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Old 02-07-2021, 08:47 PM   #57
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Originally Posted by dkoldman View Post
2. Can't imagine how anyone could see or detect varying temperatures (unless it was a big problem)
It was a big problem for us.

Our first 5th wheel had an RV fridge and along with other issues (leaking door seals, ice build up in the freezer etc.), it wouldn't maintain constant temps. On hot days, milk would be too warm in the afternoon then by the morning our veggies and some other items would freeze.

I ended up turning the fridge to a higher (colder) setting at about noon each day so it could keep keep up with rising ambient temps. Then when I went to bed, I turned it down (warmer) so things wouldn't freeze overnight.

I ended up putting thermometers in the fridge and freezer sections so I could monitor temps throughout the day. This just confirmed what I already knew. If I just left the fridge at a certain setting, temps would vary by close to ten degrees over the course of 24 hours.

Now I am pickier than most as I like cold (but not frozen) milk. I prefer ice cream to be more like ice than cream.

By comparison, the temp inside the residential fridges in our last two 5th wheels doesn't vary by more than a degree or two. Plus, you can set the temp to 35 degrees rather than "6" or "7". Finally, with a residential fridge, you can set the temps in the fridge and freezer separately. What a concept!

The downside of course is powering the fridge when off the grid but there are many good solutions available for that.

Having said all of this, if I didn't keep beverages or ice cream in the fridge, the RV fridge would be a great solution for boon docking.
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Old 02-07-2021, 08:56 PM   #58
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Here is a link to an RV dealer I have been watching for about 2 1/2 years now. He calls himself the RV nerd. He's very through and objective in his videos, but he will insert his professional opinion if its warranted. He posts outstanding information about RV appliances, build quality, dealership antics, RV show pricing, etc. Then he posts about rigs for sale, models available, inventory, covid delays, you name it. I have learned so much from him about RV models, details and quite honestly things to avoid or be warry of. He has hundreds of videos still available.

https://youtu.be/ZU5VUpvQQII

No Residential fridge for me. Maybe a 12v, but not residential.
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Old 02-07-2021, 09:10 PM   #59
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We have had good service from Norcild and Dometic rv fridges. We boondock a lot so propane power is a must. As long as you aren't boondockibg and your trips between rv sites aren't so long that the fridge warms, a residential fridge is a better answer. Less costly and can be a bigger fridge. A residential fridge can be powered from a solar system, but that is several thousand $$$.
I have never used a res fridge in a rv and wonder if extra door latches are necessary.
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Old 02-07-2021, 09:26 PM   #60
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Hi guys, if you ordered a fifth wheel did you or would you get the RV or Residential Refrigerator? We have a residential now and the new one has a RV refrigerator. We are in the process of ordering a Montana 3230ck with Legacy package and full body paint, refrigerator is a Norcold 18 cubic foot Gas & Electric but we can still change to the residential. We have no experience with the RV refrigerator, we have friends with them with some problems but nothing major. Just not sure about it. We’re Kinda spoiled with the residential and we don’t boondock and have a generator know and only have 22 hours on it in 5 years, we’re not getting a generator on the new one. Would like to hear from you about this dilemma.
Thanks Steve

Safe travels

Since your just going from post to post I'd switch to a residential. Some love them others hate them.
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Old 02-07-2021, 09:32 PM   #61
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If you like soft ice cream, no ice maker, uneven temps, leaking seals and defrosting your freezer- get the RV fridge!

Residential only for me. I'd rather add a huge solar/battery system for boondocking with a residential fridge than dealing with the hassles of an RV fridge.
All of this is clearly an over- exaggeration.. I have ice cream that’s usually too hard, makes ice non-stop, zero leaks, needs zero defrosting, even in 90% beach humidity, and my temps run a SOLID 33 and -2 summer and winter. Sorry, not picking a fight but I get a little tired of the “residential only” crowd thinking that they are the first ones in the last 70 years with anything that works because it simply ain’t true.. if you are always hooked up or have no issues with either significant battery stacks or cycling generators, then great! We carry electronics and I stay up late either on the PC, watching say TV, or both and can’t afford a power hog sucking the batteries down.
We Boondock/dry camp almost exclusively, and I’m not willing to dedicate my 1/2kw solar and 520ah batt stack used for everything else to sustain a fridge when my 1200 as good or better than most residentials currently in use. Granted, I took the time to fix the known cooling, venting, and fire issues, but now that’s done I’ll match it against anything out there with the exception of space, but 12Cf ain’t bad
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Old 02-07-2021, 10:36 PM   #62
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All of this is clearly an over- exaggeration..
It's not an exaggeration at all from my experience. I simply listed the facts of what I experienced with the three different RV fridges I've owned. If your RV fridge holds temps to within 1-2 degrees 24 hours a day (without changing the temp dial) and doesn't require freezer defrosting every couple months of use, you are very lucky! Either that, or I got bad units in all three of my prior RV's that had RV fridges.

As with you, I'm not trying to pick a fight. I'm just sharing my personal experience with having used three RV fridges and now two residential fridges. Your experience has been different than mine and that's ok but I'm not exaggerating- even a little.
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Old 02-07-2021, 10:53 PM   #63
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Your a senior member so I'm assuming your not a troll, just being sarcastic
We posted at the same time, so my bad. Just a sarcastic boondocker, and that's ok. To each our own. I not only want a residential fridge, but the wife wants a bath tub to boot, hagaha and door side trash service
Not sarcastic at all. Just 50 years of RV experience with more days in the field than 90% of people here.

Using residential fridge is pure nonsense.

I hate to see city folks giving out misinformation.
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Old 02-07-2021, 10:56 PM   #64
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Here is a link to an RV dealer I have been watching for about 2 1/2 years now. He calls himself the RV nerd. He's very through and objective in his videos, but he will insert his professional opinion if its warranted. He posts outstanding information about RV appliances, build quality, dealership antics, RV show pricing, etc. Then he posts about rigs for sale, models available, inventory, covid delays, you name it. I have learned so much from him about RV models, details and quite honestly things to avoid or be warry of. He has hundreds of videos still available.

https://youtu.be/ZU5VUpvQQII

No Residential fridge for me. Maybe a 12v, but not residential.
12 v is worst choice.
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Old 02-08-2021, 04:08 AM   #65
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12 v is worst choice.
The absorption fridge is my first choice. But just out of curiosity, why do you think the 12v is 3rd on the list? I really want to know all of the cons.
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Old 02-08-2021, 04:26 AM   #66
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This is exactly where the 12v compressor fridge comes in - the operating convenience of a residential with the boondocking ability of a propane. My 12v compressor fridge uses far less power than an equivalent sized residential.
I'd want to see the data proving your 12 volt fridge using " far less " power then a 120 fridge.

If that was the case, then all fridges would have 12 volt compressors and 120 to 12 volt power converters.
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Old 02-08-2021, 05:44 AM   #67
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12 v is worst choice.
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I'd want to see the data proving your 12 volt fridge using " far less " power then a 120 fridge.

If that was the case, then all fridges would have 12 volt compressors and 120 to 12 volt power converters.
This is really very simple math.

And your statement about having 120v to 12v converters built into all fridges doesn't make sense - every RV I've seen in modern times already has an onboard source of 12v power whether on the road (batteries) or plugged in (charger/converter). Many of the 12v compressor fridges, like ours, do come with built-in 120v to 12v converters so they can be used in situations where the onboard converter can't provide the necessary power, but we've actually never plugged our 120v side into an outlet. It runs on 12v at all times - when we're on the road or boondocking it runs from battery, and when we're plugged in our 70-amp charger/converter can easily handle the load.

Here's the math (like they said in grade school, show your work):

Lets assume you have an extremely efficient 120v fridge. For this example I'll use an Energy Star rated Furrion fridge - and a tiny one at that at only 4 cu ft. It has a rated power use of 80 watts @ 115v which means it's drawing 0.69 amps when running. To obtain this 80 watts from your inverter @ 120v your inverter will need to produce 0.66 amps AC current. To do that, it will pull between 6.6 and 7.92 amps @ 12vDC depending on the efficiency of your inverter.

My Vitrifrigo pulls 5.7 amps @ 12v when running according to the Victron BMS testing it when it is the only appliance running. My fridge is 5.7 cu ft, which is larger than the Furrion I'm using for comparison. And, the exact same compressor unit with the same energy usage is installed in similar fridges with larger boxes up to about 7 cu ft.

My assumption is that both units are insulated about the same and will have a similar duty cycle.

That gives us a comparison of 5.7 amps from my battery bank against 6.6 to 7.92 amps for the smaller residential fridge.

Have you got numbers that show something different?

What I've seen in other threads comparing a 12v compressor fridge to a residential fridge is that two things are missing in the math: 1) Often people forget that no inverter is 100% efficient, resulting in wasted energy compared to using 12v directly, and 2) People often look at the lower amp rating on a 120v fridge and forget that the actual draw from the batteries will be much higher.
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Old 02-08-2021, 05:51 AM   #68
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12 v is worst choice.
This is a wildly broad statement.

Are you talking about running a propane RV fridge on 12v or are you talking about a 12v compressor fridge? These are two very different things.
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Old 02-08-2021, 06:22 AM   #69
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Modern 12 volt purpose built RV/Marine refrigerators sip power with the new compressor technology. 120 volts do the same but with the inverter conversion to 120 from 12 losses discussed.
I think people mistakenly still compare the older, even still made, cheap "dorm" refrigerators to these newer highly effecient Models .
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Old 02-08-2021, 06:30 AM   #70
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This is really very simple math.

And your statement about having 120v to 12v converters built into all fridges doesn't make sense - every RV I've seen in modern times already has an onboard source of 12v power whether on the road (batteries) or plugged in (charger/converter). Many of the 12v compressor fridges, like ours, do come with built-in 120v to 12v converters so they can be used in situations where the onboard converter can't provide the necessary power, but we've actually never plugged our 120v side into an outlet. It runs on 12v at all times - when we're on the road or boondocking it runs from battery, and when we're plugged in our 70-amp charger/converter can easily handle the load.

Here's the math (like they said in grade school, show your work):

Lets assume you have an extremely efficient 120v fridge. For this example I'll use an Energy Star rated Furrion fridge - and a tiny one at that at only 4 cu ft. It has a rated power use of 80 watts @ 115v which means it's drawing 0.69 amps when running. To obtain this 80 watts from your inverter @ 120v your inverter will need to produce 0.66 amps AC current. To do that, it will pull between 6.6 and 7.92 amps @ 12vDC depending on the efficiency of your inverter.

My Vitrifrigo pulls 5.7 amps @ 12v when running according to the Victron BMS testing it when it is the only appliance running. My fridge is 5.7 cu ft, which is larger than the Furrion I'm using for comparison. And, the exact same compressor unit with the same energy usage is installed in similar fridges with larger boxes up to about 7 cu ft.

My assumption is that both units are insulated about the same and will have a similar duty cycle.

That gives us a comparison of 5.7 amps from my battery bank against 6.6 to 7.92 amps for the smaller residential fridge.

Have you got numbers that show something different?

What I've seen in other threads comparing a 12v compressor fridge to a residential fridge is that two things are missing in the math: 1) Often people forget that no inverter is 100% efficient, resulting in wasted energy compared to using 12v directly, and 2) People often look at the lower amp rating on a 120v fridge and forget that the actual draw from the batteries will be much higher.
So " far less " is actually a bit less, and that's data with a bunch of assumptions and different fridges for comparison.

Got it.
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