Community Forums

dmason · 08-10-2010, 07:08 AM

When we leave on a trip we start the fridge and it takes about 12-18 to get our two door Norcold down to temp where I can transfer items from my portable ice boxes into the fridge. Thinking about starting the fridge the night before on propane and get a good start on the cool down period.

Any problems / precautions on doing this? Assuming the fridge needs 12V DC to run (?) should I also turn inverter on? Anything else to consider?

We don't store the RV near any electric so that option is out. Thanks.

Jim28730 · 08-10-2010, 07:47 AM

Richard,
There is no problem starting your fridge the night before and running it on propane. It's not necessary to turn on your inverter, the inverter supplies 120V power, not 12V. I always start my fridge 24 hours before a trip to cool it down prior to loading it.
Enjoy!

Ernie Ekberg · 08-10-2010, 08:38 AM

Don't know what part of country you are in but here in the south all of our air conditioners are running the night before, also.

Rick Long · 08-10-2010, 09:13 AM

I always start mine on gas the night before...

RickO · 08-10-2010, 10:11 AM

Yep. Water heater too.

Ernie Ekberg · 08-10-2010, 10:23 AM

with our coach the engine coolant goes thru the water heater. makes it nice when you forget to turn it on till the next day

04Crescendo · 08-10-2010, 04:17 PM

We always start the day/night before on propane. It does not cool very quickly so we started filling it with ice packs and that works well to get the initial temps down. We also use a battery powered fridge fan to circulate the air.

John Wayne · 08-10-2010, 04:44 PM

Always start it the day before and put in 2 blue ice blocks it helps get it cooler quicker and we leave the blocks in the freezer to put in the day trip cooler when we take side trips with the toad.

Gary - K7GLD · 08-10-2010, 07:24 PM

Dunno about the newer and more "modern" (?) RV refrigerators - but we can usually start transferring the already cooled stuff from our home and freezer into the Dometic and Norcold refrigerators in our 5er and MH in several hours with good results. Sure - warm stuff take longer, and ice cream in the freezer needs longer for transfer as well.

One thing that can speed things up, is to freeze a couple of gallons of water to place in both the freezer and refrigerator sections to help get temps down faster. All that said, the most reliable method is to plan ahead - and turn the refrigerator on the night before planning to load it...

ninos · 08-12-2010, 07:19 AM

I Just keep mine on all time. They take a long time to cool after being off

J Walker · 08-12-2010, 08:44 AM

About six hour is enough to cool my refrigerator down, but the easiest way is to turn it on the night before leaving. As I write my frig and AC are both running in prep for a trip this afternoon.

MaverickBBD · 08-12-2010, 09:52 AM

I start mine on electric the day before. Put a blue ice inside each of the four doors. Watch the temp. About four hours later take the blue ice out and start loading the fridge for the the trip.

Wayne M · 08-12-2010, 10:27 PM

Try this trick:

Turn the refrigerator on. Fill some Zip-Lock bags with ice cubes from the house. Put a couple sealed bags in the freezer, and a couple in the refrigerator. This will cool down the system much more quickly than just turning on and letting run.

I wish I could claim credit for this, but it was an item in 101 RV Tips book.