I recently bought an Ecoflow Delta 2 solar generator and plugged in my old Kenmore side-by-side refrigerator. However, I'm getting some strange results. When I unplug the fridge from house power while the compressor is off, the Delta 2 shows a draw of 685 watts. But when I unplug it while the compressor is running and switch to the Delta 2, it spikes to 1785 watts for a few seconds before tripping protection and dropping to 45 watts. I've tested the Delta 2 with an oil-filled radiator heater, and it worked fine, outputting 1565 watts at high. Anyone have insights on why my fridge is acting this way?
1 Answer
Your fridge might be drawing more power due to its age and the way compressors operate. If you unplugged the fridge while the compressor was running, it was likely still needing cooling, drawing extra power during that switch. You could consider adding a large capacitor to smooth out the start-up power spike, or if you're looking to upgrade, a newer 'soft start' fridge would help a lot. Also, a DC fridge can be much more efficient with your generator setup!
I looked into new fridges as well, but some models don’t seem to last long. I’ve ordered a wattmeter to track this power issue and found a chest freezer on sale for $200. It will use less power, and I can always freeze ice for my cooler. I might also need a bigger solar system to handle outages!