Can I leave the fridge propane on while not in the rv?

I live in Texas, so I always assume a 100% duty cycle. So far, I had about 40% SoC with two 12 volt batteries in parallel when I left the fridge to use propane, so, all is well.

I'm not really worried about damaging the batteries, because I will either replace them with some AGM golf carts once finances get better, or replace the trailer with a motorhome.

I don't have many things running off of battery. The Concertone radio, propane monitor, and parasitic current for the Dometic digital thermostat (which is off when I'm gone) are the big things.

mlts22 wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Parasitic loads may be up to 36 amp-hours per day.

Take the size of the battery bank in amp-hours and divide by 72. That may indicate the number of days that the fridge can be run without damaging the battery bank from too deep a discharge.

Thanks for the figure. I wondered how many amps the fridge's control board used... I knew one battery wouldn't last a week, so this week, decided to go with a few in parallel. Normally, I just shut the fridge off when not using my rig on weekends, but trying to see if my beefed up battery bank will handle it.

This is a Dometic two-way fridge that runs on propane or 120VAC... but if the battery voltage drops under 11 volts, it pops the check light on and turns itself off.

I pull certain fuses so the load is less, for instance the light on your tv and radio draws, as well as the propane warning light. When our refrigerator was empty that fuse and the water heater too.
Doing that kept the battery from discharging.

mlts, The gas valve is the culprit. It draws about 1.5 amps when it is on. Duty cycle on my absorption fridge is 2:3, so that drain goes on for 16 hours per day.

pianotuna wrote:
Parasitic loads may be up to 36 amp-hours per day.

Take the size of the battery bank in amp-hours and divide by 72. That may indicate the number of days that the fridge can be run without damaging the battery bank from too deep a discharge.

Thanks for the figure. I wondered how many amps the fridge's control board used... I knew one battery wouldn't last a week, so this week, decided to go with a few in parallel. Normally, I just shut the fridge off when not using my rig on weekends, but trying to see if my beefed up battery bank will handle it.

This is a Dometic two-way fridge that runs on propane or 120VAC... but if the battery voltage drops under 11 volts, it pops the check light on and turns itself off.

Fla904 wrote:
The previous owner cut the propane lines to be "safe"

That sounds crazy. Why wouldn't he just turn off the propane or remove the tanks?

I personally avoid soapy water. I use a glycerin based leak detection solution, and a propane wand.

When checking for leaks, if someone asks what I'm doing, I call it the "Zippo test". They tend to promptly go away.

Don't use soapy water. It can be corrosive if not rinsed off. Use an actual leak detection solution like Detect-A-Leak. Detection solutions have better surface tension so bubbles last longer. Don't remember how old you said your rig was, but there was a safety recall on Dometic fridges from 1998 thru 2003. Check their website for serial numbers if yours falls into that date range.

I'd suggest to clean out the fridge enclosure, the cooling fins, and the chimney real good. Get a spray bottle of diluted soapy water and spray every propane line connection, looking for bubbles. There is a chance that a fitting or it's sealant has failed after a long period of non-use.

Awesome! Did you get the heat hooked up too?
IMO as long as you test run it a while to make sure everything's good then no issue leaving it on for as long as you want, as long as the batteries keep a charge.
I routinely run the fridge on propane for hours to days when not around it.
It's not an issue and uses very little propane.

Fla904 wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Do you leave your household fridge on when you go away for the weekend? Electrical fires can happen....

Unless your fridge is has known issues the risk of fire is negligible. As others have said, the consideration is the battery (that was one nice thing with the older mechanical propane fridges. They didn't need the battery to run the electronics)

The previous owner cut the propane lines to be "safe" so I had them re connected who knows how long since all the propane dependent things have been ran. Everything works tho. The rv mechanic found what looked to be a old mouse nest right next to the fridge chimney. We cleared it out tho. But the fridge chimney does get hot which is my concern. I'm sure it's normal. And as far as being away from the rv if it catches fire.. I'd rather be there to stop or prevent a problem than to be away. So I guess il start the fridge about 5hrs before I leave next trip and cut it off when I go to sleep. I don't have any problems driving with it on tho. Just don't want a problem to occur while I am gone.

If you haven't already, get the whole propane system checked out before using it, if the previous owner was doing strange things to it. You don't want to find out what he did by having it blow up when you turn something on.

Once it's checked out and all is good, my previuos advice stands.