TIL that a propane fridge was worth the upfront cost over a mini fridge for my cabin

I went back and forth for months on whether to spend the extra $400 on a propane fridge for my off grid place in Vermont. After two weeks with a mini fridge draining my battery bank faster than I could recharge it, I sold it and bought the propane model. Has anyone else made the switch and found it was worth the hassle of finding propane refills?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancyjones1mo ago

You said the mini fridge was "draining my battery bank faster than I could recharge it" and that's exactly why I think propane is OVERKILL for most people. I get that your setup in Vermont is off grid but have you looked at a DC powered fridge instead? They sip power compared to a regular AC mini fridge and you don't have to deal with finding propane in the middle of nowhere. I mean propane fridges are heavy and finicky and they need proper ventilation which is a whole other headache. Plus that $400 upfront cost could have bought you a good deep cycle battery or a small solar panel to keep the mini fridge running fine.

dixon.james1mo ago

Have you ever tried to run a hairdryer off a battery bank in a damp cabin? I did that once, up in the Adirondacks, and let me tell you, the thing just hummed and barely pushed any air. We ended up drying our hair over the wood stove like it was 1850. So I get the struggle with power and these little fridges, they really can be picky. Your point about DC fridges is a good one, but sometimes the simple old propane unit just wins for peace of mind, even if you do have to haul the tank a mile through the snow.

evahenderson1mo ago

Oh, that hairdryer story gave me a good laugh! Last summer I tried running a little electric skillet off my inverter for pancakes and ended up eating them barely warm because the power just couldn't keep up.