Thinking about a Truck Fridge.

[_DJ_1]

I found a 4.4 cu ft model real close to the dimensions of my gas fridge.

The specs say 24 watts per hour. That is 2 amps per hour? If so that is right in the ball park with my Engel 45 which used 2.5/hour.

My Engel picked up a bad vibration after 2 seasons. :M Won't go that route again. $$$$$

Really tired of these gas fridges that can't cut hot weather. 60 degree beer in 100 degree weather BLOWS!!!

[Reddog1]

~DJ~ wrote:
I found a 4.4 cu ft model real close to the dimensions of my gas fridge.

The specs say 24 watts per hour. That is 2 amps per hour? If so that is right in the ball park with my Engel 45 which used 2.5/hour.

My Engel picked up a bad vibration after 2 seasons. :M Won't go that route again. $$$$$

Really tired of these gas fridges that can't cut hot weather. 60 degree beer in 100 degree weather BLOWS!!!

Respectfully, what is the point of your OP?

Was it a statement, or open for discussion?

You followed it with this post.

~DJ~ wrote:
I'm so happy for you propane guys that have had good luck. I am going by MY past experience with a 1988 Northstar, 1992 Caribou, 2004 S&S and a 2007 SunLite, all with propane and none of them were safe to keep food!!!! (needs UNDER 45 degrees).

All campers I bought used except for the S&S. And it spent so much time in the shop trying to get the fridge to work I just gave up on it.

Then I bought my Engel. I had 34 degree beer no matter how level I was or the triple digit temps.

Hardcore off road campers (Four Wheel Camper) are now offering 12 volt fridges.

I just got back from the desert and I tell you what did work good. I had bought a 12 volt Igloo cooler from Costco. It is a less expensive unit without a thermostat. Runs constantly. I filled it with beer and plugged it into my truck. After a few hours when I reached my campsite I had ice cold beer!!! I unplugged it at bed time so it would not run the battery dead. But for what it is, worked good!!!

I have no problem with your experience, we each have our own. I am a bit miffed as to what was the point of your OP.

Wayne

[Jfet]

2oldman wrote:

~DJ~ wrote:
The specs say 24 watts per hour. That is 2 amps per hour?

Nobody's said it yet, so I will.

There's no such thing as 'watts per hour' or 'amps per hour.' It's watts, or amps. If your spec is 24watts, that means it will draw 24/12=2 amps from a battery. In one hour, that's 2 amp-hours.

Batteries are rated in AH (amp-hours), not amps/hour. Yes, it's a fine distinction, but some of us are picky that way.

If you want to get really picky, they are actually based on a 20 hour drawdown, meaning a 100AH battery should supply 5 amps for 20 hours. If you draw 50 amps from it, you probably won't get 2 hours like you may calculate, but somewhat less. One of the reasons for this has to do with the square of the current times the internal resistance, which is the power lost in the battery. As you can see, 10 amps squared is 100, but 50 amps squared is 2500. If you have 20 milliohms of internal resistance (pulled that number out of me bum, but it is probably in the ballpark), then you are losing only 2 watts inside the battery when providing 10 amps of current, but you are losing 50 watts inside the battery when providing 50 amps of current. There will be additional I^2*R losses external to the battery in things like the wiring which also are made a lot worse by larger I values.

Everyone asleep now? I am good at bedtime electronics stories.

[2oldman]

~DJ~ wrote:
The specs say 24 watts per hour. That is 2 amps per hour?

Nobody's said it yet, so I will.

There's no such thing as 'watts per hour' or 'amps per hour.' It's watts, or amps. If your spec is 24watts, that means it will draw 24/12=2 amps from a battery. In one hour, that's 2 amp-hours.

Batteries are rated in AH (amp-hours), not amps/hour. Yes, it's a fine distinction, but some of us are picky that way.

[Jfet]

what kind of propane fridge was in all those campers that didn't work? there is nothing really high tech about them...you provide heat in the right place, make sure the other places have ventilation (a computer fan helps), and presto, cold beer.

I would think out of all of those campers you listed, at least one manufacturer would have known how to correctly install a propane refrigerator.

I just tested our new Norcold 641 3 way propane fridge that we will be installing in our flatbed camper, and it cooled down to -10 degrees in about 4 hours, with ambient of 80 degrees.

[_DJ_1]

I'm so happy for you propane guys that have had good luck. I am going by MY past experience with a 1988 Northstar, 1992 Caribou, 2004 S&S and a 2007 SunLite, all with propane and none of them were safe to keep food!!!! (needs UNDER 45 degrees).

All campers I bought used except for the S&S. And it spent so much time in the shop trying to get the fridge to work I just gave up on it.

Then I bought my Engel. I had 34 degree beer no matter how level I was or the triple digit temps.

Hardcore off road campers (Four Wheel Camper) are now offering 12 volt fridges.

I just got back from the desert and I tell you what did work good. I had bought a 12 volt Igloo cooler from Costco. It is a less expensive unit without a thermostat. Runs constantly. I filled it with beer and plugged it into my truck. After a few hours when I reached my campsite I had ice cold beer!!! I unplugged it at bed time so it would not run the battery dead. But for what it is, worked good!!!

[c_traveler2]

jimh425 wrote:
I've never had an issue with my propane fridge staying cold other than their tendecy to blow out which I remedied with a baffle. Maybe your fridge is defective, you need additional insualation, or it is way out of level. I believe propane is by far the most efficient way to cool.

The three way refrigerator is original to my 2002 Lance 815, I had the system rebuilt 2 years ago it was ok for about 6 months. When we meet DJ for a WRT trip my refrigerator decide it wasn't going to cool down to no lower than 50 degree and it been that way since that time. I will give a small apt size a try. If you check the trip reports you'll see that I've been a verity of back country and off the beaten path.

[Jfet]

crosscheck wrote:

Jfet wrote:
wow. this is getting off topic, but how do you carry enough water for those long periods dry camping?

Hey, we're not cactuses. HaHa. That's over a 2 year period. We try to conserve as we only have a 44 gal fresh tank.

You guy,s gettin any of the summer weather that we are getting?

Dave

Heh, I didn't mean to imply you were staying out in the desert for 200 days at a stretch...but if you were, I was going to suggest a new reality show called CamperSurvivorMan or something.

Here in the Seattle area we unfortunately have been getting 75 degrees and bright sunshine...which sucks so bad when you need to work indoors on your flatbed camper build. Bring back the rain please!

[crosscheck]

Jfet wrote:
wow. this is getting off topic, but how do you carry enough water for those long periods dry camping?

Hey, we're not cactuses. HaHa. That's over a 2 year period. We try to conserve as we only have a 44 gal fresh tank.

You guy,s gettin any of the summer weather that we are getting?

Dave

[Jfet]

wow. this is getting off topic, but how do you carry enough water for those long periods dry camping?

[crosscheck]

jimh425 wrote:
Right, if I could just have a really long extension cord rated for unlimited distance. 🙂

With our camping lifestyle and set up, any fridge would have worked although an absorbtion fridge would mean a little more time levelling TC.. A 12V AC/DC fridge/freezer is what we chose based on others experiences on this forum. Still have our 100' extension cord on a reel laying on the floor unused.

257 days dry camping with only 2 hours genny time, something some on this forum said couldn't be done. Not the cheapest option but who goes into RVing to save money?



Rabit Valley May/2012. No spot was even close to being level.
Dave

[jimh406]

Right, if I could just have a really long extension cord rated for unlimited distance. 🙂

[Jfet]

crosscheck wrote:

jimh425 wrote:
I've never had an issue with my propane fridge staying cold other than their tendecy to blow out which I remedied with a baffle. Maybe your fridge is defective, you need additional insualation, or it is way out of level. I believe propane is by far the most efficient way to cool.

Lots of info on the Internet detailing refrigerator efficiency. Modern compressor vs absorbtion fridge, there is no contest.
If you don't know,I'll give you a hint. It's the one used by 100% of homes in North America.

Dave

Nobody is arguing that residential compressor fridges on 115VAC are not efficient. It takes a really long extension cord though to drive around while remaining plugged into 115VAC.

Generators running on gas are not efficient like home AC power. AGM batteries providing 12V to the fridge are not efficient like home AC power (there is power lost when charging the battery, power lost while the battery just sits there, and power lost due to internal resistance when draining the battery).

Solar is efficient, but not so much when you are parked in the woods, or it is raining for 2 weeks. Also there are up front costs in purchasing the solar and the AGM batteries (about $200 each, right?) A AGM battery is only going to last 4 or 5 years under heavy use, so there are replacement costs there too.

It would be much much cheaper for RV manufacturers to just toss in a residential $200 AC compressor fridge instead of a propane refrigerator. Do you really think they would spend money on something that is poorer performance but costs their bottom line a lot more? Not likely.

[crosscheck]

jimh425 wrote:
I've never had an issue with my propane fridge staying cold other than their tendecy to blow out which I remedied with a baffle. Maybe your fridge is defective, you need additional insualation, or it is way out of level. I believe propane is by far the most efficient way to cool.

Lots of info on the Internet detailing refrigerator efficiency. Modern compressor vs absorbtion fridge, there is no contest.
If you don't know,I'll give you a hint. It's the one used by 100% of homes in North America.

Dave

[Reddog1]

I too have a propane Fridge. It is a 1988 Dometic RM 2601, that came with my TC. I had the coil replaced in 2005, at a cost of $600. Not bad for about 25 years.

I absolutely want my beer cold. I think only two or three times the fridge allowed my beer to get up to 40 degrees. In the summer, I make an to position my TC so the fridge is not directly in the sun.

I really like the compressor fridges, the cost of the fridge, solar and batteries far exceed what I am willing to pay. If I full timed in my TC I might consider it.

Wayne

[jimh406]

I've never had an issue with my propane fridge staying cold other than their tendecy to blow out which I remedied with a baffle. Maybe your fridge is defective, you need additional insualation, or it is way out of level. I believe propane is by far the most efficient way to cool.