Travato refrigerator

[CT51]

Read in one of the posts on the Travato that they were having trouble lighting the refrigerator on propane. Does the fridge not have auto ignition? Is it a two way, or three way fridge?

Thanks,

CT51

[avanti]

wincrasher65 wrote:
No inverter in Travato or the new Pleasureway Lexor. The TV and the stereo/dvd system are all native 12 volt. I'm see that in all the new rv's lately - 12 volt tv sets! A great idea since an LED LCD TV set uses all of 50 watts.

I did buy a 500watt pure sine inverter just to carry along in case I were to need one. I'm probably going to mount it under the driver's seat and hard wire it to the chassis battery. I figure it would be OK to run a laptop on or a phone charger. Nothing serious.

I think running the refer off an inverter is kinda a nutty idea. It's not going to really run any better on 110 than on propane (considering it's an absorption fridge). It will run a loooong time on the propane and your only competitor for it's use is the cooktop. So unless you are running heat, you have months of cooking and refer use with the onboard tank.

Agree that all low-wattage devices are best run at native 12VDC. (Which is why compressor fridges make so much sense). The problem is high-wattage devices (typically air conditioning and microwave). Even with the engine running and an adequate generator, high currents at 12VDC would require ridiculously large wires. This is why the world went to AC in the first place.

As for running the fridge on propane, I don't see why one would want to use propane while underway. No matter how much propane one has, why consume it unnecessarily? Plus, it is arguably safer to have your propane turned off while driving (although I am NOT saying that it is unacceptable not to do so). I just see no downside to running on AC, but to each his or her own...

[wincrasher65]

No inverter in Travato or the new Pleasureway Lexor. The TV and the stereo/dvd system are all native 12 volt. I'm see that in all the new rv's lately - 12 volt tv sets! A great idea since an LED LCD TV set uses all of 50 watts.

I did buy a 500watt pure sine inverter just to carry along in case I were to need one. I'm probably going to mount it under the driver's seat and hard wire it to the chassis battery. I figure it would be OK to run a laptop on or a phone charger. Nothing serious.

I think running the refer off an inverter is kinda a nutty idea. It's not going to really run any better on 110 than on propane (considering it's an absorption fridge). It will run a loooong time on the propane and your only competitor for it's use is the cooktop. So unless you are running heat, you have months of cooking and refer use with the onboard tank.

[Davydd]

There may be an inverter. Both Bs I've had had small inverters of 450 and 700 watts just to run the TV in a dry camping situation yet little was said about them in the literature. In our Pleasure-way Plateau it was concealed in a cabinet you could not easily get to, yet it was there with two AC plug outlets. In our GWVan Legend the outlets are accessible along with a USB plug in. I'd guess if you have a converter electrical system set up and you can watch TV dry camping you most likely have that inverter.

[mlts22]

With this fridge, a RML-8330 (as per wincrasher65), I wonder about another option, although it does take precious freezer space: A few hard-sided freezer packs, such as what Rubbermaid sells. Keep 1-2 in the freezer part, then before a trip, just turn the fridge to 12 volts and move the packs to the fridge part.

As previously stated, one downside of this fridge is that it is tall and narrow. I wonder about two Valterra fridge fans (both use two "D" cells, and the batteries last about 4-6 weeks in constant use) mainly to keep air circulating. They do not move that large a volume of air... but enough to help with cooling such a tall, narrow space.

I didn't see an inverter with the Travato, but looking at the blog on another post, I -think- I can mount at least a 300 watt Morningstar SureSine inverter underneath the bench seat, then mount a receptacle nearby. With such a small battery, I'd not want to go more than 300 watts anyway. However, it is enough wattage so I can charge things overnight (a power tool battery, laptop, etc.) without having to fire up a generator.

[stan909]

" Mr Grumpy Pants " I thought he was talking about me.LOL!! Seriously though.No reason to be name calling.Remember that although not many of us respond to topics; many more do read them.If a newbee is reading the post and didn't read from the beginning then it might be useful to re-post information.I have had to edit my postings because I realized it might look "Grumpy".Maybe we could all chill and not end up having a moderator do extra work.Happy travels, Stan

[Davydd]

avanti wrote:
If you have an inverter, you are probably better off setting your 3-way to 120VAC while driving. It may be less efficient, but you don't really care while getting power from the engine alternator, and most 3-way refrigerators perform much better on 120VAC than on 12VDC. I don't know why you would want to use propane while driving.

I do agree that if you have a choice, 12VDC compressor is the way to go (and I've had both).

I don't see an inverter listed in their electrical specs for a Travato. They list a converter. If there is an inverter it may be a small one designated to run a TV off the batteries when off shore power.

[Davydd]

wincrasher65 wrote:


Mr Grumpy Pants chimed in with the obvious.

Perhaps I should introduce you to forum rules.

"Flaming" of other participants is strictly forbidden. Professional conduct and respectful behavior towards other members and moderators is a primary requirement for participation on the Open Roads Forum.

[2112]

I had a 1988 Coleman PUP that had a 2 way pilot fridge. The pilot would blow out while moving down the highway. I would set it to max cold so the burner would burn constantly. I'm sure it used more propane but it solved my problem.

[avanti]

If you have an inverter, you are probably better off setting your 3-way to 120VAC while driving. It may be less efficient, but you don't really care while getting power from the engine alternator, and most 3-way refrigerators perform much better on 120VAC than on 12VDC. I don't know why you would want to use propane while driving.

I do agree that if you have a choice, 12VDC compressor is the way to go (and I've had both).

[erip]

win
you are correct on all accounts!
especially the reefer madness

[wincrasher65]

If I could, I'd rename this thread "refer madness".

Mr Grumpy Pants chimed in with the obvious. Of course you can't dry camp in 12v mode. I think it's safe to say you can stop for a sit-down lunch without having to worry about it, though.

I'm not going to kill my battery for the sake of an experiment. I was hoping someone could point out in the manual, or there is a tag or something that could confirm the 12v consumption, that's all.

[erip]

wincrasher,
I use my fridge in the travato the exact same way as you. THis is my third RV and my first 3 way fridge. Its definately the most efficient in terms of cooling down and staying cold. All of this dead horse beating about fridges was only responding to a negative comment about travato's. I have left my fridge on 12V when parked for an hour (by mistake) and my battery was not completely drained. The only drawback i have found is that if i leave it on propane while traveling the pilot light often goes out( after the fridge has reached temperature and then warms so that the burner needs to go back on). It took some getting used to remembering to switch to 12V while underway but since the LP tank is smaller than on my previous B plus, its efficient to use 12V while on the road. In a perfect world i'd like a danfoss comnpressor fridge and a solar panel so that i don't have to worry about being level and have the advantage of faster cool down than absortion fridges, but everyone has his own prefrences. Meanwhile i am very happy with my purchase

[Davydd]

Look it up for 12V power use. It is generally 3 times as much. Or better yet, park and see how long you can last on a 12V absorption refrigerator using just your batteries. The whole point is an absorption refrigerator is redundant in that it can use 3 power sources but to say you can get by without propane with one is highly questionable with a one or two battery common B setup. Yes, you can drive on 12V but you can't stop for long without propane and you can't dry camp without propane. It is that simple.

[wincrasher65]

Here is how I use my 3-way:

Cool down on 110v the night before the trip.
Run on 12v while traveling
Switch to propane or 110 when camped, depending on if power available.

If I stop for lunch en-route, I switch to LP.

Sounds like alot of fiddling, but it's no big deal really. If I forget to switch for a rest stop, or lunch, it's no big deal really, as there is enough battery to cover it and you are going to recharge when you get back underway.

Interesting in the post above saying the 12v consumption is 15ah. How do you know this for certain, or where can I verify that rate?