Forum Discussion

Grey_Mountain's avatar
Mar 16, 2018

Refrigerator replacement

May have to replace the fridge on my Discovery Class A. I am considering replacing with a household double door electric refrigerator.
What are the consideratoins except of course it will not run on propane.

GM

9 Replies

  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    I've only browsed the many threads about residential fridges in RV's. But one thing I remember is that some mfr's specifically exclude mobile installations from warranty coverage. This could be an issue for those of us who had to do major surgery to get the RV fridge out and the residential in. I think I could get our 8-cft Norcold out and a 10-cft apartment fridge in, even pull it for warranty service.
    Then some warranties have a loophole for "modified" or something to that effect. Maybe holes for positive catches to keep it closed on the road? "No Sir, those latches are to childproof from the grandkids."
    A good friend throws all his warranties away. Says they have so many exclusion clauses they're all worthless.
  • wa8yxm wrote:
    The big thing is "Will it fit" some do, some don't.

    Battery. How much will you need, Each PAIR of GC-2 hold about 1,000 KWH of usable power (once inverted to 120vac)

    How fast can you re-charge when driving.

    The advantage is more room.. but I just go shopping more often .


    A pair of GC-2 batteries has about 1 kWh (1000 Wh) of usable energy, not 1000 kWh (1 MWh) of usable energy. I suppose that might be written as 1,000 kWh in Europe, where the comma is used as a decimal point and the period as a thousands separator, but I'm guessing this was a simple typo.
  • wa8yxm wrote:
    Battery. How much will you need, Each PAIR of GC-2 hold about 1,000 KWH of usable power (once inverted to 120vac)

    How fast can you re-charge when driving.

    Read this DC-DC Battery chargingDC-DC bat
  • wa8yxm wrote:
    The big thing is "Will it fit" some do, some don't.

    Battery. How much will you need, Each PAIR of GC-2 hold about 1,000 KWH of usable power (once inverted to 120vac)

    How fast can you re-charge when driving.

    This has been discussed many times before. YOU CAN NOT FULLY RECHARGE DEEP CYCLE "HOUSE" BATTERIES BY PARALLELING THEM WITH YOU VEHICLE BATTERY !

    The best you can do is maybe prevent them from discharging further.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    The big thing is "Will it fit" some do, some don't.

    Battery. How much will you need, Each PAIR of GC-2 hold about 1,000 KWH of usable power (once inverted to 120vac)

    How fast can you re-charge when driving.

    The advantage is more room.. but I just go shopping more often .
  • on my Fleetwood bounder I installed a Samsung 19.5 double door to replace my norcold went thru my door with a 1/8 of a inch. to spare installed inverter and 2 more 6 volt battery spent 1700 on the project did it in 8 hours best thing I ever did to my motorhome
  • Don't forget, you need some how to secure it to the floor and some way to make sure the doors stay closed when on the road.

    If you NEVER bondock/dry camp, don't worry about an inverter and batteries. The fridge will keep things cold for a whole day, if you keep the door closed.

    I would buy a good generator before investing in an inverter and batteries.
  • Not only does it have to fit the opening, you also have to figure out how to get it into the RV. It could involve removing the windshield or a slide.

    Manufacturer installed residentials typically have an inverter and batteries for the refrigerator.
  • You just need to be able to get the new fridge in the existing space or be willing to do some slight modifications of opening size. You will need an inverter and at least 2 good deep cycle batteries. Dry camping will require some solar or a small generator if you plan to stay for a few days.
    Many have installed the Samsung unit (check out the Tiffin RV Forum) and it has worked successfully with MSW and TSW inverters. You may already have the necessary hardware and batteries so it's just a matter of finding if the plug behind the existing fridge has the inverter connected or what's necessary to run a new wire to that location.

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