Fridge use on LP

[Papawto5]

In 2+ years with our 40' MH I have not had to worry about the following situation (I will when we park our MH and go on a 7 day cruise in Seattle this coming June)

When we park our MH in Seattle, it will probably be WITHOUT shore power for 7 days. I assume (maybe the first mistake) that my refrigerator will keep things cold for 7 days using LP gas and some battery power. Question 1 - Am I making the proper assumption? Question 2 - How much LP gas should be on board to assure that it lasts for 7 days? Question 3 - Will this type of use drain my onboard batteries? Question 4 - Would I be wiser to just pay for extra days at the campground and keep the MH plugged in? Question 5 - Does anyone know of a good place to park a MH and toad for 7 days? (CG with off-site parking, airport parking with room for MH & toad, parking lot in Seattle catering to MH).
Thanx in advance for your help.

[TQ60]

Not sure on Propane, manual or manufacturer may help.

You could test it, fill tank force Propane and see, will need to refill.

I would suggest looking for place to plug in, maybe unpopular camp ground or maybe storage.

Try chamber of commerce or your travel agent, you are not the first to do this there may be something already in place

[CampDaven]

Refer should take little LP. Check yer batteries.
The refer is a "cooler" that is good for a day in hot wearher, longer when cool.
I'd give the food to another camper and go without worry. That much food is chump change compared to a nice cruise.

[Mr_D]

Batteries will go first since the refer needs 12 volts to power the controls.

[dieselclacker]

As long as there is no other drain on the house batteries, you will have no problems running the fridge on propane for the duration of your cruise. Very little propane is consumed, and very little 12V power is needed from the batteries. I do a lot of boondocking, and use propane exclusively for the refrigerator.

[Libero]

Ageee with deiswclacker. If you have good batteries there should be no problem. I presume you have a DC shutoff switch kills everythimg except the fridge. I had one in my Class A's. With the fridge on propane there is very little DC current drain on the battery (just for control and possibly ignition circuits) and propane seems to last a very long time if only the fridge is on. Battery life will be the limiting factor.

[tomwalt]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Batteries will go first since the refer needs 12 volts to power the controls.

This has been my experience as well - it will depend on your battery capacity. My two 12V batteries are at 50% in only 3 days running the frig. (it will last me a week+ without the frig).
Once I let it go for 7 days due to extended shop work and the frig was still on but the batteries were very (too) low.
If you leave it without power, I think you would be better off eating up what you can, then empty the frig prior to going (leaving the frig doors open to air out) and turn the salesman switch off).

[ahicks]

I'm thinking it might be time to get to know your coach a little better? I'm also thinking the refer should have no trouble at all going 7 days - as long as nothing else is dragging the batteries down? The only drain the refer should have on the batteries is what it takes to run the circuit board and open the gas valve when necessary. These are both really small draws. The propane supply should not be an issue. It should run months on a full tank.

Try it?

If you have an issue over 7 days, I would wonder about the condition of the batteries and whether or not something else is running that you're not aware of.

[grafxman]

If your propane tank is full, the fridge should last a week, especially since no one will be opening it or standing around with the door open. The last time I boondocked for a week very little LP was used. As for the battery, you should make certain it's fully charged with a good battery charger. I use one that has a nice meter, choices for voltages, allows me to start the vehicle if it has a dead battery and has a tiny green light that comes on when the battery is fully charged. It didn't me long to discover that while the coach charges the battery I can always get more of a charge into it with my separate charger. Enjoy your cruise.

[Poptop]

I think ahicks is spot on. Once cooled down the refer doesn't use much propane, and the circuit board on the refer doesn't use much electricity.

[singpilot]

Might be time to look at a minimal solar panel for the house batteries. It would make the 7 days away a no- brainer.

[Ray,IN]

Battery amp-hrs. is the concern here, as you should use less than 2G of LP running just the fridg for 7 days. My Norcold 2dr. fridg draws 1.2A-DC per hour, whether it is running on shore power or LP. (You will find that data for your fridg on the inspection plate) One week is 168 hrs. so, 168X1.2=201.6 total amperage draw if the fridg is on for 7 days. You must determine if your house battery bank has the capacity without dipping below 50% total capacity.

[indiana journey]

Lake Pleasant RV Park in Bothell used to rent 20-amp spots for RVers going on cruises. The rate was reasonable. You might give them a call to see if they still do that type of service. It would not require propane-refrigerator cooling and would probably give you better piece of mind while you are cruising.
Good Luck,
Indiana Journey

[Caveman CBB]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

Battery amp-hrs. is the concern here, as you should use less than 2G of LP running just the fridg for 7 days. My Norcold 2dr. fridg draws 1.2A-DC per hour, whether it is running on shore power or LP. (You will find that data for your fridg on the inspection plate) One week is 168 hrs. so, 168X1.2=201.6 total amperage draw if the fridg is on for 7 days. You must determine if your house battery bank has the capacity without dipping below 50% total capacity.

How do you determine how many amp-hours your battery has?