Why consider 12v fridge for boondocking?

ktmrfs wrote:

Vintage465 wrote:
Though I have enjoyed reading all the comments, I should have been more specific when I started this thread many months ago. I was only looking for an energy saving advantage use of a 12 compressor fridge over and absorption fridge......nothing else. We primarily boon dock. And as I think I have stated in some of the comments, I've read on many RV reviews...."it has a 12v compressor fridge making perfect for boon docking". Reading a phrase like that indicated to me that there could be an energy saving advantage to having a 12v fridge that I wasn't aware of. What many people saw was the opportunity to share thier "preference" reasons for using 12v compressor fridges.....which is fine, but not what I was looking for and occasionally gets under peoples skin when discussing the politics of why and why not to have one fridge vs another type. And incidently I've never had any issues with our Norcold absorption fridge keeping things cool at temps over 100 degrees or down to 7 degrees.

a compressor driven fridge is likely much more energy efficient than an absorption fridge in terms of watt/hrs needed. BUT the energy density/wt or volume for propane is orders of magnitude better than any current battery choice. So it takes way less area and wt to store the "fuel" supply for a propane fridge vs. compressor driven if your not hooked to a line power source.

And I guess this sums up me not being specific enough. I'm thinking
"on board" energy that is available to use for cooling purposes. In my mind, a coach with a built in solar array of say, 500w, four 6v batteries and two 7 gallon propane tanks is pretty normal for many boon dockers out there. Some have more, some have less. With a setup similar to this, take a compressor fridge vs an absorption fridge, I'm pretty sure that on all but the best day, the absorption will win. So I'm not necessarily interested in the energy invested in the cooling unit to create a btu drop. It may ulimately take less energy in a clinical setting to achieve sufficient cooling from a compressor unit, but having that energy available thru a large battery bank, solar and generator is far more cumbersom that a couple 7 gallon bottles of gas that is neatly and normally stowed away. And on those two bottles of gas I can easily make it 30 days in spring and fall. Winter time I'll need to fill up in a couple weeks. Anyway, just me....The day will come when everything will be 12v compressor and we will all need to adjust and by that time the solar and batteries will surely be up to the task.