How does LP Gas power a gas fridge?

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Using LP Gas to power a gas fridge

Liquefied Petroleum Gas is a group of compressed vapor gases of which one of the gases is propane. The vapor being a by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining. The vapor is compressed into a liquid form for transportation and storage. Propane gas is cleaner burning gas than gasoline but slightly less clean burning than natural gas. Propane gas is odorless in raw form but a fragrance is added to help in leak detection. Most describe the fragrance as a rotten egg smell.

This gas type is well suited for off grid living because it is very portable and perfect for propane appliances. Either in small steel cylinders or it can be delivered by truck to a permanent on site tank. This makes it a great solution for energy storage in any environment, therefore making it great for an off grid refrigerator.

Using propane gas to power a refrigerator seems out of the normal but in fact this application has been used since the early 1900’s. One of the more popular brands in the 1940’s was the Servel LP gas refrigerator. Many are still in operation today being used as an off grid refrigerator. These old units have been recalled and many are taken out of service and replaced with the new more modern and efficient models. Read here for more about the recall.

Depending on the size of your propane refrigerator and the number of people living out of it and the environment it is being used in will determine how much propane gas it will use. We usually see an average of 2 gallons per week. Sometimes as low as one gallon per week or as high as 3 gallons per week in the extreme. The flame only burns 1750 BTU on high flame and 800 BTU on low flame. A propane refrigerator will operate most of the time on low flame. The actual physical flame size is about the size equal to a cigarette lighter. The EZ Freeze brand refrigerators are tested to put off less than 50 parts per million of Carbon Dioxide which is safe levels for home interiors.