Need a UPS for a camp (to power a fridge).

[CougTek]

Someone I know has a camp far away to the North (8 hours north of Montréal). He wants something to power a fridge there. Needless to say, there are no power lines anywhere near. Someone told him a UPS (not a skimpy one for computers) would be the best thing for him. He doesn't want to pay more than a few hundred dollars (by few, I mean less than 400$CAN).

What should he get and what brand?

Where is the Manhattan kitten?

 

[Sol]

I'd guess that a fridge that can run off a bottle of gas would be a better solution, although probably outside of that price range...

 

[Pradeep]

How long does it need to run for? As Sol suggests, a gas powered or 12V fridge would be best, otherwise look at a petrol generator (which is prob going to be more than CAN$400).

 

[Howell]

I would like that any ups that could handle the current draw of a frig would cost more than $400.

 

[Tannin]

You need a Thumper (or similar product) Coug.

Here is a link: http://www.kookaburragas.com.au/camping_power.htm

In Australia, the most-recommended brand is locally made and probably not available OS, but there are bound to be others where you are of equal quality.

Thumpers are expensive: mine was AU$700 or so, but they are regarded by the experts as the best you can buy.

Notice that a battery suitable for this sort of use and a battery suitable for jump-starting cars are not the same thing — car batteries are optimised for cold-cranking amps: massive power flow for a short time. Thumpers (and similar products) are designed for moderate and low current, but for a much longer time, and also have different charge-discharge longevity characteristics. So you need to get the right sort.

(Yes, you can start a car with my Thumper, and you can use a car-type second battery to run a fridge, but neither is particularly well-adapted to the task.)

I doubt you'd need to spend the rather silly amount I spent, but maybe sometjhing around the CA$400 to 500 area should get you something very good that will last for many years.

 

[Tannin]

Gas fridges have some severe drawbacks. They need to be kept absolutely level, and they can be a significant safety risk.

(I have a friend who totalled his car - the gas fridge or bottle went wrong somewhere along the way, and his car was burned out to a black shell, a total write-off. They were very lucky they were able to restrict the fire to the area immediately surrounding the car - it almost got away and set fire to the entire neigborhood. If the grass had been any longer or the trees any closer ..... Not worth thinking about.)

 

[CougTek]

Thanks guys.

He was looking at the Motomaster Eliminator 1200A and Eliminator 1750A power inverter. You find them on Canuck Tire web site. Use "H4R1W6" for the postal code. The Elminator looks like a kind of "thumper" by Tannin's term.

He plans to spend as much as an entire week in a row at his camp.

 

[Tannin]

Looks like he's headed in the right direction, Coug. But what does he want the inverter for? An inverter chews up a heck of a lot of power. He needs a 12V fridge. In fact, I was assuming he already had one, as if it ain't 12V, then there is no way on earth he is going to run fridge and inverter for a week off any battery he could possibly afford or be bothered carting around.

(Hang on, this is Canada ... what does he even need a fridge for? What's the expected maximum daily temperature, and the expected overnight low in that district?)

A good big Thumper is capable of powering a 12V fridge for about three days .... but that's in Australia, and we are talking an outside temp of 40 degrees plus now, and hotter than that inside a car.

 

[CougTek]

What's the expected maximum daily temperature, and the expected overnight low in that district?

It's not Canada, it's Québec. The temperature might reach 25C, maybe 28C max during the day while it should drop to 15C-20C during the night.

 

[Tannin]

Yeah, fair enough, but I can spell "Canada" without a degree in keyboard gymnastics.

25C should be no problem for a week: it's a lot easier for the fridge to cope with 25 than with 35 or 40 - vastly less energy to expend.