Residential Fridge Practicality

We ordered our 2014 with the 12 cut ft Norcold 4 door RV fridge. Nothing but trouble. We sold it and replaced it with a 18 cu ft Samsung. LOVE IT!!! We only have 2 6 volt batteries and a 1k watt Go Power inverter. There is an auto-change over between shore power and inverter power. We are not boon- dockers, however. In non-air conditioned rig in 90+ degree heat, the fridge/ freeze will stay at proper temps for about 5 hours NOT running.
We pre-cool the unit for about 90-120 minutes prior to trips with no problem. The truck will keep the batteries from discharging any further during travel. Leaving camp with fully charged batteries and running the fridge the entire way home (8 hour trip so far) will maintain the batteries full upon arrival.
The Samsung is one of the most energy efficient residential fridges out there. Therefore, I think that is why it is so common with manufactures. My Progressive Industries power monitor shows a draw of 2 amps.
We have had the residential for 15 months now without issue. I have thought about adding an 80-100 watt solar panel to the roof in the future. Others experienced with this refrigerators power needs say that would be plenty to keep from discharging the batteries with the fridge running in the storage lot prior to trips or for extended daylight stop-overs as you describe. But so far, I have found that I don't need that option. If I full timed, I would definitely add that as I have no generator BUT will probably add one once I retire.

The article describes the kind of fridge the author based his calculations on.

CarnationSailor wrote:

John & Angela wrote:

CarnationSailor wrote:
Here is a comprehensive tutorial on solar power installations for RV's. It includes a short section on solar and residential refrigerators. Just scroll about halfway down the article.

http://roadslesstraveled.us/rv-solar/

If you don't want to checkout the website, here is a summary of what the author says about residential fridges and boondocking:

"If you plan to boondock a lot, and you don’t want to run your generator 24/7, be prepared to outfit your rig with over 1,000 watts of solar panels and close to 1,000 amp-hours of battery capacity to power a residential refrigerator."

I am curious where that number comes from. What model of fridge do you have that uses that much power. We dont dry camp any diiferent now than we had a propane fridge. Mind you we run our generator during meal prep times so lets say 90 minutes per day. Yes we have a robust solar and battery bank but we always have.

Our fridge draws about 1 amp when the compressor is running, which is about 20 minutes out of the hour. Its rated at 368 kwh per year or a KW per day.

We would never consider having another propane job. If we ever buy another rig and it had a propane fridge it would be out the door pretty quick.

Regarding your question, "What model of fridge do you have that uses that much power.", I can't answer it because I was quoting the author of the article I referenced. You could read the article and decide if what the author is saying is valid.

Ah, I see. He may have had an old fridge. Who knows. Definitely not indicative of anything recent.

CarnationSailor wrote:
Here is a comprehensive tutorial on solar power installations for RV's. It includes a short section on solar and residential refrigerators. Just scroll about halfway down the article.

http://roadslesstraveled.us/rv-solar/

If you don't want to checkout the website, here is a summary of what the author says about residential fridges and boondocking:

"If you plan to boondock a lot, and you don’t want to run your generator 24/7, be prepared to outfit your rig with over 1,000 watts of solar panels and close to 1,000 amp-hours of battery capacity to power a residential refrigerator."

This is one of the most absurd quotes/statements I have seen in a long time.

Battery power is king. Also having a pure sinewave inverter will add much to the longevity of the fridge. Modern sensitive electronics don't do well with modified sinewave electricity.

It is not as simple as swapping out the RV fridge for the domestic fridge.

Upgrading to an extra large battery bank, type of batterys, the pure sinewave inverter charger, maybe a solar system, a generator & will that domestic fridge take all of that road jiggling & a shaking all have to be taken into consideration.

Quite a hefty bill for the first time around but could be well worth it if you are into the same unit for the long haul. Maybe by the time the fridge needs replacing you will be still good on all of the other stuff.

John & Angela wrote:

CarnationSailor wrote:
Here is a comprehensive tutorial on solar power installations for RV's. It includes a short section on solar and residential refrigerators. Just scroll about halfway down the article.

http://roadslesstraveled.us/rv-solar/

If you don't want to checkout the website, here is a summary of what the author says about residential fridges and boondocking:

"If you plan to boondock a lot, and you don’t want to run your generator 24/7, be prepared to outfit your rig with over 1,000 watts of solar panels and close to 1,000 amp-hours of battery capacity to power a residential refrigerator."

I am curious where that number comes from. What model of fridge do you have that uses that much power. We dont dry camp any diiferent now than we had a propane fridge. Mind you we run our generator during meal prep times so lets say 90 minutes per day. Yes we have a robust solar and battery bank but we always have.

Our fridge draws about 1 amp when the compressor is running, which is about 20 minutes out of the hour. Its rated at 368 kwh per year or a KW per day.

We would never consider having another propane job. If we ever buy another rig and it had a propane fridge it would be out the door pretty quick.

Regarding your question, "What model of fridge do you have that uses that much power.", I can't answer it because I was quoting the author of the article I referenced. You could read the article and decide if what the author is saying is valid.

CarnationSailor wrote:
Here is a comprehensive tutorial on solar power installations for RV's. It includes a short section on solar and residential refrigerators. Just scroll about halfway down the article.

http://roadslesstraveled.us/rv-solar/

If you don't want to checkout the website, here is a summary of what the author says about residential fridges and boondocking:

"If you plan to boondock a lot, and you don’t want to run your generator 24/7, be prepared to outfit your rig with over 1,000 watts of solar panels and close to 1,000 amp-hours of battery capacity to power a residential refrigerator."

I am curious where that number comes from. What model of fridge do you have that uses that much power. We dont dry camp any diiferent now than we had a propane fridge. Mind you we run our generator during meal prep times so lets say 90 minutes per day. Yes we have a robust solar and battery bank but we always have.

Our fridge draws about 1 amp when the compressor is running, which is about 20 minutes out of the hour. Its rated at 368 kwh per year or a KW per day.

We would never consider having another propane job. If we ever buy another rig and it had a propane fridge it would be out the door pretty quick.

Here is a comprehensive tutorial on solar power installations for RV's. It includes a short section on solar and residential refrigerators. Just scroll about halfway down the article.

http://roadslesstraveled.us/rv-solar/

If you don't want to checkout the website, here is a summary of what the author says about residential fridges and boondocking:

"If you plan to boondock a lot, and you don’t want to run your generator 24/7, be prepared to outfit your rig with over 1,000 watts of solar panels and close to 1,000 amp-hours of battery capacity to power a residential refrigerator."

We have a Maytag 20 cubic ft. residential fridge in our Suites. We also have 4 6 volt batteries and a 2800 watt pure sine inverter. The inverter switches automatically between shore and battery power with no need to throw a switch. Someday we may add solar panels. As far as the fridge working no issue. The fridge is just like in a house. You have more storage and we have a built in ice maker and cold water dispenser. I have been told by others with a similar set up that 3 days on batteries is pretty much the norm. If needed the batteries can be recharged with the gen set 6500K if no shore or truck power available. The new fridges use very little power. If you want to boondock for a week or two you might want the rv fridge. However with solar panels the residential fridge will work also. You just need batteries to store the power. Good luck