Refrigerator On - no hookup

[Jack46]

I expect to be in a situation where I'll need to park our AS for 3-4 days with no hookups. I know that there are a lot of variables, but what can I expect in terms of battery capacity in leaving the refrigerator on? Thanks. Jack

[JDS]

Doesn't it switch to propane when not plugged in to shore power?

[Jack46]

Yes, but as far as I know some battery power is required for operation of the refrigerator?? Maybe I am incorrect which would be good news, but it seems to me the battery cutoff switch must be on for the refrigerator to be operational.

[purman]

The only power that it needs is to run the control board and the spark to light the burner. Very little is needed. You could have it on for a week and probably would hardly notice a drop in your batteries. I had mine on for 4 days, using lights at night and the fan once in a while during the day. My batteries fell to 80%.

[HiHoAgRV]

On my fridge, there is a hi/low humidity switch visible when the freezer door is open. If that switch is "on", the fridge pulls 1.5 amps. If you have a single battery that will pull you down below 50% in just a couple of days! By turning it "off" the draw slips to .7 A allowing for 3-4 days before the battery drops to 50%...in theory

All of this is based on my fridge and a single 80AH battery...your milage may vary...

In actual use, I have 3 80AH batteries and the fridge pulls me down 3% of usable capacity per day. I'm guessing the frige cycles off at some time during the night.


Of course it only takes a small portable solar panel to make up for the .7A loss...

[Jack46]

Thanks for the input. This trip will be to Oklahoma in July so I suspect the refrigerator will work overtime a bit. But, I think we should be fine. Jack

[colberjs]

Where at in OK?

[CaddyGrn]

Hello,

Looks like good advice and information above! I would also ask if it has fans that operate to circulate air in the 'fridge... those can pull some power. Some sort of back up system like a generator to recharge the batteries might be a suggestion if you are really worried, or perhaps a solar charger that keeps the batteries up?

Have fun!

[Jack46]

This is obviously next summer. I'm going to attend a business meeting in late July in OKC in advance of ending up on the WBCCI Southwest Caravan. Since it would be lot more comfortable to stay in the meeting's hotel, I will be looking for a three-four day dry storage. We'll be then heading to Mount Rushmore, Little Big Horn, Glacier, Yellowstone and then on to our daughter's home in Aspen before the start of the Caravan in Durango in late August. Though I've ridden to all these spots solo on my BMW motorcycle, this trip will be a three month long retirement celebration by the two of us.

I overlooked that I do use a small solar charger when the AS is stored. That will help with the fridge as well.