How much draw on batts while cooling fridge?

[Lexington 283]

Lexington 283......2005......recently acquired

At storage site, I'm not able to plug in

In order to cool down fridge overnight, prior to a trip, how much draw is it on my batteries?

Thanks, I'm new

Jerry

[bikendan]

RV fridge or residential fridge? On propane or not?
would help if you posted make and model number of fridge.

[Lexington 283]

Originally Posted by bikendan

RV fridge or residential fridge? On propane or not?
would help if you posted make and model number of fridge.

Yes, run on propane in order to cool fridge prior to trip

Model number unknown

Will running of this fridge & freezer on propane draw down my coach batts?

Thank you

[kenandterry]

Problem is compounded by not knowing how long your Lexington has been sitting (unplugged) since the last time your batteries got a full charge.

You’re asking how much your fridge will draw in order to cool prior to a trip but your starting voltage will be?...........

If this is going to be a regular procedure, you may have to invest in some solar power to help keep your batteries at their prime.

[Chuck_S]

LP refrigerator requires very little 12vDC power (mine draws a measured 120 milliamps) and if the power fails they usually keep running on the last mode. If the frig starts it should keep running, it's just a little flame.

You'll find out how it worked in the morning.

-- Chuck

[The Evil Twin]

If your batteries are in good to excellent condition then 24 hours will be no issue at all on a propane fridge. We regularly let the fridge go 24 hours before we leave and often when we get home. The meter still shows a charge in the good range when we roll. The key is having a good, charged battery at the beginning.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by The Evil Twin

If your batteries are in good to excellent condition then 24 hours will be no issue at all on a propane fridge. We regularly let the fridge go 24 hours before we leave and often when we get home. The meter still shows a charge in the good range when we roll. The key is having a good, charged battery at the beginning.

If all you're running is the propane fridge the battery(s) should last a lot more than 24 hours. The refrigerator control board is one of the least power hungry items in an RV.

It's the propane that does the work so just make sure the tank(s) have plenty.

[Larry0071]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

If all you're running is the propane fridge the battery(s) should last a lot more than 24 hours. The refrigerator control board is one of the least power hungry items in an RV.

It's the propane that does the work so just make sure the tank(s) have plenty.

But while you are sort of correct.... you forgot to tell the person that while in this condition he is also powering the carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and due to this the batteries may last 3-5 depending on condition and starting charge. If you isolated it to the PC board in the fridge only, it may last a couple weeks. I know when I bought my camper last year I was shocked to discover that the single battery installed was not good to go a long weekend with no power. As a new camper buyer... I just assumed that these things were set up for camping over a weekend and living entirely off of the battery and water tank. Then reality hit.

[Semperfi24]

The fridge would probably not draw down the batteries, making the assumption they are good batteries and fully charged. The problem you will have will be all of the "other" things in the RV that also run on the 12V side.

If I were you, my solution would be to get a portable solar kit. Doesnt have to be large. Just one panel to trickle charge the battery. Wire it directly to the battery. That is what we do in our storage lot. One panel that is 12"X30", wired to a controller, then to the battery. We never have to worry about dead batteries, and it is plenty for us to turn the system on ahead of departure without concern. When we are ready to leave, unhook the panel and store it.

[The Evil Twin]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

If all you're running is the propane fridge the battery(s) should last a lot more than 24 hours. The refrigerator control board is one of the least power hungry items in an RV.

It's the propane that does the work so just make sure the tank(s) have plenty.

Of course. Though, my reply was to the OPs question about "overnight" use.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by The Evil Twin

Of course. Though, my reply was to the OPs question about "overnight" use.

Now I know you have been on the forum long enough to realize you have to very precise in your wording to avoid being nitpicked

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Larry0071

But while you are sort of correct.... you forgot to tell the person that while in this condition he is also powering the carbon monoxide and smoke detectors and due to this the batteries may last 3-5 depending on condition and starting charge. If you isolated it to the PC board in the fridge only, it may last a couple weeks. I know when I bought my camper last year I was shocked to discover that the single battery installed was not good to go a long weekend with no power. As a new camper buyer... I just assumed that these things were set up for camping over a weekend and living entirely off of the battery and water tank. Then reality hit.

Agreed, the LPG detector will also be running and perhaps the smoke detectors if wired in series and in several rooms but most RV smoke detectors I've encountered use individual batteries. CO detectors are more often than not integrated into the LPG detector on units built in recent years..

That said, I have actually measured all the power drawn by refrig, LPG detector and even the stereo "Memory" current. All consume only milliamps of current and my battery monitor shows only 4 watts of current draw, max.

That works out to less than 8 amp hours over a 24 hour period.

In short, even a small, undercharged, or aged battery, should easily run the refrigerator for more than 24 hours.

[Chuck_S]

Measured amperage draw (my Roo).

LP detector and radio memory: 150 milliamps (These are hard wired to the battery.)
LP refrigerator: 120 milliamps

Total: 270 milliamps (0.27 amps).

As long as the LP detector isn't screaming from low voltage this should work.

-- Chuck

[jjtotten]

Originally Posted by Lexington 283

Lexington 283......2005......recently acquired

At storage site, I'm not able to plug in

In order to cool down fridge overnight, prior to a trip, how much draw is it on my batteries?

Thanks, I'm new

Jerry

We sort of had a rule of thumb with our rig. Running the typical 12 volt items we could go for most of three days before we had to recharge the house batteries. As I understand the most current is the draw by two solenoids one for the actual gas flow and the other for safety if and when the pilot light goes out allowing the gas to continue to flow. In order to accomplish this we made sure that we had only led lighting for their low current draw. We were equipped with two 6 volt batteries.

[slgjeg435]

Originally Posted by jjtotten

We sort of had a rule of thumb with our rig. Running the typical 12 volt items we could go for most of three days before we had to recharge the house batteries. As I understand the most current is the draw by two solenoids one for the actual gas flow and the other for safety if and when the pilot light goes out allowing the gas to continue to flow. In order to accomplish this we made sure that we had only led lighting for their low current draw. We were equipped with two 6 volt batteries.

If you can plug it in do that overnight and run the fridge on electric. When you unplug it should automaticly switch to propane. Battery wise you can go weeks n just propane it is the other draws that get your battery down.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by slgjeg435

If you can plug it in do that overnight and run the fridge on electric. When you unplug it should automaticly switch to propane. Battery wise you can go weeks n just propane it is the other draws that get your battery down.

The OP stated this in the first post:

"At storage site, I'm not able to plug in"

[NXR]

It really depends on the fridge model. Norcold four-door units (at least) have a heater element for the door. That can draw a lot of current if the fridge thinks those heaters need to run. Some people have put tape across the door contacts to save battery power.

A friend with a Norcold 18 cubic foot four-door fridge measured 3 amps of current flow without the door heaters. He barely could run the fridge overnight on batteries.

Ray

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by NXR

It really depends on the fridge model. Norcold four-door units (at least) have a heater element for the door. That can draw a lot of current if the fridge thinks those heaters need to run. Some people have put tape across the door contacts to save battery power.

A friend with a Norcold 18 cubic foot four-door fridge measured 3 amps of current flow without the door heaters. He barely could run the fridge overnight on batteries.

Ray

Residential type with compressor or an RV type using LPG when not on shore power?

HUGE difference.

[5picker]

As you have seen, there is no 'standard' answer.

Every make/model refrigerator draws current from the battery in different amounts.
The refrigerator control doesn't use a lot of battery but the door heaters and fans can use more current. (mine has two door heaters and 4 fans!)

And then on a 2005 there is the question of what condition the battery is in, how much charge capacity it has when firing up the refrigerator and what other parasitic draws are on the battery as well.

Without an amperage test and knowing the battery capacity we are all just guessing.
If you are not able to figure those numbers in advance, just try it and see.

[NCBBA11043]

If you are at a commercial storage site, they may prohibit you from running any appliances on LP. It's a liability thing...