Sunfrost noise [RE-wrenches]

[James Lamb, Middle Fork Engineering]

> Kurt
> I bought a new 2 door (top door was for freezer, bottom door was for
> refrigerator) cycle defrost 13.4 cubic foot General Electric refrigerator
> for $ 285.00 one day sale 7 years ago.   This refrigerator uses 2 KWH/DAY
> average as is. With modifications I lowered the average daily usage down
> to less than 1KWH/Day.    
> 
> The cycle defrost refrigerator requires you to defrost the freezer section
> only about 3-4 times a year. The freezer has its separate door and is on
> top. The refrigerator section is on the bottom with its separate door and
> has an evaporator (cooling) coil in it.  When the compressor is off, the
> temp in the refrigerator section (38 degrees) melts the ice on the coil.
> There is a small heater on that coil that turns on automatically when the
> compressor is not running. This coil is designed to keep the refrigerator
> section defrosted in the worst of conditions. I disconnected it and there
> was  no frost build up even on hot humid summer days. 
> 
> I insulated the inside the freezer section on the non coil area (right and
> left side of freezer). I also insulated around the outside of the freezer
> and refrigerator.  I carefully tilted the evaporator coil  on the back of
> the refrigerator to increase air flow around it. I also raised the
> refrigerator a few inches off the floor for more air flow around it. By
> having the freezer on top, cold travels down, so this helps to use the
> cold effectively. That's why the old wooded refrigerator require you to
> put the ice on top.  Note that the placement of the refrigerator affects
> usage. An outside wall in winter cuts the usage. When this type of
> refrigerator is in a cold room the compressor does not work as much and
> the freezer temperature goes up a bit and the Ice Cream gets a little
> soft. Insulating the freezer section well helps keep it colder. I also
> noticed that the compressor is on the larger size and is louder than most
> refrigerators.
> 
> 
> Question? What are the disadvantages of using a chest freezer as a
> refrigerator by installing a series thermostat that sets the temp at 38
> Degrees. I notice that some people open the refrigerator door and feel
> like they are shopping for stuff and close it without picking something. A
> chest freezer changed to a refrigerator would at least keep the cold air
> in for the shoppers.
> 
> Kurt wrote
> 
> The frig's I have been using in some RE designs are G.E.'s smaller
> manual defrost and they, and some others such as "Conservator" brand
> (and Conserv) use a mechanical thermostat.  The G.E.'s use as little as
> 750 watt hours/day in the case of the 10CF single door unit (ice box
> inside frig section and runs around 18 degrees F.).  They make an 11.5
> CF two door unit with seperate freezer section that has a colder freezer
> section and I'm not sure of the daily use as the client is only there on
> weekends and hard to monitor.  It is probably alittle better than a KW.
> 
> Interesting about the electronic thermostat.  Is there a way to complie
> a list of frigs that use mechanical vs. electronic thermostats?  I have
> a client with an Amana that has thawed a couple times.  I was looking at
> the possibility that the defrost circuit, not being enough to wake the
> inverter, might somehow be getting stuck in a mode where the frig
> compressor wasn't running while not actually defrosting(???)?  His frig
> does usually come on to a SW2512 that's sleeping, but it has thawed a
> couple times while he was absent from the home for a period.  He now
> defeats the snooze when he leaves the house.
> 
> I haven't found many clients that can afford the Sunfrost, but know for
> a fact that those who can are often very happy with their purchase.  I
> also do not believe that they have an electronic thermostat and their ac
> units will not let a sleeping inverter lie.
> 
> Kurt Nelson
> > 
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