Electric only refrig. in a Winne MH?

[rwbed1]

Am thinking of buying a new Winne Journey with a Maytag 3 door refrigerator that operates only on shore power. Do you think having such a refrig-freezer is a good or a bad idea? Your input would be most appreciated, as I am new to this rv lifestyle.

[Francesca]

I think the answer absolutely depends on your intended use of the RV.
If you'll be doing all your camping with hookups, you'll be fine.
But if you anticipate any significant off- grid camping, I think you'd be glad to have a propane option.

[gripper]

With the problems, recalls, etc., with Norcold and Dometic refrigerators, it is definitely a good idea. Many of us fellow RV'ers are thinking about or have done it already.

Most likely, if you have a generator, your frige will run on that as well as shore power. It just, might not operate on battery power only. However, if you don't care to "boondock" ( camp without any facilities, like in Walmart, etc.) it shouldn't be a problem to you. The refrigerator will stay cold for a day of traveling, if you don't open the doors too much. Just like at your sticks & mortar house, if you lose your power, you are generally ok, for a few days, w/o electricity.

[blackf3504dr]

We replaced the RV fridge with a residential fridge, we have added two batteries that are dedicated to run the fridge with a 750 W PSW inverter when shore power isn't available. We can also run it off the generator so we always have power to it. It cools down faster, stays colder and has more room then the RV fridge.

[az bound]

If most rving will be with full hookups everything will be fine. If the intended use is mostly boondocking then the whole electrical system needs to be properly set up to do so without having to constantly run genny.
I am not familiar with the set up in the journey but can say we boondock 90% of the time and have all residential appliances.
I suggest you research the battery bank total AH rating along with the wattage output of the inverter and it would be easier to advise you.

[Melmoses]

The Journey should have an inverter capable of supporting the fridge. We have a residential fridge and it stays on all the time while traveling down the road or boondocking. Batteries, thru the inverter, keep it going 6-8 hours on the road with no problem. When boondocking, we run the generator an average of 5 hours daily to recharge the batteries and cool us off (air conditioners have to have shore power or generator power). Then the batteries and inverter keep the fridge, lights etc powered the rest of the time. You should have no problem with that fridge.

[rwbed1]

Took awhile to get the info, but CW tells me the Journey with residential refrig has 6 deep cell batteries,105 AH each equals total of 630 AH. Inverter is a Magnum 2800 watt. Does this sound like a good boondocking rig to you?

[Dave78Chief]

Is that six 105ah 12VDC deep cell batteries or six 105ah 6VDC deep cell batteries?
If 12VDC it would be 630Ah. If 6VDC thats only 315Ah.

Assuming 630Ah, given that for maximum battery life and health you should only discharge a deep cell battery bank to 50% capacity that means you only have 315ah available.

A typical AC fridge is 600 Watts (does not include compressor starting wattage).
To compute DC amp usage the formula is DC Amps = (Watts / 12) * 1.1 so
(600 / 12) * 1.1 = 55 Amps
Lets assume run time is 15 minutes per hour (24hrs * .25)
Amp hours per day = Amps x Quantity of item (ie: 3 lights) x hours of operation per day so,
55 x 1 x (24 * .25) = 330Ah per day
If you did no external charging of the battery bank, the 315Ah battery bank (50% level) would not adequately cover the 330Ah needed for just the fridge over a 24 hr period. If you did charge the battery for 3 hours then you would only need 288Ah. The remaining need would be supplied by the AC source (ie generator) during the charging period. You would still need to add in things like 12VDC Water Pump, lights, Misc loads (clocks, etc.), TV, etc.

Climate will affect the computation (fridge will run more in a hot environment; Rig gets real hot inside when AC is not running on hot days). How often will the Fridge door be opened? The computations are ball park but you have to start someplace. The fridge may be more efficient that 600 watts. You will need to know the specs of the fridge installed.

Dave

[az bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwbed1 Took awhile to get the info, but CW tells me the Journey with residential refrig has 6 deep cell batteries,105 AH each equals total of 630 AH. Inverter is a Magnum 2800 watt. Does this sound like a good boondocking rig to you?

Both the battery bank and inverter are more than adequate to handle the frig while boondocking. Another item which would add to the ease of opreation would be a programmable AGS but is not a necessary item and may be added at a later date.
I added 410 watts of solar power and that has cut the genset run time in half. May add another 200 watt panel later. We boondock about 90% of the time and have no regrets about having a residential refer.