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Old 05-16-2016, 06:53 PM   #41
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I have a 2016 Sport....The refrig automatically switches from electric, gas and 12 volt. It picks the most efficient option that is able to be used. Everyone knows you shouldn't travel while on propane.
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Old 05-16-2016, 07:00 PM   #42
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Originally Posted by AWCHIEF View Post
I run mine on gas when on the road. Works fine for me. Others will express differing opinions I am sure.
Did this with my older A-Frame too. Never had an issue and kept the food cold. However, that particular fridge could also run on 12v, but it wasn't very efficient when it did.
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Old 05-16-2016, 09:12 PM   #43
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We run the fridge on propane while traveling. We also run the furnace when it's cold out. Don't see an issue. Just installed a self actuating fire extinguisher in the outside area of the refridge. Not for while we are traveling, but when stopped and on propane and dogs are alone in the trailer.
Do you have a link for that product? Thanks.
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Old 05-17-2016, 10:10 AM   #44
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I'm one of those folks that would prefer 12 volt than running on propane. Simple reasoning is, if you need gas and fill up. All you need is for the vapours from that gas to reach the water tank. And you have ignition. Although chances are slim but.....
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Old 05-17-2016, 11:18 AM   #45
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Tomorrow our Dometic ammonia based coolant refrigerator will be removed from our 23D and replaced with a Vitrifrigo DP150iL with a freon based Danfoss compressor that only runs on 12Vdc. Between a 300 amp-hour lithium battery (has 270 amp hours available) and the 500 watts of solar panels the roof, no power issues.

It draws 68 watts when running, or 5.6 amps. if it were to actually run 10 hours out of 24, the 56 amps could be replaced in a little over two hours by the solar panels.
I'd like to do the same for my 2014 23D. Is the Vitrifrigo the same height?

We love to ditch the nuke and install a taller fridge.
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Old 05-18-2016, 09:53 AM   #46
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The Vitrifrigo DP150iL was exactly the same hight as the opening after removing the stock Dometic fridge in our 2015 23D International Serenity. A little filing was needed for the door hinge bracket to slide in. The storage capacity is greater than the removed unit with a usable freezer space with it's own door. We replaced the black plastic door skin with magnetic stainless steel so my wife has a huge place for magnets. We also put a piece of that stainless steel beside the stove as a side splash.

However, the fridge was just under 3" narrower, so we used hickory to frame the sides as that wood was already in use from prior modifications. The depth was not an issue.

The hickory panel below the fridge covers the new circuit breaker box and reworked fuse panel. To the left of the panel is a 12Vdc power socket for the floor model Fantastic fan.

We ran the 12Vdc power directly got a blank fuse space on the fuse panel and put in a 10 amp fuse (68 watts is about 5.6 amps @ 12Vdc). Since our trailer was extensively modified by a solar system installation with an inverter, we installed a lighted switch we can use to disable the dedicated 120Vac outlet when running the inverter when off grid. The switch is to the right of Magnum and solar charger control panel below the television.

No sense taking 12Vdc from the battery to invert to 120Vac for the fridge converter to create 12Vdc into the 12VDc power only Danfoss freon compressor.

We installed an automotive relay to turn on and off the three exhaust fans in the upper refrigerator outside hatch whenever the refrigerator fan runs

We also installed the Dometic CU434v stove this trip. The narrow body 23D has a 2" shallower counter top than the wide body trailers, so we had to do some fancy wood work (hickory again) to hide the metal edges of the stove that were beyond the cabinet. On the first trip, we also made a a smaller version hickory spice rack like in our Classic. The dinette table top and the flip up side board beside the sink we made have hickory wood as well.

The dinette leg wore a hole in the factory flooring in under 2,000 miles, so we replaced the flooring and installed a brass wear plate under the leg like we did in our Classic.
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Old 05-18-2016, 12:39 PM   #47
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Quote:
Originally Posted by switz View Post
The Vitrifrigo DP150iL was exactly the same hight as the opening after removing the stock Dometic fridge in our 2015 23D International Serenity. A little filing was needed for the door hinge bracket to slide in. The storage capacity is greater than the removed unit with a usable freezer space with it's own door. We replaced the black plastic door skin with magnetic stainless steel so my wife has a huge place for magnets. We also put a piece of that stainless steel beside the stove as a side splash.

However, the fridge was just under 3" narrower, so we used hickory to frame the sides as that wood was already in use from prior modifications. The depth was not an issue.

The hickory panel below the fridge covers the new circuit breaker box and reworked fuse panel. To the left of the panel is a 12Vdc power socket for the floor model Fantastic fan.

We ran the 12Vdc power directly got a blank fuse space on the fuse panel and put in a 10 amp fuse (68 watts is about 5.6 amps @ 12Vdc). Since our trailer was extensively modified by a solar system installation with an inverter, we installed a lighted switch we can use to disable the dedicated 120Vac outlet when running the inverter when off grid. The switch is to the right of Magnum and solar charger control panel below the television.

No sense taking 12Vdc from the battery to invert to 120Vac for the fridge converter to create 12Vdc into the 12VDc power only Danfoss freon compressor.

We installed an automotive relay to turn on and off the three exhaust fans in the upper refrigerator outside hatch whenever the refrigerator fan runs

We also installed the Dometic CU434v stove this trip. The narrow body 23D has a 2" shallower counter top than the wide body trailers, so we had to do some fancy wood work (hickory again) to hide the metal edges of the stove that were beyond the cabinet. On the first trip, we also made a a smaller version hickory spice rack like in our Classic. The dinette table top and the flip up side board beside the sink we made have hickory wood as well.

The dinette leg wore a hole in the factory flooring in under 2,000 miles, so we replaced the flooring and installed a brass wear plate under the leg like we did in our Classic.
Thanks Switz. You are truly an inspiration. Dare I show my wife your post?!
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Old 05-18-2016, 01:34 PM   #48
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Glad some of you are finally making the move to proper marine refrigeration and leaving the 100+ year old ammonia absorption technology behind!!!!


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Old 05-18-2016, 01:36 PM   #49
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Originally Posted by Free bird View Post
I have a 2016 Sport....The refrig automatically switches from electric, gas and 12 volt. It picks the most efficient option that is able to be used. Everyone knows you shouldn't travel while on propane.
Huh? They are designed to travel on propane.
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Old 05-18-2016, 01:50 PM   #50
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Originally Posted by switz View Post
The newly installed in the 23D as of today Vitrifrigo DP-150il refrigerator only uses 12Vdc power for the Danfoss freon compressor. Thus there will be no open flames anymore in the refrigerator space.
When my old gas fridge finally fails (or blows up?!) I'm definitely going low power 12vdc fridge/freezer route. Here's a link for a larger Vitrifrigo in Seattle.
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Old 05-18-2016, 02:04 PM   #51
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Refr. on propane while travelling

Turn off propane while pumping gas or traveling. Never done either of those always has refrigerator running while driving and never turn off propane while pumping gas.
IN ORDER FOR THE NATURAL GAS TO EXPLODE, THE GAS AND AIR MIXTURE HAS TO BE WITHIN CERTAIN RATIO EG. LEL (LOWER EXPLOSION LIMITS) OR HEL (HIGH EXPL LIMITS).
The chances of the exact ratio mixture getting to the ignition source such water heater or refrigerator burner are extremely remote. I have traveled over 50,000 miles in 6 years never shut off the propane while RVing.
This is my opinion and I could wrong.
Thanks for listening have happy happy journey
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Old 05-18-2016, 02:19 PM   #52
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We ordered both the DP150iL and a DP2600 for the Classic from those folks in Seattle. We had shipping damage to the door frame for the DP2600 and the replacement frame cost $400 delivered.

We re very pleased with the DP150iL in the 23D.

The fridge in the Classic is about 30 to 35 feet away from the fuel fill opening on the truck and on the same side. That is often the right distance for the fridge space to be by a second gasoline pump. Just saying one needs to be aware of their surroundings in fuel stations.
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Old 05-19-2016, 06:50 AM   #53
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One thing to be aware of is the significant power draw of the fridge in 12 volt mode. Back in the 80's and 90's I had a Hi-Lo trailer and I used to run the fridge ion 12 volts while towing. It also had a lifting system that was 12 volt powered that moved the side walls and roof to their fully raised position. I remember after about 6 hours of driving getting to our overnight campground, I pushed the raise switch and found that the battery was dead. Panic ensued since even though I had an electric site. The charge rate of the battery was slow enough, and the motor that powered the electric motor that raised the roof system was large enough that it would probably take at least an hour before we recovered enough power to raise the trailer. Ended up I unhitched and used my battery jumper cables from the tow vehicle to jump the depleted trailer battery and raise the roof.

I learned an important lesson about 12 volt refrigerator operations though. Even though the tow vehicle was wired properly to charge the battery as we drove, the copper pin on the Hi-Lo's plug had some corrosion on it. This insulated the pin when the plug was inserted into the tow vehicle socket, thus reducing the amount of voltage transferred. I bought some electrical contact cleaner and always sprayed a little on the plug to make sure the contacts were clean.

So moral of the story is that a 12 volt fridge will pull a lot of voltage from your battery and that 12 volt contact must be absolutely clean so that when it mates with the tow vehicle socket, proper voltage transfers from you car charging system to the trailer battery. If not you may arrive at your destination with a dead battery or battery in a seriously depleted state. The tow vehicle itself also must have the power gauge wiring to transfer enough voltage back.

While an Airstream isn't a Hi-Lo, the danger of running a battery down is serious since a dead or weakened battery condition also means that if your breakaway cable has to come into play if you have a hitching failure, you will have no or insufficient voltage for the trailer brakes.

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Old 05-19-2016, 08:08 AM   #54
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I will run the original refrigerator, and it is running while under way, never any problems....
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Old 05-19-2016, 08:59 AM   #55
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Since we have a lithium battery system in both trailers, the charge circuit from the tow vehicle is disabled for charging the battery. However, the 500 watts of solar on the 23D and the 800 watts of solar on the Classic can keep up with the 68 watt (5.6 amps @ 12Vdc) power draw of the refrigerator when it is running. We have found that with the better insulation in the Vitrifrigo, it does need to run as much as the Dometic unit did.
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Old 05-19-2016, 09:12 AM   #56
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My 10 cuft residential fridge runs 24/7/365.

My tow vehicle keeps up easy while charging my batteries, and it was cheap.... And should it crap out, it is available off the floor at Lowe's.


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Old 05-19-2016, 11:58 AM   #57
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Someone a few posts back said something about "everyone" knowing you should cut off the propane.

Define "everyone" as any reading of any thread almost ever on this subject reveals masses running with it on....

I run with it in but remain semi-agnostic and open to the discussion.

Carry on.
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Old 05-19-2016, 12:24 PM   #58
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I posted the original question, and it seems a majority of people travel with their propane on and the fridge on propane. A small number of people advise against it.
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Old 05-19-2016, 01:33 PM   #59
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I havent read every single post on ALL the threads concerning this topic but Ive read many. Ive yet to see anyone define just what IS THE RISK of running the fridge on propane in transit. Ive run mine every single trip out without any problem so thats my own small personal experience. So, just what exactly IS the risk that very few people are speaking of? I have an older refer but it still has electronic ignition so there isnt any risk of pilot light blowing out. Wont the control board close the gas valve if there is an ignition problem? This topic pops up every season and the results are the same, most people run their refer in transit and a few dont. Those that choose not to run their refer talk about RISK. WHAT IS THE RISK? I guess I'd just like to know. Thanks!

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Old 05-19-2016, 01:35 PM   #60
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The risk as I understood it was basically running with the propane bottles in the open position. In the case of an accident, a ruptured gas line could ignite the bottles and BOOM.

I mean, that is what I summarized from the couple of posts and videos that I have seen. I have never read about this actually happening.
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