12 volt Refrigerator vs Propane gas

[MGD1961]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

A compressor fridge has another name. Heat pump. Not helpful during the summer. A gas fridge has an exterior vent.

Did you know that gas fridges were designed not to be in the slide out. Disturbs the venting and causes them to not be so cold. If you add a decent fan back there they are colder. Mine is fine for ice cream. And beer.

Compressor fridges have a. 5-8 year life. Gas fridges are repairable.

Compressor fridges are designed to be free standing. Not crammed in a box. That is why there seems to be a lot of failures. Read the installation instructions. An air space is needed to aid ventilation.

These compressor fridges are not designed to take much abuse.

The battery draw is fairly high. Most newbies get a very unpleasant surprise their first night. Without optional batteries they cannot get a night out. My son’s father in law sold his new trailer after two months. He is not handy. Thought the 50 watt solar panel was cool!

Cheap lithium batteries are cheap. Not so reliable. A good bms is mandatory.

Lithium batteries cannot be used in cold weather. We take a winter trip most years. My gas fridge was a miracle in the Houston power failure several years ago. My daughter, the nanny and the grand kids slept on the floor of our fiver. Lined up like cord wood. Did you see the disaster on the cold night in Chicago. Dead electric cars everywhere.

Not a fan of putting 30 holes in my roof for solar. This is a renewable energy thing that does not work so well today. In Ohio there is no ROI for solar on our roof. It is a looser.

I am sure a gas fridge like mine is expensive. A cheap 12 volt fridge is cheap. Manufacturers made a lot of money changing them out.

For the boondockers gas is a good choice.

A 12 volt fridge, batteries and solar pretty much evens the price savings.

If you always have shore power I vote for a compressor fridge.

My DW loves Harvest Hosts. Didn’t know that when we bought our rv. 412 ah of lithium batteries and we can go 3-4 nights without running the generator.









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Pretty much every statement made here could be debunked with a few minutes of searching on this forum. Much less doing any outside research.

I have been successfully using a compressor fridge for 4 years and have indeed had to address some issues caused by the trailer builder. Not the fridge.

And by the way. I repair 12 volt fridges almost every day. They are very simple and easy to troubleshoot once you gain some knowledge and have a basic understanding of how they work.

There is a post somewhere by a fellow who replaced his own compressor in an afternoon for like $150 buck. Let’s see you do that with an absorption unit.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by MGD1961

......


There is a post somewhere by a fellow who replaced his own compressor in an afternoon for like $150 buck. Let’s see you do that with an absorption unit.

Uh... 2 way (absorption) fridges do not have compressors

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Wow. Not sure what the purpose of this thread is.
You like all electric and solar and are afraid of propane or just don't like it? By all means use 12v or residential fridge in your RV if it works better for you.

I prefer propane 2 way fridges in RVs and always will. Nothing wrong with that either. Doesn't mean I'm behind the times, unsafe, or afraid to try new things. It works for my style of RVing.

Everybody has different RV needs and different methods to fill those needs.

Have an open mind and be tolerant of those who do things differently.

Well said!

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Wow. Not sure what the purpose of this thread is.
You like all electric and solar and are afraid of propane or just don't like it? By all means use 12v or residential fridge in your RV if it works better for you.

I prefer propane 2 way fridges in RVs and always will. Nothing wrong with that either. Doesn't mean I'm behind the times, unsafe, or afraid to try new things. It works for my style of RVing.

Everybody has different RV needs and different methods to fill those needs.

Have an open mind and be tolerant of those who do things differently.

I actually have both, 120v/lpg and 120v only units on my trailer. The gas fired unit is inside and compressor driven unit is in outside kitchen. Both work fine with the inside 120v/lpg unit maintaining 0 in freezer and 34 in refer. Propane consumption is very small. The 120v unit doesn't have the door opened much adds <10 ah draw from my batteries on a normal day via inverter.

I will say that keeping air glowing in the " chimney " behind the lpg unit makes a huge difference in efficiency. If unit is in a slide a set of chimney fans can make a huge difference and most (like the Titan Fans) only draw ~0.5 amp or less when running using their thermostatic control.

I think the biggest issue with all refrigerator/freezers is how people manage the door openings for frequency and time open.

I try to get all I need for each trip to the fridge out at one time with little wasted time or leaving door open any longer than necessary. Something learned from family's first trailer that had an "ice box" using a big block of ice.

Each system has it's own baggage but either can be more than satisfactory.


Re: earlier comment by another member about compressor units in boats, lpg use in marine applications is greatly frowned on by the Coast Guard as it's too easy for the heavier than air gas to accumulate in the hull. If the USCG had their way all vessels they deal with would have only diesel aboard and refrigeration/cooking/heating would be electric. No gasoline powered boats if they could have their way. Far different world than RV's.

[HangDiver]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Wow. Not sure what the purpose of this thread is.
You like all electric and solar and are afraid of propane or just don't like it? By all means use 12v or residential fridge in your RV if it works better for you.

I prefer propane 2 way fridges in RVs and always will. Nothing wrong with that either. Doesn't mean I'm behind the times, unsafe, or afraid to try new things. It works for my style of RVing.

Everybody has different RV needs and different methods to fill those needs.

Have an open mind and be tolerant of those who do things differently.

This^^^^^

[GolfingDave]

Originally Posted by MGD1961

Pretty much every statement made here could be debunked with a few minutes of searching on this forum. Much less doing any outside research.

I have been successfully using a compressor fridge for 4 years and have indeed had to address some issues caused by the trailer builder. Not the fridge.

And by the way. I repair 12 volt fridges almost every day. They are very simple and easy to troubleshoot once you gain some knowledge and have a basic understanding of how they work.

There is a post somewhere by a fellow who replaced his own compressor in an afternoon for like $150 buck. Let’s see you do that with an absorption unit.

X2
But that $150 compressor change was done by a buddy of his and finding a comparable one online. If I recall correctly. Not everyone has access to that.

The problem I see right now with the compressor fridges put in RV's is parts availability. I have only seen a couple of drawers/shelves available so far.

Are the ones in the marine industry residential style/mfr's? And curious about parts availability if not.

Keeping my electric and happy with but then I have only boondocked overnight but in fairly cold temps. Planning on doing a few longer stays this next winter with temps in the low twenties most likely overnight.

[danbax]

Long ramblings -- no more

The 12 volt frig works off of the RV or Truckers own charging system, of course, you do not need solar to make a 12 volt system work, just a charging system of some kind.

Cheap Lithium 12 volt 100 AMP batteries can be found on Amazon and most with the BMS built in monitoring. Prices are no more than AGM or Gels, some even less costly. I bought mine for $189 each with a $20 rebate. User reviews help.

Lithium batteries can be used in cold weather -- what those who say otherwise actually mean is -- Freezing weather, and even then, it depends upon type of storage.

Ex-Tenter-- said it nicely

Below this line would be rambling ___________
__________

[MGD1961]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Uh... 2 way (absorption) fridges do not have compressors

Exactly. Read my statement again

[MGD1961]

Originally Posted by GolfingDave

X2
But that $150 compressor change was done by a buddy of his and finding a comparable one online. If I recall correctly. Not everyone has access to that.

The problem I see right now with the compressor fridges put in RV's is parts availability. I have only seen a couple of drawers/shelves available so far.

Are the ones in the marine industry residential style/mfr's? And curious about parts availability if not.

Keeping my electric and happy with but then I have only boondocked overnight but in fairly cold temps. Planning on doing a few longer stays this next winter with temps in the low twenties most likely overnight.

Ones in the marine applications are the same Danfos style compressors and the same exact control boxes but housed in different style boxes made of stainless steel or composite materials. For Safety reasons they use non flammable refrigerant unlike RV units. Let’s not confuse my words here. I’m talking about the refrigerant in a compressor fridge. Not the LP that powers an absorption fridge.

Most RV compressor fridges use R600a refrigerant and marine units use R134a.

Those are the major differences but the technology is the same

The point about the $150 compressor change was that these fridges can be repaired. The statement was made that they couldn’t be repaired. Simply not true. Pretty much anything in them that makes them function is generic. Not a lippert or furion or cannon exclusive.

As the market drives more of these into more RVs I’m sure you will find more technicians prepared to deal with it.

[danbax]

Originally Posted by aircommuter

First thing is where are those lithium dirt cheap batteries you mentioned. Second there was a recall years ago in a certain model refrigerator that some owners likely didn’t know about or follow up on. There are campers like truck campers that don’t have room for a bunch of solar or a space to haul around portable panels. I am one of those people who doesn’t like parking in the sun or camping in the summer. I also don’t go to camping areas that have power. I have that at home. Oh and I don’t have to worry about the flame when Dieseling up.

Amazon has several reasonably price -- 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 Lithium Battery -- it was not long ago that these batteries were two and three times these prices. but as you can see -- $150 -190 - 250, all 12 volt, 100 AMP.

The recall you mention? Several years ago? Several years ago? Most recalls lead to corrections or improvements.

You do not need Solar to run a 12 volt refrigerator.

Your camping -- parking -- style is one way -- but only one way. True campng is by tent and open fire, cold mornings and egg shell coffee -- I been there and done that too, and love it, but my old bones just don't do well on hard ground and dirt in my eggs. Good for you, if you still can. But for me, Glamping is, well, more comfortable. Peace, Dan

[GolfingDave]

Originally Posted by MGD1961

Ones in the marine applications are the same Danfos style compressors and the same exact control boxes but housed in different style boxes made of stainless steel or composite materials. For Safety reasons they use non flammable refrigerant unlike RV units. Let’s not confuse my words here. I’m talking about the refrigerant in a compressor fridge. Not the LP that powers an absorption fridge.

Most RV compressor fridges use R600a refrigerant and marine units use R134a.

Thanks for the info. Was just curious. I believe someone found a generic board for the compressor also for one of these RV units. Maybe another year or two parts may start showing up more easily.

[MGD1961]

Originally Posted by GolfingDave

Thanks for the info. Was just curious. I believe someone found a generic board for the compressor also for one of these RV units. Maybe another year or two parts may start showing up more easily.

Thing is you have to look for the specific part like a controller or compressor or……. If you look for the model of the fridge you won’t find anything.

[jimmoore13]

Sooooo many variables.

For me it comes down to this. I boondock exclusively. And for me, it's an absorption fridge all the way. Being able to run on propane saves my precious battery bank.

A propane fridge uses a miniscule amount of battery power for the control board to manage the fridge.

A 12-volt compressor fridge uses at LEAST 35 amp hours a day every day. In hot, humid weather, that power hunger goes up...WAY up.

The stock battery the dealer gave you has about 35 usable AH before needing to be charged. I have two golf cart batteries in series that deliver a USABLE 115 AH. I simply can't afford to have the fridge eat most of that on a hot July day. And I don't want to run my generator nonstop to support the fridge.

I have 400 watts of solar on the roof, and that easily replenishes my battery bank with a propane fridge. But I'd be SOL with a 12 volt compressor fridge, and I'd need to substantially upgrade my solar and battery capacity.

12 volt fridges are great if you have hookups. They are more spacious, reliable, and so on. But they are a bad choice if you boondock.

If you can afford to throw $2500 or so at your rig in solar and batteries, you can get setup to handle a 12 volt compressor fridge when off the grid.

So, as far as I'm concerned, the choice really hinges on whether you boondock or not. If you will always camp where there are hookups, go with the 12 volt compressor fridge. If you plan to boondock, even now and then, get the absorption fridge. That's my 2 cents.

[Aussieguy]

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

If you can afford to throw $2500 or so at your rig in solar and batteries, you can get setup to handle a 12 volt compressor fridge when off the grid.

prices have dropped quiet a lot
The cheaper sub $200 batteries will work just fine as long as you don't abuse them Panels from local Facebook marketplace ... no delivery fee
and batteries , controller and mouinting hardware off Amazon.


spent just under $1000 and have NOT turned my converter ON since
Traveled Florida to Ohio and back ... no hookup
at at the moment as I write we are at a campground with POWER so can run a/c ... Converter is OFF and batteries are at 100% + we are in a shady location not the greatest solar location but it is in Florida.

Ohio ... batteries were charged every day on solar except one
didn't want to take chance in case it rained again (but it didn't)

[Rabidawg]

Went through 3 Everchill (oops, “Neverchill”!) 12v fridges on a class C 2022. Done..I’ll take old school instead.

[desuhu]

We never shut off the propane while getting fuel.

[Cbuckie]

Agreed. I bought a 2023 2608 bs and had to special order from factory to get a 2 way propane fridge. I boondock a lot and propane works for me. To each his own

[RamManMN]

Originally Posted by tomkatb

A compressor fridge has another name. Heat pump. Not helpful during the summer. A gas fridge has an exterior vent......

.

That's your theory, but it's not my experience. Example: we arrived at the Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio about when they opened for the day. Their parking is on a disused aircraft parking area. There is no shade. The ambient temperature that day was 95 degrees and the temperature inside the trailer after sitting there all day was over 100 degrees. The 12 volt refriderator was as cold as ever at the end of the day. We keep a couple of Nordic ICE packs in there just it case, but these were barely melted at all. This is a fairly common scenario for us qnd we have never had a problem. It definitely stays cold far better than the absorption fridge we had in our previous trailer.

[RandK-M]

I'm not exactly sure what this thread is trying to advocate for? Is it to convince people to scrap their absorption fridges and replace them with 12v because of some sort of danger? There have been fires from propane fridges, yes, but we're talking an awfully small number considering the millions of RVs over many decades. Had our current camper came with a 12v fridge, that would have been fine with me also, as long as it worked at least as well as my 2-way fridge does now.

My 2017 camper came with a two-way fridge just like my previous campers over the years and it works great. I did add an adjustable thermostatically controlled fan at the top of the vent near the roof for added efficiency in very hot weather, but it worked fine before that. I've never had an issue with soft ice cream or big temp rises just from opening the door.

The 2-way does take longer to cool initially, but it's not an issue for me personally since we leave our camper plugged in at home with the fridge on from the first trip of the season to the last in the fall. That makes it easy to keep the fridge stocked with things that are frozen or don't spoil between trips.

If I ever get a new camper, I don't care which it has, as long as it works.

[champ837]

Originally Posted by Sunseeker16

I don't spend much time on long ramblig threads. Skimming through I'd say I love my absorbsion fridge and dread the day I have to go to a 12v model.

I've been camping since the days when we had to stop every day or so and buy a block of ice for the refrigerator/cooler.


My absorption refrigerators have always worked well for me.

Friends have the 12v model and rave about how cold they get but have to run their generator for a couple hours each day to keep their lead acid batteries charged. I've done the math using the manufacturers wattage numbers and have concluded that one 100 amp/hour battery will run the fridge one 24 hour day.