 watt elements.....so if you used them both for 1 hour a day plus the fridge running you would use up about 3500-4000 watts AC daily.....I would guess you will need a 2000 watt solar system with some heavy duty components to run this plus other things like lights, TV etc..etc..

Anonymous
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 15:35
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From the product manual, one burner is 500 watts and the other is 900 watts. The refrigerator was not included in the manual but is approximately 700 watts/day according to the energy label on a different 2.4 cft Avanti refrigerator.

http://www.avantiproducts.com/manual/ck301shp.pdf

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 15:52
Reply 


For off grid use though it is generally not a good idea to depend on anything that uses resistance heating like those elements (500/900 Watts). It can be done with enough batteries, but IMO it borders on the impractical for off grid cooking.

As for the fridge, there does not seem to be power info anywhere, not even on Avanti's website All I found was... Lower amperage use. (than a compressor fridge). That does not mean much to me... does it mean lower amp use when running, or lower total amp use over the period of a day, or what??? Suspicous to me when they do not back it up with an actual figure as they do with the cook elements. But that's just my take.

I did find the claim that the fridge can maintain a temperature of 36 F. There was a footnote though, that reads...
* When operated in normal room temperatures of 72 ‐78F degrees


That would not cut it for us.

hitanktank
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 19:38
Reply 


do you think a Danby efficient ffridge and a propane burner would be a better idea?

thanks much for replies

Rossman
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 20:39
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I guess the only real options for an off grid oven is a gas oven or running the genny when you need the oven?

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 21:03
Reply 


As much as I would like to not have to use purchased propane, that seems to be easier said than done. To keep the PV system small the fridge has to be propane, IMO. I prefer the Servel/Dometic 400 over all the rest. Bigger freezer than Danby.


When it comes to choosing a propane range (cooktop and oven) keep in mind that virtually all of them with electronic ignition for surface burners will require 120 VAC and that if you do not have 120 VAC the oven will not work. The stove top burners can be lit with a flame, but not the oven. The ones that will have a working oven w/o A/C are few and expensive. We bought a cheapy range with pilot lights for that reason. I installed a shut off valve right by the range so we could turn the gas off and kill the pilots easily when we want to.

Rossman
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 21:11
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I am figuring I'll need a very large off grid system for my place. I need the oven or the wife is out, so that's that.

It will still be cheaper than getting hydro in there.

toyota_mdt_tech
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 21:13
Reply 


Oven can run on propane. Or are you trying to be totally independent? But propane is what it takes to get the Mrs in, its an option. Or you can tell her "man, I'm gonna miss ya" (J/K of course)

Rossman
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 21:21
Reply 


I would rather spend more on a bigger solar array to power a regular over honestly. But I expect that it's not that practical...but I'll have a generator anyway so maybe just running a regular oven off that will work.

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 21:32 - Edited by: MtnDon
Reply 


Quoting: Rossman
I need the oven


I believe Peerless Premier has models with electric stove top burners and pilot light ovens. Or maybe it is Unique ???

They are better quality, more top of the line than the cheap run of the mill consumer pilot ranges. Better burner controls. And they cost more but are probably worth it for more than just weekend use.

The power killer in the majority off electric ignition ovens is the glow bar. A couple hundred watts on all the time the oven is in use.

Rossman
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 21:51
Reply 


Thanks MtnDon, I'll def look into those when the time is right.

Right now just saving as much as possible to fund this endeavour!

Moving Pictures
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 22:07
Reply 


Skip the heater elements. Completely.

hattie
Member
# Posted: 18 Jan 2013 22:35
Reply 


We use something similar to this in one of our rental units. Ours has a small freezer but doesn't have the storage on the side like your photo shows. Our guests LOVE it. We are not off grid though, so I don't know how it would fare without conventional electricity.
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126P_Barbershop_2.JP.jpg


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