Residential fridge... love or hate it???

[tropical36]

This is one long thread and as probably mentioned before, one must consider the cost of replacing a fridge in relationship to an old RV's worth, so that's one argument in favor of a residential unit, no matter what might be your preference. You could pick up a small one quite reasonable and it wouldn't have to be a new one either. In fact, I'm not about to cut an opening larger and be removing drawers down below in the process. I mean with the larger interior space as per say and grocery stores being in close proximity, I don't see the need for a lot of cold storage.

[docj]

Originally Posted by tropical36

I mean with the larger interior space as per say and grocery stores being in close proximity, I don't see the need for a lot of cold storage.

That may be true in some locations, but we've stayed in quite a few places where the nearest decent grocery store sure wasn't around the corner. And going shopping isn't our favorite leisure-time activity, anyway.

[tropical36]

Originally Posted by docj

That may be true in some locations, but we've stayed in quite a few places where the nearest decent grocery store sure wasn't around the corner. And going shopping isn't our favorite leisure-time activity, anyway.

I guess if one was to go out in the far reaches of the boonies somewhere, with no plans of returning anytime soon, then yeah, you might need a little extra, if your dry goods supply wouldn't hold up. We've been all over the place and really haven't experienced that though. Besides, some things only keep in the fridge for so long anyway and if the fridge should go bad, then there'd be that much more to lose or to find a quick alternative for saving it.
With my idea of a smaller unit (60" high), there'd be room for building a slide out pantry beside it and something we could use a whole lot more, but then, that's just us.

[brianw8602]

This is our first experience with a residential refrigerator. Our previous was a Dometic electric/propane model. Worked great while hooked up to shore power. Propane . . . . not so much. Our new Samsung is outstanding!

[HVAC Bill]

I'm surprised there hasn't been a thread comparing flat screen tv versus tube type. :/
I have yet to know anybody that didn't want more refer space. May not be a good decision to convert your old battery/ inverter to a residential fridge. Jmho

[Dutch Star Don]

"tropical36"......No snarkiness, just looking for an honest answer! Your coach has a propane refer and you're happy with it, because it's what you have. So if someone gave you $300K and said go buy a NEW motor home of your choosing, you would special order one with a small propane refer because you don't eat that much cold food or fear that the refer would break down and ruin it.

Do you have the same fear of your refer at home quitting?

[Imurphy907]

I know for a fact the power out of my psw magnum is cleaner and more stable then this crud the power company sells me.

[VestaDave]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

"tropical36"......No snarkiness, just looking for an honest answer! Your coach has a propane refer and you're happy with it, because it's what you have. So if someone gave you $300K and said go buy a NEW motor home of your choosing, you would special order one with a small propane refer because you don't eat that much cold food or fear that the refer would break down and ruin it.

Do you have the same fear of your refer at home quitting?

Man, if somebody gave me $300k, I'd be one happy camper! Don't think I would give the fridge any thought. By the way I still like the fridge we have at home and the one we have in the Vesta. Not worried about either.

[Waiter21]

So if someone gave you $300K and said go buy

If someone wants to test this theory, by all means, send me the 300k. I'll put whatever frig in there you tell me to.

In the meantime, I'll just keep plugging along with my 13k MH and its nice propane refrigerator.

[jerichorick]

Here is my summery on this topic, for what it is worth.

A modern residential refrigerator of a good energy efficient design is MUCH better than the old rv style. The common, low quality modified sine wave inverter, just won't work on an upgrade. These are facts that we should all be able to agree on.

A small, dedicated, true sine wave inverter and a sufficient batter is a good fix to the power problem and reasonable in cost if a bit of math is applied to the upgrade solution.

And there you have my opinion, humbly given.

Rick Y

[az bound]

Originally Posted by jerichorick

Here is my summery on this topic, for what it is worth.

A modern residential refrigerator of a good energy efficient design is MUCH better than the old rv style. The common, low quality modified sine wave inverter, just won't work on an upgrade. These are facts that we should all be able to agree on.

A small, dedicated, true sine wave inverter and a sufficient batter is a good fix to the power problem and reasonable in cost if a bit of math is applied to the upgrade solution.

And there you have my opinion, humbly given.

Rick Y

I respectfully disagree.

There are residential refrigerators that do not require PSW inverters as their compressors are powered by DC current They have a built in rectifier which converts AC to DC. Amana is one manufacturer. I have one and it has been running on a MSW inverter for 5 years now.
I suggest some research and there may be a change of opinion.

[CampDaven]

Fridges are a personal choice.
Mine works fine, but RR is a likely choice if it ever quits on me. At 14CF, I'm okay, as Patton's Army was disbanded and will not be coming to my table. An extra trip to the grocery just for my grandson would happen no matter what fridge I have!
Folks without cash flow issues can do whatever on a whim. The rest of us go with the financial advantage of the moment.
So, all of these posts pretty much say "It just doesn't matter", IMHO
HAPPY TRAILS

[tropical36]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

"tropical36"......No snarkiness, just looking for an honest answer! Your coach has a propane refer and you're happy with it, because it's what you have. So if someone gave you $300K and said go buy a NEW motor home of your choosing, you would special order one with a small propane refer because you don't eat that much cold food or fear that the refer would break down and ruin it.

Do you have the same fear of your refer at home quitting?

Did you read all the posts?
Not what I meant at all and if and when our present Dometic goes out, a residential replacement will be the one of choice. I even said that no matter what the preference, an OEM would be just too expensive for an old coach that wasn't worth all that much. I even run this one on an inverter for the most part when not on shore power. The thing is huge in overall size, but the interior probably isn't much bigger than a smaller residential unit, so most likely large enough for our use and I definitely don't want to be cutting out the drawers below.
With the extra side room, I could build a much needed slide out pantry.
As for home, there's fridges everywhere, but there's other reasons as to why and not for this thread. Still, I do have the means for shifting goods to another unit if need be.

[docj]

Originally Posted by az bound

I respectfully disagree.

There are residential refrigerators that do not require PSW inverters as their compressors are powered by DC current They have a built in rectifier which converts AC to DC. Amana is one manufacturer. I have one and it has been running on a MSW inverter for 5 years now.
I suggest some research and there may be a change of opinion.

The popularity of the Samsung RF197 was partly based on this issue and the fact that it was a relatively inexpensive counter-depth fridge. I'm not sure the MSW provision applies to the replacement model, however.