Inverter/Residential refrigerator question

[sibe]

as far as inverter efficiency yes i agree.. My minnie has 2, one was smaller from OEM to power entertainment system only.. 400 watt sine wave with autotransfer
. I added a second 2000 sine wave to run microwave,coffee etc..
I set this up so running the 2000, the 400 is off,, if it is nite and we re on 12V I can watch TV and charge phones of the entertainment console..

BUT I cannot tell a difference in idle draw or quality of power..

[Chuck&Pam]

On my ‘16 32 SA the inverter is the Tripp-Lite 1250. It’s plenty to run the fridge and a few other items as needed. It has a continuous 1250 watt output capability and double that for startup surge if needed. The only thing I don’t like about it is that Tiffin doesn’t include any remote control capability or any other type of energy management monitor. But the inverter seems to work well and I’ve been pleased so far. Sorry I can’t answer part two of your question as mine stays plugged in all the time it’s stored.

[Pigman1]

I installed a Tripp Lite PV1250FC to run only my household refrigerator, a 17 cu ft chest freezer we carry to Alaska for fish and a 3 1/2 cu basement freezer. It's an extremely durable and efficient inverter that we put in to run the refrigerator and freezers when we boondock. We still have the 3000 Magnum 3000W house inverter for when we're on shore power. Our Tripp Lite has a APSRM4 remote control that we have in the living area of the coach while the inverter is in the battery compartment. If this is not to your liking, a Trimetric controller would be a good choice.

[theoldwizard]

Originally Posted by EcoRick

The specs from Tiffin simply say the standard inverter operates the TV's, Surround Sound and Residential Refrigerator.

Without REAL specifications any answer is a wild ass guess (not even "sophisticated" !)

Originally Posted by EcoRick

Also, how do you cool the refrigerator down prior to a trip without draining the battery?

Again, wild ass guess time ! A "high quality" inverter would have a combination inverter/charge/automatic transfer switch all in one package. The last piece (automatic transfer switch) is key ! You don't have to do anything, simply plug the coach into your house (shore power).

[mcbus]

I also have to drive about 15 minutes to where my MH is parked inside a barn with out any hookups. Takes me about an hour to get loaded and the first thing I do is start the generator. By the time Im ready to go The refer is plenty cool. Hasn't been an issue.

[EcoRick]

Thanks for all the comments. Looking forward to picking it up in the near future and giving these suggestions a try. It’s strange times. Hope I can use it before my warranty is up!

[Reacher]

All your manuals are available on the Tiffin website in the owners section. Armed with that and your sales document you should have enough information to study up while you wait for your great RV!

[DLOJR]

Originally Posted by EcoRick

We just purchased an Open Road 32SA and have not taken possession of it yet. Not sure when we will with current conditions and the dealership is closed so I have plenty of time to read. The model we purchased has a residential refrigerator and does NOT have the upgraded inverter. The specs from Tiffin simply say the standard inverter operates the TV's, Surround Sound and Residential Refrigerator. We are new to RV'ing and my question is if this inverter will be enough to power the unit given the residential refrigerator requirements or should I consider an immediate upgrade. It's primarily for my wife and me however there are times we'll have our grandkids and family with us. Also, how do you cool the refrigerator down prior to a trip without draining the battery? We're storing it about 20 minutes from our house and plan on taking about 2 trips a month during the summer (if the world gets back to normal).

We have the Open Road 36UA w/ the residential fridge. We do have the upgraded inverter and extra house batteries. You can plug into standard 110v when you pack up at your place prior to taking off.. You wont be able to run your air conditioners but everything else will work.. I'd honestly upgrade your inverter to keep it from working hard.. You'll thank yourself later..

[Dutchstar411]

Lots of good information in the previous posts!

When we had our 2002 Dutch Star we added a residential frig 10.1 CF. It takes about 30 minutes to get the freezer down to 10 degrees and about 1 1/5 hours to get the frig to 40 degrees. We kept it in storage as well. I'd get up and get to the storage lot at 6 am to start the generator and turn on the coach AC's. Go back to the house for a bit and then bring the coach back to the house to load by 8 am. If you have a generator with auto start you shouldn't have to worry about running only the inverter overnight if your gen could start once the batteries get low, if that would even happen. Our generator in the 2002 couldn't have the auto start feature, missed it by 1 year even for an add on.

You'll get a system going and it will be smooth sailing after that. Enjoy your coach.

[Mike8253]

Originally Posted by EcoRick

Our driveway has a brutal turn in and incline. Even seasoned UPS, Fed-ex and tow truck drivers dread our neighborhood. We’ve had more mailboxes knocked over and landscaping damage than I can count over the years. Maybe in a few years but for now we’ll have to rely on going to the storage area before any trip.

Given your driveway situation it sounds like all of your RV loads are going to be done remotely. I don't know what your previous RV'ing experience might be, but given how much you can potentially put into your new Open Road, up front you are going to be presented with some logistical/planning challenges. To help you to do this as efficiently as possible, I'd suggest you find and use a planning app that you can easily follow. Especially since you're going to need to take some preliminary steps to turn your fridge on to get it cooled down, especially for any frozen items you are going to put into your freezer. I've used an android app for eons (RVChecklist) and will continue to do so in the future. I'm sure there are others. But I can assure you, when you are caught up in the excitement of prepping for any new adventure, if you don't have a process and something to keep you to it, you are going to screw something up sometime. And even though I religiously use this particular app, there are still times when I have to force myself to take a few steps back and take a deep breath because I'm on autopilot and about to make a mistake. So, given your necessity to transfer from home to remote RV everything you will need for your trips, take some time to set up your process. It will be time well spent.

[Chuck&Pam]

Rick... I see that you are relatively new to the IRV2 Forum. Be sure to occasionally check your Private Messages. Someone may have sent you something directly as opposed to posting on the forum in general.


Chuck

[Chuck&Pam]

Rick...were you able to take delivery of your new Tiffin?

[R.Wold]

I haven’t read all the replies here so I’m probably repeating the general response. But to be specific, my RV fridge (gas/elec) draws 346 watts on electric. My big home fridge (I use my RV solar and inverter power is out) draws 90 watts.

The difference is running electrical resistance to operate an RV fridge vs a small compressor in a residential fridge. So if anything, they would be supplying a larger inverter to run an RV fridge on electric, although with propane it’s all a non-issue, so they don’t. With my solar and inverter I typically run the RV fridge on electric just to take advantage of otherwise unused power. Same with my elec water heater, heat pump and air conditioning.

It would be beneficial to get your specs as soon as possible so you can decide if you need more power for other things, but it’s a quick simple operation to swap out inverters so I wouldn’t worry about it at this point either way.

Most RV manufacturers use the cheapest inverter they can get away with these days so regardless of the power rating, unless it’s a Magnum, Victron, or Outback (which is unlikely) you’ll probably end up replacing it anyway.