2-way refrigerator operation without a battery

RLS7201 wrote:
1985 is probably stand alone propane, just like a home water heater. No 12 volt required.

Richard

Pretty sure piezoelectric igniters weren't widely used back in 1985 and without them you'd need another ignition source - either electric or a manually lit pilot light. But even with a piezoelectric you'd still have to manually get it started just like a pilot light.

As mentioned......
1985 vintage converter will need a battery to act as load so 12VDC system can be supplied.

Yes...your AC/Gas Fridge will need DC Voltage to function...circuit board, display, controls for electric and gas

That is provided your converter is functioning
AC IN==DC OUT (converter should have 13.2VDC Output minimum

Check DC Voltage on DC Dist Board (where all the fuses are)

Do the lights work?

1985 is probably stand alone propane, just like a home water heater. No 12 volt required.

Richard

Yes, you need 12v to power the control board in the fridge regardless if running on 120v or gas. As long as the converter/charger in the trailer is putting out 12v you shouldn't need a battery.

However, some older converter/chargers won't put out 12v without a battery in the circuit. If this is true for yours, you won't have any 12v power at all. If you other 12v items working like the water pump, interior lights, and radio, then you have 12v in the trailer, and the fridge issue is likely either a fuse of bad control board.

There are tons of YouTube videos on diagnosing an absorption fridge...you want to diagnose well because it gets expensive in a hurry if you just start throwing parts at them.

Solar is the easy way to keep a battery charged.

You need 12v to run the fridge in either AC or gas modes. You can get that 12v with no battery from your converter (makes 12v from 120v) but in the 1985 Rv, not sure how that works.

You could get a battery, but also you need a way to recharge it, so a simple deck mount converter in addition would be a help if the 1985 converter has no charger to it.

In theory you could get a battery and just use any battery charger to recharge it as required, but that could be tiresome, so a converter that stays on would be preferable IMO.

You do need 12v for the control board in order for the refrigerator to work. If you have a working converter or battery you should be good.

Pretty sure you need a battery for the electronic parts, would think you need battery to light up the propane, I am sure you will get a proper response shortly.