Residential Refrig and Dry Camping

I've had one in two different coaches. Typically, running the generator for an hour and forty five minutes to two hours in the morning brings my batteries to Float charge level (charged). In the evening I typically run the generator for one hour during meal prep. So.....over a 24 hour period, I run the generator about three hours. This includes operating everything else in the coach, including 5-6 hours of satellite TV.

There is no way my residential fridge runs 67% of the time. My fridge can run all night and batteries still have 12.5 volts.
Dave

Ivylog wrote:
A properly set up rig will have 600 to 800 AH of batteries. My 21 CF refer requires 8 amps when running so in half a day with a 67% duty cycle it will use 64 AH. One 125 AH battery would be enough to keep it at the 50% max discharge rule of thumb for battery life. These Energy Star refer's are very efficient.

I put mine on it's own 500 AH battery bank witk a 1000W PSW inverter with 300W of solar. My house battery bank needs 2 hours/day of generator time so it's not the refer that needs the generator.

Is the 8 amp figure including opening and closing the door a reasonable number of times? What effect does temp inside the motorhome have on the 8 amp figure? For example if we leave it all day while it's 90 plus degrees outside?

We dry camp almost exclusively. Our MH has 4-6v. Even with the heater running at night we have never had a problem and at the most run generator an hour or 2 in the am and sometimes the same in evening. this includes the coffe maker, microwave, and anything else my wife can think to use.

bresdogsr wrote:
I am looking at possibly upgrading to a newer diesel rig. Many of the coaches that I am looking at have residential refrigerators. How do these work while dry camping. I know that you run off the invertor, but eventually the batteries will discharge and will not be able to power the refrig. Is this usually overnight? Is it bad to continually discharge and recharge the batteries? I don't dry camp often, but don't want to have an issue if I do. Thanks in advance.

I think that you would be very happy with a fully electric residential fridge. They are not power hogs and are so efficient.

We did not want propane aboard, so a fully electric coach was our preferred option. Running the genny 2 hrs. in the morning and 2 hrs. in the evening is what was recommended in our set-up. It worked perfectly as that's during breakfast and dinner.

I have dry camped in Quartzsite, AZ, for four years in a row with my RV group. No problem at all. If you conserve water, you can go for a very long time.

I think the batteries would run the fridge for 3 days if you didn't use any other electrical items (such as in storage). You will love a residential fridge and no need to buy the highly flammable propane. Only one fuel, diesel! (for the genny, aqua hot and motor).

Good luck,
MM.

Hi Ivylog,

How did you come up with the 67% duty cycle? (It is correct for an absorption fridge--but I think a residential would be far lower).

A properly set up rig will have 600 to 800 AH of batteries. My 21 CF refer requires 8 amps when running so in half a day with a 67% duty cycle it will use 64 AH. One 125 AH battery would be enough to keep it at the 50% max discharge rule of thumb for battery life. These Energy Star refer's are very efficient.

I put mine on it's own 500 AH battery bank witk a 1000W PSW inverter with 300W of solar. My house battery bank needs 2 hours/day of generator time so it's not the refer that needs the generator.

These rigs usually come with four to six batteries and some solar power as well.
You won't be able to stand it for days on end without some charging from your genset or engine alternator, but should do OK, given that. For overnight stops at Wally World and such, no problem. Those who stop late and leave early in the morning shouldn't require anything, as a good modern fridge will keep the temp down for a good while, if the door isn't opened constantly.
As for constant charging and discharging, that's pretty much the reason for using true deep cycle batteries.

Thanks :) The units I am looking at have 4 6V batteries.

Shouldn't be a problem if you are running true deep cycle batts.