12 volt refrigerator, yes or no

[Intothewild]

I’m simply going to say YES

[SteveJ.]

Originally Posted by Marine359

At my advanced age, I’m pretty sure I don’t have the energy to climb up the ladder at every stop to set up that contraption. I barely have the energy to put out my solar panel, and grab a beer from my very cold 12v fridge, and then collapse into a camp chair under the awning. Then, if I had to expend the energy to take it down on travel day, I wouldn’t have enough energy left to drop the coupler on the ball and pull chocks. I’d probably collapse, reach for another beer from my very cold 12v fridge and stay another day.

[Fridge Defend]

Originally Posted by bobphoenix

4.5 C.F. Magic Chef fridge that consumes a total of 110 watts (basically .8 amps...)

I figured the entire load was 120 watts when the fridge was running.

That is extraordinary! Your fridge uses less power than my cell phone!

Math: P=V*I

if 110W -> 110W/0.8A = 138V

if 120VAC -> 120VAC * 0.8A = 96W

if 12VDC same wattage -> 12 * 0.8A = 9.6W

It is hard to go by the numbers at times. A math professor had a cartoon in his office, it was a guy standing in front of a desk. The desk name tag said "Chief Statistician". The bubble above the chief said: :What do you want the numbers to say?

OK, let's confirm the numbers by the manufacture:

https://images.thdstatic.com/catalog...aa21e63186.pdf

I go to here:

https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/ele...alculator.html

And I get 37W -- calculated energy conception @ 8760 hours per year.

Therefore according to the energy guide, the fridge only uses:

37W/120VAC = 0.3 amps (I am going to run my fridge from my cell phone battery, I just need a 5VDC to 120VAC inverter!)

[1stimerveer]

Originally Posted by Marine359

You are so right that people will disagree depending on their own needs and based on their perspective. If you think you have the right solution for you, then, you do. No argument. But you’re way off base to say it’s right for most campers. Keep in mind, a majority of rvers do not have a rig similar to yours, nor might they share the same camping habits. In fact some people buy rvs that don’t give them the option of NOT upgrading their batteries. 12v refrigerators are not overrated, but they don’t fit into the boondocking camping style without more amphrs in the bucket.

Here’s a fact to chew on: A single 200ah LiFePo4 paired with a 200w solar panel and mppt controller cost less than $1,200. I wouldn’t call that extreme. That ain’t as much as the upcharge to order an rv with an absorption fridge these days. The 12v fridge setup just described will deliver 3 days of boondocking without generator. I know this because I just described my setup which has been performing as I described for almost two years, and 12,000 miles. 50% boondocking.

I find it dangerous or at the worst disingenuous to say what’s good for a majority of campers, because you can be proven wrong in a heartbeat. If you’re the type of camper that goes only from pedestal to pedestal, then you don’t need to spend money for anything to upgrade your rv. Don’t know if that’s a majority of rv owners. I won’t go down that rabbit hole. But I can say that a “majority” of campers are somewhere on a continuum between being happy with the small OEM battery bucket, and upgrading to a bucket size of 400amphrs.

I do stand corrected.. Got a bit carried away there... but my opinions are based on what I have observed, while RVing in the North East USA. I did upgrade from the single marine "deep cycle" to a couple of Golf cart 6 Volt batteries to get the capacity I needed for weekend boondocks.

Our earliest camping trips were in a conversion van and hold the fondest memories for us.. It was about as simple as you could get.

I Couldn't agree more that we each have to choose our own approach as to how to achieve our own goals, and there are quite a few factors to consider.
I guess that's why they make more than one flavor of ice cream..

Safe travels

[xrated]

Well folks, it's done. We had a 10:30 appt. this morning at JC Refrigeration in Shipshewana, IN to get the "Nevercold" 2118 swapped over to the 12VDC twin compressor mod. Pulled in at 10:30 or there-abouts and told the guys we were going into Shipshewana to kill some time. He told me to be back around 12:30 and if there were no issues, it would likely be done. We got back right at 12:30 and they had it installed and running.

At 3:00PM, (2 1/2 hours later) we had 34° in the fresh food compartment with the controls set on 4 out of 9.....9 is the coldest setting. And the freezer, which has it's own compressor and separate thermostat, was at 5° and set at zero. Within another hour or so, fresh food compartment was at 33, and the freezer was at -2°.

So far I am thrilled at the new system and also pretty happy with JC Refrigeration. They were prompt, cleaned up after themselves (mostly), did a nice neat job on the install, and IT WORKS great so far.

So now the new DIY 12V LFP battery I build and installed is the power sorce for the fridge when travelling. And of course when plugged into shore power or running the generator, the converter will supply power to the fridge.

[dsrace]

Originally Posted by xrated

Well folks, it's done. We had a 10:30 appt. this morning at JC Refrigeration in Shipshewana, IN to get the "Nevercold" 2118 swapped over to the 12VDC twin compressor mod. Pulled in at 10:30 or there-abouts and told the guys we were going into Shipshewana to kill some time. He told me to be back around 12:30 and if there were no issues, it would likely be done. We got back right at 12:30 and they had it installed and running.

At 3:00PM, (2 1/2 hours later) we had 34° in the fresh food compartment with the controls set on 4 out of 9.....9 is the coldest setting. And the freezer, which has it's own compressor and separate thermostat, was at 5° and set at zero. Within another hour or so, fresh food compartment was at 33, and the freezer was at -2°.

So far I am thrilled at the new system and also pretty happy with JC Refrigeration. They were prompt, cleaned up after themselves (mostly), did a nice neat job on the install, and IT WORKS great so far.

So now the new DIY 12V LFP battery I build and installed is the power sorce for the fridge when travelling. And of course when plugged into shore power or running the generator, the converter will supply power to the fridge.

congratulations, i believe this will fit your needs very well. great to hear you had a positive expereiance with JC refrigeration, still a number of companies with good customer service still.

[dsrace]

Originally Posted by Marine359

At my advanced age, I’m pretty sure I don’t have the energy to climb up the ladder at every stop to set up that contraption. I barely have the energy to put out my solar panel, and grab a beer from my very cold 12v fridge, and then collapse into a camp chair under the awning. Then, if I had to expend the energy to take it down on travel day, I wouldn’t have enough energy left to drop the coupler on the ball and pull chocks. I’d probably collapse, reach for another beer from my very cold 12v fridge and stay another day.

i can appreciate the honesty it was just a thought and would take a dedicated person to do so, for sure. i am not that person either but someone might be.

[dsrace]

Originally Posted by 1stimerveer

It always amazes me when people disagree about the best solution to a problem.. Should you buy a 40 TT or 5th Wheel or a Teardrop?? We all decide at some point what is important to us..

Having said that, I can agree that solar has its place if you really do a lot of boondocking.
From my point of view you might still need a generator if the weather doesn't cooperate. A 12V refridge will run those batteries down, and without lots of battery capacity or some sort of alternative power source you will have to live with the consequences of your choice.

So I suggest you evaluate your camping habits/plans and decide what is best for you.. I have found that with two GC 6Volt batteries, I can get thru a weekend boondock with everything, except my AC unit running. My refrigerator and furnace run on propane and everything else runs on 12v power. Boondocking longer than that might require me to charge up my batteries using my truck or a generator..
Boondocking when the temps are over 90 degrees will require an gen set to run the AC.

If I used a 12v Refridge, I would have to add more batteries (with their added weight) or use another power source to make it thru the weekend.

Something else to consider is that the additional weight and wind resistance of solar panels and weight of additional batteries adds to more fuel use getting your rv to and from campsites. Then add the weight of an gen set for ac operation on hot days.

So each of us has to decide for ourselves and live with the consequences.

I personally think that 12V refrigerators, high tech batteries and solar panels are overrated for the majority of campers and the cost of installing solar with hi tech batteries is, at the present time, extreme, using a 12V refridge is a coin toss decision.

Kind of expensive bragging rights if you ask me..

any boondocking we do is for a day or 2 only. don't have time to spend a week or longer camping. someday when we retire maybe but for now the $800 invested in the panels, 200 ah batt, pwm charge controller and wiring was worth it to us. i have room for another 600 watts easily if so chose. panels are only $99 ea and i have 6k lbs of cargo capacity so a little more weight won't hurt anything in our particular case. i added air tabs to the top edge of the front nose to smooth the wind, so to speak. i don't personally think the panels add any more wind resistance vs the multiple odd shaped other items mounted on the roof. i don't think the air tabs will do much for wind resistance but i feel better

[Rzrbrn]

Congratulations X rated. Please consider at least posting your experience after a period of camping while using your new 12v frig. It will be interesting to see your thoughts at that time. I am having a 12v put in by an RV service shop but have yet to get it back.