My dual fuel refrig in my 5th wheel doesn't keep things cool enough. I am going to replace it. Dry camping is a seldom done thing; we mostly travel, stopping in RV parks with elec. and water. I want to put a battery and inverter into my refrigerator swap out, so that the refrigerator will stay cold while we are on the road. I don't plan to charge the battery during the day. I'll recharge it in the evening, when connected to shore power. The refrigerator I am considering is the Avanti RA7316PST 2-Door Apartment Size. Supposedly, this draws 15 amps at startup. Will a 2000 Watt Continuous/4000 Watt Peak Power Inverter (Jupiter) connected to a deep cycle battery be sufficient? Any insight is much appreciated.

2000 watt rated inverter should start anything with a regular plug. I recommend sine wave for most items... especially a motor.I think you could easily use the existing battery in your trailer for this purpose. Small charge on the road is already set up and recharge at the destination would be automatic.

“My dual fuel refrig in my 5th wheel doesn't keep things cool enough.”Why not avoid all this and repair your current fridge or get a new RV fridge? RV fridges work well.

15A startup surge is a bit on the high side, most home fridges use the same compressor which is typically 1.1A-1.2A running draw, I measured the surge of my 10 cu ft fridge I used in my TT at about 10A-11A startup surge with .9A run current.With that said, I would highly recommend not skimping and using a cheapo Harbor Freight inverter..Instead, spend a bit more and get a BETTER built inverter designed from the ground up to handle the startup surge of a heavy inductive load like a fridge compressor.I highly recommend a Tripplite PV1250FC which is a industrial MSW inverter built like a tank which is the inverter I used in my conversion.Right now you can get it for about $235 through Amazon (ship and sold by Amazon) HERE. That is not all that more money than the cheapo HF inverter at $169...1250W continuous output with an honest 1875W surge for up to ONE HR and 2500W surge for TEN SECONDS!!! No other inverter out there can match what this Tripplite offers."Harness your vehicle's battery to efficiently power office equipment on the road or power tools at a work site. Continuously supplies up to 1250 watts of 120V AC power to 2 AC outlets from any 12V battery or automotive DC source. Frequency control locks AC output at 60Hz for operating stability of motor loads. Includes a set of high current DC input terminals for simple permanent installation. Highly reliable large transformer design specializes in powering motors and other inductive loads with high-current startup needs. PowerVerter Plus Inverters acmodate "peak surge" demands by delivering more output power than their continuous rating. Compare the "Continuous" and "Peak Surge" wattage ratings and you'll find PowerVerter Plus Inverters supply up to double their output to easily handle equipment start up and motor cycling requirements. A DoubleBoost feature provides up to 200% of the continuous output for up to 10 seconds providing the extra power needed to cold start heavy-duty tools and equipment. An OverPower feature delivers up to 150% of the continuous output for up to 1 hour. Primary InformationPower Device Type : Power converter Power Device / Form Factor : External Voltage Provided : AC 120 V +/- 5% Voltage Required : 12 V Power Provided : 1.25 kW Input Connector(s) : 2 Output Connector(s) : 2 x power NEMA 5-15 Enclosure Color : Black Width : 8.7 Inch Depth : 9 Inch Height : 7 Inch UNSPSC CodeUNSPSC Code : 39121006 " It is big and heavy weighing in at 24 lbs..Also is about 90%+ efficient, the HF inverter is something like only 82%-87% efficient meaning you will get more run time from your batteries..And even better the PV1250 also has a power save feature called "load sense" which allows the inverter to detect if there is a AC load or not ans the inverter will turn on/off for the AC load demand! Saves a lot of battery capacity!I would highly recommend that you use very heavy gauge wire, I used 1/0 on mine, fused at 200A and the fuse needs located within 18" of the battery.. You NEED to locate the inverter CLOSE as possible to the batteries, mine is only three feet from the batteries for a total of 6ft of 1/0 wire..I would recommend getting Extra flexible 1/0 wire, you will need to order this since Home Depot and Lowes only stocks building wire which is NOT real flexible. Welding wire can be used which is extra flexible but not cheap for this size..There are some mail order outfits which do sell at good pricing..1/0 Entertainment/stage lighting cable for $2.35 HERE which is a deal compared to 1/0 welding cable or even building wire..Then you run normal Romex wire from the inverter to the fridge for the 120V..You NEED to consider some GOOD batteries, I used a pair of 6V GC batteries wired in series to get 12V for my setup, gives me about 20hr-24hrs without needing to recharge and since we run light on other battery draws it works great for us.Sam's club or Costco is a great source for 6V GC batteries..

PilgrimStill wrote:..connected to a deep cycle battery be sufficient? One battery? Not sure that will handle the startup surge without a significant voltage drop.

I'm powering a 21 cuft Whirlpool with a 1000W PSW inverter. While running it only draws 8 amps DC...96 Watts. I can boondock 24 hours with two batteries before needing to recharge. You do not need that big an inverter and one battery is plenty for 12 hours...you can go 12 hours without it running if you keep the door closed.

Planning for inverter for elec. refrig, while driving

Bear_N_Honeys
Explorer
Apr 17, 2018
Thanks I was posting it to the public and not on the group.

John
allen8106
Explorer
Apr 17, 2018
I would recommend a Samlex SSW-1000-12A. This is a good quality 1000 watt pure sine inverter with 2000 watts peak. I just bought one for $234 with free shipping from iMarine.
packnrat
Explorer
Apr 17, 2018
as for venting for gasses.

is this gas lighter than breathing air? thinking hendenburg.
as where my batt's live it is mostly open under them . so a upper vent is worth it.

i am in the planing stage of dooing 6, six volt deep cycle.
plan is mostly boon docking.
yes have some solar, 3K honda.
westend
Explorer
Apr 17, 2018
as for venting for gasses.

is this gas lighter than breathing air? thinking hendenburg.
as where my batt's live it is mostly open under them . so a upper vent is worth it.
Yes, hydrogen is lighter than the atmosphere. FLA Batteries produce a small amount of hydrogen when charging. That could be when on the road and the tow vehicle's alternator is providing power or from RV mounted solar charging. Since there is very little volume of hydrogen produced, a large vent hose isn't needed. It does need to be at the top of the enclosure and a make-up hole installed close to the bottom of the enclosure for proper air flow.

FWIW, I use a Xantrex 1000W pure sine inverter to power a small fridge. The fridge draws 80w, operating, and probably 5-7 Amps at start up. The Xantrex doesn't break a sweat. Now, I have a Tripplite 2000W unit that I am going to install. I haven't decided if I will keep the Xantrex or do a full transplant with the Tripplite.The power saving feature of the Tripplite is a good advantage for watt squeezers like myself although the Xantrex only draws < .5 amp when powered.
full_mosey
Explorer
Apr 18, 2018
westend wrote:

...The fridge draws 80w, operating, and probably 5-7 Amps at start up. ...

80W running is closer to 7A DC. Startup is around six times running, or 480W which is 42A DC for a few milliseconds.

HTH;
John

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