AcuTemp Refrigerator

[Magilla]

I called Acutemp (I'm in the Military) , and asked tech support. White is hot, Black is ground.

 

[DieselAddict]

I called Acutemp (I'm in the Military) , and asked tech support. White is hot, Black is ground.

Outstanding!

 

[Valence]

Very cool Rusty!! I want one now ;P

It sounds like it will freeze water, or does it need to already be frozen? (no, I haven't read the whole manual yet)

I have just had a look at the pictures you posted now I am home on my big laptop, Looks like a 40ltr fridge/freezer.

Aussie.

According to the Operations manual, its Payload volume is 2 cubic feet, or 56.6 liters.
NSN 4110-01-506-0895
Section 1-3, PDF page 8
https://www.steelsoldiers.com/upload/misc/HemaCool_Operations_5_13_05.pdf

Service Manual:
https://www.steelsoldiers.com/upload/misc/HemaCool_Service_5_13_05.pdf

 

[DieselAddict]

The refrigeration system is pretty low capacity. It would take a long time for it to freeze something. It is more suited to keeping items at temp. Its not going to be good for freezing them.

 

[NATCAD]

The problem is those silly Canadians ! For some reason they don't like you starting fires along-side the roads up there ! LOL !!!

Propane, or char or the vacuum stove with wood would be ok on side of road AFAIK as an adventuring canadian, people get excited if you move firewood from one spot to another though.

 

[rustystud]

The refrigeration system is pretty low capacity. It would take a long time for it to freeze something. It is more suited to keeping items at temp. Its not going to be good for freezing them.

Actually no. Once it reaches it operating temperature of -23 Celsius it would freeze almost anything. It has a compressor almost as large as our 16 cubit Ft refrigerator. This is a serious unit guys. It weighs in at 148 Ibs. It's made to keep Blood cold or "Plasma" frozen in the Desert . Men's lives depended on them to work, and work properly in all conditions. It is not some little "toy" freezer "want a be" like those cute little beer coolers. That is the reason the "payload" is only 2 cubic feet.
Any more and the unit would take three or more men to move.

 

[rustystud]

So rusty how are you going to power the fridge?

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I'm sorry I forgot your question ! The main way I will be powering the freezer is with 24 volts DC when driving. At night I will be using the MEP-531 generator. When I need to stop for short rests or refueling the units "internal" batteries will keep it cold. The last time I checked the internal batteries capacity, they would keep the unit below freezing for 8 hours.

 

[maa45069]

Actually no. Once it reaches it operating temperature of -23 Celsius it would freeze almost anything. It has a compressor almost as large as our 16 cubit Ft refrigerator. This is a serious unit guys. It weighs in at 148 Ibs. It's made to keep Blood cold or "Plasma" frozen in the Desert . Men's lives depended on them to work, and work properly in all conditions. It is not some little "toy" freezer "want a be" like those cute little beer coolers. That is the reason the "payload" is only 2 cubic feet.
Any more and the unit would take three or more men to move.

Ha I know they are absolutely fun to move on my own. 148lbs wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so large. They are great units they got down to temp in a decent amount of time as well. I am impressed.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

 

[DieselAddict]

Actually no. Once it reaches it operating temperature of -23 Celsius it would freeze almost anything. It has a compressor almost as large as our 16 cubit Ft refrigerator. This is a serious unit guys. It weighs in at 148 Ibs. It's made to keep Blood cold or "Plasma" frozen in the Desert . Men's lives depended on them to work, and work properly in all conditions. It is not some little "toy" freezer "want a be" like those cute little beer coolers. That is the reason the "payload" is only 2 cubic feet.
Any more and the unit would take three or more men to move.

I respectfully disagree. Here's why, the compressor is DC powered. The motor is larger than an AC motor so the compressor looks larger. Second, the power input is only 50w. In contrast the compressor on you normal fridge is going to be in the hundreds of watts of input power. Input power is a reasonable indicator of how much work these systems can do. Lastly the size of the evaporator and condensers on these units are small. Yes they are fan cooled which makes them effectively larger but in the end their effective size will be much smaller than a normal fridge. They will have less heat capacity.

The fact act they can keep things frozen in the desert is as much the insulation design as it is the overall design of the refrigeration system (which is in my opinion great).

To demonstrate I'll do a test to show how long it takes to freeze a container of water in one set on freeze compared to my home freezer. Maybe I'll be surprised.

 

[maa45069]

DieselAddict,
Seems like you really know your stuff. But I guess my thoughts on this are if they are already running and have reached the desired temp then it would freeze as quickly as any other mechanism as long as the temperatures are the same. since rusty will be keeping his running 24/7 I bet he will be able to freeze whatever in no time lol. I am not speaking about the time it takes for this unit to reach the freeze mode temp from room temp or even a hot summer day but just thinking about how they would be used in his application. Please do the test because I am very interested in the results!

 

[DieselAddict]

The temperature inside the unit when you start is not as relevant as you might think. If the unit is empty the only cold is in the mass of the air and the internal parts that have been exposed to that temperature. That stuff is very low thermal mass so if you put something hot in there it will warm up everything quickly. The compressor will work to remove the heat. The rate will be limited to the overall capacity of the refrigeration system.

If you put something warm in there but the unit is full of stuff with thermal mass the heat energy will be transferred from the warmer items to the cooler items which will reduce the overall temperature swing inside the chamber assuming there is a lot more frozen mass in there compared to the warm stuff you inserted. This can make it take less time to get the warm item down to the freezing point. Changing water from liquid to solid takes a fair amount of energy so it will be down to the compressor to get that done.

 

[maa45069]

I 100% agree with this.

 

[NATCAD]

guys after all this talk I am ordering one... how much should these cost? Is $500 fair?

I plan to use on the boat off the 12v system, and possibly in car trunk running off the 12v. With the addition of a larger Ah external battery and 150 -200 watts of input power this could be a nice off grid solution for cabin instead of the propane fridge.

 

[NATCAD]

double post

 

[maa45069]

this must be a really old Lincoln Continental or a Cadillac. lol these things are pretty good in size.

 

[NATCAD]

Anybody know the battery size? Or a commercial part number?

I found below:L

2 v, 21 amp hour total capacity; 17.8 x 7 x 17 cm; 5.9 kg; 7 x 2.9 x 5.5 in.; 15 lbs; for use with vaxicool part number vxc-2 or vxc-sp-dd1.

Anyone have photos of the old battery? Rusty?

It will go in the trunk in same space my RTIC cooler goes in now, might just keep the RTIC beside it and once the ice is made move it over...!

I see others have posted on the replacement batteries for either $87 or 60$

Where can these be had at?

I am guessing they are the SLA agm style used in emergency light, ups, etc. Which should mean that the 20 Ah ones cost around $35-40 (if the sizing is right)

 

[maa45069]

Rusty,
Would you mind taking the top plastic cover off and taking pictures of the batteries and maybe getting some measurements off of them please? This would be so helpful. Unless you know off top of your head

 

[maa45069]

Wow. Sorry for the double post

 

[gimpyrobb]

Just do a search for 12v 20ah sealed battery. I think Chrome Battery had the best price out of Indiana. There is room in the batt compartment for larger(more reserve- possibly double) batteries, but you'd have to modify the battery bracket and the cooler would be heavier.

 

[rustystud]

I respectfully disagree. Here's why, the compressor is DC powered. The motor is larger than an AC motor so the compressor looks larger. Second, the power input is only 50w. In contrast the compressor on you normal fridge is going to be in the hundreds of watts of input power. Input power is a reasonable indicator of how much work these systems can do. Lastly the size of the evaporator and condensers on these units are small. Yes they are fan cooled which makes them effectively larger but in the end their effective size will be much smaller than a normal fridge. They will have less heat capacity.

The fact act they can keep things frozen in the desert is as much the insulation design as it is the overall design of the refrigeration system (which is in my opinion great).

To demonstrate I'll do a test to show how long it takes to freeze a container of water in one set on freeze compared to my home freezer. Maybe I'll be surprised.

As a "Federally Certified HVAC Technician" I can truthfully state that the "average" refrigerator/freezer's Compressor today uses only 25 watts. The rest of the power consumed is for all the little bells and whistles like lights and fans and sensors and on and on. Also "watts" is "Watts" no matter what. Whether it is AC or DC it doesn't matter. As far as the size being an indicator of power that is ridiculous, especially in todays world of "extreme magnets" . Haven't you seen the size of modern diesel engine starter motors ? Compared to motors from the 1950's they are absolutely tiny ! Modern electronics and powerful magnets make this possible. As far as the size of the "evaporator" and "condenser" goes, they are equivalent in size (if not bigger) to the modern hotel room refrigerator. Another thing you mentioned is hot items taking longer to cool down. Didn't you take "Physics" in school ? Don't you remember all those experiments cooling down hot items ? Since the "atoms" of a heated item move faster when hot, they also give off hear quicker then cool atoms do.
Since there is all this confusion about this refrigerators ability to cool or freeze something I'll also test mine tomorrow. I'll put some water jugs in it and see how long it takes to totally freeze them too.