Norcold frig

[foreverlost]

Hello...we are new to this blog...joined because we saw a great deal of conversation about the Norcold frig......................

We had decided to install the Samsung FD 197...we already have 3 AGM batteries...and go all electric with our coach...also change from propane cook top to a Kenyon induction cook top

BUT....we have had this coach 7 and 1/2 years...and although we do not do heavy dry camping anymore...we still like to stop along the way here and there.....

Does anyone know how difficult it will be to maintain our ability to stop along the way without being overwhelmed by the generator...which we run whenever we cook.....anyone out there with experience with a residential frig??

We have an 05 country coach allure 470 40 ft w/ 4 slides....we love it....once we took off on our maiden voyage 12/04....we never looked back.

We can't imagine living without this freedom we feel

Thanks D&M

[KIX]

We have the coach in the sig. and it now has a RF197 Samsung refer and LP cooktop. The battery bank we have had for several years is 3 Optima blue tops (12 volt batts.) Although we have been happy with Optimas the capacity has been lacking. I think the usable AHs are about 85 (batts' discharged to 50%). With every load turned off except for the Samsung running off the inverter we can go 6 hours without the gen to recharge. Although we can actually turn the refer off overnight in cool temps we want more capacity. We too cry camp infrequently.
We are in the process of changing over to four 6 volt Trojan T-105's and expect to boost our usable capacity by almost a factor of 3.

[justaroamer]

My coach as with many that are all electric uses 2 banks of 4, 6v batteries through 2 2800 watt inverters. Don't boondock much, however.
Here is a good post about the swap. http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/sams...dq-102210.html

[okie-dokie]

Kix, I installed the Trojan T-145 plus batteries. Paid a little more for them than the T-105, but I am very happy with them. The T-145 plus batteries are about 1 inch taller than the T-105. We just got thru dry camping at Quartzsite for 2 weeks. We would turn the generator on for about 2 hrs per day.

[paz]

Originally Posted by foreverlost

Hello...we are new to this blog...joined because we saw a great deal of conversation about the Norcold frig......................

We had decided to install the Samsung FD 197...we already have 3 AGM batteries...and go all electric with our coach...also change from propane cook top to a Kenyon induction cook top

BUT....we have had this coach 7 and 1/2 years...and although we do not do heavy dry camping anymore...we still like to stop along the way here and there.....

Does anyone know how difficult it will be to maintain our ability to stop along the way without being overwhelmed by the generator...which we run whenever we cook.....anyone out there with experience with a residential frig??

We have an 05 country coach allure 470 40 ft w/ 4 slides....we love it....once we took off on our maiden voyage 12/04....we never looked back.

We can't imagine living without this freedom we feel

Thanks D&M

Hi foreverlost,

We just installed a Samsung RF197. According to the Energy Guide sticker, this model is supposed to use 445 KWH of electricity a year. This works out to about 1.2 KWH a day.

After giving the Samsung a few days to cool off and stabilize, I put a Kill-a-Watt meter on it and let it run for several more days. I found it uses more like 1.5 to 1.6 KWH per day. This equates to about 125 to 133 amp-hr a day at 12 volts.

I expect the residential refrigerator will use more power in hot weather (it was in the 70s here in Florida when I ran the test), and you will have to add your other electrical usage to get an idea of your overall consumption. I suspect the induction cooktop will use a lot of power.

[KIX]

Originally Posted by okie-dokie

Kix, I installed the Trojan T-145 plus batteries. Paid a little more for them than the T-105, but I am very happy with them. The T-145 plus batteries are about 1 inch taller than the T-105. We just got thru dry camping at Quartzsite for 2 weeks. We would turn the generator on for about 2 hrs per day.

Thanks for that info. I wish we had the vertical space for the 145's.