View Single Post
  #7   Report Post  
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
Jeff Liebermann Jeff Liebermann is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,045
Default Refrigerator current load

On Sun, 12 Jan 2020 18:43:28 -0500, "Tom Del Rosso"
wrote:

I expect a large fridge to draw around 5 amps, but my clamp transformer
(on one wire of a broken-out extension cord of course) and Fluke
together say 830ma when the thing is running. Does that seem wrong? It
measures the toaster oven at 9.1A and the fridge light at 300ma.


Make and model of the fridge? 117VAC or 240VAC? I can possibly
lookup the expected current drain online and do a sanity check. I
found a few charts that claim a full size refrigerator/freezer should
draw about 700 watts. 5A sounds about right:
117VAC * 5A = 585 VA
No clue on the PF (power factor) so I'll use VA instead of watts.

If you're seeing only 0.83A, then you're looking at the current drawn
by a fan or light bulb in the fridge, not the compressor. Try
lowering the temperature setting of the thermostat temporarily to
force the compressor to start.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558