EverChill Refrigerator

[CavemanCharlie]

I know that there has been discussions about 12 volt fridges on here before. But, has anyone had any experience with these EverChill 12 volt fridges ?? I heard a person saying that one of the popular RV manufactures were going to discontinue absorption fridges and switch to only using these. I sometimes like to go dry camping and I wonder how long these would run off of a couple of batteries ? Here is a couple of videos claiming they will do OK but, neither video was taken in a real world set up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUHwxxwNuOQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNCnwXOh1ng

[JRscooby]

valhalla360 wrote:

JRscooby wrote:
Why does a compressor fridge require a hole in the roof?

It doesn't...that's a nice advantage. But some people seem to think, leaks don't tend to concentrate around holes in the roof membrane.

Obviously, it's not a 100% solution to leaks but it's a start. Honestly, most of the holes in the roof could be eliminated.
- Properly done sewer vents in the side wall would be less leak prone.
- With cheap low wattage LED, the need for roof hatches to let in light are not as important.

If you eliminate all the roof penetrations, the standard rubber roofs will hold up much better with less maintenance. Even better metal or fiberglass roofs become much cheaper options and are even less leak prone.

Slapping another layer of dicor sounds good but reality is most RVs go to the junk yard due to leaks.

IMHO, roof leaks on RVs are 100% fault of consumers willingness to replace a camper destroyed by water leaks with another one likely to be destroyed by water leak. Sure, the tell you we promise it won't leak as long as you are willing to mess around with it a couple times a year. And it's not like nobody knows how to make a roof that won't leak.
My '67 Pete had 1 roof vent in cab, 2 in sleeper. About '79, I replaced the gaskets on the vents. Not because of water coming in. The covers would rattle like crazy, but still keep water out.
You say the RV roof is much bigger. True, but Pete knows how to make a seam. If you can make 1 water tight seam, you can make 10, or 100. A friend's '85 Pete had a rock, about 500lb. dropped on top of sleeper. No leak. When it got cold, the lake on the roof changed into a block of ice. Worry about that falling into traffic, we pushed roof up with a jack. Still no leak

[philh]

I put a computer fan inside my fridge, and it made a remarkable improvement, so much so, that I was freezing stuff in the fridge... however, it still required almost daily changes in the slider depending on outside temp. What worked well at 90F, was freezing when temperature went down at night.

[CavemanCharlie]

2oldman wrote:
OP, let us know what you decide on.

I have no decision to make. I just happened to see something about it on You Tube and I thought I would ask what all of you think.

I am very happy with the gas/electric fridge on my 1993 Travel Trailer. It works well and allows me to dry camp.

On the other hand, my brother has a 2018 5th wheel and his gas/electric fridge will not keep things cold in slightly hot weather. It will also not keep things cold while towing. His fridge is one of those with no temp controls on the eyebrow. You are supposed to slide the thermister up and down on the coils to control the temp. I had a buddy that had one of those fridges too and it never worked with a darned either.

The poor build quality and design of some of these never gas/electric fridges has killed the industry.

My old TT is wore out and I'm almost afraid to get a newer one. Besides the fridges not keeping things cold in newer RV's. The AC's in newer RV's seem to be awful too. I can turn my TT into a refrigerator setting in the sun on a 90+ degree day. But, many people say that they can not.

Oh well, I'm going to squeeze one more year out of my rig. After that I will see what happens. .

[valhalla360]

JRscooby wrote:
Why does a compressor fridge require a hole in the roof?

It doesn't...that's a nice advantage. But some people seem to think, leaks don't tend to concentrate around holes in the roof membrane.

Obviously, it's not a 100% solution to leaks but it's a start. Honestly, most of the holes in the roof could be eliminated.
- Properly done sewer vents in the side wall would be less leak prone.
- With cheap low wattage LED, the need for roof hatches to let in light are not as important.

If you eliminate all the roof penetrations, the standard rubber roofs will hold up much better with less maintenance. Even better metal or fiberglass roofs become much cheaper options and are even less leak prone.

Slapping another layer of dicor sounds good but reality is most RVs go to the junk yard due to leaks.

[2oldman]

GDS-3950BH wrote:
some think you have a huge benefit by having 1 less hole in a roof. Whatever LOL.

I put 48 holes in my roof to mount my solar panels. Just don't be stingy with the Dicor!

[GDS-3950BH]

JRscooby wrote:
Why does a compressor fridge require a hole in the roof?

It doesn't, but some think you have a huge benefit by having 1 less hole in a roof. Whatever LOL.

[goducks10]

They don't. A 12V compressor fridge doesn't need the roof vent or the side hole for the rear vent like an absorption fridge needs.
Although it is handy if you need to work on the compressor and to wire up the 12V connection. But it's not needed for ventilation like an absorption fridge needs.
So thats 2 holes less when using a 12V fridge.

[JRscooby]

Why does a compressor fridge require a hole in the roof?

[valhalla360]

GDS-3950BH wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

GDS-3950BH wrote:
no gas service is needed, and no wall or roof venting is required.

This is something I consider a big positive.

Leaks are usually what kills an RV and leaks typically come from holes in the roof.

An RV with an electric fridge still has "holes in the roof". So you might have 1 less hole in the roof which matters little if you have two vents,AC,skylight,a plumbing vent or two, and a TV antenna. I don't know how having 7 holes in the roof is a big positve over 8 holes in the roof, but whatever floats your boat I guess.

Each hole is a chance for a leak. No hole, no leak.

[GDS-3950BH]

valhalla360 wrote:

GDS-3950BH wrote:
no gas service is needed, and no wall or roof venting is required.

This is something I consider a big positive.

Leaks are usually what kills an RV and leaks typically come from holes in the roof.

An RV with an electric fridge still has "holes in the roof". So you might have 1 less hole in the roof which matters little if you have two vents,AC,skylight,a plumbing vent or two, and a TV antenna. I don't know how having 7 holes in the roof is a big positve over 8 holes in the roof, but whatever floats your boat I guess.

As one who typically camped at Fed/USACE and State Park campgrounds, which typically have a much higher percentage of rustic sites to FHU or even electric only sites, I'll take the 2 way absorption fridge. There are many campgrounds around these parts where all the sites are rustic. Folks who need all the conveniences of home avoid them and thats a good thing. I don't really care to mess with generators, banks of batteries, inverters, and arrays of solar panels. It would be easier to use a Yeti.

The rustic sites can almost be had at any time easily, even on holiday weekends, and can be the quietest and nicest sites in the campground, and usually are.

Now when ones desire is to sit in a box, 10' from someone else sitting in a box, then an Everchill makes all the sense in the world. It's still a piece of cheap garbage however. or the manufacturers would not be installing them.

[2oldman]

OP, let us know what you decide on.

[pianotuna]

2oldman,

100% correct (as usual).

[2oldman]

AllegroD wrote:
Who lets their lead acid 12v battery drain to 9.48v?

Seriously. You have to have a bit of education to know when a salesman is blowing smoke.

[pianotuna]

AllegroD wrote:
Who lets their lead acid 12v battery drain to 9.48v?

The same ones who may have extremely short cycle life from an LI bank by relying on the battery management system to "protect" them.

SiO2 would be a much better fit for folks who just want to plug and play.