CR1110 Refrigerator install in my TC

If a 100 AH battery will run that for 3 days I will probably forego the solar!!

I bought one of those hot rod Schumacher battery chargers that I will connect directly to the battery and power with the H 2000.

sabconsulting wrote:

c.traveler2 wrote:
In the video I mention about the amp draw of the CR1110 unit at about 2 amps, I should have added this is after reaching set point, Lets say your battery has, just pulling a number out of thin air, of 100 usable amps. CR1110 has a duty cycle of 55% at 80*F, so you would have a amp draw of 1.1 amp(based on my 2 amps @ set-point) per hour. You would have a potential of 90 run hours or 3.78 days off that battery with no outside charge.

I think my Waeco Dometic CR140 draws 6 amps at 12v when the compressor runs. It is supposed to average 70w, but I'm not sure I get quite the efficiency the documentation states. I believe it uses the Danfos BD50F. The smaller fridges use the BD35F, which might be less current-hungry.

Steve.

Cr1110 uses the Danfoss BD35F, what I also like about having a Danfoss compressor they are also sold through Johnstone Supply.

I have a NovaKool compressor fridge. I think it is about 4.5 cu ft. It runs on a Danfoss BD35 compressor. These compressors can be set up for different ampere pulls but typically pull about 2.3 amps. Under about 75 degrees, the unit runs pretty efficiently...maybe about 30-40% cycle time. Above 80 or 85 the unit runs a lot...probably 75% of the time or more. That is about 40 amp-hrs. I opted for a much bigger solar system. There are plenty of cloudy days or days that I am parked in the woods.

c.traveler2 wrote:
In the video I mention about the amp draw of the CR1110 unit at about 2 amps, I should have added this is after reaching set point, Lets say your battery has, just pulling a number out of thin air, of 100 usable amps. CR1110 has a duty cycle of 55% at 80*F, so you would have a amp draw of 1.1 amp(based on my 2 amps @ set-point) per hour. You would have a potential of 90 run hours or 3.78 days off that battery with no outside charge.

I think my Waeco Dometic CR140 draws 6 amps at 12v when the compressor runs. It is supposed to average 70w, but I'm not sure I get quite the efficiency the documentation states. I believe it uses the Danfos BD50F. The smaller fridges use the BD35F, which might be less current-hungry.

Steve.

kohldad wrote:
Glad to see it working out for you. Video made it much more interesting and informative than just a set of pics.

I tried a compressor fridge, but with the temps in the 80s and no solar, it would kill my battery in a day. Went back with the Norcold 300.3. Thought about adding solar, but it wouldn't do much in the shade I find on the east coast though.

Reason the wiring was sufficient is the 815 comes wired for a 3-way fridge. With the 10A draw in 12V mode, they run an 8 or 10 gauge wire from the battery to the fridge. Would imagine any camper set up for a 3-way fridge would have heavy enough wiring.

Have you thought about adding insulation in the voids around the sides, top, and back of the fridge? It would have to reduce the compressor run time by a little bit.

On hind sight, one of the issues I think I had was the fan on my unit re-circulated a lot of air. Probably would of had much better results if I had put a piece of curved sheet metal between the coil and camper wall to help deflect the air up towards the roof vent.

On removing the old unit, when I tried mine I just removed the absorpition unit. Just have to remove the 3 screws in the freezers, disconnect a few things, cut the tape at the edges, and a screw in the back. Absorption unit then comes off the fridge body in one piece.

As I recall you had tried a Tundra unit, which Dometic I believe bought and closed down. In the video I mention about the amp draw of the CR1110 unit at about 2 amps, I should have added this is after reaching set point, Lets say your battery has, just pulling a number out of thin air, of 100 usable amps. CR1110 has a duty cycle of 55% at 80*F, so you would have a amp draw of 1.1 amp(based on my 2 amps @ set-point) per hour. You would have a potential of 90 run hours or 3.78 days off that battery with no outside charge.

Don't give up on solar use, even in the shade it still is generating power, I'm sure at least one of our member knows where to find those specs.

Glad to see it working out for you. Video made it much more interesting and informative than just a set of pics.

I tried a compressor fridge, but with the temps in the 80s and no solar, it would kill my battery in a day. Went back with the Norcold 300.3. Thought about adding solar, but it wouldn't do much in the shade I find on the east coast though.

Reason the wiring was sufficient is the 815 comes wired for a 3-way fridge. With the 10A draw in 12V mode, they run an 8 or 10 gauge wire from the battery to the fridge. Would imagine any camper set up for a 3-way fridge would have heavy enough wiring.

Have you thought about adding insulation in the voids around the sides, top, and back of the fridge? It would have to reduce the compressor run time by a little bit.

On hind sight, one of the issues I think I had was the fan on my unit re-circulated a lot of air. Probably would of had much better results if I had put a piece of curved sheet metal between the coil and camper wall to help deflect the air up towards the roof vent.

On removing the old unit, when I tried mine I just removed the absorpition unit. Just have to remove the 3 screws in the freezers, disconnect a few things, cut the tape at the edges, and a screw in the back. Absorption unit then comes off the fridge body in one piece.

Mello Mike wrote:

FreeLanceing wrote:
Nice job, and nice video. We share the same camper, same year as well I believe. I have had my trials with the N300.3. I was wondering how you got the old unit out. As I recall it does not fit through the door. Sawzall it in half, remove the door? I was also wondering what that new unit cost. What if you don't have solar but maybe 2 batteries. I normally have 110 availible and could always run the honda for recharge. I imagine it would work great going down the road with the truck charging the battery. Mine still works but its not dependable. When I camp its rarely above 80 so I limp along.

In the video it shows the door separated when its placed on the bed.

The door on the Norcold had to be remove in order to remove it from the cabinet, the hinges screws and outer flange cover screw into the cabinet face.

FreeLanceing wrote:
Nice job, and nice video. We share the same camper, same year as well I believe. I have had my trials with the N300.3. I was wondering how you got the old unit out. As I recall it does not fit through the door. Sawzall it in half, remove the door? I was also wondering what that new unit cost. What if you don't have solar but maybe 2 batteries. I normally have 110 availible and could always run the honda for recharge. I imagine it would work great going down the road with the truck charging the battery. Mine still works but its not dependable. When I camp its rarely above 80 so I limp along.

The real trick in getting the Norcold 300.3 out of the Lance 815 door was cutting the flanges on the refrigerator body along with cutting the control panel ends off. After that it can be pushed out the door, it's a tight fit but works, no dissembling the cooling unit.

I bought my Lance 815 in 2002 new at the Pomona RV show in 2002. I've had this CR1110 long enough to know that it works just fine even in weather down to 32 degree F, we have some nights that dropped that low out here. The newer electronic control does a soft start on the compressor and does a great job on managing the energy use on 12Vdc.

I do highly suggest a solar panel of at least 85 watts with your Lance 815 whether you go my route or not. To date I've had let the CR1110 run 10 straight days just on solar and the house battery (1-group 27) just to see how far I can push it. So far the solar panel more than makes up energy consumption that the CR1110 uses.

If you decide to go the 12Vdc compressor route feel free to PM me, I believe DJ is getting a 12Vdc compressor refer installed in this rig.

Nicely done video! Entertaining and informative.

Cheers,
Silver-

FreeLanceing wrote:
Nice job, and nice video. We share the same camper, same year as well I believe. I have had my trials with the N300.3. I was wondering how you got the old unit out. As I recall it does not fit through the door. Sawzall it in half, remove the door? I was also wondering what that new unit cost. What if you don't have solar but maybe 2 batteries. I normally have 110 availible and could always run the honda for recharge. I imagine it would work great going down the road with the truck charging the battery. Mine still works but its not dependable. When I camp its rarely above 80 so I limp along.

Some input from when I replaced my fridge a couple of years ago - my old absorption fridge didn't initially fit through the door, but after removing the fridge door, frame and some other bits that unbolted it was fine - my replacement compressor fridge was narrower.

If you don't have solar then you'll have to do the math to work out how long at the average amperage you can last on your two batteries (without going below say 50% charge). This issue could be that if you were driving a bit every day and boondocking every night the daily drive might not provide enough juice to recharge the batteries AND run the fridge meaning your batteries are fighting a losing battle. Though if you have fitted a second or heavy duty alternator and suitable wire to the camper then that probably won't be a problem. If you have 110 available at most places you camp and are only away from it for a day or so then you probably have nothing to worry about.

I only have one battery and although I have solar I can't guarantee getting much out of that in northern Europe. I also have a fairly long run of wire from the standard truck alternator to the camper. So to make the most of every drop of electricity I get. I therefore now have an MPPT combined solar and DC-to-DC charger that combines the power from the alternator and solar and uses switch-mode technology provide the best charging voltage at all times. In parallel with that I fitted a multi-stage intelligent battery charger that adds charging current whenever I've got hook-up. If the camper battery is fully charged the DC-to-DC charger will reverse the flow and use the solar to charge the truck battery.

Steve.