Compressor Refrigerator opt 12v?

joe&julie81 wrote:
Has anyone been using one of these 12v compressor refrigerators? I've heard they are low amp drawing. How are they on the battery?

Yes, since I bought my camper new in 2007. Works great, and newer ones are even better. It will freeze water in the frig section if not careful. But it does take at least a little foresight about 12v power.
Probably no one needs the 12v capacity I have, but most need some of it.
1) Heavy duty, 2 gauge wire alternator charge circuit -- Yes
2) 110w solar -- or more, probably
3) 540AH, 12v batteries -- not so much

I am in the same boat as the others who installed a 12 volt fridge. Yes for me it is the best mod I have ever done and I will never have another propane fridge. I put in a nova kool which slid into the same opening. Nova Kool as well as others make them to fit virtually any existing rv opening. I have 200 watts solar and two 115 amp hour batteries. Yes the truck will supply the power for the fridge no problem. 5 amps at 12 volts so 60 watts but it only draws that power during duty cycle. So lets say 2.5 amps at 12 volts constant. Never have to level and the fridge is ice cold in a hour or two and remains that way when its over a hundred degrees no problem. If you plug in at night then of course power is no issue.

With solar and my fridge and extra battery I did spend in the range of $2300. But definitely worth every penny. I also installed the solar and fridge myself. But really a very easy project. JMHO

996Pilot wrote:
I installed a 12V Danfoss Compressor refrigerator last year after my Norcold 3-way finally died once and for all (it had been requiring a lot of work for several years). I put in the Isotherm Cruise 130 marine refrigerator. I opted for the 12V only as the 12V/120V model just includes a built in converter to convert 120V to 12V (we already have that as part of the camper).

I have two 6V Trojan T-105 batteries and a 130W solar panel with an MPPT charge controller. The refrigerator claims an average consumption of 440 watts over a 24 hour period. That's 3 amps at roughly 50% duty cycle. Figure overnight (no solar input but not really opening the refrigerator a lot) the draw might be about 175 watts.

We really love the compressor fridge so far as it cools better in hot weather, cools faster, works on up to a 30 degree angle BUT the best part is the Isotherm C-130 model that slid into the exact same opening my 3.2 cu. ft. Nocold came out of, has a 4.6 cu. ft. capacity. The Danfoss compressor takes up very little space at the top, back corner of the refrigerator. That lets them increase the inside of the refer box for the same size footprint. A BIG bonus.

Nice alternative (I looked). I have to ask, how much? and, I presume it fits nicely...

I installed a 12V Danfoss Compressor refrigerator last year after my Norcold 3-way finally died once and for all (it had been requiring a lot of work for several years). I put in the Isotherm Cruise 130 marine refrigerator. I opted for the 12V only as the 12V/120V model just includes a built in converter to convert 120V to 12V (we already have that as part of the camper).

I have two 6V Trojan T-105 batteries and a 130W solar panel with an MPPT charge controller. The refrigerator claims an average consumption of 440 watts over a 24 hour period. That's 3 amps at roughly 50% duty cycle. Figure overnight (no solar input but not really opening the refrigerator a lot) the draw might be about 175 watts.

We really love the compressor fridge so far as it cools better in hot weather, cools faster, works on up to a 30 degree angle BUT the best part is the Isotherm C-130 model that slid into the exact same opening my 3.2 cu. ft. Nocold came out of, has a 4.6 cu. ft. capacity. The Danfoss compressor takes up very little space at the top, back corner of the refrigerator. That lets them increase the inside of the refer box for the same size footprint. A BIG bonus.

I replaced my 3-way fridge with a Tundra (Dometic) 12v compressor fridge in about 2004. At that time, I had a 110W solar panel on the roof of my TC and two 100AH batteries. My fridge draws 3.2 amps and is the TJ42RE model which has an AC power supply also.

Tundra Refrigerators

The compressor fridge is one of the best mods I've ever done to my TC and I HIGHLY recommend it.

I have a Nova Cool 12 volt/120 volt compressor refrigerator in my Class B RV. I am very pleased. It is always the right temperature regardless of outside temperatures. The battery draw is a non issue. I have two AGM 12 volt batteries and any draw down is quickly recharged when the either the generator or vehicle engine is started. The longest I parked without recharging the batteries was three days. Perhaps the best feature of a compressor refrigerator is they are not sensitive to being out of level. I can park anywhere! This is especially nice when parking not for the evening or longer where being level is important, but for shopping, site seeing, or anytime out of the vehicle for other than camping. Another nice feature is the quick cool down. I turn on the refrigerator and two hours later is is down to the set temperature.

Typical 3 way, gas 12 volt and 110 on gas will draw about 2/10th of an amp or less (depending on if it has auxilary fans or not). This off season I'm going to get a Dometic Cool Box Dual zone compressor fridge / cooler for the back seat of my pickup truck when camping and for my wife to use in the summer when she goes to the grocery to keep frozen food frozen on the way home in a hot car.

I like the portability and you don't have that with a camper fridge (built in), no matter what design it is... You have quite a few different designs in compressor fridges to choose from. Dometic, Nova Kool ate just 2 of many in many different physical designs and many different convenience features.

If the camper is charged by the truck, the compressor fridge will run just fine while you are driving.
But when you are camped and have no other means to recharge, the compressor fridge will draw your batteries empty quicker than a conventional propane fridge which uses little to no electricity while on propane.

The battery capacity and charging technology need to be matched to the power consumption. Solar may be an option, and maybe an additional battery. But someone in the know should look into your specific setup to cone up with the best solution.

Will it not sustain itself while traveling down the rd hooked up to the truck?

Nova Kool makes a nice product. They use relatively low power, 3-5 Ah@12v. That will still require a means to sustain the battery bank with either solar, generator or shore power. I opted for a std dometic 2 way in our new camper. I regret that I didn't go for the upcharge and order it with the compressor fridge. We can still power the fridge with an inverter in AC mode but so much less efficient.