Refrigerator

[nssracer]

I have a 2006 40 ft Alpine. Im getting it serviced and the RV dealer says my coach has a frig that is 110V only. Is that possible? I really dont want to run the generator all the time to keep the frig cool.

[dgerstel]

It sounds like you have the "residential frig" option. If so you will need to run the inverter all of the time when not plugged in and there will be an Auto Gen Start function included in the Inverter/Charger.

[nssracer]

So the inverter will run the frig?

[GaryKD]

Hi nssracer,
I do not know an Alpine coach. However, the brands of coaches I have owned, the residential fridge runs off the inverter, when not connected to shore power or the generator is off. The way to check this is with no power connected to the coach, does the refrigerator seem happy? The correct lights are on, there are no error lights, and the temp is being kept at the setting you desire.

[dgerstel]

nssracer,

My wife just told me that I was not very clear in my reply, so I will try to do better.

The inverter will power the frig just fine. When you are driving, the coach gen will keep the batteries charged. When dry camping (no AC power to the coach) the generator will need to be run about 2 times a day for about 2-3 hours. The Auto Gen Start function in the inverter/charger will automatically start the generator when it is needed to recharge the batteries. It also has a "a quiet time" setting so that it will not start the gen at night. Another nice feature of the AGS, is that it can be set to turn on the gen when the house thermostat calls for AC. You can do a search, there have been many posts about the required run time and the AGS settings.

[JohnLori]

The inverter will run the fridge, and the alternator will almost keep up with the battery energy demand when underway. When stopped and not on shore power, you will have to run the generator several hours a day--perhaps 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening--to keep the batteries charged.

You can adjust charge times by keeping an eye on the Xantrex panel. When you just get out of the bulk phase, the batteries will be 80% charged. Depending on circumstances, you might want to stop there because adsorption and float take a lot more generator time.

One of the good things abut this refrigerator is that it keeps ice frozen and ice cream hard in warm climates, which my (previous) propane fridge never did.

[takepride]

nssracer:

You're gonna love your frig. I do. Much better than the cramped propane/AC frig in my last coach. I'm quite happy with it.

As a further note when dry camping: you can turn off the frig (at circuit breaker) or the inverter (at control panel) when you go to bed and further conserve power. Just keep the doors shut to hold in the cold. My ice supply still looks fresh and unmelted in the morning.

[Basil Shannon]

Greetings from Quartzsite, our last day,

Quote:

Originally Posted by takepride nssracer: You're gonna love your frig. I do. Much better than the cramped propane/AC frig in my last coach. I'm quite happy with it. As a further note when dry camping: you can turn off the frig (at circuit breaker) or the inverter (at control panel) when you go to bed and further conserve power. Just keep the doors shut to hold in the cold. My ice supply still looks fresh and unmelted in the morning.

Take Pride, totally agree on the merits of the residential fridge.Great for our full time mostly hooked to shore power lifestyle.

However, having questionable battery condition, we turned off our fridge at night last year at Quartzsite during 10 days of dry camping to save power. When we got home, we noticed our ice was tasteing "funky". Apparently the freezer defrosted enough to cause problems. It took several major cleanings of the freezer compartment to get rid of the problem. Ate all the food and didn't die so it wasn't too bad.

This year we are doing well with 8 new house batteres. Runs fridge all night with enough power left to make my coffee in the morning before quiet time expired at 7:00 AM.

[takepride]

Basil:

I said we turn off our fridge when we go to bed for the night, not for extended hibernation periods. Get up, enjoy the day!!!! Just joking.

You're right. The batteries make all the difference. If they are working good, it will easily overnight without turning off the inverter. That is how we usually do it. However, if we don't fully charge (get tired of the noise) or stay up late running all the lights and AV equipment, we will shut off the inverter or the fridge only. Nary a problem.

I, too, had funky ice one trip. I also slept in really late, had turned off the AGS, was running the heater non-stop and generally acting like I was plugged in. Actually I was plugged in, but some yahoo down the mountain had taken out the transformer down the hill. Result? Funky ice. Didn't realize I had a problem until the beep, beep, beep of the control panel quickly annoyed me. Used the ice to clean my black tank.

[mythplaced]

Hey!

I used to love that group..the "Funky Ice"!

[Wayne R]

To see what was really drawing the power. I hooked up a Kill A Watt meter between the Fridge and the 120 outlet. I moved the cord temporarily to the outlet on the wall next to the refer. That way I could observer over time how many amps it was drawing during different phases. I was surprised at some of the numbers.
1.4 Amps for max of 5 seconds to start compressor
.7 amps compressor running ( I really thought this would be much higher).
2.84 amps for 3 minutes to dump Ice
2.5 amps open doors all 4 lights on
4 amps for 45 minutes to defrost once every 24 hours.
These are some things I have considered to extend battery life when dry camping with a residential Refer.

Install a small maybe 1000 watt dedicate inverter for the refer. I understand Tiffin did this for awhile until they switched to a pure sine wave inverter. The RS2000’s fan seems to run 24/7 and the Inverter seems to be the big hog 80% efficiency.
Install a switch to defeat the auto defrost while dry camping.
Unscrew 2 light bulbs.
Flip the bail on the ice maker at night or whenever it is
appropriate.
I have not done any of this since I rarely dry camp.

[takepride]

Wayne:

You didn't mention replacing the two remaining bulbs with LED's (less heat, too).

Your ideas would save energy, but I'm thinking I could run the genset an additional 60 seconds and make up the difference. LOL!

We need a chart to show how much energy savings, would reduce genset runtime. I'd be all for less noise. Much more important than less energy.

To be honest, I think I may get a PnP wind-generator to offset my genset runtime. 400 watts, even at night sounds good. Besides, I always seem to pick windy places every time I dry camp.

[Ken T.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayne R 1.4 Amps for max of 5 seconds to start compressor .7 amps compressor running ( I really thought this would be much higher). 2.84 amps for 3 minutes to dump Ice 2.5 amps open doors all 4 lights on 4 amps for 45 minutes to defrost once every 24 hours.

Keep in mind that you have to multiply these readings by 10 to determine the approximate draw on the 12 Volt system.

Ken Tarkin
2005 34' Alpine

[Wayne R]

The biggest help would be shutting the defrost cycle off during dry camping and a smaller more efficient inverter dedicated to the refer. This would allow the RS2000 to be shut down at night.

My biggest issue is all the stuff I leave on. 2TV's 2DVRs 2 computers, 2 satellites and controllers (got to have my blue lights) router and modem ect. Again I rarely dry camp so I haven't spent much time addressing the issue. I added 2 batteries, total of 8. I really did not see a whole lot of difference. I added the batteries when I replaced the original 6 because of the wrong float issue. All 8 are of the same type and vintage.

None of my observations were very scientific just noting what I saw. I was doing this trying to diagnose my problem prior to calling in service tech. With the refer installed in the opening it is not easy to tell what is going on. When the compressor would not start it drew about 10 amps for an extended period. The original compressor would start about 50% of the time. The first compressor I had replaced lasted 4 hours. It had been charged at the top of factory specs and it was determined to be too high. It has been working well now for about 3 years.