110 Volt Fridge

[Scott]

Steve hit the nail. Some forums have people that are just nasty. I really appreciate the courtesy and maturity around here.

Rooney - I'll talk money any time. I'm opposite of the Prevost end of the spectrum, but for those whom may be interested, the finances went like this... I have a 200w Renogy bundle, which at the time was $285. The flooded 6v batteries were $150 ea after tax without core refunds. The inverter was $150, and the mass-produced AC fridge was on sale for $160. I spent another ~100 on cable, protection, hardware, a monitor, etc. So for ~$850 I have a functioning boondocking power system, cold steaks and veggies, and the side benefit of a healthy 110v source always available. The labor was pretty significant, so the biggest expense was my time, but it's a hobby and I get a thrill from this silly stuff. As I've said, this system has worked great so far. I'm probably sacrificing a bit of efficiency, but good enough is good enough (personally). I'm set up to accommodate another 200 watts and 233 ah but I don't foresee needing it.

I spent considerable time evaluating a DC fridge with remote compressor, and believe me I was very close to ordering one. They're sweet, as is most marine hardware. But at that time it was going to take three weeks and almost $900 by the time I could get my hands on one. Both of those factors forced me to navigate an alternate path. Also, absorption fridges certainly work very well for many folks, including the fellow who bought mine, but I frequently park in places that are way off-level. That was one of several reasons I ditched the gas unit. And (smugly) I've developed a moral aversion to filling propane tanks when solar is now well within financial reach.

Paul - Just a thought on the AC/DC marine units: consider saving $100 and forego the AC option since you already have an AC powered 12v power supply in your rig.

[Blue~Go]

Also, absorption fridges certainly work very well for many folks, including the fellow who bought mine, but I frequently park in places that are way off-level. That was one of several reasons I ditched the gas unit.

This was one of my (many) reasons for going to a compressor refrigerator. Sure, I don't overnight camp "crooked," but many is the time I pull off at an overlook/trail head/boat ramp that is fairly un-level. With a compressor refrigerator, it's not bothered. Also no debate (should I or shouldn't I) with going into gas station with the flame on.

And (smugly) I've developed a moral aversion to filling propane tanks when solar is now well within financial reach.

This is a big part of the reason my buddy just went to the compressor refrigerator. Once you have solar, you can sit out in the middle of nowhere "making your own" fuel. Otherwise, with a full sized propane refrigerator, water heater, and sometimes a furnace, he'd have to break camp to go get propane. And since you can't pump it yourself (like gas or diesel), maybe the one person who can dispense propane has left for the day, or whatever. It can be a hassle if you have to do it often.

I still happily use propane for cooking and heating, but that doesn't require a fill very often, and it's easy to break out the one burner butane stove if I *have* to. But without the fridge constantly on, the 14-15 gallons of propane we can carry in our 21-footers is relatively generous. So it's easier to plan the fills since they are further between. And a huge fridge full of food won't spoil if I get low toward the end of a 14-day stint.

Just a thought on the AC/DC marine units: consider saving $100 and forego the AC option since you already have an AC powered 12v power supply in your rig.

I debated getting the optional AC one for this reason, but it has come in handy a couple of times so I'm glad I did. But then I have an unusual, in progress mod going on. So might not apply to anyone else. But a couple of examples (one on my rig, one on buddy's).

1) My charger was not hooked up (been a bit slow on this as I plug in but once every couple of years). I went to a friend's place for a few weeks and parked under a carport, and surrounded by trees. Even my portable solar panels couldn't reach sun. I was able to just run a 15 amp normal extension cord out to my rig from his garage, and run the refrigerator on AC plus a power strip for other uses.

2) This December, I was with a buddy in his "fully featured" other brand Class C. Big whole house inverter/charger, the works. There was lots of cloud cover and we had a large tree line right next door, plus it was December. So even his 600 watts of solar was coming up short. We had access to one 15 amp power outlet. We couldn't run everything at once plus the charger. So instead, we mostly left the charger off (the solar would keep the batteries charged if we weren't using them much), and ran electric heaters individually from the 15 amp cord (keeping them both on medium or only one on high). At this time he still had his propane refrigerator, but if he'd had the compressor one in then it might have nice to be able to plug it directly in to AC vs. running through batteries and large charger. (We didn't want to run generator, due to neighbors.)

I realize these are oddball, one-off situations, but they do come up from time-to-time (for me anyway!). So for $100 extra, I'm glad I got the AC option. But I can see the other view too, and it really is just optional, if one is trying to keep the cost down.

[pdemarest]

Good points on the issue of getting AC or AC/DC. Still pondering all this but once I make a decision and order a fridge I'll update. We also intend on doing more boondocking once we really get to know the rig. Most of our trips have been 500 mile round trips up to the lake for no more than 3 days. Our upcoming trip will be 11 days on the road so it should tell me more about what I need. I do know that getting propane is a pain so I'm definitely going electric one way or the other.

[pdemarest]

After a lot of research, my recent adventure in Arizona where I thought I would run out of propane in the middle of a 15 degree night, always having to find a level parking spot and seeing the refrigerator temperature climb into the low 50's on any day over 90 degrees I've decided to go ahead and order a Vitrifrigo 12/110 volt fridge - the DP2600. It has 8.1 cubic feet of interior storage and the cut out dimensions are a fraction smaller than the Dometic 6 cubic foot model its replacing. Because its built for a boat it has locking latches for both doors and best of all can operate at up to 30 degrees off-level.

As Blu had mentioned Sure Marine did have the lowest price - stainless steel finish delivered to my RV service center for $1,686.00. My wife and I don't need a fridge this large for ourselves but we usually camp with our grown children (who now have our old Coleman tent trailer) so our plan is to haul up some of their food for them so they don't have to drag up multiple ice chests, which have to be re-iced everyday in the 100 degree temperatures. The freezer compartment is quite large so we will probably be making ice or refreezing blue ice packets to maintain the ice chests.

My RV guy is going to remove the dinette window to do the swap and while he has the old fridge out I'll take the opportunity to have him put some Dynamat around the generator box underneath it. [The generator - could it be any noisier?]

[Blue~Go]

Well cool! I noticed how the DP2600 was a really close fit as compared to the original. My buddy was between that one and the DP150 to replace his same-size-as-ours fridge a few months ago. He ended up deciding to go with the DP150 and super insulate. We used mostly rigid extruded polystyrene and got like 6" outboard of it, 3" on each side (plus the original 3/4"), and 5" above, plus made a "pan locker" below it. He was looking at his solar consumption (his only charge source during this time period) and it was actually more when he was using a temporary 40 liter compressor "cooler style" refrigerator (very little insulation). You could see when he turned on the Vitrifrigo instead. Consumption went down! He just recently bought a meter (sort of like a generator hour meter) and we are going to see if we can rig it up to measure the duty cycle.

He decided to eliminate the roof vent/chimney (in favor of more insulation) and made the lower vent do double duty. However that said, the lower vent on his other-brand RV, NEVER leaks. Not sure I'd make the same choice on my Chinook in that regard.

He LOVES the fridge. He thought he never had any complaints about the old one, but now loves how consistent the temperature is, how he can park anywhere, and how he doesn't have to run for propane every couple of weeks.

That said, I'm sure if it were not just him, he'd go for the DP2600. The DP150 is noticeably smaller than the original, whereas the DP2600 is larger (inside) than the original.

I bet you're going to love it. Plus the stainless model... mmmmmm!

PS: Good idea on the generator sound abatement work. I looked up the "sound reduction value" of carpet plus carpet pad. Not real exciting in terms of what it does. Next day it was off As a bonus you'll gain a bit of space (even good soundproofing is not as thick as carpet/pad) so you may be able to add a bit of thermal insulation as well.

[pdemarest]

Hey Blu - yeah, I'm looking forward to getting the fridge in; I'm not sure if there will be any room for additional insulation but if there is I'll have them add some.

About those existing fridge vents - how do you close off the top one and what did you do with the large one on the side of the rig? Do I need either of those for an electric fridge?

[Blue~Go]

Sorry I did not get back to this last night. I did start a reply, but couldn't finish it. And now I've just spend some time in the battery separator thread turning any readers there into drooling zombies

But I will get back to this (not sure when your install is?)

[pdemarest]

Hi Blu - the fridge arrived yesterday (Thursday) and is scheduled for install sometime next week.

[Blue~Go]

Well I'd better get cracking on my reply then!

[pdemarest]

Hey Blu - you need to be on this site full time so I don't have to wait for your expertise!!