Question regarding residential refrigerators
We are tossing around the idea of ditching our toy hauler and going the traditional 5th wheel route. Some of the 5th wheels we are interested in only seem to be offered with residential refrigerators...
Forum Discussion
It depends on how long you want to run the frig without shore power. A typical new 18 cu. ft. residential frig can draw 30 DC amps from the batteries during its on cycle (cycling depends on installation, insulation, ambient temps, how often the doors are opened, etc.). I just had a conversation with an engineer at Battle Born Batteries about our new fifth wheel that's on order. With a residential frig, he recommends two 100 amp hour LiPO4 batteries and 300 - 400 watts of solar for anything longer than just travel days. Without solar, you would need a generator as mentioned above running a couple of hours every day to keep things charged. Also bear in mind that you can't draw lead-acid ("flooded") batteries nearly as low as lithium ion batteries - and LA batteries' voltage drops off as they drain.
Rob
Rob
