Bumpyroad wrote:
nemo45 wrote:
What we are talking about replacing are these Norcold 1200's where the cooling unit is failing. A new Dometic like yours. if its 12 cu. ft., would cost $1000 more than replacing with a Samsung RF197. That is my point.
and how much of that $1000 saved would have to be spent on upgrading solar systems, storage, etc.? and still be reliant on a 120 source on occasion.
bumpy
That would be different for different usage. Even an absorption fridge running on propane will drain the batteries at some point due to the 12v controller. Granted, it wouldn't take much solar to offset that. When you run out of propane, you have to drive the coach somewhere to get more.
If I were to convert to a residential fridge, I would have the biggest monetary impact in readying for complete off grid boon docking as I have a gasser with no inverter and just 2 GC6 batteries with no easy place to add to the bank.
So, to offset the residential fridge, it is hard to tell exactly what my power requirements would be but others have measured the power draw of the 197 at 1.8 Kwh per day. I would have to regenerate that over maybe 8-10 hours of good sunshine based on my geographic location. That means I need about 200-300 watts of solar on the roof so, with todays pricing on monocrystal panels from good 'ole china, I would need to spend about $550-$650 of that savings including the charge controller and dedicated inverter to have a larger fridge that cools better, has no fire hazard and doesn't require me to refill propane at any time. Also, the 197 warranty is not voided by RV installation.
What is the downside again? I don't ever intend to be off grid like that so it is even more of a no brainer for us when the Dometic ever finally dies out.
