Surprise! Your new Leisure Free Spirit SS fridge is 2-way

donn0128 wrote:
Three way refers died probably 15 years ago. Now days most all are two way, gas or 120VAC. 12VDC is required for control circuit. If yoy now what theirs was please post make and model.

Leisure Travel Van Free Spirit SS, a Class B Van motorhome (not a trailer.)

Maybe someone who owns an SS will weigh in here on their experience. The people we met were concerned about draining the house batteries while dry camping.

According to the Leisure web site, the Free Spirit SS - with the slide - has a 12V/120V - 4.8 Cu. Ft. Fridge/Freezer. (Brand not specified.)

I take that to mean for refrigeration you have to be on shore power or else run your fridge off the 12 volt battery system (or investigate solar.) Leisure offers in its options list: Solar Panel - 95 Watt.

For 2015, Free Spirit SS (with slide) will have a different floor plan (fridge moves across the aisle to the driver side) with Norcold 5.3 Cu. Ft 3 way 2 Door Refrigerator. Maybe buyers were asking for three-way.

Ours (non-slide Free Spirit) came with a 3-way Dometic refrigerator, like many Class Bs do. You can run it on 12-volt if you prefer when driving down the highway, switch to 120 when plugged in at a campsite, and switch to propane when dry camping or away a few hours. The fridge can run well a long time without using much propane.

Bob_Nestor, you are probably right that this model only ever had a two-way since it came out a couple of years ago. Maybe everybody else knew this, but I was surprised.

I too agree it sounds silly to have one that only works on 120VAC or 12VDC. Propane fridges have been around for quite along time now. Maybe like posted above the new ones want to have a regular house type fridge in them using a compressor.

With this in mind however it doesn't seem like an easy way to run off 12VDC without having a built-in INVERTER if the fridge has an compressor type motor. Maybe they use a DC Compressor motor when on 12VDC.

OP sounds like he has investigated it by going to the manuals and they only work on 120VAC and 12VDC??? who knows what they are using at this point. Heating the ammonia in the original RV fridge seems easy to do with a 120VAC heater element, 12VDC heater element, or propane burner... Why create something different?

I know there are some DORM type fridges on the market that work on 120VAC or Battery so maybe this is the same type of thing. Never have looked into how those work.

Roy Ken

Golden_HVAC wrote:
So you are saying it auto switches from 120 volts to 12 volts when you unplug or shut off the generator?

That does seem like it will waste a tremendous amount of battery power, and would not work out well for someone who likes to do a lot of dry camping.

However it can have some advantages. Such as a electric compressor type refrigerator can be lighter, about $800 less expensive, and if that money saved is put into a additional battery, such as having 2 golf cart batteries, and a pair of 120 watt solar panels on the roof, then it can work out well.

Most RV's use 35 amp hours a day just to run the CO meter, propane detector, and electric side of a propane refrigerator (0.5 amps per hour that the refrigerator is on to turn on the gas valve and light the burner). In their case, it would be practical to shut off the propane detector in the hours it is not needed, such as when the water heater and stove will be off. In my case I never bother to shut off the propane detector at all, because the power consumption (0.4 amps per hour, or about 12 amp hours daily) is more than made up by my solar system.

I really wonder why they would make it a 2 way unit at all? Afterall while on shore power, the 45 to 55 amp converter is more than enough power to overcome whatever power the refrigerator might consume, or they could install a larger converter to make up for what the refrigerator might use.

Fred.

35 amp hours per day for that stuff? We would be closer to 6 amp hours per day to run that stuff in our Roadtrek, as our resting load is under .3 amps. With our compressor frig running, we may get close to 35 amp hours per day, depending on the weather.

Leisure lists it as a 2 way, but doesn't give a model number or brand. I can't imagine anyone would make a 2 way absorption frig that is not propane, as it would be pretty useless. I would hope it is a compressor frig, and if it is, it won't kill the batteries during a couple hours of hiking or other activities.

2 way compressor fridges are the way to go.

if you look at the specs of roadtrek 2014 models

ALL sprinter models have 2 -way 120/12 volt refrigerators.


the modern 2 way 120/12 volt refrigerators made norcold/novakool

extremly efficient

2.5 to 3.5 amps depending on size

So you are saying it auto switches from 120 volts to 12 volts when you unplug or shut off the generator?

That does seem like it will waste a tremendous amount of battery power, and would not work out well for someone who likes to do a lot of dry camping.

However it can have some advantages. Such as a electric compressor type refrigerator can be lighter, about $800 less expensive, and if that money saved is put into a additional battery, such as having 2 golf cart batteries, and a pair of 120 watt solar panels on the roof, then it can work out well.

Most RV's use 35 amp hours a day just to run the CO meter, propane detector, and electric side of a propane refrigerator (0.5 amps per hour that the refrigerator is on to turn on the gas valve and light the burner). In their case, it would be practical to shut off the propane detector in the hours it is not needed, such as when the water heater and stove will be off. In my case I never bother to shut off the propane detector at all, because the power consumption (0.4 amps per hour, or about 12 amp hours daily) is more than made up by my solar system.

I really wonder why they would make it a 2 way unit at all? Afterall while on shore power, the 45 to 55 amp converter is more than enough power to overcome whatever power the refrigerator might consume, or they could install a larger converter to make up for what the refrigerator might use.

Fred.

I thought the Free Spirit SS always had a 2-way fridge. The newer units have a bigger fridge though. Can't tell if it's an absorption or compressor type. With the optional solar panel a compressor type might just work although it doesn't seem to make sense why they use a 2-way in this unit and 3-ways in all their other units.

Three way refers died probably 15 years ago. Now days most all are two way, gas or 120VAC. 12VDC is required for control circuit. If yoy now what theirs was please post make and model.

poncho62 wrote:
My 1999 trailer has the 2 way fridge....They have been around a while. I am pretty sure I can select gas while on shore power though. I dont because it works fine on 120 v when plugged in.

I think the OP is questioning why it didn't come with a three-way refrigerator.

Bruce

My 1999 trailer has the 2 way fridge....They have been around a while. I am pretty sure I can select gas while on shore power though. I dont because it works fine on 120 v when plugged in.