Who runs, or has run, their 3 Way Fridge on propane while the truck is moving?

... Any safety issues other than the obvious of filling up?

I run mine while driving. I don't see any safety issues other than filling up. Seems to stay lit. I have been having a great luck with my 3 way.

I do it all the time with zero ill effect. I may try out the DC/12v option, but it keeps the beer cold every trip. If you have an extra cooling fan up there, be sure to turn it off because it will undoubtedly compete with the wind and prematurely wear out. Other than that, give it a try.

One thing that I know for sure is that running all the time on gas alleviates the chances of forgetting to switch back over, unless the fridge does this on its own, which I'd hope it does.

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Not safe...however I occasionally ran my motor home on propane.
Never the Lance though...fire danger greater with a truck camper.

How so?

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I asked this question once. The consensus was that a) it might go out b) dangerous c) why?

To c) I guess if the draw on DC < the charging capacity of your system, that would be the better option.

When I am obsessed to see how long I can get a propane tank to last, and that includes some long drives, I run the fridge on the batteries while driving. Short drives to the campground, it is running on propane. I have never thought about turning off the propane while filling up but, I am thinking now there are laws that I am breaking. Will fix that from now on. Every ferry I have been on has required me to turn the propane off. Something to research if you plan on being on a ferry for a long period of time.

I have ran the refrigerator on battery between home and the campground and have forgot to switch to propane when I arrived. No, the refrigerator does not switch automatically. I was lucky in that it was only about an hour before I remembered. But one of these days, I am going to get nailed. I just hope it is a sunny afternoon so my solar has a change to fix my mistake.

Steve

Ran the propane all the time on my 2002 Hawk. Only worry for me was flame blowing out. I had a remote thermometer for the fridge, only had the flame blow out one time and saw the temp rise on the thermometer. I always turned off when getting gas, and was asked to turn the propane off to go through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

I run mine while driving, only turn it off when fueling. If the flame goes out while driving the auto shut off will kick in and turn the propane off. I posted on this forum back in July about running the fridge on propane for 10 days straight at near max settings. We have a scale in our shop for weighing Co2 cylinders. I weighed the propane tank before the trip after topping off and when we returned, we used 7.5 pounds of propane which leaves another 8 remaining. Nothing else was run off that tank.

I ran mine on propane all the time in my truck camper. I did shut it off while fueling since it was directly above the gas filler. Never a problem with it at all.

Beach said:

July about running the fridge on propane for 10 days straight at near max settings. . . . we used 7.5 pounds of propane which leaves another 8 remaining.

Click to expand...

Good info, Beach!

Put us in the club of running propane fridge while driving. As stated, if the pilot goes out, the auto-shut off kicks in.
We also run a wireless Tstat, and can use it to monitor temps while driving.

I've run it both on propane and 12 volt when I traveled.
Never seem to have an issue with it.
I've never heard of anyone causing an explosion from it, but I'm sure it's possible.

Now I just live the compressor fridge world, so I never worry about it.

Run on propane when driving about 50% of the time. Being diesel fueled I haven't worried too much about turning it off when re-fueling.

I ran the fridge on propane while driving and boondocking with an auto-relighter to keep it going. The 12V option was not a good one for me. I did have the flame go out in spite of the auto-relighter in REALLY strong winds and the gas shut off automatically as it was supposed to do. It takes a minute to turn off when fueling, then relight , but that is not a real inconvenience.

The important thing is to make sure the propane system has no leaks, the auto-shut off works and your stove valves are closed.

A BBQ in a shipping container was left with the valve open about 15 blocks from my house. It ignited and created the loudest explosion that blew out windows across the block and totaled the shipping container, but fortunately didn't hurt anyone. I think the biggest risk is leaving the tank valve open, once that risk is taken running a fridge has a pretty low incremental increase in risk (maybe none, if the auto shutoff works).

Here's to cold beer! Can't wait till I get a 3-way again (although I have only had the fridge kind).

I made a 10 hour journey to Grass Lands National park in Saskatchewan - A must see BTW if you are ever in South Sask with your FWC - .... anyway made the trip with my 2 GSD's. I thought I would try the 12V to run the fridge for the trip. Bad idea. I arrived with minimal battery power for a 4day trip. It would appear as thought my alternator could not keep up with fridge. Propane for my while on the move ... and i must remember to turn off the fridge when fuelling.

I've never recorded more than about 16-17 amps of charging by my truck.
I'm not 100% of how many amps it takes to run a fridge by 12 volt, but my guess is it is at least 20 amps.
Your experience would make sense. It's good for a short while, but I doubt you are charging your batteries when you do this.
You might be having a net loss of power depending on your setup even with the truck running.

Hello,sounds like most of you are sucessfully driving with your refer on and keeping things nice and cool via propane, I have not had such luck. Blows out everytime...Have you modified the back of your refer in anyway? ie, insulation, baffle, something that blocks some of the wind, etc.

Search the forums for installing an automatic lighter on the fridge. It makes starting the fridge up easier and keeps it going in all but the strongest winds. It is an easy mod.

Here's the reference for the re-lighter install:
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/1111-tech-tip-auto-relighter-for-propane-refrigerators/