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Old 11-29-2021, 02:27 PM   #43
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NXR View Post
It might be time to let this bit of thread drift go. The other person is paying the electric bill, not us.
I would agree if this were just jawboning opinions back and forth, but we're dealing with apparent misstatements that shouldn't be left unquestioned, because people might believe what they're reading. The statement was made that by replacing a Norcold with a Samsung, trx430ex knocked $91/month off his electric bill. The reduction simply can't be solely caused by the Norcold, because it literally can't use that much electricity.

Quote:
Originally Posted by NXR View Post
The person said he had the largest Norcold. That would be their Polar 18: https://norcold.com/product/norcold-...-refrigerator/
I suspected that when he said he had the largest Norcold, he wasn't referring to the one you linked to, but instead the 1200 that most people have. His signature says he has a 2006 Bounder, and in another thread, there are photos of his Norcold and it looks like all the other 12-cubic-foot Norcold 1200s I've seen (even though he says it's an 11-cubic-foot Norcold model 2008). Whatever--we'll assume it's at least similar to the Norcold 1200 that so many RVs come with.

Quote:
Originally Posted by NXR View Post
The very bottom of the specs says it can use 6.6 amps at 120 VAC or 800 watts, not 450 watts.
This is a good example of where it's important to be careful. You're looking at the specs for the 2118IM, which means it has an icemaker. The specs are for maximum electrical draw, which happens when the icemaker is doing its heating, which it does only when it needs to drop cubes, and even then for only a few seconds.

The more accurate electrical draw would be the one for only the refrigerator, which is just above the one you looked at in the document you linked to. That one is 600 watts, which if running 24 hours a day would be 14 kwh/hour, nowhere near the 25 kwh/day that the $91/month electric bill represents.

And the 600 watts makes sense--that would be two 300-watt heaters.

But as I said, this isn't even the refrigerator he had that he said uses $91/month in electricity. The one he had uses more like 10 kwh/day when run nonstop, but he's saying it was using 25 kwh/day, which it simply can't do.

Quote:
Originally Posted by NXR View Post
My little Norcold 1210 does use 450 watts, though.
Well, most people don't consider that to be the "little" Norcold.

Regardless, it has two 225-watt heaters, for a total of 450 watts of heaters. But if it's like my Norcold 1200LRIM, the tag on the inside says that it's rated at 660 watts. Why? Because that tag shows the maximum power it can use, which would be when the icemaker is doing its heating. For calculating how much electricity it uses over time, it's important to realize it will only very rarely be using 660 watts, and that 450 watts is the number you should be using--that's what the heaters that make it run use.

For the record, the 450 watts is the number I use to calculate the maximum amount of electricity it could use in a day, and that's been verified by having a Kill-a-Watt on it in really hot conditions, when it's running nonstop--the watts used in 24 hours was right at the theoretical maximum.
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Old 11-29-2021, 07:22 PM   #44
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I'm not sure how to address the idea of burnout because it could hinge on so many things; your personalities, your expectations, and if you are really cut out for the lifestyle. Are you ok being away from family and friends? Can you spend your life together with your spouse in 400 sq ft? Do you BOTH have similar expectations? My wife and I talked about this for years before deciding to do it. We both love traveling and seeing things, although I'm more hard core when it comes to seeing the sites. I like museums, she doesn't, I like history, she likes the 5 minute version. We get around this by compromising. If I need to take longer somewhere I either go back by myself another day, or she sees what she wants to, and cuts me loose while she sits in the car and reads, or I settle for a reduced visit. There are times she just has a laid back day at camp while I go explore. We've never been terribly social, each having only one friend at home with 99.9% of our time being each other's best friend. We both transitioned into retirement without looking back, so the change to the full time lifestyle didn't require a change in our relationship and what we both want out of life. We love to explore and we also love to just live life doing nothing.

I retired before her, and used the time to prepare for the change. Besides getting the house ready for sale, we discussed what modifications to the RV we thought would make it more suitable for full timing, and to the type of camping we expected to do. We knew we wanted to include boondocking, so I added more solar and upgraded our aging house batteries to 6V Golf cart AGMs. Swapped out the inverter for a pure sine wave, and swapped out the original refrigerator for a residential. I added Propane fittings to be able to run Olympian Wave heaters to reduce power needs. Converted a closet into a pantry, and added shelving and dividers to drawers and cabinets. We wanted to take the motorcycle along so I had a lift installed. Made a desk for my computer with a printer shelf. Purchased a small portable generator for a back-up, and to charge the batteries on poor solar days without using the onboard propane gen. Installed 6 new tires and changed out fluids and belts and assembled a toolkit I'd thought I'd need.

She's the travel agent and planner. We had collected a list of places we wanted to visit and she planned out the general route and made the reservations. I'm just the pilot and maintenance guy. I can't imagine getting burned out. I CAN imagine the lifestyle changing, but we've talked about that too. We figure we'll move out of hard core tourist mode into more longer stays in fewer places, but we don't know when that will be. We are planned out through the summer of 22 with general plans for the rest of the year. This year and a half has flown by and has been incredible. The biggest thing I worry about is we've had it pretty easy with reservations due to Covid and the borders being closed. I worry that as thing ramp back up, it may be harder to find places to stay. However, since we've gotten all the big parks out of the way, we'll probably be just fine exploring more of the less touristy parts of America. There's endless beautiful places that aren't big tourist destinations. For us the big thing has been the weather. After 35 years in the Pacific NorthWET, we have been loving milder winter temps and blue skies. Spent the first winter in the southwest wearing mostly shorts and tee shirts. It was paradise. We have had to get used to hotter and longer summers though, but that's what air conditioners are for.

I'd say your more likely to burn out if you and your spouse aren't on the same page, or if you feel you'll really miss friends, children, grandchildren and family. We have one daughter and I also have a son, both grown with their own families and lives, so that helps. You may also burn out if you expect too much, try too hard, or feel it's too much work for what you get.

As they say, life is what you make it.
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Old 12-05-2021, 09:57 PM   #45
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I’ve been on the road for three weeks in a new to me Class A. Today was the first day I didn’t have to think about logistics or fixing something. I’m at a nice campground and even though I’m only booked for three nights I have all the food and services I need within walking distance. I won’t know about the availability of an extended stay spot here till Wednesday. Worst case I’ll stay here longer paying the daily rate.

Most important I bought a coffee pot a few days ago and don’t have to search out a cup.
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