refrigerator brands is one better than the other ?

When my DW and I bought our one year old Jayco Seneca, the refer quit cooling like it should have been. Even tho it was still under warranty, I decided to replace it with a large Amana. It took some serious work but we finally got the Dometic out and the Amana in.

I installed two extra batteries, two solar panels (250 watts ea) and an inverter (solely for the refer). The refer is super cold even when we are boondocking in an asphalt parking lot at some horse show. It was 104 degrees outside yesterday and the Amana worked just fine.

I also installed two small 120v fans behind the Amana to exhaust any heat built up.

Happy Travels.....Lew

rfuerst911sc wrote:
Can I feed enough current to a residential type fridge with two 6 volt batteries like Trojan 105's ? I do have a Honda EU3000 generator but would like to add some amount of solar. Assuming a fridge of the size I'm needing draws 1 amp on 110 how large of an inverter allows some safety margin ? The only item that would be on the inverter would be the fridge.

Because of startup current involved with a compressor type fridge I recommmend a 1000 watt sine wave inverter properly installed. The two six volts batteries would be more than ample if they are dedicated to the fridge. I also recommend a 160 watt solar panel as an addition to whatever you already have. In fair weather conditions the single panel will be enough of a contribution to the system to offset the use of the fridge assuming normal duty cycles of the compressor.

Good luck.

Can I feed enough current to a residential type fridge with two 6 volt batteries like Trojan 105's ? I do have a Honda EU3000 generator but would like to add some amount of solar. Assuming a fridge of the size I'm needing draws 1 amp on 110 how large of an inverter allows some safety margin ? The only item that would be on the inverter would be the fridge.

Only times we've dry camped have been on Alaska visits. At home, we use Water/Electric sites that usually aren't far from home. So we could use a Residential Fridge. But our coach is also our Escape Pod for power outages and mandatory hurricane evacuations. So for that reason, we've stayed RV Fridge. Sure, we could probably keep a Residential cold with Inverter/Generator support.
We've had three RV fridges and used a couple more. Based on that limited sample size, I'd go Dometic. The doors and hinges seem better than Norcold's, and the parts/service availability seems better. Both have had Fire/Recall issues and both should be ashamed of their Band-Aid approaches to major problems.
My beef with the RV/Residential debate is it's one of those Ford/Chevy or Gas/Diesel-type conflicts. Both sides see their position as the only correct position and anybody who disagrees is a moron. Truth usually lies between the extremes.

Pretty sure "residential type" means 110 VAC.

12 VDC compressor types are very expensive also.

rfuerst911sc wrote:
When you say " residential type " are you saying a 110 volt unit or a compressor type 12 volt ?

When you say " residential type " are you saying a 110 volt unit or a compressor type 12 volt ?

John & Angela wrote:
Agreed. Go residential. Take some of the money you save and put it into solar and AGM batteries. Absorption fridges have their place but much less do now with the new residential fridges that sip power.

Yep, that place would be the trash. residential is the only way to go.

Agreed. Go residential. Take some of the money you save and put it into solar and AGM batteries. Absorption fridges have their place but much less do now with the new residential fridges that sip power.

Both have had numerous recalls. They are both equally bad! Go residential. In this day it is considered an "upgrade."

Those are the two main brands. My guess is that they are both equal in quality. My 1969 Avion C-11 needed a new refrigerator and I chose a Dometic (which is what the original was) not because I thought it was better but because I could get it to fit.