Residential, or reg refrigerator

On our last rig we upgraded to a full size residential fridge...best upgrade...ever :C.

I have the details on my blog at Residential Refrigerator Upgrade.

harold1946 wrote:

WyoTraveler wrote:
You need to do your own power calculations. Power required (on placard inside fridge) How much power used off the grid then how much time to charge on the grid before fully charged. I move a lot. Wouldn't work for me. However, your case may be different. I even talked to the solar experts in Q. He said No. Stick with standard fridge. I also heard there are some problems operating on the inverter. Compressor heats up. I bought MH with a standard RV fridge.

Your solar expert is wrong. Properly set up it is possible to boondock with a residential. This is my second RV with a residential and I boondock 90% of the time and have been doing so for 11 years.
RV's built with residentials generaly have PSW inverters and run just fine.
Not all residentials require PSW, (internal recitfier models) will operate on MSW with no ill effects.
I am also a full timer.

Agreed. If you do a lot of dry camping and want a residential fridge just size the solar system appropriately. Have generator as backup for cloudy days. We routinely dry camp with ours. We do run our genny 45 minutes to an hour per day but that is a result of other power hungry devices like Kuerig coffee makers, TV's, beverage water heaters etc etc etc, all which run from the inverters. We are not what you would call power savers. Its our house. We are full timers. We live comfortably. If that means running the genny an hour a day we are good with that.

Hi Snowbird67,

Welcome to the forums!

The limits for running a fridge from an inverter are in a one one relationship to the size of the battery bank, and the state of charge that bank is at.

There also needs must be a way to recharge the bank. That means one of several possible power sources. The cheapest is shore power. The most convenient may possibly be solar. Another way to feed the house batteries is to trundle down the road. This works well in self propelled RV's but...not quite so well in towed units. Finally, the least convenient and expensive way to recharge is to use a generator. For me, the generator is the source of last resort. Others may use their generators on a daily basis--and it fits their RV style quite well. The Cinderella effect is alive and well for RV folks!

Snowbird67 wrote:
the one we are looking at does have an inverter. I am happy to hear of no complaints so far.. thank you for answering me.
Snowbird

WyoTraveler wrote:
You need to do your own power calculations. Power required (on placard inside fridge) How much power used off the grid then how much time to charge on the grid before fully charged. I move a lot. Wouldn't work for me. However, your case may be different. I even talked to the solar experts in Q. He said No. Stick with standard fridge. I also heard there are some problems operating on the inverter. Compressor heats up. I bought MH with a standard RV fridge.

Your solar expert is wrong. Properly set up it is possible to boondock with a residential. This is my second RV with a residential and I boondock 90% of the time and have been doing so for 11 years.
RV's built with residentials generaly have PSW inverters and run just fine.
Not all residentials require PSW, (internal recitfier models) will operate on MSW with no ill effects.
I am also a full timer.

WyoTraveler wrote:
You need to do your own power calculations. Power required (on placard inside fridge) How much power used off the grid then how much time to charge on the grid before fully charged. I move a lot. Wouldn't work for me. However, your case may be different. I even talked to the solar experts in Q. He said No. Stick with standard fridge. I also heard there are some problems operating on the inverter. Compressor heats up. I bought MH with a standard RV fridge.

Some of the information you have received is likely accurate but a RR running on an inverter is no issue at all. I ran my GE Profile SXS fridge on a MSW inverter for 12 years without issue. Just for grins I have recently update that inverter to a PSW inverter with produces the same electrical signal that your home wall plate does.
Moving frequently or infrequently would also make no difference in the performance of a household fridge since those who have these units also have inverters which means the fridge never loses power and the fridge/freezer never lose cooling.
Your solar experts may be experts on solar and batteries but have led you astray on the RR. You are correct that if you want to depend upon solar only while parked in Quartzsite then a RR is absolutely NOT for you but (since you mentioned things that would not work for you) I can tell you that spending extended periods of time off the grid, especially in Quartzsite, is not for me!

You need to do your own power calculations. Power required (on placard inside fridge) How much power used off the grid then how much time to charge on the grid before fully charged. I move a lot. Wouldn't work for me. However, your case may be different. I even talked to the solar experts in Q. He said No. Stick with standard fridge. I also heard there are some problems operating on the inverter. Compressor heats up. I bought MH with a standard RV fridge.

wa8yxm wrote:
Regarding a residential fridg's ability to keep things cold while on the road.

A lot depends on how far you travel in a given day and if you park with power at night (or run genny) Once cold (And if travelign I'd set it a bit extra cold) it should hold for at least 8 hours with the door closed, Likely longer.

In my trailer days I had a small "Dorm/Office" unit. Since I never drove more than 4 hours in any day with it.. I added some straps to tie the door closed when rolling, And plugged it in first think when I parked.. No problems, loved that box.. Sold it to another RVer when I got the "A" with an absorption unit.

Now days I often go many hours without mains power.. And thus the Absorption unit is nice.

I doubt any RV with a residential refridgerator does not also have an inverter. This means the fridge will remain cold and running at all times. It will make ice, it will freeze the stuff in the freezer, etc. There's no different whether driving or parked. The engine will keep the batteries charged while driving so the power to the inverter will remain steady and is not an issue. I tend to drive a max of 300 miles per day but that may take me 7-8 hours and it's nice to have a nice frozen glass waiting when Janet starts pouring Manhattans!

Most class A's with residential refrigerators come with an upgraded battery bank and inverter. The battery bank is also being charged by the engine alternator when traveling, so there is no problem running the frig.

Regarding a residential fridg's ability to keep things cold while on the road.

A lot depends on how far you travel in a given day and if you park with power at night (or run genny) Once cold (And if travelign I'd set it a bit extra cold) it should hold for at least 8 hours with the door closed, Likely longer.

In my trailer days I had a small "Dorm/Office" unit. Since I never drove more than 4 hours in any day with it.. I added some straps to tie the door closed when rolling, And plugged it in first think when I parked.. No problems, loved that box.. Sold it to another RVer when I got the "A" with an absorption unit.

Now days I often go many hours without mains power.. And thus the Absorption unit is nice.

the one we are looking at does have an inverter. I am happy to hear of no complaints so far.. thank you for answering me.
Snowbird