Configuration for keeping the fridge going while driving

[rlraygoleta]

Hi,
I have a 2004 Lance 845S with a Norcold fridge. It sits on a 2015 Ford F250 4x4. We have a new battery in the camper and it is equipped with solar. I have been trying to figure out the best way to set thing so the fridge will stay somewhat cold while driving. If I set the fridge to battery it does not really keep things cold and will go to low voltage when driving at night. I tried running with propane and no battery coming back from Co a couple weeks ago when it was very windy. The propane kept shutting off.
When the camper is plugged into shore power everything is fine and it also seems to work fine off the propane when sitting still.
Comments and suggestions will be much appreciated.

[fla-gypsy]

Hold on a second, I can set my fridge on auto on my cheap TT and drive all day without fancy inverters and solar help. The flame on mine is enclosed enough it won't blow out. You have to have a charged battery to fire the igniter. Something's wrong with this picture.

[JoeChiOhki]

mkirsch wrote:
The propane flame is blowing out because it is either not burning correctly, or the flame needs to be protected from the wind better. Your burner might need cleaning.

Trying to run the fridge off battery is a waste of time. You would need a ton of solar to even begin to keep up.

Aye solar isn't viable. To make it work running off the battery and perform decently, you'll have to duplicate what I did.

Before you even get started, make sure your truck has at least a 120 amp alternator and what's its maximum continuous load rating is, you will need to upgrade most likely.

First off, you're going to need to upgrade your battery cables to be sure they're at least 4 Gauge. Next, you're going to need to run and install a dedicated charge circuit with 4 gauge wire going from your alternator back to your camper's batteries (plural, you need either a couple of good golf carts in series or two Group 31s) with the same size plug (100amp lift gate plug works well for this),

Once you have all that, you'll need at least a 400watt inverter and setup some method of switching the outlet from shore feed to the inverter.

Wire the inverter up correctly with at least six gauge wire and an appropriately sized inline fuse.

Now, you can run your fridge on 110 going down the road without killing your batteries, charge your batteries efficiently off the alternator and have it stay properly cold while driving.

My rig has a 2-way fridge, and the propane doesn't auto-relight (no electronics), so I built this setup which worked very well at keeping my fridge cold going down the road, and I didn't have to worry about blowing my arse up if I forgot to turn off the burner while fueling.

[mkirsch]

The propane flame is blowing out because it is either not burning correctly, or the flame needs to be protected from the wind better. Your burner might need cleaning.

Trying to run the fridge off battery is a waste of time. You would need a ton of solar to even begin to keep up.

[deltabravo]

THe fridge needs battery power connected to it to run on Propane. The battery power runs the electronics and igniter.

Set it on Propane with battery power connected to it and all should be well.

[midnightsadie]

while traveling put the frig on propane, on battery it,ll kill the battery in a few hours.

[sremsing]

Doesn't it need the battery for the ignitet on propane?