Refrigerator

[reelfastgreg]

hopefully this is not the wrong place to ask this question.

this is the first time we have had a '2 way refrigerator' so you comments please.

when we are moving between stops, should we switch to gas and leave the unit cooling OR should we switch it off until we get where we are going?

with summertime temps right around the corner, your advice/experience is greatly appreciated.

[DFlores]

Run it

[terryV]

I put mine on "auto" a day or so before loading for a trip. Seeing as it is plugged in to shore power at that time it will be running on 120 V.

When I unplug to hitch up, the fridge will automatically switch to propane, providing the tank valves are open, of course.

So, driving down the road, it's running on gas. When I stop for the nite, and hook up to shore power, it will switch itself back to electric.

Your fridge should be running, especially in warm weather, anytime you have food in it. Propane is cheaper than food, and a wole lot cheaper than food poisioning. Besides, once you have it cold, it doesn't take much propane to keep it cold.

[jcanavera]

One thing to consider is shutting the fridge off during refueling stops. Keep in mind that you have a flame that is vented to the outdoors. Gasoline fumes could enter (depending upon wind, pump locations etc) into the refrigerator compartment. As a safety I always shut the fridge down as soon as I pull to the pump. Once I am done and paid for, I drive away from the pumps, jump out of the TV and turn the fridge back on. I also avoid pump islands where I see other travel trailers or motorhomes refueling. Major reason is I don't know if they are as concerned as I am. Fires in RV's when refueling are infrequent but that doesn't stop me from staying on the safe side.

Jack

[Gearheart]

+1 on the no flames when re fuelling. I think it's the law, at least it is in Ontario.

[AnnArborBob]

We run the fridge on propane when on the road. It's a good idea to turn the gas off @ the tanks when refueling, going through tunnels and on ferry boats. We hardly ever fuel up when the trailer is hitched so this isn't a big issue for us.

And I agree with the previous poster about avoiding fuel stations with RV's in the gas lanes (and smokers, WTF !!??.) You never know what kind of idiots are out there. There are new Darwin Awards every year, I try to avoid that honor! ;-)

[Len n Jeanne]

We are in the minority, but we never run our fridge while driving. Our system for keeping food cold is:

1. As much food ias possible is cold before it goes into the fridge. This is done either at home, in the supermarket coolers, or in a big picnic cooler with frozen blue gel pacs.

2. Run the fridge on propane at the campsite at night, when temps are cooler, unless we have an electrical hookup, when we run it any old time that we're stationary.

3. Once the cold food is in the cold fridge, re-freeze the gel pacs. We usually take 3 large ones, plus a couple of small ones for tucking into a lunch bag. (Plastic bottles of water would work, but thaw faster. In the desert, they would be emergency water.)

4. During the day while on the road, the propane is completely off, and we position the frozen gel pacs amongst the food, picnic cooler-style. A newer Dometic fridge is extremely well insulated, and we've never had spoiled food or warm beer with this system, after 7 years of extensive camping, including in the Southwest.

4. Repeat steps 2-4 for as long as you're traveling. To save the batteries while boondocking, we use this system when stationary for a few days, as well. The fridge fan uses up battery power at a fair clip. You can shut the fan off, but a running fridge is more efficient if it blows out waste heat.

We had one near-accident and an actual accident with Bambi the First, so safety is our primary consideration. Plus, we just don't see the need to burn propane unnecessarily. We do sacrifice on freezer space for ice cream, but then we don't normally eat much ice cream.

For visitors on the BC ferries, you will be told to shut off your propane, including for RVs above-decks. This type of incident is rare but potentially deadly: http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=...e-b039479dfb6f

[Remax gal]

We always turn ours on at least one day before our departure and then it will switch to gas when we leave. Before refueling, we stop before the fuel tank and I get out and run back there and turn off the gas. We fuel up, pull away and once again, I run back there and turn the gas back on. I too worry about other people that don't turn off the gas - insane!


Laura & Tom

[reelfastgreg]

Originally Posted by Len n Jeanne

We are in the minority, but we never run our fridge while driving. Our system for keeping food cold is:

1. As much food ias possible is cold before it goes into the fridge. This is done either at home, in the supermarket coolers, or in a big picnic cooler with frozen blue gel pacs.

2. Run the fridge on propane at the campsite at night, when temps are cooler, unless we have an electrical hookup, when we run it any old time that we're stationary.

3. Once the cold food is in the cold fridge, re-freeze the gel pacs. We usually take 3 large ones, plus a couple of small ones for tucking into a lunch bag. (Plastic bottles of water would work, but thaw faster. In the desert, they would be emergency water.)

4. During the day while on the road, the propane is completely off, and we position the frozen gel pacs amongst the food, picnic cooler-style. A newer Dometic fridge is extremely well insulated, and we've never had spoiled food or warm beer with this system, after 7 years of extensive camping, including in the Southwest.

4. Repeat steps 2-4 for as long as you're traveling. To save the batteries while boondocking, we use this system when stationary for a few days, as well. The fridge fan uses up battery power at a fair clip. You can shut the fan off, but a running fridge is more efficient if it blows out waste heat.

We had one near-accident and an actual accident with Bambi the First, so safety is our primary consideration. Plus, we just don't see the need to burn propane unnecessarily. We do sacrifice on freezer space for ice cream, but then we don't normally eat much ice cream.

For visitors on the BC ferries, you will be told to shut off your propane, including for RVs above-decks. This type of incident is rare but potentially deadly: Propane leak blamed in blast

after thinking about this, we are going to give this a try. i have worries about a pilot light and gas turned on while we are driving. you may be the safest person on the road but that does not account for the idiots we all encounter. better to have the gas off i guess than risk something potentially dangerous. and as pointed out, gas has to be off at the tank on all WA ferries so keep that in mind for your summer travels. they will give you a big orange tag when you check in reminding you of this requirement.

thanks to all for your thoughts.

[Len n Jeanne]

Thanks-- we've used this cold pac system for a long time, and have never had food spoil or beer warm up. To us, it's really a question of why we would use a riskier system that uses up more propane.

But we do seem to be in the minority.

I guess if someone wanted to carry a lot of ice cubes or frozen foods, they wouldn't want to take up the freezer space with blue gel pacs, but to us the convenience of a few more frozen food items isn't a good trade-off.

But it really helps to have food & drinks cold before they go into the fridge, and then to run the fridge at night so that everything is good and cold in the morning, before we shut it off.