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Old 02-29-2004, 01:47 PM   #1
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Refrigerator question

I have solar panels, charging 4 batteries, and a fitted inverter, in my new coach.. That is great I think.

We buy frozen food, in small bulk quantity, and will always have a full freezer compartment...

When travelling we would like to keep the freezer cold, so...

What wattage does the fridge freezer run, if not disturbed? Would it be feasible to run the fridge on 110, from the inverter, whilst travelling? I have all these great ideas, and not the knowledge base to answer them myself..

Theo
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Old 02-29-2004, 04:21 PM   #2
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The inverter draw to run the refer will draw 10 X the AC Amps that are listed as the draw on refer the rating plate. Normally 3-4 AC amps. If you are running the refer on AC, off the inverter and without the Alternator you could kill the batteries fast. The real question is what is the Solar Amperage output? 4 panels should offer 30-40 amps. This leaves you at a status quo while running the refer in full sun.

The other thing that could bite you if you are not careful is stopping to go eat with no sun and having the inverter drain the batteries to almost nothing.

Not to start the gas on or off while towing discussion again; If keeping the food frozen is a priority tow with the refer on gas. The only thing you have to do is stop before fueling and turn off the refer as well as turning it back on after you clear the pumps. We are on our 4th coach and I have towed with the gas on in all of them. As long as you are careful it can be done. They were designed to be used this way.
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Old 02-29-2004, 04:54 PM   #3
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Refrigerator question

Greetings Theo!

When I had the solar panels and Inverter installed on my '64 Overlander, the installer didn't recommend trying to operate the refrigerator on the AC output from the Inverter while underway. I didn't pay great attention to his reasoning as I already had the 12-volt option in my 3-Way Dometic. If my memory serves correct, the two concerns were current draw of the AC heater in the refrigerator and how a reduced voltage situation might affect the heater in the event that the battery charge was greatly depleted. I always run with the Dometic on 12-Volt and have never had any problems - - I have three gel cell batteries with three solar panels on the roof - - even without the solar setup, I never experienced any problems with my previous 3-Way RV Refrigerator in the 1980 Nomad that I purchased new. In fact, quite often, I leave the Overlander's refrigerator on 12-volt as I dislike gas appliances - - in three years it has only been run on gas for at most five hours - - always perfect cooling on either of its electric settings.

Good luck with your new coach!

Kevin
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Old 02-29-2004, 05:39 PM   #4
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I personally love the fridge on LP. We used the LP feature for decades. The BTUs are higher than with AC or DC, it's cheap, and lasts a long time...besides keeping the fridge and freezer very cold!
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Old 02-29-2004, 06:26 PM   #5
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Powering the frig while moving

We too like the LP, but our frig seems to go off (check light comes on) while we travel with the LP running.

So, am considering installing a Xantrex Sine Wave Inverter RS400 to run the frig while in motion.

Any suggestions as to why the LP fails while moving?

Has anyone had success using the AC mode while moving?

73/gus
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Old 02-29-2004, 07:25 PM   #6
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You need to baffle the airflow. Having the refer on the road side creates a draft when being passed or on two lane roads.

Someone who has made on can tell you details. the other option is to ty wrap a section of the blue filter material to the door while under way. remember to remove it once you get to your location.
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Old 02-29-2004, 09:30 PM   #7
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Check out this thread....

http://www.airforums.com/forum...=&threadid=311

Eric
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Old 03-01-2004, 01:57 AM   #8
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The fridge in my coach is a two way. Is there a cost effective way of adding a 12 cct to it, or is that impossible?

I will not run with the propane lit - I am too concious of the dangers, but I do not like to loose food. I often travel for long periods of time, so could possibly harm food by thawing.

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Old 03-01-2004, 06:25 AM   #9
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Not sure it can be added, anything is possible I suppose. I'd wonder why LP does not work. It's totally safe and works well. The only danger I ever read about was that of folks at gas stations filling up. To be very honest, I think we were lucky as for years we never turned the fridge off, but today, as an adult, I read that and said, that makes sense to turn it off when getting a fillup for the tow vehicle.

Other than that, the coach is designed to work on LP, if it were that big of a saftey concern they'd have stopped doing it since there are decades of of use out there. What are your specific concerns about the LP use?

If it blows out, and it's streetside, take a look at the link I posted. If it's not just blowing out, have the unit looked at. Me personally wouldn't waste my time adding the 12v if it could as it would most likely be less of a hassle to get the LP part working.

Just my .02

Eric
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Old 03-01-2004, 07:07 AM   #10
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Refrigerator question

Greetings Theo!

Quote:
The fridge in my coach is a two way. Is there a cost effective way of adding a 12 cct to it, or is that impossible?
I am in the process of trying to have this question answered on my '78 Argosy that still has its original 2-Way Dometic - - I know that the 3-Way option was available when the coach was new as the Nomad that I purchased new in 1980 had the feature as standard equipment - - and it was available in 1979 as well as it took me nearly a year to make the decision on ordering the coach. My dealer (Ace Fogdall RV) will be my contact in the quest for information. I would suspect that the process on a coach that is little more than a decade old should be more promising than for my coach that is 26 years old.

Good luck with your coach!

Kevin
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Old 03-16-2004, 10:07 AM   #11
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Hi Kevin,

Just this morning I was thinking, wouldn't it be great if you could add 12v to a propane fridge, and here I find someone else on the forum also thinking about it! So, have you gotten any responses to upgrading your Argosy's fridge to run on 12V?
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Old 03-16-2004, 11:21 AM   #12
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3-Way Experience

We had a 3-way Dometic 4.0 in our Casita, owned it for 2+ yrs. before going A/S. The 12vdc use consumed a lot of current and is not intended to use on battery only, mostly for in-transit while hooked to your tow vehicle charging system. After the first year we no longer used the 12vdc because it really didn't cool anywhere near as good as gas or AC & I didn't like the extra drain on the tow vehicle's system.
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Old 03-16-2004, 12:39 PM   #13
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Using 12v while travelling was what I was thinking of. Otherwise we'll have to go ahead and try running on propane while on the road. We're taking a big trip across the SW this May, and there's no way we can expect to keep stuff in the fridge if we turn it off while we're travelling.

I feel better about running with the fridge on now that we have this electronic ignitor though, because if it blows out the ignitor will immediately try to relight it. So that's probably what we'll have to do.
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Old 05-19-2004, 06:47 AM   #14
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I have some more questions on the subject of the fridge not cooling on LP while under way.

I have run our refer (a six-month old Dometic unit - essentially new) on gas while parked at home for days at a time, and it works fine.

On the road, however, it's a different matter. At the end of an eight-hour travel day in 80+ degree weather, the freezer is beginning to heat up some, and the measured temp downstairs is in the 70 degree range. When we open up the trailer, the indicator lights always show that the refer is running on gas, and the check light is never on.

Does this sound like the flame is being blown out while under way? If so, how does the flame get relit? How many times does the refer try to relight before giving up - I thought it was just a time or two? Any other ideas as to what might be going on?

Thanks...
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Old 05-23-2004, 04:15 PM   #15
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I would bet you are experiencing a couple of issues. One is that the refer is indeed being blown out in transit. This can happen from a couple of things. If your refer is on the roadside of the coach, passing semis, or on coming traffic can create a gust of wind that could blow out the flame. The other issue is that there could be so much air rushing into the compartment that it is not blowing out the flame, but it is allowing the flame to be disturbed to the point it does not transfer the heat to the refer.

In either case you will need to look into a baffle of some sort. Some folks have had good luck with a sheet of metal that is permanently installed. Others have just used the blue washable AC filter mat and installed before travel and removed post arrival to stop the burst of air from causing the trouble. The filter fluff baffle MUST be removed f not towing or the refer could be damaged.
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