My dad is building a cabin and will be off the grid there. I told him about propane refrigerators, but actually know nothing about them. Has anyone used one? Was it efficient? What should we look for? What about the price? Can you find them used? Etc. Etc. :-)

Thanks!

-- Terri Miller (tchr4hm@juno.com), October 14, 2000

Answers

My LP Fridge is dual purpose. Gas or AC and 12 volt. IT has a 3/way switching plan. Gas, AC, or Auto with AC the primary. Top freezer too. The igniter is 12 volt. It is a 7.5 cu. ft. Norcold, cost $1200 new. They are carried in J.C.Whitney Catalogs. Find descriptive page and show it to Dad.

Try to locate an older RV with a working unit. Purhaps gut the interior for the bulit-ins cabinets and closets sinks etc for the cabin.

-- JR (jr3star@earthlink.net), October 14, 2000.

Good sugestion to get a used RV you might also try a RV salvage yard. If bought new they are like almost anything else very expensive. If it is not needed imediately and you can shop you can get one. I used a small one in a travel trailer for 3 years in the mountains of arizona did without ice as I wanted the limited freezer area for frozen meats. Once you do have it bought I think they are actually cheaper to run than the electric ones. Also due to the lack of moving parts with proper care like cleaning they should last a very long time. gail

-- gail missouri ozarks (gef123@hotmail.com), October 15, 2000.

I have owned 3 LPG refrigeratos over the years. the first one was a 50s model Servel that was given too me, Gas or AC, it work as well as any regulary frige. Then 7 years ago I bought a new Dometic 8-cu. ft. model from Leahman's, it was $1000. much improved but smaller it ran on about a gallon and a half of propane a week during the winter, 2- 1/2 in the summer. when I sold my cabin the refrigerator stayed with it. A few years ago we had a remote cabin in the mountains and it had an old 1946 Servel, I had problems keeping it running but there is/was a parts dealer in Shasta Lake CA. who helped me out with a operators manual and some parts. I also lighted all three places with "Humphrey" gas lights, they have mantles much like Coleman lanters but bigger. We have 3 here in our house for back up, 2 in the kitchen and one in the mud room. Gas lights use about the same amount of fuel as a pilot light on a stove, (1500 BTUs). I have been told that LPG refrigerators built for home use are better than the ones for RVs, it might have to do with the venting but there are probably more used RV units around and cheaper.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweg.netm), October 15, 2000.

If gas refrigerators built for home use are better than RV ones, it may also have to do with insulation. I would think that the manufacturers may skimp a little on insulation in the RV units, trying to save space. It might not seem as critical to them to be efficient on propane, as "normally" they are used for vacations. I'm not going on facts here, though, just conjecturing.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), October 15, 2000.

I have a tiny one in the camper I'm living in. It's probably worth about what I paid for the whole camper. It had some troubles keeping up with the 110 degree temps we had for a while, but the door wasn't sealing tight then either. It's on the same propane tank as the stove, so I don't know how much it uses. I'd really like to find a larger one for when the house is done.

This one's walls are pretty thin. If I use it in the house, I'll build an insulated box around it. Since it's meant to have it's back vented through the wall, not venting it might be dangerous. I would not recomend just sitting an RV one inside of a home.

==>paul

-- paul (p@ledgewood-consulting.com), October 15, 2000.

There are some dealers in Homepower Magazine selling propane/nat. gas fridges for less than $1000.

I've had a Sibir fridge, converted over to natural gas, running for eleven years now. Have to defrost every two or three months, but otherwise no problems. When the temp gets over 100, hard to have both ice cream and steady ice production. No problem making ice when it's hot out, but ice cream will go through too many defrost cycles and turn to mush.

No moving parts, nothing to break. I've cleaned the burner assembly once. When it stops cooling properly, I defrost, turn off the fridge's gas supply, until all the coils cool down, and then relight it. Always works.

Mine has been a lifesaver, since store bought electricity was impossible to get to my home.

-- phil briggs (phillipbriggs@thenett.com), October 15, 2000.

I have 2: one is 25 years old, and was working perfectly in the camper before we moved it, but we may have damaged the door seals when we put it in the house, so now it needs defrosted and the chimney cleaned about every 2 months. The other is new and works very well, also, but it needs 12-volt electricity because it has a thermostat. It's kind of nice because it has an interior light, and the interior is configured differently than the old one. They are both 7.8 cu ft. The old one has a very small freezer and more refrigerator space, and the new one has a much larger freezer and smaller refrigerator space.

They just sit and work quietly--nothing to break or go wrong. I love them both. We built a cabinet for them and added extra insulation. It really made a difference for the older one.

-- Teresa (otgonz@bellsouth.net), October 16, 2000.

My in-laws have a Servel in there hunting cabin. Is at least 45 years old. Runs perfectly, but is only used a couple of weeks per year. Servels were recalled a few years ago. Dont remeber why exactly, but think it had something to do with the byproducts of combustion. Thank goodness that the old place is "well ventilated."

-- Terri Perry (stuperry@stargate.net), October 17, 2000.

Terri: Gas-powered refrigerators are really neat but will require some skill to be useful. Start out with an RV unit. These are commonly available because they don't work and the dealer wants $$$$$$ to fix it. Most people just buy a new one. This is going to sound stupid, but all you have to do to most of the "broken" ones is turn it upside down for a couple of days. Turn it right-side up and turn it on. Has something to do with the ammonia and the water getting separated. Try it, you'll like it.

-- john and pat james (jjames@n-jcenter.com), October 18, 2000.

John and Pat, somewhere along some internet road, I read another who posted what you said. The problem I encountered was when the outside temperature was 100 degrees, thus making the inside of the camper being at least 120 degrees, the danged gas frig. could not compensate, hence the inside frig. temperature ranged out of the safety level. Most said that was to be expected. I could not accept it then, nor now. I keep looking for an answer.

-- Mama had a full (sized@gasfrig.com), October 18, 2000.

I bought a propane refrigerator new last year just befor Y2K. I have used it exclusively ever since. I love it. It is a lot smaller than my old electric one and took some getting used to, but actually it is plenty big once you arrange things and don't try to squeeze in the giant sized 3 liter soda bottles. My electric bill has dropped to less than half what it was before. I am now getting ready to defrost this refrig (after a full year of use). My only complaint is that the propane refrigerators tend to have a very small freezer compartment. Unless you plan on freezing that prize elk you just shot, you really find that the space is quite adequate (after some getting used to). I paid somewhere around $1200 for mine. It is made in Brazil and the brand name is Consul. I probably could have gotten it cheaper had I shopped around, but I was in a hurry cuz of Y2K panic and gas refrigerators were starting to get scarce.

One of the greatest things about it is that it is completely SILENT! If you put one in, you will realize just how noisy those electric refrigerators are. Used propane refrigerators are available, but check them out closely. You can get a good deal on a used one. They last absolutely forever.

Good luck.

-- Jack (phixitman@hotmail.com), October 19, 2000.

Greetings; my family had servel refrigerators because we were off the grid until 1948, REA arrived. We were more than happy with Servels. I have bought every one that I could find for the past 10 years. i clean them up after our local Serval repairman checks them out for charge, leaks, and he adjusts the flame. I have never had a CO-1 detector sound off after this procedure. Mis-adjustment, or not having access to how to adjust the color of the flame can cause improper burning, thus deadly gas. Always have a carbon monoxide detector in the room to avoid problems. I currently have 3 models that I have saved from the dumps. My neighbor just found a very old side-by-side kerosene Servel at a ranch, it is in excellent shape. If a person buys one to use, remember they are very heavy! This is why the home style is not used in trailors. They never wear out. My 1950 book states most use about 5 gal. propane per month. Stan

-- Stan Carpenter (sac1209@aol.com), March 03, 2001.

Caution!! I used to manage a propane company and ran into 2 customers who had almost died due to carbon monoxide poisoning due to an old servel refer. Apparently the older models had the burner facing up rather than horizontally. When soot or anything in the flue chamber broke loose it landed on the burner, altering the flame which created carbon monoxide. The newer ones exited the burner horizontally so if anything fell down the flue it wouldn't land on the burner. Servel was offering a hefty amount to recall these older units and I imagine that is still true. I had friends who had newer propane models and loved the quiet and efficiency. I would think a corbon monoxide detector would be wise with any unvented appliance. An alternative would be a super efficient electric model which could be powered by a solar power. The initial investment would be more but after that , a free ride

-- jz (oz49us@yahoo.com), March 06, 2001.