# Off grid freezer



## Rob30 (Nov 2, 2004)

I am looking for ideas about off grid freezers? We operate a farm that sells direct to the public. Our vegetables are stored in a cold cellar, but meats need to be frozen. I need at least two very large chest freezers or a medium sized walk in. 
Any ideas?


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

You can get propane operated freezers, but they aren't cheap


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Due to your 'large' requirements be prepared to spend a very 'large' buck for the equipment.


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## porcupine73 (Jan 31, 2013)

You can do it with solar or whatever method you want, it's just you'll have to accurately calculate the kWh requirement say per day and make sure you have enough solar capacity to generate at least that much even on a somewhat cloudy day, and ideally a large enough battery bank to provide say at least 3 days power. That's probably going to be a decent sized solar system. Personally I'd stick with the chest freezers probably. You may be able to get away with a smaller inverter if you interlock them so that only one can run at a time, or it switches power between them say every 30 minutes to an hour. (They may not necessarily run during that time; it just lowers the maximum continuous load). If you're using these freezers to actually _freeze_ foods, and not just keep them frozen, your power draw will go up considerably during the freezing stage, and you may then need to allow both to run continuously for many hours.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Jim-mi said:


> Due to your 'large' requirements be prepared to spend a very 'large' buck for the equipment.


What Jim said......


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

Is it a year round requirement Rob? Why Off Grid?


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## Rob30 (Nov 2, 2004)

Ross,
Off grid is just an idea the wife and I are kicking around. We have talked about it for a while. Electricity in our area is not the greatest. Our hydro goes out everytime a moose farts in the bush. The lines coming out here are ancient. Plus the cost of electricity is not going down any time soon.
We are looking to not just go off grid and use generators and propane to substitute. We want to decrease energy use. However we have a business to run, the freezers are a big part of it. 
I did not think of haveing the power alternate back and forth between the freezers to eliminate the chance both turning on at the same time.
The other big issue is powering tools, but my generator and few other changes and it could be done. I was inspired by an article in a recent mother earth news magazine that showed an off grid house that was right here in Ontario.


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## blooba (Feb 9, 2010)

TnAndy said:


> What Jim said......


lol, you just love showing those things off don't ya? 

 I'm green with envy...lol....I'll trade ya places in TN....lol


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I hear that Ontario power generation has to pay to be rid of excess power while we pay big bucks to scrape by. If I relocate some of this city farm money is going to a very big off grid system.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

It can be argued that the time is 'now' to seriously consider a "big system".
What with these troubled times and the possibility of hyperinflation dead ahead . . .?!?!
Whats a system gonna cost then . . ????
I can well imagine that if the USA hyperinflates will Canada be far behind . .????
Way to many question marks for "down the road"

Rob30 . . More than a bunch of business's have jumped on the "Green" band wagon by proudly letting customers know their operation is powered by the sun. . . . . .Could that help you . ??

If the grid goes down and stays down. . How long are you going to have fuel for those generators . . ??

blooba: . . .Yes Andy is proud of his investment . . as well as he should be.............

Bottom line; When / if the grid goes down (for a multitude of reasons) Andy, myself and others are going to keep on having the convenience of electricity.........(deep well pump?)


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## porcupine73 (Jan 31, 2013)

If you decide to try to alternate power between two large chest freezers, ideally they should be 'dumb' freezers. Not the newer fancy auto defrost type with electronics. I've noticed sometimes that style acts funny when switched on and off too much. But the old dumb style with a mechanical thermostat seems to work just fine.

If (when) there is an extended widespread power outage, the value of solar systems would become priceless.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

Thats a good point porcupine.
And the older compressors can run on mod-sign wave inverters . . . . . .where as a mod-sign wave inverter is quite likely going to wipe out all that fancy unnecessary electronics in todays >"frost free"< stuff.


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## DaleK (Sep 23, 2004)

One of my Amish neighbours bought a cheap 45' reefer trailer last summer... uses the trailer for storage and he took the refrigeration unit off to use it for a large walk-in freezer. Haven't heard yet if he has it up and running or not, or how much fuel it's using if so.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

blooba said:


> lol, you just love showing those things off don't ya?


Hey, if ya got it, flaunt it. :grin:

No, really that's only a small part of it. 

The biggest reason is to show anybody can do it if I did.....trust me, I couldn't even sweep up around rocket scientists, much less be one.


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## 12vman (Feb 17, 2004)

I remember Andy goin' around askin' a bunch of questions and look at him now..


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## porcupine73 (Jan 31, 2013)

That is a nice system no doubt. What's the typical service life for batteries in a solar application? I haven't looked into solar too much but am highly interested, especially a grid tie system. At least for while the grid is up.

Those self powered freezer units for semi trailers are pretty nice from what I hear. I thought I was reading they usually have a 30kW 3 phase diesel generator in them. Some people like to get older ones just to pull the generator portion out of it.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

The issue is freezers simply use too much electric as currently designed. You would have to "reinvent the wheel" to have any hope of afford ability. FYI you won't cover the expense of the batteries. On grid chest freezers use little to no power in real dollars. For instance my 19CU ft uses about 30 dollars a year per the label. A total off grid system to power it would cost in excess of 2 grand.

Now if you were to reinvent the wheel...

Move the compressor and coils from right next to the machine.
Add lots of cheap insulation.
Putting the coils outside in the open air. For your location this would be a great benefit most of the year.
Have a deep freeze that is accessed infrequently and a smaller section or freezer that is accessed more regular.

You could likely use half or even less energy. Of course it still wouldn't pay to have it done with solar. Because it will be even less for grid power. 

This is the issue with "going green", It isn't cheaper. Buy a long shot.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

porcupine73 said:


> Those self powered freezer units for semi trailers are pretty nice from what I hear. I thought I was reading they usually have a *30kW 3 phase diesel generator in them*. Some people like to get older ones just to pull the generator portion out of it.


Nah....they don't use electric....the cooling units on semi-trailers use a small diesel engine on the cooling unit itself to run the compressor.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

12vman said:


> I remember Andy goin' around askin' a bunch of questions and look at him now..



As an old boy told me once "you have not because you ask not"

:thumb:


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