Residential refrigerators

[tomur2]

Originally Posted by Qwimby1

I've seen several class As for sale recently listed as "upgraded" to residential refrigerators. I assume these can't be run on propane, which seems like you would be limited to plugging in or running the genset. I think that takes away a lot of the flexibility to come and go and boondock.

Can anyone speak to this?
Thanks

We bought a 5th wheel that had a regular house refrigerator replacing the rv one. It is fine unless you want to boondock. We used ours just to travel and sit. By not opening the reefer when traveling till we plugged into electric that night we had no problems. Even ice cubes held. Would NOT recommend it for boondocking.

[JMCherry]

Once you have a residential refrigerator you most likely won’t go back. We don’t have any propane in our MH and I don’t miss it. I would probably never own a propane rig again.

[boaterbobd]

One thing I have found in my research is that some of the new residential refrigeration devices like fridges and window A/C units are using what the manufacturers advertise as 'inverter technology'. I just bought an LG 18,000 BTU unit last summer that has it and I know Samsung advertises it in some of their residential refrigerator models. Just google 'refrigerators using inverter technology'

What they're doing is taking the 120VAC your feeding it and converting it back to DC power so they can drive the compressor with a DC motor instead of an AC motor. This results in a much more robust design that allows for much more precise control of the compressor. And because of the internal power conversion going on, I doubt that refrigerators built using this technology care too much about the quality of the power you send them?


The new LG A/C unit I installed last summer with 'inverter technology' is the smoothest, quietest and most energy efficient I've ever owned.

[AKOne]

Originally Posted by tomur2

Would NOT recommend it for boondocking.

Interesting … seems others have been doing just that for years.

[bistchr]

I have looked into the Residential refrigerator for my 99 HR Endeavor but found a couple concerns to look at. 1) For change out I would have to modify myhousing quite a bit as I have theNorcold 1200 double 4 doors version. the height of any residential would require a remake of the ducting for my heater plenum right beneath it lowering it somehow about an inch to 1 1/2 inches, not easy or cheap. 2) I have read that some appliance service centers will not honor or repair a residential inside an RV, not counting the fact that is is placed 12 inches off the floor over the air duct plenum.

So these are things to consider and measure very carefully, then the wood workers to have it modified to look nice is another tough one if you are living not by a very big city that will do such things. I looked into it a couple years ago and the Oregon facility THAT MIGHT do it required 6 weeks advance notice, getting the refrigerator shipped, delivered, a logistic issue as well.

I onlly throw these out as it seems like a great idea, but much more complicated to make happen then it seems.

Ed

[gpounder]

You may find this read very interesting.
http://www.truckcamperadventure.com/...nd-a-few-tips/

JC Refrigeration makes a mod for the Norcold 1200 that uses a 12vdc compressor.
https://jc-refrigeration.com/products/

The upside is no cabinetry modfications to the coach and no dragging a refrigerator out of the coach. Still cost $1000.

[ZZCop]

Originally Posted by vito.a

We all think that until we own a coach with a residential fridge. When our Norcold first went out I spent over $3500 having it replaced. A few years later it failed again and was another $3500!

First, did you see these pictures?
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/came...de-421306.html
The Norcold totaled the coach! They are lucky they were not in the coach. And this is one of thousands.

I turn on our residential fridge 1 hour before loading it and everything is ready to go. Our Norcold used to take 2 days to cool down.
I don't have to worry about parking level as the residential fridge will still work.
Our ice cream is always frozen. With the Norcold it would thaw during the afternoon and refreeze at night ruining the ice cream.
Our inverter runs the fridge and the batteries are charged by the alternator when the engine is running or anytime we are plugged in.
If you dry camp a lot, then yes you have to run the generator for about an hour each morning to recharge the batteries.
Most folks don't understand how efficient a modern refrigerator is. The residential fridge in our Windsor only used .8 amps with the ice maker off and our current residential fridge only uses 1 amp.
There are lots more great things about it but I think you will have to try it to fully understand.

vito.a gave you a great reply, hit the nail on the head. We don't dry camp so the residential refrigerator is the best for us.

[NeilV]

My 2 door Norcold is now 18 years old and still going strong. Never had a problem with it keeping things frozen either despite camping mostly in the Deep South plus it can run for several days without having to recharge the batteries when dry camping.

You do have to do your research and not buy one of the few known problematic models that's for sure.

The only repair was a replacement control board which died during an extended brownout when running on shore power which cost me $35 for a Dinosaur Board.

Personally I would not want a modern linear compressor residential refrigerator in my RV such as the LG I have in my home. The noise it makes is irritating enough in my home and although it draws less power than a rotary compressor it does run longer. However some do comment on them being noisy.

I might consider something like a Cowin solar powered 12 volt DC refrigerator package once the Norcold finally dies. It includes the solar panel and charger so you just add a dedicated battery to run it unattended. Dimensions are 21.6 x 22 x 56.7 inches and its 7.4 cu ft. Price without the battery is around $500.

[bbyphatt]

I had a propane/electric refrigerator until it went belly up and the replacement cost was ludicrous. So installed a frig that was electric, fit in the area just like I wanted and works great. I installed these door clips so doors won't fly open though. It stays pretty cold for about 4 to 4 1/2 hours. We never boondocks that much but just ran the generator at various times to keep it cold. What's cool is in the bins you can also pour ice which is great for over night while your sleeping. This frig was about 1/4 the cost of replacing the propane/electric one.

[romson]

This last winter, I upgraded my Norcold 1200-series, 4 door fridge/freezer to the JC Refridgeration compressor installation. Needless to say, I was scared from reading the stories on totaled RV's because of the original LPG fired version starting a fire and after having the LPG version shut down while traveling - the additional modification that shuts down power when the chimney gets too hot - I decided that the absorption unit needed to be replaced.

JC Refridgeration makes both a 12 volt (DC) and 115 volt (AC) version of this replacement cooling unit and the 115 volt AC unit pulls 0.78 amps while running. As several posters have already said, while traveling I use the combination charger/inverter to run the fridge/freezer since the engine alternator will charge both the house and coach batteries when the engine is running.

In my 2003 Itasca Horizon, I had to build a 1.5 inch frame around the fridge opening to allow me to get another 1.5 inches of clearance in the back for the cooling unit.

The JC Refridgeration 115 volt AC unit is actually quieter than the original Norcold absorption unit since the two box fans in the back of the Norcold unit runs all the time the fridge/freezer doors are closed.

[Grandpa5x]

My son in law has a 5th wheel with residential style refrigerator that runs on electric or propane. He’s going to get an inverter to run the fridge while they’re traveling. As far as boondocking you’ll have to have solar or wind unless you go with the propane.

[RogerSmalley]

Originally Posted by Qwimby1

I've seen several class As for sale recently listed as "upgraded" to residential refrigerators. I assume these can't be run on propane, which seems like you would be limited to plugging in or running the genset. I think that takes away a lot of the flexibility to come and go and boondock.

Can anyone speak to this?
Thanks

We have seen factory installed residential refrigerators in 5th wheels, gas and diesel motorhomes. We have not looked in tag-alongs or Class Bs. For folks with 5ers who travel mainly from campground to campground, the residential fridge is fine. It will keep food cold for several hours without power if you open the door infrequently or not at all.

Most of the gassers I've seen do not have large inverters and must rely on the on-board generator to run periodically to keep the fridge cool. That might not be an inconvenience unless you don't like the generator noise or are parked close to other RVs.

Fairly large inverters are commonplace in DPs. Most older ones are 2000 watt MSW (modified sine wave) units that work fine for most things, but the newer ones often are PSW (pure sine wave) units, that provide power similar to RV park utility posts, and many have 3000 watt capacities.

We installed a residential refrigerator in our DP about a year after we bought the coach. It came with a Norcold 1200 series refrigerator that had a reputation for catching fire and destroying their coaches in a matter of minutes. As a result there was a class action lawsuit that essentially refunded the cost of the refrigerator to the owner. After speaking with a couple of survivors, we decided that even though ours had been fitted with a factory provided modification to prevent the fires, we wanted it out of our coach.

We replaced the 12 Cu Ft RV refrigerator with a Samsung 18 Cu Ft residential model with dimensions almost exactly matching the Norcold. By doing that we gained a 50 percent increase in refrigerator space, and the Samsung compressor runs just fine on the inverter. We have attended the Albuquerque Int'l Balloon Fiesta every year since and dry camped in a large parking lot. Running the genset a few hours each day keeps the batteries charged and the refrigerator runs as needed through the night.

Of course the most important thing we gained by switching to residential was the Peace of Mind that came from not having the nagging thought that we could be the next to post photos...or worse.

I have never spoken to anyone who made the switch and didn't love it.

Roger
2006 HR Endeavor

[Ivylog]

Originally Posted by PeterFTH

if I knew then .." I would have definitely bought a 12vdc/110vac marine unit, with a 12volt compressor that draws about 6-8 amps. Lots of RVers swear by domestic refrigerators, but I know how much power they consume and wouldn't touch one myself, but I like to boon dock when I can. You'll get 100 opinions by tomorrow LOL. Peter

Apparently you do NOT know how much power a modern EnergyStar refrigerator uses. The 21 cuft Whirlpool I installed uses 8 amps DC (96W) measured before the PSW inverter...the same as your little 12V marine refer. The compressor only runs 40% of the time confirmed with a KW meter at 1.2-1.3KW/day... 15 cents/day.

I made the mistake of not going residential sooner because of the mis-information about boondocking with a residential refrigerator. During the summer we dry camp 75+% of the time and my generator run time has decreased because I added another 100A charger and two more batteries.

[MinnesotaBob]

I use a Norcold and get along good with it. It does have trouble staying at the same temperature without adjusting its cold setting, as we travel from the cold north to the warm south. New AC residential frigs are very efficient. Running them off of the inverter will work. Charging batteries for one hour a day will not. Wet cell batteries need about 8 hours to charge completely. Repeated short charging them is not good for them. I strongly recommend running your genset 2 hours and then having solar panels to continue the acceptance and float charging phases during the day. My belief you will struggle with just 4 Six volt batteries to accomplish this depending on your TV use and Microwave. Better to have 8 if your dry camping in parks with limits on genset use along with with a minimum of 500 watts of solar if they can not move to track sun or about 300 watts that can track. My thoughts come from after dry camping for two weeks with 30 degree nights requiring both furnaces to run to maintain 55 degrees in cabin at night. It got dicey during two days with clouds. AGM batteries are better, but still need 6 hours or more to completely charge. If you are moving every other day with coach alternator topping off the batteries then my suggestions are over kill.