Res Frig

[tfdcc]

We just got our new Solitude 369 fifth wheel with a residential frig. I keep it at the house and plugged in all the time. Is it best to let the frig run all the time or try to turn it off when it its not needed? What is the best way to keep it from running all the time? Thanks for any help. Chris

[lawnspecialties]

What's all this talk about running off the inverter and through the battery?

Its 110 and he's plugged up to shore power.

[NanciL]

every winter when we head to our snow birding place for six months, we defrost our residential refrigerator, turn it off and leave the doors open.
At our snow birding place our 40 foot trailer has a residential ref. and when we leave there to come back. we do the same.

Jack L

[TenOC]

Your choice to leave On or Off is the same if RV type or residential type frig. Why would a residential be any different.

[janstey58]

If you have an ice maker, ensure you empty before shutdown, or you will have a nice puddle of water in your RV. We leave ours on 7x24 and like that our RV is ready to go on a moments notice.

[ford_truck_guy]

Here is a twist to this same question...

We have our first residential fridge in our fifth wheel and are weekend warriors..

Generally we may have 2-3 weeks between camping trips early on, the temp outside can get up there, which of course makes the temp inside the trailer 95-99 degrees.

I have been concerned about the fridge running for 2-3 weeks while stuck inside a giant heater??

So what we do is shut it down when we get home, and turn it back on 1 few days before our next trip. . .

[azrving]

TenOC wrote:
Not to hijack the posting but inquiring minds want to know if residential frig runs on propane or only on 110 volts.

My DW "force" me to see a few new FW and I noticed most had what looked like regular residential frigs. I did not think to ask if they ran on propane. Since we dry camp a lot and my DW loves dry camping maybe the need for 110 volts to run the "new ?" frig will save me $$$$$.

If it's residential it's 120 volts and it runs off off an inverter which is powered by the batteries. A resi is usually cheaper than a propane fridg but when boondocking you then need a solar set up or run a generator a lot.

[TenOC]

Not to hijack the posting but inquiring minds want to know if residential frig runs on propane or only on 110 volts.

My DW "force" me to see a few new FW and I noticed most had what looked like regular residential frigs. I did not think to ask if they ran on propane. Since we dry camp a lot and my DW loves dry camping maybe the need for 110 volts to run the "new ?" frig will save me $$$$$.

[ScottG]

wa8yxm wrote:
If you turn it off be sure to dry it out, prop door open so it does not get nasty inside.

All I will say beyond that is:.. IN season I'd keep it running.. Off Season (Where it's parked for months without use) I'd turn it off.

That's what I'd do as well.
Sadly, new refer's have a life expectancy of something like 10~12 years so turning it off during extended down time might get you some more time.

[wa8yxm]

If you turn it off be sure to dry it out, prop door open so it does not get nasty inside.

All I will say beyond that is:.. IN season I'd keep it running.. Off Season (Where it's parked for months without use) I'd turn it off.

[azrving]

westend wrote:

rjxj wrote:
Mine is on solar so I just leave it on

Mine operates on solar, too. I keep it off and empty when not being used. I figure battery and inverter longevity will be increased because of that choice.

It sure would be nice to have the ketchup, mustard, and drinks with all the rest in the box usable, though. :C

I started testing my ah consumption last night for the heck of it now that we are not staying in it. From 9 pm to 9 am so I'm going to update an old post I made last year in an hour or so. I have always been leery of all this inverter stuff so I size them on the large side. I'm running a Prowatt 2000 and about the most it sees is toaster now and then pulling about 80 or 90 amps. Like any engine the more it is flat pedaled the shorter the life.

[westend]

rjxj wrote:
Mine is on solar so I just leave it on

Mine operates on solar, too. I keep it off and empty when not being used. I figure battery and inverter longevity will be increased because of that choice.

It sure would be nice to have the ketchup, mustard, and drinks with all the rest in the box usable, though. :C

[azrving]

Mine is on solar so I just leave it on

[lawnspecialties]

I have found keeping mine running all the time works best. We keep a bunch of bottled water in there so its not completely empty. If you want to turn it off, you can do so by raising the temperature setting until it turns off.

Not sure if this has anything to do with it but I turned mine off over the winter from December until late March. Then on that first trip, the compressor started going bad. It had to be replaced but fortunately, under warranty. Now mine runs 24/7/365 just like the unit in our house.

If you decide to leave it running, maybe raise the temp setting just a little so it doesn't run as much.