12 volt compressor fridge- any reason not to buy this one ?

ticki2 wrote:

rfuerst911sc wrote:
I appreciate everyones feedback it is helpful. Tomorrow I am going to go look at a used Dometic absorbtion fridge at a dealer. It is setup on display and can be demonstrated. I am now leaning this way mainly because adding solar to my Avion truck camper is more of a challenge than I want to take on at the moment. For me to be " boondock " ready I am going to use propane and be done with it. May not be ideal but that's my plan for now. I'll also use my Honday generator for battery charging if need be. Once again thanks for all the feedback.

Most of the pros and cons of the types of refrigerators have been thoroughly discussed here and I hope my comment does not bring it all up again .

The only experience I have with compressor frigs is in my home and it has not been good , they don't seem to last like they use to .

My 68 Avion still has the original frig and it's working perfectly.

Had to change the frig in my 76 Airstream last year , ammonia leak. I don't consider a 36 year old RV product poor .

I'm glad that the OP has made a decision on what type of refrigerator for their needs. Discussions like these will always bring all kinds of information to the table as new technology is always adding other options to how we camp.

I would like to bring up a couple of points.

The compressor fridge is used in 100% minus one ,of all of the homes in North America and the western world. This is similar technology that is used in my TC fridge. In all of the years of my life, I have never had a fridge that has failed. I am sure they do but you just don't hear of them having mass problems and these units in homes unlike RV's, are going 24/7, 365 days a year. So if the absorption fridge is a comparable product and as most people have gas in their homes or could have a propane setup, why aren't absorption fridges in every ones houses?

Six years ago, when I was in another TC with an absorption fridge, some of the NATCOA forum experienced boondockers said that unless you were on full hookups, a 12V compressor fridge would kill your batteries in a few days. Propane was the only way.

Fast forward to today as you have read in some the previous replies, compressor technology as well as better, bigger batteries, solar, generators,works very well in a boondocking RV if you are set up for it. The nay sayers, mostly who have never owned a compressor fridge, have come to realize that both technologies work.

Your choice.

Dave

One thing has become very clear to me from all the pro/con discussions about the absorptions. They vary wildly in efficiency, probably due to the way they were installed and how much air movement they have at the back.

Refrigerator habits may also play a role. People who are constantly getting into their fridges for every cold drink they want in hot weather are not going to see good results as a door the size of the whole fridge is opened and closed; pushing a large amount of cold air out each time.

I actually use BOTH in my rig. I use the 6cu/ft absorption for the food and the frozen section. Even in 85-95 degree heat, I cant turn mine up past 2-3 during the day and always return it to 1 (warmest interior setting) at night.

I use my Norcold 45 quart compressor for ALL the drinks: milk, juice, wine, beer, everything. As it is a swing compressor, it does get a little loud for sleeping............so for this year, I tried turning it off at night. Besides the quiet, it also isnt running when the solar panel is inactive. I found that it only came up 4-6 degrees overnight and it made that up in less than an hour the next morning. More than acceptable.

In two years of living out of my Lance 1030 for 2.5 months/year, I have not had to buy ice once. Nice not having to deal with ice bags. We just keep a gallon ziplock of cubes we make in the freezer and make more when we need it, overnight.

For me, having BOTH types of fridges is ideal. But I have a good, working absorption fridge.

rfuerst911sc wrote:
I appreciate everyones feedback it is helpful. Tomorrow I am going to go look at a used Dometic absorbtion fridge at a dealer. It is setup on display and can be demonstrated. I am now leaning this way mainly because adding solar to my Avion truck camper is more of a challenge than I want to take on at the moment. For me to be " boondock " ready I am going to use propane and be done with it. May not be ideal but that's my plan for now. I'll also use my Honday generator for battery charging if need be. Once again thanks for all the feedback.

Most of the pros and cons of the types of refrigerators have been thoroughly discussed here and I hope my comment does not bring it all up again .

The only experience I have with compressor frigs is in my home and it has not been good , they don't seem to last like they use to .

My 68 Avion still has the original frig and it's working perfectly.

Had to change the frig in my 76 Airstream last year , ammonia leak. I don't consider a 36 year old RV product poor .

popeyemth wrote:

pezvela wrote:

popeyemth wrote:

700 watt continuous Harbor Freight inverter
12 hours with furnace running some using one group 27 Battery
Setup in pic is just a temp

All of 12 hours? What do you do, camp for one day at a time?

I cant see how that's gonna work without solar or driving every day or so. Especially not with all the other demands from the camper.

100 watts of solar would let this run practically indefinitely as the compressor dosent run continuous and the furnace could be off or turned way down in the day.
This setup uses nearly the identical wattage as a 12 volt compressor . Did you miss the part about the furnace running?
Look at a map sometime.

No, I didnt miss the part about the furnace running.

I just missed the part about having 100 watts of solar......because it wasnt there. That's why I mentioned that you will need solar. That setup wont last for multiple days, unless you plan on driving every day or running a generator.

Yeah, it worked for 12 hours but what state was your battery at, afterwards? Below 50%? Possibly.

Someone else mentioned............if you go with a compressor fridge, figure in the cost of solar, because it is essential if you boondock.

I appreciate everyones feedback it is helpful. Tomorrow I am going to go look at a used Dometic absorbtion fridge at a dealer. It is setup on display and can be demonstrated. I am now leaning this way mainly because adding solar to my Avion truck camper is more of a challenge than I want to take on at the moment. For me to be " boondock " ready I am going to use propane and be done with it. May not be ideal but that's my plan for now. I'll also use my Honda generator for battery charging if need be. Once again thanks for all the feedback.

pezvela wrote:

popeyemth wrote:

700 watt continuous Harbor Freight inverter
12 hours with furnace running some using one group 27 Battery
Setup in pic is just a temp

All of 12 hours? What do you do, camp for one day at a time?

I cant see how that's gonna work without solar or driving every day or so. Especially not with all the other demands from the camper.

100 watts of solar would let this run practically indefinitely as the compressor dosent run continuous and the furnace could be off or turned way down in the day.
This setup uses nearly the identical wattage as a 12 volt compressor . Did you miss the part about the furnace running?
Look at a map sometime.

pezvela wrote:

popeyemth wrote:

700 watt continuous Harbor Freight inverter
12 hours with furnace running some using one group 27 Battery
Setup in pic is just a temp

All of 12 hours? What do you do, camp for one day at a time?

I cant see how that's gonna work without solar or driving every day or so. Especially not with all the other demands from the camper.

Yep, that is the real problem with compressor fridges - you need a good source of electricity to run them. Plus if you are somewhere that isn't sunny then solar won't be enough.

Steve.

popeyemth wrote:

700 watt continuous Harbor Freight inverter
12 hours with furnace running some using one group 27 Battery
Setup in pic is just a temp

All of 12 hours? What do you do, camp for one day at a time?

I cant see how that's gonna work without solar or driving every day or so. Especially not with all the other demands from the camper.

sabconsulting wrote:

DWeikert wrote:
sabconsulting: I'm not sure the wiring is that critical. #14 wire should be sufficient even if the batteries are on the opposite side of the camper from the fridge. Average current draw on my model is under 4 amps. I can't imagine the startup surge being enough to need more than 14 gauge.

When I fitted my CR140 I wired it into the same wiring that had been running my absorption fridge - on turning on the power nothing happened - no lights inside, nothing. Went through a couple of control units until their support engineer suggested trying thicker cable. As an ultimate test I used a jump start cable direct to the battery to see if it worked and it did. It actually sparks when you connect it up due to the current draw as the capacitor charges.

Turned out that the fridge power was not running directly from the battery, but was going via the 7-way connector at the back, so probably nearly 20ft of cable between the two. I replaced it with a thicker gauge of cable directly from the battery and it then worked fine.

The issue is not the average current draw, but the instantaneous current draw when first powered up, combined with the unit's battery protection circuitry. Charging that capacitor via a long cable causes a voltage drop to under 11.5 volts for a few milliseconds, enough for its battery protection circuitry to shut the whole thing down.

Not sure what gauge of cable I used in the end, but it was just a bit thicker than the cable Shadow Cruiser originally used (they seemed to use the same cable size for everything).

My report on installing a Waeco CR140

Steve.

Thanks for the followup. Not sure what size wire Northstar used in my camper but when I went to pick it up they had mistakenly installed an absorption fridge and they just swapped it out with the correct unit using all the same wiring. Also, my fridge is about as far away from the camper batteries as it can get and still be inside the camper. I can imagine the startup surge causing a drop in light wire, especially if it takes a circuitous route with maybe one or two less than ideal connectors along the way. I do agree that you need a reasonable size wire to handle the surge, but I just wanted to clarify that you don't need to go to down to 4 or 6 to handle the load. 12 or 14 should be sufficient. IMHO of that is.

PS: My cr1110 has a low voltage cutout at 10.5v. Something I hit too often before I added the second solar panel.

c.traveler2 wrote:

DWeikert wrote:
I can't speak for that specific model, but the Dometic CR-1110 in my Northstar has run at temps down to 19*F/-7*C. Northstar uses the same exterior venting for either compressor or absorption refrigerators so the cooling unit should've thought the temperature was well below 16*C.

sabconsulting: I'm not sure the wiring is that critical. #14 wire should be sufficient even if the batteries are on the opposite side of the camper from the fridge. Average current draw on my model is under 4 amps. I can't imagine the startup surge being enough to need more than 14 gauge.

.
How long have had your cr1110 ? I installed mine a short time ago,fit right in the same space that my old Norcold 300.3 was in.

I got it new with the camper in 2008. Hard to believe it's been 5 years.