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Old 04-22-2011, 01:38 AM   #15
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The problem is there is no way to make an efficient DC operated refrigerator. Heck, most batteries in a rig can't run a furnace all night much less run a refrigerator 24/7. The average wattage of a refrigerator is about 60 watts (300 running) which is 5 amps @ 12v. If they could get that down to 36 watts that is 3 amps or 72 Ah per day. I sure wouldn't want to use that boondocking. A rig would need a minimum of 150Ah of battery just to run a refrigerator for 24 hours. A compressor and motor is much heavier and bulkier too. Couple that to the limited market and there is no profit to be made.
That is precisely the reason. The amount of energy stored in a pair of 30# propane tanks is orders of magnitude greater than can be stored in a battery. It's the same reason electric cars are limited to very short ranges compared to petroleum fueled cars.

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Old 04-22-2011, 08:18 AM   #16
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Going back to 1976, we had an ac/dc refrigerator. Granted, it was not an upright, 4 door model that we are so used to today, but it never dragged the battery down (separate one as "house" battery), and it kept the food very cold. It even made ice cubes.

So, since 1976 (mfg of 74 for this refr.) the technology must surely have changed to allow for better performance at less operating costs.

I see upright ac/dc ref. on web sites. Any one who has one care to comment on the efficiency (battery) of operations?
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Old 04-22-2011, 10:05 AM   #17
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So why has the market been ignored by the likes of GE or Frigidaire or Whirlpool, etc.? Why can't some of the geniuses that run the companies see a way to design a super-efficient compressor unit or line of units that is/are RV appropriate?
The short answer is you need to turn around. It is not that the market place has ignored GE or Frigidaire or _____ but rather that they have chosen not to enter this market place..

Basically you have 3 options for a Fridge in an RV.

The traditional absorption cooling unit runs on Gas or Electric, there is no other kind that can run on gas. Dometic and Norcold market these units. Not a whole lot of options.. No reason other companies could not make them.. But they don't.

Residential: Including all those companies you listed.. Problem here is efficiency, I mean a full size fridge may suck 500-1000 watts running and several times that starting, Even a small compact "Office size" is 100 watts running and over 500 starting. That's a lot of power.

High efficiency compressor types.. Engle, Dometic, Norcold are 3 brands I know of, have the first, have links in my bookmark file to Dometic.

These power sippers do the same job as the residential types but they draw a great whomping 30-40 watts, YES 30-40 watts, that's less than five amps at 12 volts or a fraction of an amp (1/2) at 120 volt And my Engel (Which is a chest freezer/fridge) keeps the ice cream nice and frozen even when it's hot out. All while sucking 3 amps peak.
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Old 04-22-2011, 10:29 AM   #18
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My double door residential 110V refr. will work all day and more while we drive or even parked all night at Wal Mart. using the invertor. All the house lights use different batteries and if we need the microwave or TV the genset is ready and able. With all that available, I question the need.
It sure is nice to have the extra space that big frig gives us over what we had in our old 5 th wheel.
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Old 04-22-2011, 10:57 AM   #19
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High efficiency compressor types.. Engle, Dometic, Norcold are 3 brands I know of, have the first, have links in my bookmark file to Dometic.
I see that Norcold has a 7 cu.ft. AC/DC unit, the DE-0061. I was not aware of there were any that large. It specs at 0.4 amps on 120v and 3.2 amps on 12v.
We got by with 8 cu.ft. in our last RV, but 10 or 12 would be better for our needs.
When I was ranting about innovation, I was thinking in terms of out of the box ideas like applying technology to develop more efficient compressors or finding more efficient heat transfer technology. How about a micro generator to support the fridge only?
In a depressed economy and the contemporary business climate, it is probably futile to hope that anyone would pursue such.
Well, I got my RV back from the second trip to the shop to have the Norcold 1200 analyzed, and found that the original recall parts were installed incorrectly. It works now, so I will hope for the best and keep quiet.
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Old 04-22-2011, 08:25 PM   #20
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Perhaps I failed to mention this was a Compressor driven unit not absorption. It was made by Norcold .
This was not a high draw unit if it ran on the Standard two House Batteries and a 80amp mid seventies alternator how inefficient could it have been.
Don't people read before they respond? This was posted by me two days ago. This does not have to be invented it already was. A major manufacturer just has to reproduce it.

My 1977 GMC Palm Beach Motorhome had a 12v/110 unit it worked just fine. The ice cream was Hard and the bottom food was at the 38 degree mark. This was run thru the standard 80 amp engine alternator and two 6v Golf Cart Batteries the same as two of the ones in my Dynasty ( I also had the one 12v chassis battery) or the Generator when I used it (only had 180 hrs when I sold it). I would turn it on in June when we left for our trips, and turn it off in September when we returned never a hiccup. I owned this MH for 13 years and when I sold it the refrig was running fine the new owner has no complaints and it still runs fine at 34 years old. As I understand it the company Dometic or Norcold stopped producing them when the Factory was destroyed by fire. Evidently no one has picked up the ball on this. I would buy one of these in an instant.
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Old 04-22-2011, 09:51 PM   #21
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Well there you go everyone all we have to do is find one in a RV Salvage yard & find prints and make it some what bigger.
We could produce it ourselves or farm it out to other country as we have been doing.
I have always said somethings "OLD" did work better, than these modern problems we have now in the coach.
Thanks for the repost Barrier2.
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