Gas or Electric (residential) Refrigerator?
Six months ago we were in a head on accident that destroyed our RV and despite still being shell shocked we're now considering having a new one built to our specs. The last 3 trips in the old Bea...
Forum Discussion
DryCamper11 wrote:
everyone seems to be buying residential fridges today. Is it practical to boondock for 3-4 weeks with a residential R in New England/Canada?
1) Nope. Boondockers rarely favor those. But... wilderness disappears, more people spend 100% of time on pedestal, so you see more res fridges installed.
2) Doable, yes. Enjoyable - no. I would even say that it's not a good idea to do this with propane fridge, if you don't have any solar. In more details:
Why not enjoyable with res fridge:
res fridge adds 1.5-2 hours to your daily genny run. Fuel cost, noise, and you have to rely on your genny at all times. Fridge is the most important item.
Why not a good idea with propane fridge without solar:
You CAN'T charge batteries 95-99% full with a generator. This takes forever. Batteries like being 95-99% full on most days. They will survive if they aren't, you'll have to run EQ once a week, but it's better to keep them full, they are happier then. This is one thing that solar is good at - slow charging those last 10-15% from, say, 85% to 100%. Generator - no can do.
I wouldn't want a res fridge with solar and no generator either - not in your area. Res fridge will need ~70AH or ~0.9KWH daily, this is 250W-300W flat solar solely for the fridge. Make it 700W total solar including your other loads - and even then I would be leery of camping in those parts for a month with res fridge without a generator, unless I carry enough dry goods and canned meat.
Disclosure: I'm living for months in a row off 500W solar, there is no generator, BUT my fridge is propane, there is plenty of sun and the area rarely gets any rain more often than once in 6 weeks. Your situation is different.
