Got my new fridge in!!

[_DJ_1]

Dometic CR 1110 12/110 volt

Turned out to be quite an undertaking and I am so glad I let my Dealer handle it!!!

Not only did the door and frame have to come off, all the cabinet doors had to be removed too.

Then the cabinet had to be enlarged 3/4" wider and and inch taller.

I've just got pics, nothing fancy like Alex's video!!!







Still haven't got all the cellophane of the door yet.



It is really a nice size. Took 35 minutes to put frost in the freezer!!!



It took them 4 days. OK, they were not working on it every minute but much longer than the 2 hours they estimated. And true to their word they only charged me for 2 hours labor!!!

[pezvela]

I guess I am one of the fortunate few who have an absorption that works just fine, even in hot weather. But I still carry my Engel/Norcold 45 qt compressor that I use for all beverages, including dairy. Nice not to have to deal with ice and nice not to be opening the fridge door when I want a cold brew. That would be opening the door a lot! There just wouldnt be enough room for food and cold beverages for a week's worth of boondocking, without both.

To the OP, I have 140 watts of solar but only one gp31 AGM battery. I have taken to turning off the Norcold (somewhat noisy sawafuji compressor) at night before bed and turning it on again in the early AM when I rise. It generally loses only 10 degrees (32 to 42) and makes it up in an hour of continuous running (at 2.1 amps @ 12v). So, there's no draw during the time when solar isn't working. You might consider doing that IF that's not too long for items in the freezer. That's 6-8 hours of energy saving.

Of course, if REALLY cold beer is part of your breakfast, this may not be desirable.

[_DJ_1]

garryk6 wrote:
While we are very happy with our Engle MT45, my wife does miss having Both Fridge and Freezer at the same time. We do use ours as a freezer occasionally by lifting the basket into an Engle cooler, then turn up the knob to freeze. We can also make ice for the cooler, if we want to do this for longer periods, than just for a days purchase of Ice cream 😉 .
I am keeping this for a reminder, that if we ever remodel the Avion again or build another, we may just go this route!

Garry in Kodiak, AK

DW stole my MT 45 for her office!!! I thought Engel made some type of petition to keep the lower portion of the chest frozen?

[garryk6]

While we are very happy with our Engle MT45, my wife does miss having Both Fridge and Freezer at the same time. We do use ours as a freezer occasionally by lifting the basket into an Engle cooler, then turn up the knob to freeze. We can also make ice for the cooler, if we want to do this for longer periods, than just for a days purchase of Ice cream 😉 .
I am keeping this for a reminder, that if we ever remodel the Avion again or build another, we may just go this route!

Garry in Kodiak, AK

[gingerK]

My DH and I replaced the refrig in my '93 Shadow Cruiser pop up. We didn't remove the door but did have to dismantle the old reefer to get it out of the camper. We removed the outside flange and door from the new reefer and it fit through the door. Dimensions were the same for both units so no adjustments to the space were needed. But the DH was not very pleased with me for making him do this project!

[sabconsulting]

~DJ~ wrote:
I forgot to add the Dealer checked the current draw. Spiked 6 amps at start up and then settled in at 1.6 amps to run. So it seems to take about the same amount of juice that my portable Engel did. I could go two full days/nights with it on one 12 volt battery before I had to start the genny.

Wow, that is very good. When I checked mine it seemed to draw 6 amps when the compressor ran (I have the BD50F compressor). I should probably do some more measurements.

I don't know what controller you have - mine is the 101N0500. Looking at the specification for the controller I can see that you can add a variable resistor to control the compressor RPM (between 2000RPM and 3500RPM). Maybe your fridge, being newer, uses that to adjust compressor RPM and therefore amperage automatically.

I might try adding a variable resistor at some point and see if I can save some battery power overnight.

Steve.

[_DJ_1]

The Texan wrote:
DJ, is Nelson's still at the old location or have they completed the new building and moved? Good looking install DJ.

Nelson's RV is the ONLY dealer in the Treasure Valley that I trust and allow to work on my truck and RV. Great folks that do what they say and always on time.

Still on Chinden. The new place up the street is going to be a truck shop and an annex for used stuff and Palomino campers.

[crosscheck]

DJ,

Welcome to the 12V fridge/freezer TC club. Proven technology, happy campers. Looks like the install went well.

It's great to be able to park in some really off level places for a long time and not worry about the unit. Cools and freezes food quickly.

Any chance you can plan for a second battery and another 100W solar pannel for the future? Just have to move your canoe to one side.

Sure nice to come back to ice cold beer after hiking all day in 95F Tucson heat knowing your solar and batteries have done their work.

Dave

[c_traveler2]

~DJ~ wrote:
I forgot to add the Dealer checked the current draw. Spiked 6 amps at start up and then settled in at 1.6 amps to run. So it seems to take about the same amount of juice that my portable Engel did. I could go two full days/nights with it on one 12 volt battery before I had to start the genny.

And later this Spring I am going to add 100 watts of solar. :B

Glad to see your getting similar current draw and I see you went with the flush cabinet flange while I did the space saver flange.

rottidawg wrote:
Same frig that I have had now for the past two years. Great unit. Mine was a factory install from Four Wheel Campers with the dual battery option. I have no solar and have gone as long as three days before starting my 360 HP generator.

When doing my research for a 12Vdc compressor refrigerator I did came across that 4 Wheeler seem to be the only TC manufacturer that offered 12Vdc compressor refrigerators as a option

[rottidawg]

Same frig that I have had now for the past two years. Great unit. Mine was a factory install from Four Wheel Campers with the dual battery option. I have no solar and have gone as long as three days before starting my 360 HP generator.

A heads up. On an extended cold weather hunting trip I found that after seven days my Dove bars had melted. The frig runs by sensing the temp in the frig only, not the freezer. (I never really used my furnace.) Due to the cold temps the frig was fine but did not cycle enough to keep my ice cream bars frozen. In warm/hot weather no issues at all.

Only downside.....pricey little devils aren't they.

[kbaum]

Nice improvement!

[The_Texan]

DJ, is Nelson's still at the old location or have they completed the new building and moved? Good looking install DJ.

Nelson's RV is the ONLY dealer in the Treasure Valley that I trust and allow to work on my truck and RV. Great folks that do what they say and always on time.

[_DJ_1]

I forgot to add the Dealer checked the current draw. Spiked 6 amps at start up and then settled in at 1.6 amps to run. So it seems to take about the same amount of juice that my portable Engel did. I could go two full days/nights with it on one 12 volt battery before I had to start the genny.

And later this Spring I am going to add 100 watts of solar. :B

[sabconsulting]

Hi DJ,

Wow, you did well to only pay for 2 hours install. On the other side of the equation they got to spend time working out how to do it on your camper, so will be more efficient next time a customer wants the same thing.

Ours is slightly bigger than yours (at least in volume) but we were really lucky not to have to remove the door frame. The old absorption fridge had to be dismantled to get it out the door, but the replacement was narrower, but deeper and just fitted through the door - I was extremely relieved. As you probably remember it was still a whole load of work for me even without removing that door, and I didn't need to cut into the existing cabinetry, I just had to make some trim to cover the gaps due to the width difference.

Enjoy your new fridge.

Steve.

[c_traveler2]

Mello Mike wrote:
Sweet! Is this a DC fridge or a three-way?

The cr1110 is a compressor 12Vdc unit that uses 134 a refrigerant.
DJ that one sweet install, I believe you'll very happy with it and the beer get ice cold with this unit.