Refrigerator Performance

[cfike]

I just got back from a 2 week road trip with my 2010 Fleet. Overall everything went well except I was disappointed with the refrigerator. I ran it overnight on 110V before we left (did not check temp but my wife said it felt cold when she loaded it). We put in some long days on the interstate in hot temperatures and when driving it did not get/stay cold on 12V and would not stay lit on propane. It would run overnight on propane ok, but since it would not stay cold while moving we stopped using it after a couple of days. The battery was not low. I have not really fooled with it since we returned, other than to run it on propane one evening and note that in 2.5 hours the temperature dropped from 72-46 (outside air temp dropped 72-63). This was my first time really using it so I did not know what to expect. Any comments or suggestions?

 

[Lighthawk]

You might look at the metal tab that swivels up to see the pilot flame and make sure that it is in a down position (protecting the flame from draft) while driving. Our Norcold doesn't do much in 12v mode other than suck battery. Fortunately we are able to drive with propane running and it stays moderately cold.

 

[MarkBC]

You might look at the metal tab that swivels up to see the pilot flame and make sure that it is in a down position (protecting the flame from draft) while driving. Our Norcold doesn't do much in 12v mode other than suck battery. Fortunately we are able to drive with propane running and it stays moderately cold.

What Andy said, me too.
(that is, before my propane-fridge died)

 

[billharr]

Mine runs great on propane and stays lit on the road. I do a cool down on propane before loading, 110 will not get as cold. 12 volt not sure why they even bothered to put it on.

 

[Dughlas Stiubhart]

I sure hope you guys don't gas up with that little pilot light burning . . .

 

[MarkBC]

I sure hope you guys don't gas up with that little pilot light burning . . .

D.A.D.T.

 

[cfike]

I sure hope you guys don't gas up with that little pilot light burning . . .

That's how I discovered my propane was out- a momentary panic as I was pumping gas only to find it had already blown out.

 

[chnlisle]

A great reason to get an Engel or a diesel....or both.

 

[silverstriketim]

I sure hope you guys don't gas up with that little pilot light burning . . .

Not to say you should gas with the pilot lit but how many RVs have you heard of "blowing up" like you said was going to happen to mine (Update...new owner 92' Eagle thread 28 April 2010) I didn't have mine on while fueling either, just said I drive with it on, Which is the way I prefer to run my fridge.

 

[esimmers]

My 2009 Hawk has the Dometic RM2354 3-way, 3 cubic feet refrigerator. I run it on AC when possible; on DC when traveling, and on propane when camping.

The refrigerator draws only .35 amps to power the electronics when running on propane.

According to the manual, the AC heater draws 175 watts which is about the number I get using an AC ammeter.

On DC, I measure about 14 amps when the refrigerator is running on 12 volts. That's 168 watts (volts X amps = watts) which is close to the limit of the FWC-installed 15 amp fuse and the 175-watt heater specification in the manual for the CD heater.

I use the FWC-installed auxiliary fan whenever it's hot outside and, so far, I've found the refrigerator stays cold whatever source I'm running.

I'm wondering if some people are having trouble powering their fridge on DC because they aren't getting enough voltage from their truck alternator when driving. If the wiring is inadequate and the alternator is also trying to charge a run-down camper battery at the same time, the fridge may just not be getting enough juice on DC to keep it cold. I have a 2011 F-250 that seems to put out lots of juice so maybe that's why I haven't experienced the frustration others have reported.

If anyone knows of a DC compressor fridge that would fit in the same space, I'd consider it whenever my Dometic dies, but so far, so good.

As always, your mileage may vary.

 

[Kodachrome]

I am running a Dometic CR 1065 off of one Die Hard group 31 battery that is fed by 185 watts of solar when the truck is parked. 100 watts is deployed when parked, 85 watts is constant on the roof even when driving adding to what the alternator does. I can also plug into 110V shore power if I need to and the 110 takes over automatically on the fridge, no switches.

This system is so efficient that the fridge / freezer has been on full time since late July. This is good because the rig is used no less than 4 times a week in on location photo shoots. To top it off, I think my 5 gallon tank of propane is going to last at least another month. I could not imagine ever going back to a propane fridge, our battery is always full and the fridge and freezer always cold, no matter where we are, what angle we are parked at.

Second blog entry down will give you a full visual:

http://kodachromeproject.com/blog/

 

[camelracer]

The problem I had running on 12v was the fuse in the camper fuse panel blowing and not knowing it. This happened to me twice.

FWC uses a 15A fuse in their panel while the inline fuse in the frig is 20A. I checked the wiring and it was all capable of handling 20A so I changed the blade fuse in the panel to 20A. I also installed a 12v indicator light on the frig to verify there was power. Haven't had any problems since.