Residential Refridgerator

Roadpilot: without a very substantial solar it will take another 1.5-2.5 generator hours a day - in addition to whatever it takes to meet your regular energy needs - to power a residential fridge. If this is not a problem, then there is no problem :)

I do have a problem with people running a genny all day long when it's not so hot that A/C is needed, and trying to avoid such camps. Mostly they run a genny not because have a residential fridge. Just a poor energy management or not enough knowledge, often small batteries.

For camping with hookups and traveling less than 5-6 hours in between there is no problem with residential fridge.

Almot wrote:
Roadpilot: without a very substantial solar it will take another 1.5-2.5 generator hours a day - in addition to whatever it takes to meet your regular energy needs - to power a residential fridge. If this is not a problem, then there is no problem :)

I do have a problem with people running a genny all day long when it's not so hot that A/C is needed, and trying to avoid such camps. Mostly they run a genny not because have a residential fridge. Just a poor energy management or not enough knowledge, often small batteries.

For camping with hookups and traveling less than 5-6 hours in between there is no problem with residential fridge.

I think MrWizard found that did NOT require more than 1/2 hr to 1 hr of charging per day when he changed to a residential fridge. He is also using the same inverter that I am using although I do not know if he is using the power save feature.

He has added some extra solar and perhaps a little extra battery capacity some time after his change. If I remember correctly he actually is able to use the gen LESS.

People tend to forget that modern day RV fridges USE 12V to run the control board and gas valve. This actually makes the change over to residential fridge even less of a big deal..

I am sure someone will have some data but I would hazard a guess that the control board and gas valve would use 5Ahr to maybe 10 Ahr PER DAY.

In my case, my fridge runs 20 minutes per hr, draws 90W (.75A) (actual measured) at 120V running. So that is 7.5A at 12V plus the inverter lose of 1.5A gives me 9A at 12V. This gives me 3Ahr of usage PER hr, over 24hr period that comes out to 72 Ahr used.

Now if I subtract 10Ahr that the RV fridge WOULD have used in 24hr I would now have 62Ahr additional used.

My pair of GC batts give me 210Ahr capacity and usable of 105 Ahr, subtracting 62Ahr gives me 43Ahr left over for furnace and lights for a 24hr time period.

If you are concerned about running a gen longer then adding in 130W of solar and perhaps an extra pair of GC batts would REDUCE the gen time to less than what you would with a RV fridge.

Gdetrailer - there has been many changes and upgrades to Mr Wiz solar system, and in the end I don't know how well it performs. One thing is clear - adding 60-70 AH daily load - like replacing LP frig with 120V frig - without adding some power source can not result in a shorter generator time. Achieving this would mean inventing a perpetuum mobile machine and I will be the first one to congratulate such a person :)


When you take 60 AH out of the battery - make it 70 AH after inverter - you need to put 80-85 AH back into battery. To put 80 AH into battery, you need to run 2000W generator for 1-1.5 hours, maybe 2-2.5 hours, depending on the battery SOC and other loads running. There is no free lunch in energy use - when you use more, you need to get it somewhere.

To meet these increased energy needs without increasing the generator time, you need at least 350W flat solar panel. Increasing the battery bank will help very little.

Almot wrote:
Gdetrailer - there has been many changes and upgrades to Mr Wiz solar system, and in the end I don't know how well it performs. One thing is clear - adding 60-70 AH daily load - like replacing LP frig with 120V frig - without adding some power source can not result in a shorter generator time. Achieving this would mean inventing a perpetuum mobile machine and I will be the first one to congratulate such a person :)


When you take 60 AH out of the battery - make it 70 AH after inverter - you need to put 80-85 AH back into battery. To put 80 AH into battery, you need to run 2000W generator for 1-1.5 hours, maybe 2-2.5 hours, depending on the battery SOC and other loads running. There is no free lunch in energy use - when you use more, you need to get it somewhere.

To meet these increased energy needs without increasing the generator time, you need at least 350W flat solar panel. Increasing the battery bank will help very little.

You DIDN'T READ my post. 62Ahr in MY CASE INCLUDES the inverter losses FOR 24 HRS.

And once again NOT EVERYONE takes 60" big screens with 1000W surround sounds watching 10hrs of TV per day plus 3 or 4 laptops along with a few cell phones AND BOONDOCKS.

I can't figure out just how folks use so much battery and have to spend half the day charging boat loads of batteries.

In my case only a few hrs charging time every 12hrs works perfect, once in the morning and once in the evening..

In my case 30 Ahr so every 12 hrs is not bad at all.