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";s:4:"text";s:26020:"New 2-way fridges easily cost over $1000, so if yours needs replacement, you can definitely save money on a residential unit. Paste as plain text instead, × Installation: Simply put, RVs are built to hold 2-way fridges. And we sometimes treat ourselves to ice cream. Manufacturers started getting the idea that residential units might be of interest to RV’ers. High temps in low 90's, low temps in low 70's. I certainly do not disagree with the statements above however,,,,, if you are a early riser like me and happen to be boon-docking in an area that running a generator at 5 or 6am is possible you could do as I do and turn off the cooler on the refer so I have enough battery for a pot of coffee and heat in the mornings. We'd … They run for a little while until they reach the right temperature inside, and then their built-in controllers turn them off. Category: Boondocking/Dry Camping. But the move away from 2-way and 3-way fridges is exciting to boondockers like us, too. The biggest problem for boondocking almost always comes from energy consumption. While it certainly does make off-grid camping more difficult, making this switch does not have to mean giving up boondocking completely. But it’s by far the more common technology – at small, residential scales – than absorption technology, and that turns out to be pretty important. We immediately replaced our two 12-volt batteries with four 6-volt golf cart batteries. Choosing the Right RV Refrigerator: Propane vs Electric Propane vs. Electric RV Refrigerators. Started 15 hours ago, By This will be our first time boondocking with our new rig so we will be on a learning curve as to our usage. Installing residential refrigerator in RV needs few considerations. Our Whirlpool fridge's freezer was up to 25 degrees after 5 hours and thus will not keep everything frozen when shut off overnight. I run a small standard compressor refrigerator/freezer (~3.5 cu.ft.) When attempting to find spots to stay in, check out the satellite view on Google Maps. Vents: If you convert to a residential fridge, you can do away with both the rooftop and the exterior wall vents that the 2-way fridge requires. When there I always run my generator for an hour or so in the morning to get the most charge out of it as Yarome suggests. It’s indispensible for us to meet our goal of eliminating fossil fuels from our lives. Our generator has something called "quiet time"(or something like that). The 2008 Tiffin Phaeton in this article originally came with a Norcold 1200-Series four-door refrigerator that could be operated on propane or 110-volt AC power. Of course, the selection of RV refrigerators hasn’t been as broad as standard residential units. SWharton, Finally, there’s the issue of leveling, which is a weak point for both types. We don’t have a 2-way fridge to measure, and I didn’t have any luck finding real-world numbers online. 4-5 hours is no problem if we don’t open the door; we haven’t spoiled any food yet. If you’d like to add anything, or have questions, put them in the comments below so others can benefit! It will probably run on a mod-sine inverter, but will definitely be less efficient, and has a high chance of early failure. This is where deciding between an RV with a conventional absorption refrigerator and an all-electric model really starts to matter. Boondocking with a Residential Refrigerator Build a Battery Bank. So from a dry-camping perspective, a 2-way fridge is effectively a propane appliance. If you’re a fan of that dessert, this might be the only reason you need…. Install an Inverter. Highly recommend a battery monitoring system if you plan to boondock much. Good idea to try turning the refrig off while in controlled(have electricity) conditions and see what happens. Remove the residential refrigerator and replace it with a 3-way refrigerator that uses propane gas, then design a system that can operate most everything in your RV while boondocking (except the refrigerator and AC unit. Excellent for monitoring temps from the TV when in transit, but that would depend on your rig and distances. So I have a few questions: 1. Although we load the fridge carefully and wrap large glass bottles in bubble-wrap, after one year a plastic organizer inside the door has cracked. If you've got the space, this can mean less frequent grocery trips, nice when you’re truly in the middle of nowhere. The power consumption of a gas absorption-style refrigerator versus a residential RV refrigerator are so similar that most RVers say they don’t notice the difference. If you’ve been wondering what it takes to run a res I don't know what your daily energy requirements are or what generator or charger you have so I can't recommend how long to run your genset. You are working off of your fresh tank, water pump, and waste tanks. Here are the major steps. How do you do this? And, you will need to use generator more often and even the battery would drain faster. We do have a monitor system so that is all good. Size options: You can easily get big ones, well over the 7 cubic feet of a typical 2-way. A refrigerator with an icemaker usually uses 12-volt power to heat the tray before ejecting the cubes. For us if we urn it off at 10PM and back on at 8am we loose about 5 degree's this time of year. Display as a link instead, × Two-way and three-way refrigerators require the least amount of power and are better suited for boondocking. I will need to look around for a timer. Find the voltage and amperage of the refrigerator; for instance, you may see '115 V' and '6.5 amps.' Buying an RV refrigerator is often challenging bearing in mind the cost, size, and maintenance. Residential refrigerators Is boondocking with solar and a residential fridge possible? We’ve heard the argument both ways on the boondocking side. 5) We are not going to get another solar panel so don't suggest it. Best Boondocking Travel Trailer Type. 2) We have a 160w solar panel to charge the batteries during the day plus we will be able to run the generator for 2 hours each evening. We use one in our 35′ MH and have run on the batteries (4X12v) for up to two days without recharging. 2) We have a 160w solar panel to charge the batteries during the day plus we will be able to run the generator for 2 hours each evening. Also, aside from cost, avoiding the use of a nonrenewable fossil fuel (propane) is important to folks like us. You are not plugged into water, sewer or power. 85W typical power consumption when running, 5520Wh / 0.85 (inverter efficiency) = 6494Wh. Yes, if your system is suitable. I found that turning it off overnight saved a lot of power, but also that the temp rose too much for my liking. Join us on our adventures as we boondock with a Residential Refrigerator and Solar Power The Energyguide rating is inexplicably higher than the one for our much larger fridge, and completely out of line with the measured numbers. And, you will need to use generator more often and even the battery would drain faster. You can run your new residential refrigerator and air conditioner in your RV. Very small ones are also available, for tight spaces and small rigs. I'll be surprised if the solar even keeps up with the refrigerator power usage during the day. We use this wireless thermometer to monitor the fridge and freezer sections - http://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-Refrigerator-Freezer-Wireless-Thermometer/dp/B004QJVU78. Their unit is about 10 years old, and looks to be about 7 cubic feet, although I don’t expect power consumption varies much between different size fridges (the control board does the same work regardless of size). We’re very happy with ours, and it’s easy to live with. I would not do this without verifying it will not heat up enough. Cons. Not planning on boondocking often and the just for single night but I was wondering how long a residential refrigerator would run off of the batteries without a recharge? We do prefer staying at COE and State Parks with electric hookups and never boondock. I still use that same technique when boondocking. The biggest consumers of power in an RV are residential/electric refrigerators, microwaves, space heaters, and air conditioners. I also have a Bogart Engineering battery monitor so I can easily see how the batteries are doing. I solved that by putting the refer on a 24 hour timer that shuts it off around bedtime but turns it on again for a half hour during the middle of the night. What would be the most cost effective way to equip … Try it and see the results. Their state of charge barely kept our residential refrigerator running for eight hours without having to recharge them with our generator (pre-solar panel install). at night? Your electricity is being provided by your batteries and renewed with solar panels or a generator. Traditional RV refrigerators (2-way or 3-way) are absorption units. By No restrooms, showers, or sewage? Electricity is the main issue, I think. No problem! The abundance of shore power is just taken for granted when running 2-way fridges on electricity, but these fridges would crash a boondockers’ battery bank in no time if run on AC. Since a residential refrigerator takes more energy to run than a regular RV fridge, this can be an issue. It competes with the water heater, space heater, and stove/oven for resources. Electricity While Boondocking. They use a heap of power, and would quickly drain the standard house batteries. Residential refrigerators are large power consumers that run 24/7. Of course I have a gen set which allows me to charge when necessary (don’t have solar charging). How to tell? … trimster For those who predominantly hang their hats in RV parks with shore power available, power isn’t a problem. But 2-way fridges are still going to be the preferred solution for a lot of boondockers, since a full-size 2-way fridge will use 26 times less electricity than even a mini-size residential one (so long as you keep feeding it propane). And ice cream is EXTREMELY hard! So these are (duh) electrical-only appliances. For a repair or rebuild, it means you can eliminate two potential leak points entirely, and maybe buy back some roof space for solar panels. ft Whirlpool that is not energy star rated. We had a residential refrigerator installed 3 years ago after paying $1300 for a new cooling unit on our NEVER COLD. I looked into disabling it on our fridge to save energy, but the short answer is that it's a lot of work and will probably do more harm than good. Although a 3-way fridge could run directly from the house batteries without requiring an inverter, 12V DC power is so inefficient at heating that this is barely an option. at night? Both traditional- and residential-type units employ a refrigerant to work (hence the name). Fireguy341 It's duty cycle is about … If you have any other questions, feel free to send them our way! Your primary concern while boondocking will be energy consumption. If the generator has a "quiet time" setting then it has an auto gen start, and likely also has a programmable setting where you can set the times that it will run. One or twice a day fire up your generator and … When we started boondocking, our original coach batteries were extremely inefficient. Ice cream! It can be overwhelming at first, but just jump in a give it a shot! at night?". Boondocking is a fantastic resource that has provided me with some amazing experiences. Some RVers and RV manufacturers use that term to refer to the design, and others to mean a refrigerator that was designed for use in a fixed residence. But here is the kicker...we did not install an RV-specific refrigerator. For battery life you should never go below 12.1 which is 50% discharged. We have a wireless thermometer installed even without the boondocking. Wrknrvr Residential refrigerators have started to be added to most of the larger Class A Motorhomes and 5th wheels. One way to do so would be to avoid buying foods that need to be refrigerated or frozen (which isn’t realistic). Cost: If your 2-way fridge is currently busted, you might be able to buy a residential unit for what the repair shop would charge you to just troubleshoot and repair your existing fridge. Your link has been automatically embedded. If it's the only thing running overnight (no furnace, water heater, etc) then you should be able to leave it on as long as your running your generator every day. I would not expect it to do much more than top off your batteries once you have finished bulk charging them with the generator, and you will probably need to charge both morning and night. Started Yesterday at 03:36 AM, By Learn more here. Or if your solar setup is robust enough, you can go residential without even owning a generator (we don’t). × He was kind enough to share his info with me to include here as a second reference point: Magic Chef HMDR310SE 3.1 cu. Smaller refrigerators typically use about 350 watts, while larger models use as much as 780 watts. You can buy solar panels for about $1.25 per rated watt, yet the motorhome manufactures recall the 90's when a 100 watt panel cost $400 and they still try to charge $500 for a small solar panel. It’s less scientifically elegant than absorption, kind of a brute-force approach. We’re told that the freezers in 2-way fridges just don’t get cold enough to keep ice cream properly frozen. See the discussion and add your thoughts. We orderd our new Tiffin Phaeton with the GE profile 21cf residential refrigerator. Temperature control: Residential fridges usually have an indexed knob, which isn’t great but beats the hell out of sliding a thermistor up and down to keep your eggs from freezing. now it is important to know that when you get rid of the propane option on your refrigerator … Humid (southeastern) climate. I use the same one myself and wouldn't be without it. But that alone may not keep your fridge at expected temperatures. How to run a residential refrigerator? Residential doors will swing open while you drive unless you rig up something to hold them shut. Below are our favorite boondocking travel trailer and motorhome options, as well as what you should look for when shopping for a boondocking camper. Folks are getting really excited about residential fridges in RVs. With residential refrigerator, boondocking with shore power will be difficult. Having a number of batteries totaling more than 800 amp hours can help in boondocking. Yes, be sure to do a test of how much the temp rises on your refer. Manufacturers started getting the idea that residential units might be of interest to RV’ers. An … What would be the most cost effective way to equip our RV to boondocks for at least 48 hours. The RV manufacturers have a clear refrigeration strategy: Electric on shore power, propane when boondocking. *Actual total usage will be a little higher – I didn’t measure the energy used when it sparks the ignition coils or operates the propane valves, which it must do several times a day. ft. “apartment” size freezer-on-top, EnergyGuide: 312kWh annual energy consumption, (Linked isn't our exact fridge, which is no longer available). You'll NEVER see that in a RV fridge! If I had a choice, I would prefer to run my genset in the AM when your batteries will take the largest chunk of current and let the solar top them off throughout the day. Since a residential refrigerator takes more energy to run than a regular RV fridge, this can be an issue. It also alarms at your preset limits. Road Map to RVing => Boondocking . Senior Member . Pun!) Our fridge, like many residential units, has tempered-glass shelves and plastic organizers in the door. × Boondocking is using your rig completely off the grid. Measure Twice, Cut Once . You should be able to run the genset per "schedule". After receiving our new motorhome, we REALLY did like the large fridge. I have seen a few models of travel trailers that have also been included in the list of units that the non-propane electric-only refrigerator is the main option for off-grid refrigeration. Two-way and three-way refrigerators require the least amount of power and are better suited for boondocking. I'm less concerned about air conditioning or microwave, btw, than keeping the refrigerator … Of course, the selection of RV refrigerators hasn’t been as broad as standard residential units. The best thing to do is as you suggest. There are three types of RV refrigerators commonly available: two-way, which works on propane and 120v AC electricity, three-way which work on propane, 120v and 12v DC electricity, and finally, residential refrigerators, which only work on 120v AC electric. Here’s the results: Vissani HVDR1030BE 10 cu. Our inverter can go into search mode and only consume 7W, instead of idling at 30W, which adds up to a big power savings. Running while underway: On a long drive, a 2-way fridge can run on propane and keep the contents cold for as long as it takes to get to camp (assuming the trailer rides pretty level). There are several major issues to contend with if you are contemplating changing over to a residential refrigerator. Roadworthiness: Most 2-way fridges have wire-rack shelving; durable and vibration-resistant. 1) Should we turn off the refrig. Anyone have any experience boondocking with a residential refrigerator? If the temperature adjustment in your fridge is a physical knob inside the compartment (and there isn’t any digital display for temperature), it’s almost certainly controlled by a mechanical thermostat. We make all our meals at home and are heavy snackers, so the fridge gets opened about 20 times each day, and the freezer 3 or 4 times. Whether this is good or bad depends on your perspective: Propane can be easily refilled at a nominal cost, but if your rig has adequate solar, electricity might be totally free. High temps in low 70's, lows in high 40's. When it comes to making shit hot, burning propane is really effective, and these fridges barely consume any. A refrigerator with an icemaker usually uses 12-volt power to heat the tray before ejecting the cubes. For simplicity, I’ll just refer to all these as “2-way” fridges. So we are just as careful to level our trailer with residential fridge as we would be with a 2-way. Then the refrigerant is turned back into a liquid and sent back through the system to remove more heat. Boondocking Tips and Tricks. In contrast, residential fridges operate solely on AC power – but they use it far more efficiently. If that is an issue for you, you may consider installing solar panels as well. 360Wh / 12V = 30Ah battery capacity per day. Our fridge apparently runs on a 45% duty cycle in mild conditions, meaning it’s on for about 27 minutes out of every hour. Before you head out for dry camping put a few blocks of ice in your freezer. You are parked smack dab in the middle of … Namely, the Energystar program has driven even budget appliances to be quite efficient, and that’s good news for boondockers. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Instead of sharing a resource pool with the other propane appliances in your rig, these fridges compete with your computer, TV, lights, and water pump for energy. Posted on January 21, 2019 April 3, 2019 by kbonner. Using a residential refrigerator in an RV has some limitations, but more advantages. Here is a great hack for dry camping with a residential refrigerator, including a must-have RV gadget great for those days away from the campground. Please read our full disclaimer. now it is important to know that when you get rid of the propane option on your refrigerator … Determine if an outside access door opening can be cut in the side wall and access door installed (if your coach was offered with either an absorption or residential refrigerator, this is very likely). Folks are getting really excited about residential fridges in RVs. Although some folks have told us they run their residential fridge while driving, our particular unit has let us know that it doesn’t like that*. Dry (desert) climate. As of this writing, we've only had the new Phaeton for 10 weeks, but … The EnergyGuide figure of 312kWh/year (855Wh/day) is a little optimistic compared to our actual-use (897Wh/day) in MILD weather, but considering our frequent door-openings it seems sensible. These numbers make intuitive sense; the fridge is 1/3 the volume and consumes 1/3 the electricity. The 2690Wh was measured at the AC receptacle, so to find out how much battery capacity was required to keep our fridge on for these 3 days, first I have to account for the inverter efficiency, which I pessimistically take as 85%. Since we fulltime we were sick of throwing out spoiled food. If you’re considering changing your rig over to a residential fridge, I hope the information above helped clarify your choice a little. Heating with electricity, however, is not as easy. Yes, residential refrigerators do require shore power, or a reasonable facsimile. You open those big residential fridge doors and there is no comparison! However, if you have a bigger power supply and you go on your trip prepared there’s no reason that you couldn’t go boondocking with a residential fridge. Their fridge draws 0.578A of 12V DC power while it is operating on propane. 264Ah / 3 days = 88Ah battery capacity per day in mild weather. Most residential fridges use mechanical thermostats to turn them on and off (except for fancy ones with touchscreens in the doors and shit). Using a residential refrigerator in an RV has some limitations, but more advantages. This is about the same as leaving three RV-type LED light bulbs turned on 24/7. But you will have to run the genset a fair amount to keep it cold. 4) We could also run our generator from 8am-10am each day but we are usually out touring by that time so we don't want to depend on it. Easy Sustainable Camping Practices . Started December 1, 2020, Boondocking with a Residential Refrigerator, http://www.amazon.com/AcuRite-Refrigerator-Freezer-Wireless-Thermometer/dp/B004QJVU78. Many newer motorhomes are equipped with full-size residential… George D Upload or insert images from URL. It is important that the natural location not … 3) We have 4 house batteries, of unknown amp hours(not documented on battery, not on NAPA website). 4 batteries and 3 panels would probably do.) How the gaseous refrigerant gets turned back into liquid is where the two types of fridge differ. But if you primarily camp in hotter locations, you'll use more energy than the yellow tag indicates. We're driving a large fifth wheel (43 feet) with a large residential refrigerator (whirlpool, if that maters). So the best way I can answer this question is to provide some real-world numbers. 82W typical power consumption when running. That could be lessened by the use of the generator, of course. Even though 2-way refrigerators rely on propane to do all the refrigeration work while dry camping, they still require 12V DC power at all times to run their controller circuit board which monitors the interior temperature, and controls the propane valves and ignition. You cannot paste images directly. If you have to include the cost of upgrading to a pure-sine inverter, a residential fridge becomes less affordable. Can you boondock with them? They work really well … We use one in our 35′ MH and have run on the batteries (4X12v) for up to two days without recharging. "Should we turn off the refrig. 1) Should we turn off the refrig. Our refrigerator is a 21 cu. There are wired units that aren't too difficult to install, don't take up much space, and are hardwired into your 12v system, but I like the fact that, even if my 12v system were to fail, these sensors will keep on ticking. There’s still debate among RV owners if boondocking is practical when not using a propane-powered unit. In a 24-hour period, that fridge would consume a minimum* of 14Ah of electricity. There are two heavy duty batteries standard with our new motor home. Door latches: 2-way fridges usually have doors which latch closed. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This was a FREE option, compared to the standard 12cf RV fridge that can also use propane when there's no electri When we started boondocking, our original coach batteries were extremely inefficient. Having a number of batteries totaling more than 800 amp hours can help in boondocking. Retrofitting a residential fridge into your RV might be a huge pain in the ass. Residential refrigerators have started to be added to most of the larger Class A Motorhomes and 5th wheels. The solar will do little-to-nothing to help. What are the new propane-free refrigerators? The biggest problem for boondocking almost always comes from energy consumption. I know: weird. So we turn it off before driving, and let it settle for about 10 minutes before turning it back on once we’re parked. 2 hours 'may' be sufficient in conjunction with your solar. Get Personal About Boondocking ; Here is Don's experience with a residential refrigerator: I boondock about 4 1/2 months in the winter. First you must very carefully measure the current refrigerator opening. I have seen a few models of travel trailers that have also been included in the list of units that the non-propane electric-only refrigerator is the main option for off-grid refrigeration. These are our dry camping adventurers that live post their RV up wherever the wind takes them. * It turned itself off and wouldn’t run again until we had disconnected power and re-connected it. That's 50% more energy consumption than 'mild' weather due to the higher ambient temps! What is a 3-way refrigerator? That somewhat addresses using a residential refrigerator during travel, but what about camping where you don’t have utility connections, better known as boondocking. ";s:7:"keyword";s:41:"boondocking with residential refrigerator";s:5:"links";s:998:"Keyhole Cichlid Tank Mates,
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