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fwunder View Drop Down
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    Posted: 21 Sep 2015 at 10:03am
Beat ya to it furpod! Wink

Kill-A-Watt has been on for 30 minutes. I'll let it run all day and see, but this is what I see so far. Batteries (dual sixers) are topped off. Only breaker on is converter. I used 10.6 watts @ $0.10/KwHour. Shore power cord to 50 ft. heavy extension to house.

fred
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
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Posts: 4508 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2015 at 12:52pm
Pretty cool!
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WillThrill View Drop Down
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Posts: 298 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2015 at 3:08pm
Thanks fwunder! That's what I suspected. 10 watts is nothing when you're connected to shore power. That would cost about $.72 per month.
"Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien

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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2015 at 5:27pm
You're welcome. I'll keep the Kill-A-Watt inline for a day or two and we'll see. (It measures cumulatively) If I have time after that, I'll make some measurements with fridge and anything else anybody might want to see. Curious if furpod's numbers are same as mine.

fred
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
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Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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Posts: 9059 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2015 at 8:52pm
Looking forward to the long-term numbers.  I should go plug my Salem into my Kill-a-watt for comparison.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Sep 2015 at 9:30pm
DO EET!!
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Sep 2015 at 10:18am
Just to follow up...

At the 24 hour mark The Kill-A-Watt measured 0.26 Kw. Calculated to 10.83 watt average over 24 hours.

fred
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
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Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Sep 2015 at 3:21pm
A couple of more data points for those interested.

Reefer on shore power. Startup from warm => 140 watts.

After 4 hours and cooled down to about 30 degrees => 13.8 watts 

Forced converter on by opening fridge and switching to 12 volt. Battery voltmeter dropped to about 13.1 and kicked the converter on quickly (hear fan running) => 250 watts!

fred
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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WillThrill View Drop Down
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Posts: 298 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Sep 2015 at 8:51pm
Originally posted by fwunder

A couple of more data points for those interested.

Reefer on shore power. Startup from warm => 140 watts.

After 4 hours and cooled down to about 30 degrees => 13.8 watts 

Forced converter on by opening fridge and switching to 12 volt. Battery voltmeter dropped to about 13.1 and kicked the converter on quickly (hear fan running) => 250 watts!

fred

More great data!  Thanks again Fred!

I'd be willing to bet that your last scenario (or bulk charging the batteries, see below) is how techntrek got his 240 watt number.  Based on your numbers running the fridge from shore power, the 12 volt power draw would probably drop by 80-90% after it was cooled down.

I think that the last data point that would be really interesting would be how much current the converter draws when it's bulk charging the batteries.  I'm not sure what the maximum charging amperage is of the converter, but my guess is it's either 10 or 15 amps.  That would be 120 to 180 watts plus what the converter itself uses, so I'm guessing the total draw would be around 200-300 watts.
"Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien

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fwunder View Drop Down
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Posts: 1676 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 22 Sep 2015 at 9:07pm
Originally posted by WillThrill

I'd be willing to bet that your last scenario is how techntrek got his 240 watt number.  Based on your numbers running the fridge from shore power, the power draw would probably drop by 80-90% when run on 12 volts after it was cooled down.

I don't think so. The fridge on 12 volt is not very efficient. The converter kicked on almost immediately. We're measuring AC watts and since the converter needs to run almost full time to keep up with fridge (12 volt) load, I doubt that it would drop below 250 watts. I really just wanted to measure converter load when charging instead of float.

I think what the numbers best demonstrate is that if you have well maintained and fully charged batteries, it is very reasonable to keep the pod plugged in 24/7. Someone here, smarter than me, may wish to do the math regarding the relative cost of running the fridge off propane or shore power. BTW, I did just have a new 1000 gallon propane tank filled - 850 gallons @ $1.29/gallon. Bet that would run the fridge for a while!!

fred
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6
Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!
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