Tested my new Solar Panel today

BFL13 wrote:
Had a 3.2 cu ft 120v only fridge/freezer in the TC for a couple years. (The original 1981 fridge was toast.) What a nightmare! The 3.2 job drew 4.5 DC amps from the battery via the inverter when running, which was say 2/3 of the time.

That comes to 16 hrs at 4.5 amps = 72 AH a day. Never mind the other normal DC things per day. I had a battery bank of four batteries in the TC and truck bed, plus 255w of solar.

If the sun shone most of the days, the batteries would still be above 50% after four or five days. If not much sunshine, after a couple days might have to turn off the fridge if not going home right away anyway. (No generator in the TC and running the truck as a battery charger is very lame, forget that.)

Recently got a used proper little RV fridge that runs on propane. Dometic 700L ISTR, forget just now what it is (senior moment) What a relief! Now there is no sweat getting by for several days even if the sun never shines.

IMO, any idea having a 120v only fridge in a small RV with only one or two batteries, even with a bit of solar is just asking for it, unless you have a generator and enough gas to run it for long periods of time.

You want a propane fridge!!!! :(

The 3.1 I am looking at has been put into RV's and found to only draw 30 AH a day. Energy Star rated with latest CFC tech- I have a 3 way fridge (2.1 ci) very small and it does not keep things cold when it is over 80 degrees- everything in fridge is 50 degrees or more. Also tends to freeze everything overnight. My understanding is this is unavoidable with an absorption fridge and I find it unacceptable.

I will consider a small generator after I try a shakedown cruise of a couple of months and I will evaluate the current fridge before possibly replacing it.

Thank you for your experience and advice.