Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > THE OWNER'S CORNER FORUMS > Monaco Owner's Forum
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-16-2018, 10:33 PM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 64
Propane or Electric

It is in the 90s in south Texas now our Norcold 1200 is working overtime to keep everything cold. Propane is 3.24 per gallon and Electric is 17.5 a kilowatt. Which is the cheaper way to run the fridge.

Bill
jbesdale is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 03-17-2018, 06:37 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
RCG604's Avatar
 
Monaco Owners Club
Holiday Rambler Owners Club
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: fulltimer Anywhere
Posts: 160
Bill, a gal of propane is equal to 27 kwh.
So you take the cost of electric and multiply by 27 and if it is less than a gal of propane then propane is cheaper.

i.e. 27 X .175 = 4.725

So in your case with propane being 3.24, it is cheaper to run on propane,

Hope that helps

Richard
__________________
Richard
2001 Holiday Rambler Scepter
06 Xterra Our Blog Lost Ramber
RCG604 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-18-2018, 12:57 PM   #3
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 64
Thanks Richard

That is the formula I have been looking for. Amazing the energy we use to keep the beer cold

Bill
jbesdale is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2018, 09:05 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
Stan&Jacquie's Avatar
 
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Naples, FL
Posts: 971
Can't go wrong with electric. If you can power it, a residential frig is the cat's meow.
__________________
Stan & Jacquie
2007 Monaco Knight DFT 40', 750 watts Solar
2012 Equinox w/Air Force I, Blue Ox Alpha & Base.
Stan&Jacquie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2018, 09:55 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
K7JV's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Boise Valley (SW Idaho)
Posts: 2,009
I will vote for 120 VAC as the most economical source in most cases. Here's why.

Norcold 1200 specifications:
225 watts on electric (nearly all for the heating element)
2,200 BTU/hour on propane

Assumptions:
Propane cost - Lets go with $3.50 per gallon
Electric energy cost - Regionally highly variable, but lets go with $0.13 per kWhr

Conversion Factors:
Propane energy content - 91,333 BTU/gallon
Electric energy "content" - 3,412 BTU/kWhr

We can forget about the difference in heat rates if we just pick some arbitrary energy requirement for any chosen period of time. Lets say for our period of time we will need 2,200 BTU of energy input to operate the refrigerator.

Based upon the above specifications, assumptions and conversion factors the cost to do the job with propane would be approximately 8.4 cents. The cost to do the same job with electric energy would be approximate 7.7 cents. So the cost difference really is negligible.

BUT, remember that with the electric energy source, nearly 100% of the heating element energy is transmitted to the cooling unit generator, whereas with propane, a significant amount goes up the chimney. On propane, these units are not 100% efficient. I don't think they are too bad, but they are not 100%. So that would skew the numbers even more in the direction of favoring electric energy as the most economical source.

If you need cooling more quickly, go with the propane. It has a great heat rate. If your unit is already cold and you have 110 VAC available, I would go with the electric energy source. And it's a lot easier to "fill your electric wires" than it is to fill your propane tank.

Bottom line? It will depend on where you are as to which is more economical. But when you look at the total cost of RV'ing, your total refrigeration cost is but a trace percentage of the total. So forget the minor difference and go with whichever makes the most sense for the camping situation you find yourself in, and how easy it is to replenish your fuel supply.

Cheers and happy RV'ing!
K7JV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2018, 10:01 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
K7JV's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Boise Valley (SW Idaho)
Posts: 2,009
One more thought on Propane vs Electric Energy - The difference between the efficiencies of our absorption refrigerators and the efficiencies of our water heaters on electric versus propane is HUGE! I would guess the efficiency of the propane water heaters would be significantly less than 70%. You can crunch the numbers, but in my opinion, by all means, I would not power my water heater with propane unless I needed a fast supply, right now, then back to the 110 VAC.

Off the subject but worth noting, perhaps. And the same goes for the AquaHot, which we have and enjoy, immensely! We only burn diesel in the AquaHot when we absolutely have to do so. And it makes us better neighbors, to boot.
K7JV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2018, 10:01 AM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,807
Once you figure in the hassle to refill your propane tank, electric just seems cheaper.
aether_one is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-19-2018, 10:16 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 8,055
When the numbers were part of the original question I find it interesting that someone comes up with an example using totally different numbers....

RCG604 did the math in #2 and showed that the OP is significantly better off on propane where he lives. That is the point, it depends on where one lives as the cost of both electricity and propane varies by area.
nothermark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 01:16 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
CruisinCondo's Avatar
 
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Nuevo, Ca.
Posts: 149
Send a message via AIM to CruisinCondo
I found this discussion very interesting. Both posters came to the same conclusion using different formulas. One uses kwh per gallon of propane and the other uses BTU's. Each one comes to the same conclusion based on the original question of 17.5 cents per kwh and 3.24 per gallon of propane, I calculate 11.3 cents for electric and 7.8 cents for propane using a fixed 2200 BTU. Either way using propane for this individual would save him 45% regardless of which formula you use; which is a considerable savings. However, based on information I read on RVForum.net, Gary the RV Wizard stated that there are two heaters that drive the cooling unit in the norcold 1200 which suck up 450 watts and run non stop during warm weather, while the fridge would run for days on 1 gallon of propane. This could mean a larger savings. I wonder if someone could find out the true efficiency of the Norcold 1200 fridge on propane. Until then I will start using propane at my house as my cost of electricity is 17 cents at the lowest tier from SCE in southern California.
__________________
04 Diplomat, 40PST, ISC330, 01 Tahoe Toed, Blue Ox & Airforce One brake controller, www.cruisincondo.blogspot.com
CruisinCondo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 02:36 PM   #10
Registered User
 
95B20V5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 78
Formulas aside.. just switched only gas appliance, stovetop out for induction cooktop and will take it any day of the week.
95B20V5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 02:48 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,111
Sad thing is the OP still has a "never cold" frig. with soft ice cream in the freezer. :>)

CLIFFORD
clifford j is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 02:59 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 8,055
Funny, ours works fine. It's just not a 1200 double door.
nothermark is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 03:01 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
saddlesore's Avatar


 
Foretravel Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Home is Where WE PARK IT...
Posts: 6,007
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbesdale View Post
It is in the 90s in south Texas now our Norcold 1200 is working overtime to keep everything cold. Propane is 3.24 per gallon and Electric is 17.5 a kilowatt. Which is the cheaper way to run the fridge.

Bill
You are only talking about a $5 or so difference per month...
Swap out that "NO-Cold" for a residential fridge..
Your milk doesn't sour, & beer is always cold and the ice cream stays frozen..Even when you are traveling.
AND..... NO concerns about everything going up in flames.
__________________
Retired truckdriver,
'02 Foretravel... "This Shack will do"
being pushed by an '06 Scion xB
SKP's of Box Elder, South Dakota
saddlesore is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2018, 03:40 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Tiffin Owners Club
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Whitehouse Station, NJ
Posts: 828
To me the only reason to consider a gas absorption fridge would be to reduce time needing generator when dry camping. However if in hot area will need anyway for A/C. I’ll stick with my residential fridge!
__________________
Randy & Ella (terrier mix rescue)
2020 Winnebago View 24J
Downsized from 2013 Tiffin Phaeton 40QBH
mricet1005 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
electric, propane



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
All Electric versus Propane and Electric Catch and Release Class A Motorhome Discussions 14 11-26-2013 03:04 PM
Propane Grill line kit to MH propane tank? 00 DEAD ON MH-General Discussions & Problems 9 09-01-2011 06:45 PM
Any Propane Dealers In Central Ohio Area That Works On Propane Leaks? goreds2 iRV2.com General Discussion 4 10-26-2010 07:13 PM
notIt is wise to check propane tanks before buying propane Bruce W iRV2.com General Discussion 4 06-27-2008 02:45 AM
Running propane generator--how long will propane last? glfprncs Class A Motorhome Discussions 5 03-19-2007 05:51 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:55 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.