Residential vs Gas/Electric Fridge?
After a set back in our plans, we're back on the trail looking at fifth wheels. I think my last question comes down to which type fridge? We'll have some solar no matter, but since we're looking at a ...
Forum Discussion
We have experience with both RV absorption refrigerators and 120VAC/compressor refrigerators. Our first 4-1/2 years full-time were with a Norcold 1210 absorption refrigerator. We had nothing but problems with it and had to have the entire cooling unit replaced once (in addition to other failures). Even when it was working correctly, it did not do a good job of keeping food frozen in the freezer. The last 2-1/2 years have been with a Samsung 18 cu. ft. "residential" refrigerator. Our new rig has 300 watts of solar on the roof, to 100AH LiFePO4 batteries, and a 2,000 watt inverter. We don't boondock and have no expectations of running an AC without shore power, but the solar/battery combination will run the refrigerator indefinitely... as long as the sun shines every day. More batteries and solar would overcome that situation. We have had very long (12-hour) travel days with overcast and drizzle and the batteries were still almost fully charged on arrival at the next destination. There's no way we would go back to an absorption refrigerator. Of course, there are those who are fully on the other side of the fence - it all depends on how you use your RV and your expectations.
Rob
Rob
