Community Forums

William Willard · 01-31-2010, 09:10 AM

Went to a RV show, & they had Tiffin Motorhome, & I noticed 2 different sizes of residential refrigerators made by GE -- Tried to find size & model #`s , but with salesmen telling me how great they are (both he, & the coach) I couldn`t get that info -- So, would some of you Tiffin owners supply me with the info on these units, & if they have been serviceable -- Bill Willard

SteveG · 01-31-2010, 10:30 AM

We've own a 2010 Phaeton for about 1.5 months so no long history. So far we like the RR. Ours is a GE. I did not know they offer two models. Ours is PFSS2MiYC SS. I did some research and found owners were happy with their RR. You can run a search on this forum and others and find some commentary.

This coming week we will have an opportunity to test the 3000kw inverter setup which will provide the RR 120VAC as we will spend a week at the Brooksville FMCA rally plugged into nothing. I expect to run the generator in the morning and afternoon at least two hours and maybe in the evening longer to support our living habits and then run no generator from 2300 to 0700. I do not expect any problem.

We like the increased size, the quicker cooling and the reduced risk of fire. Although I think the fire risk may be overblown but I do not really have any data to support my statement. But for a fact I have reduced the fire hazard just by the nature of the two designs.

Tiffin charges more for the gas units.

Hope this helps. SteveG

wa8yxm · 01-31-2010, 11:41 AM

There are basically 3 kinds of refrigerators now days

Standard residential.. They are improving but they are power hogs, over 100 watts (That is a very small one) running and way more starting, (A 450 watt inverter could not start it) Figure 300 and a thousand to start.

High Efficency, These are actually sold by both Dometic and Norcold as RV-Fridges.. Like a standard house unit they are compressor boxes. only figure 30-40 watts running and 100 to start. They work good too. I know (Mine is a different company and is a chest freezer)

Absorption cooling units: Traditional in RV's. Nuff said

I'd go with the Dometic or Norcold high efficency electric if I had to replace mine. If the link works, Here it is: products - Dometic

NOTE: it's not the only one they sell

paz · 02-01-2010, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wa8yxm

Standard residential.. They are improving but they are power hogs, over 100 watts (That is a very small one) running and way more starting, (A 450 watt inverter could not start it) Figure 300 and a thousand to start.

The refrigerators provided in the Phaeton that the OP is talking about are standard residential refrigerators. They are quite large (at least 20 cu. ft.) w/ 2 doors on top and the freezer in a drawer below, so I'm sure they draw a lot of power. The residential fridge in the Phaeton comes with a 3000W inverter instead of 2000W, and with 2 extra 6-volt house batteries (total of 6).

jdanbowman · 02-01-2010, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveG

We've own a 2010 Phaeton for about 1.5 months so no long history. So far we like the RR. Ours is a GE. I did not know they offer two models. Ours is PFSS2MiYC SS. I did some research and found owners were happy with their RR. You can run a search on this forum and others and find some commentary.

This coming week we will have an opportunity to test the 3000kw inverter setup which will provide the RR 120VAC as we will spend a week at the Brooksville FMCA rally plugged into nothing. I expect to run the generator in the morning and afternoon at least two hours and maybe in the evening longer to support our living habits and then run no generator from 2300 to 0700. I do not expect any problem.

We like the increased size, the quicker cooling and the reduced risk of fire. Although I think the fire risk may be overblown but I do not really have any data to support my statement. But for a fact I have reduced the fire hazard just by the nature of the two designs.

Tiffin charges more for the gas units.

Hope this helps. SteveG

Steve,
Does the 2010 Phaeton come with an AutoStart on the Generator? It is not clear from the brochure but the dealer says it is standard equipment and that you program it through the inverter.
Thanks,
Dan Bowman

William Willard · 02-01-2010, 05:51 PM

Thanks for the feed back -- I have a 07 Monaco Camelot, with the Dometic NDA1402 refer -- It is in a slide-out with top & bottom vents, no roof vent, thus poor air flow -- It has been worked on in various places across the country, & it is still iffy, as to whether we`ll have a working frig from one trip to another -- It has never made an ice cube --
I`m just considering my options for when this one quits, to either go with the RR or another RV refer -- The RR actually weighs less than the one I have now -- I don`t boondock, & stay in RV parks each night with hook-ups -- I drive really, really fast, so not much time between parks -- Bill Willard

two-niner · 02-04-2010, 11:39 AM

Geez..Just a couple of years ago when Gulfstream introduced the residential refrigerator, they got hammered.
What's changed?

paz · 02-04-2010, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by two-niner

Geez..Just a couple of years ago when Gulfstream introduced the residential refrigerator, they got hammered.
What's changed?

Dunno. Tiffin introduced it in the 2009 Phaeton, and in the 2007 bus. I'm guessing it was successful in the bus or they wouldn't have offered it in the Phaeton, which has higher sales. What problems did Gulfstream have? Did they try to do it without increasing the battery capacity or increasing the size of the inverter?

two-niner · 02-05-2010, 11:34 AM

paz: Perception is everything. I tried Googling the Gulfstream but couldn't come up with anything.
As I recall it had eight 6vdc batteries. Or at least the one I saw at Quartzsite did.
I'm NOT knocking it (Tiffin). It must work or Bob wouldn't do it.

Kerry

paz · 02-06-2010, 05:55 AM

two-niner - one reason I was asking about what problems Gulfstream had was we would LOVE to have a residential refrigerator. I haven't heard about any problems with the Tiffins, but I was curious to find out if there was anyone else out there having problems that might crop up at sometime in the future should we ever be able to afford a Phaeton. As you say, it must be perception.

krowmag · 02-06-2010, 10:36 AM

Anyone out there "have" a residential refirgerator from Tiffen? How does it last on just battery power? Can you dry camp for a few days, without f
running the generator all the time?

paz · 02-07-2010, 05:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krowmag

Anyone out there "have" a residential refirgerator from Tiffen? How does it last on just battery power? Can you dry camp for a few days, without f
running the generator all the time?

We don't have a residential refrigerator, and we still can't go more than a day without running the generator. We like to run our satellite internet and TV too much. Of course, we only have 2 house batteries, not 4 or 6 like the Phaeton, but I don't think you can go a couple of days without running the generator unless you have solar panels or some other source of power. Batteries should not be discharged more than 50%. Running them down too much will shorten their life.

wardy · 02-08-2010, 10:09 AM

I have a 2006 (07 Bus) Maytag w/four dedicated batts. I get about 10-14 hours on inverter use. You can do a rough figure for yourself by taking volts X total amps (Watt Hours) of all batts used for the fridge. Then multiply by .80 since they are rarely fully charged and age lowers AH. Take that figure and multiply times .90 since the inverter is not 100% efficient. Again reduce that figure by 50% for flooded cells. Now take that total and divide by the 90 (average watts used per hour by the fridge) and you will have a good idea how long you can use w/out recharge. Obviously you will get longer run times in the colder climes than hot. So really you can get through the night no problem. The resi fridge is not the best for dry camping but man it's nice to have all the ice and cooling power.

JohnLori · 02-08-2010, 10:25 AM

We have an '05 Alpine Coach with a RR. The biggest drawback is we do like to dry camp and while its no big deal to run the generator, it just bugs us, on principle. But we get over that by having a nice drink with ice cubes, or a bowl of perfectly kept ice cream!

Many Alpines have RR and on the Alpine forum there has been lots of discussion about it so for anyone searching, that would be a great place to find good info.

Our RR is an Amana, side-by-side, 22 cu ft.