Refrigerator cutoff switch

[PatN]

At this website Fridge Switch - Auto Cut Off When You Stop Driving | Caravan Safety Gear | CaravansPlus they are offering a switch that will turn off the power to the refrigerator if the car stops moving, will leave it on as long as there is movement.

I can't find any forums which mention this. Would it work in my Freedom popup? It has a 3-way refrigerator. I'd like to know if anyone has tried it.

Thanks

[Scubanut]

I'm wondering why you would need to shut off the fridge when you stop the vehicle. Is that an issue for pop ups? My fridge goes on two days prior to camping and never shuts off until it's unloaded and ready to be parked/stored.


2012 F150 FX4 Crew 5.0 3.73 gears
2O12 Coachman Freedom Express 292BHDS (outdoor Kitchen)

[raspivey]

I noticed that some of the Dometic models come with this feature while I was reading through my manual. Mine doesn't have it, but it might be nice. It shuts off the gas when the ignition is turned off for....I think about fifteen minutes then restarts it. I think it's to keep you from having to shut off the open flame when getting gas.

[Scubanut]

Originally Posted by raspivey

I noticed that some of the Dometic models come with this feature while I was reading through my manual. Mine doesn't have it, but it might be nice. It shuts off the gas when the ignition is turned off for....I think about fifteen minutes then restarts it. I think it's to keep you from having to shut off the open flame when getting gas.

I guess that would be a good feature, as long as it didn't shut off if your boon docking and parked. Maybe if your plugged into the tow vehicle it is a requirement for the feature to work.


2012 F150 FX4 Crew 5.0 3.73 gears
2O12 Coachman Freedom Express 292BHDS (outdoor Kitchen)

[PatN]

Having become convinced from my reading that I would rather not drive with the propane on (though I know many people do), I would like to run my 3-way fridge on battery without having to worry if I will forget to disconnect the plug to the trailer if I stop for very long. This switch does that if no motion is sensed, so I understand. I would have to have someone install it for me. No idea how to get at the wires going to the fridge. No idea even where they run.

[Scubanut]

Originally Posted by PatN

Having become convinced from my reading that I would rather not drive with the propane on (though I know many people do), I would like to run my 3-way fridge on battery without having to worry if I will forget to disconnect the plug to the trailer if I stop for very long. This switch does that if no motion is sensed, so I understand. I would have to have someone install it for me. No idea how to get at the wires going to the fridge. No idea even where they run.

Looking at the photo of the switch I think it is very easy to install. If you remove the rear access cover to the fridge you will see a 12 volt positive and negative wire going into your back of the fridge. I believe if you put the switch between that location is all that is required.


2012 F150 FX4 Crew 5.0 3.73 gears
2O12 Coachman Freedom Express 292BHDS (outdoor Kitchen)

[Scubanut]

2012 F150 FX4 Crew 5.0 3.73 gears
2O12 Coachman Freedom Express 292BHDS (outdoor Kitchen)

[Scubanut]

2012 F150 FX4 Crew 5.0 3.73 gears
2O12 Coachman Freedom Express 292BHDS (outdoor Kitchen)

[Flybob]

OP has a 3 way fridge and I am assuming he is running it on 12V. The current draw is significant and if you park for a while ( engine off no alternator) and leave fridge on, it could drain the TV battery to the point where it would be hard to start the TV
.

Originally Posted by Scubanut

I'm wondering why you would need to shut off the fridge when you stop the vehicle. Is that an issue for pop ups? My fridge goes on two days prior to camping and never shuts off until it's unloaded and ready to be parked/stored.


2012 F150 FX4 Crew 5.0 3.73 gears
2O12 Coachman Freedom Express 292BHDS (outdoor Kitchen)

[Davidceder]

If it shuts off after 15 minutes automatically what good is that when you are gassing up? Time between ignition off and gassing up is about one minute and you would still need to manually shut it off if you are so inclined, which I am.

[PatN]

My rig is super simple, a Forest Hill tent camper, Freedom. No TV etc. As I understand it, the switch switches the fridge line off when movement stops, as in when you park your car. I was thinking it would mean I couldn't forget and come back after a hike, lets say, and find the car battery dead. Hmm, and what happens when you stop to camp???

So, no one here has used one of these???

[raspivey]

Originally Posted by Davidceder

If it shuts off after 15 minutes automatically what good is that when you are gassing up? Time between ignition off and gassing up is about one minute and you would still need to manually shut it off if you are so inclined, which I am.

If you were referring to my comment earlier, I think I misworded that a little. What I meant to say was that the refrigerator turned off the gas supply when the TV ignition was turned off then it restarted the gas flow / auto ignition about fifteen minutes later.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by PatN

Having become convinced from my reading that I would rather not drive with the propane on (though I know many people do), I would like to run my 3-way fridge on battery without having to worry if I will forget to disconnect the plug to the trailer if I stop for very long. This switch does that if no motion is sensed, so I understand. I would have to have someone install it for me. No idea how to get at the wires going to the fridge. No idea even where they run.

I always tow with the fridge on DC because in my 2 PUPs the flame blows out pretty regularly when on the move. With the continuous run fridges in the PUPs, re-lighting is a manual procedure.

I've never had an issue with leaving the TV connected and the fridge on for stops as long as 90 minutes. As I near the one hour point on a stop, I'm generally getting ansy about switching over to propane. Especially since I realized the A-frame fridge (Dometic 4332, IIRC) draws 13.2 amps on DC. The A-frame does have a dual battery installation so I can power the fridge on DC for a while without taking the TV battery down very far.

If I'm on my way to a dry camp, I will switch to propane for anything more than a 5 minute stop. That's because my TV (Kia minivan) drops the charge line to 13.2V (from 13.9V) as soon as the starting battery is charged (about 5 minutes). So I can't get more than a trickle charge into the A-frame batteries for most of the drive. And I want to start a dry camp with fully charged batteries (I like my heater and water pump to work for the whole trip).

Hope this helps
Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan (re-badged Kia)
formerly
2000 Coleman Westlake PUP
1993 Ford Explorer
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time
last trip: Palo Duro State Park, Texas
next trip: Mt Rushmore, Custer State Park

[jas451]

My Salem Hemisphere has a two-way fridge, it's AC/Propane, not a 3-way like was in our Hi-Lo........if we want the fridge on while we travel even though it's AC will it run like through the converter???

[raspivey]

No, but it should have an auto setting. When it looses AC power, it should automatically switch to propane and back again when power is restored.