Refrigerator power

[hkreck]

I know you can power you RV's refrigerator on propane while traveling. BUT it's not a good idea. So you can look at inverters and run it off your battery or get a very pricy 12 volt Refrig. or look at other options. I'm wondering about powering it off of a power station? Plug the refrig into the power station and run it that way while you traveling, can this work? After all you can get 100-750 watt hour power stations that would last for several hours until getting to a camp ground to recharge the station. Just looking at this possibility, what do you think?

[Cruzrtwdgt]

my old pop up had a basic absorption fridge. Ran on propane, a 12v heater element, or a 115v heater element. We used propane or 12v on the road. I'm surprised yours doesn't have a 12v heater option.



Of course, this was a few years ago. Our last 2 campers have had 12v compressor fridges and we like them.

[hkreck]

I'll have to double check but pretty sure my is propane or 120 volt.

[NavyLCDR]

You would have to make the power cord accessible to plug it into the power station.

[Reverse_snowbird]

First, you'd have to be able to access the refrigerators plug.

Then, I don't see why it wouldn't work if you have a power station that has the ability to start the refrigerator. It's the startup power that limits what you can do. I bought a power station for backup power and tried to use it on a hospital bed, but the power station would only power under 100W appliances. So be careful what you buy.

We tend to put ice in the refrigerator and freezer while traveling and that keeps things cold. We do use the propane setting, but these refrigerators are made to keep things cold for several hours.

[hkreck]

Yes, I would have to get a station that would handle it. Then again it's not a compressor type of refrig. So I would think it would just have to handle heating the coils. What ever wattage the refrig. is.

[Bob K4TAX]

We have always run our refrigerator using propane while towing. I see no harm or concern in doing this. At the campsite, always on propane or 120VAC if available.

I did install a 2000 watt inverter in our previous trailer to provide power while traveling. It had a 120 VAC refrigerator with no other power choices. The running power was about 250 watts and the starting power peaked about 750 watts. The use of the inverter is very demanding on battery capacity.

Bob

[flyflotrtim]

Originally Posted by Bob K4TAX

We have always run our refrigerator using propane while towing. I see no harm or concern in doing this. At the campsite, always on propane or 120VAC if available.

X2

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by hkreck

I know you can power you RV's refrigerator on propane while traveling. BUT it's not a good idea.

You're in the vast minority of RVers, with that opinion.
RVers have been traveling with their fridges on propane, for over 70 years.
We find it much simpler and cheaper.

Sent from my SM-G781U using Forest River Forums mobile app

[hkreck]

It's not that I haven't been doing it, I have for the last 10 years. Just looking at safer ways of traveling.

[jimmarako]

If you are only "traveling for several hours to get to camp" you most likely don't even need to leave the fridge on. Fridges stay cold for quite a while. You can always freeze some water bottle at home, or ziplock bags full of ice.

Unless I'm driving like 5 hours and its hot out I don't worry. Then I just leave the propane on.

Jim M.

[Aussieguy]

been done for years using Propane.....
Just watch out for some tunnels ... they require the tank to be turned OFF

Power station is just a battery with inverter... pricy "TRENDY TERM"

You can buy a decent inverter and some good batteries and use it for extended dry camping on 12v with occasional inverter use.
Batteries to get are either Golf cart style or LiFepo (Lithium Iron).

[5picker]

Originally Posted by jimmarako

If you are only "traveling for several hours to get to camp" you most likely don't even need to leave the fridge on. Fridges stay cold for quite a while. You can always freeze some water bottle at home, or ziplock bags full of ice.

Unless I'm driving like 5 hours and its hot out I don't worry. Then I just leave the propane on.

Jim M.

X2
My real world experiences through the years have been if it (the refrigerator and the contents) are at cold temperature, it will stay that way for 5-6 hours of traveling unless the outside temperatures are extreme.

We almost always travel with the propane on but there have been about a dozen times that for whatever reason or another, we traveled with it off (user error, fridge didn't auto switch, etc.) and we were just fine for the time I mentioned.

Saying traveling with the refrigerator on LP is not a good idea is a statement not shared by many.

[sherman12]

Go inverter and 12V fridge. My rig has a 2000-watt inverter and residential fridge and we love it. Don't forget that while you are on the road there is no battery drain because the alternator is constantly charging while moving at 60-70 mph, and you get a better battery charge from the alternator vs. shore power.

[Rhumblefish]

All depends on your setup.

Propane crew generally runs their fridges on gas while underway. There's some very few occasions where it's prohibited (generally l-o-n-g tunnels) though I believe most ignore this. Running while lit is an age-old tradition and - if experience is to be heeded - generally safe. I'd suggest continuing this mode, even under way. Fridge sips propane and a small amount of 12v in this mode.

There ARE three-way fridges (Propane/110/12v) but those are generally the very smallest "cube" fridges found in pop-ups. Small size usually equates to small power consumption.

12-volt fridges are a lot LESS expensive than 2-way (and way less taxing on your power setup to run on 12v vs. a 2-way running on 12v), but that's a big ask to pull an existing 2-way fridge simply to replace it with a 12v, a fridge that doesn't boondock nearly as well as a 2-way without enough power.

Note that running a 2-way fridge on 12 volt is SUPER DUPER, WILDLY, CRAZY inefficient (WAY worse than a 12v fridge) - but if you're putting out enough power (solar, alternator, giant battery bank, power station), this is a non-issue.

Lastly - and this is one we don't usually think of - fridges ARE insulated coolers (albeit not great ones). If you pre-chill and pre-freeze, your foods should last in the fridge w/o power for a while (maybe enough to get from power pole to power pole). Pre-RV days, we used to make a regular 10-11 hour run between two fridges with food in a cooler. They day we decided to stop adding ice was a good day. No more sloppy labels, or packaged food floating in meltwater. Cooler (and food) stayed nice and plenty cold to keep out of the danger zone. Just took some pre-freezing and we could even extend that for a while car camping. A lil dry ice can help here, too, but that's introducing CO2 into a confined space and you want to be pretty aware of that.

All in all, were I to have a 2-way aboard, I'd probably just run lit while underway and forget about anything else (and then I'd make sure my next trailer had a 12v fridge with a massive battery bank and wild solar).

Just my opinion (we have a lot of those around here), hope this helps.

[IamProStreet]

Originally Posted by sherman12

Go inverter and 12V fridge. My rig has a 2000-watt inverter and residential fridge and we love it. Don't forget that while you are on the road there is no battery drain because the alternator is constantly charging while moving at 60-70 mph, and you get a better battery charge from the alternator vs. shore power.

+1
We have a residential fridge and power it with a 1000W inverter. We have 2 100A hour batteries and a 190W solar panel along with the alternator. Whenever we travel even 7-8 hours we still have 100% battery life when we arrive.

[NavyLCDR]

Most vehicles will not supply any more than trickle charging current to the trailer batteries. Look at the length of wire and the size of wire running all the way from the alternator to the battery. On most vehicles you will find this is 12 gage wire at the most and provides only 2-3 amps at a voltage high enough to charge the battery.

The statement that the vehicle alternator charges the battery better than shore power is completely erroneous unless the trailer is equipped with a very bad converter and wiring.

Some people add a DC-DC converter/battery charger to their vehicles to supply true battery charging capability - but the stock wiring from the factory only provides trickle charging.

[cbvp]

For 20 plus years water heater and refrigerator run on propane when
going down the highway.

Not going to change now.


C.B.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by hkreck

It's not that I haven't been doing it, I have for the last 10 years. Just looking at safer ways of traveling.

What happened that caused your avoidance of traveling with propane on after 10 years?
I have a SIL with a propane phobia due to her Dad catching himself on fire while burning weeds with a propane backpack torch (she was very young).
They started boondocking with us but wouldn't let her husband turn on the propane heater. She was making a big deal out of saying how it was unsafe and I couldn't help myself and asked her why using the water heater, refrigerator, and stove didn't bother her as they also used propane when boondocking. They haven't been boondocking since and are exploring electric only RVs Oh well.

[hkreck]

A couple of things. 1 Traveling with the propane on is not the safest thing to do. 2. I have been looking into an inverter system for powering my trailer, any way so maybe it's time to switch. Any case after taking a course on RV repair and Maintenace it got me thinking about it.