Power for the mini fridge while traveling

[formerFR]

right, that's the most 'common' unusable advice in the RVing world: 'someone said....'

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by chuckt

Am I understanding that you are running on LPG when driving? Isn't that dangerous? I've been told by many a RV'er NOT TO RUN LPG while driving and in some states it's illegal.

I agree with bikendan below- it's about a 50/50 split of those who run with LPG open vs. those who don't. Many of those who don't swear it'll be death and destruction in the event of accident. Many accidents have occurred, very few fireballs have gone along with them.

I don't know of any states where it's illegal. Just a few places where you have to turn it off for tunnels like dan mentions below.

Originally Posted by bikendan

Whoever told you that is wrong.
MOST RVers travel with their RV fridge on propane.
Only certain tunnels on the Eastern coast require propane off.
You can do a search on any RV forum, if you don't believe me.

Agreed.

[babock]

I don't know a single person who shuts off the propane fridge while driving. I can sort of understand while you are refueling but I don't bother with that either.

[lewisra]

We have the larger "mini" frig in ours. I packed it with about 10-12 frozen water bottles, It kept everything in it nice and cool for around 30 hours before we plugged in. Water bottles were still 50% frozen. We opened it at nearly every stop on the way. Also, have a residential frig and dual batteries which was also fine for that 30 hour trip. So, with an inverter and a single battery I would think you'd be fine, assuming your TV is charging the battery. I don't know anything about the electrical tech parts of it, I just know what I've done.

[AudiDudi]

If you want to know how much power a device is using, go to Amazon and get one a Kill-A-Watt monitor for under $20. You will then know how much power the mini-fridge (or any other device is using).


https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Elec...s%2C446&sr=8-4

[babock]

Originally Posted by AudiDudi

If you want to know how much power a device is using, go to Amazon and get one a Kill-A-Watt monitor for under $20. You will then know how much power the mini-fridge (or any other device is using).


https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Elec...s%2C446&sr=8-4

You just have to do this when plugged into your regular AC. Won't be accurate with a modified sine wave inverter and even some so called pure sine wave inverters.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by AudiDudi

If you want to know how much power a device is using, go to Amazon and get one a Kill-A-Watt monitor for under $20. You will then know how much power the mini-fridge (or any other device is using).


https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Elec...s%2C446&sr=8-4

Just read the specification section of the Manual and it will have the current @120 v and wattage listed. A lot cheaper than buying a $20 tool, especially when the information is there for free.

[babock]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Just read the specification section of the Manual and it will have the current @120 v and wattage listed. A lot cheaper than buying a $20 tool, especially when the information is there for free.

Of course that tells you absolutely nothing about how long the fridge runs in a 24 hour period.

[SlowrideHD]

We have a small solar outfit with six 250 watt panels feeding eight Trojan T105 6v batteries (in series) which power our 48 volt (input) 3600 watt pure sine wave inverter. That Kil-o-watt meter has been VERY helpful in estimating 24 hour loads on different devices and/or appliances. Nice gadget to have and well worth the $20 bucks for me.

[goduc]

Sounds like the OP just needs to keep the fridge cool while en-route. A simple low watt inverter would do that easily. Wire it with an inline fuse to the batteries. Once at his destination he can plug in the TT and switch over the fridge. His tow vehicle would keep the batts charged enough to not cause any issues.
If the OP was dry camping then thats a different story.

[babock]

Originally Posted by SlowrideHD

Nice gadget to have and well worth the $20 bucks for me.

I use mine to see what items around the house I need to keep unplugged when not using. Try to figure out my vampires plugged in around the house. It's probably paid for itself over time that I have had it.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by babock

Of course that tells you absolutely nothing about how long the fridge runs in a 24 hour period.

Which is going to vary widely depending on ambient tenp, number of times opened, and how full. Plug it into a Kill-o-watt on Tuesday when it's 60 degrees outside and a week later you are in 90 degree weather.

For the OP's purposes it doesnt matter as he'll be cooling while driving and using your own estimate the refrigerator will be running around 30% of the time. If hot outside, maybe 50%.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by SlowrideHD

We have a small solar outfit with six 250 watt panels feeding eight Trojan T105 6v batteries (in series) which power our 48 volt (input) 3600 watt pure sine wave inverter. That Kil-o-watt meter has been VERY helpful in estimating 24 hour loads on different devices and/or appliances. Nice gadget to have and well worth the $20 bucks for me.

I wondered if someone was using a high voltage storage system. 48 wilts makes a lot more sense than having to use "garden hose size" wires to carry 12 volts to a 3kw or larger inverter

Out of curiosity how do you power 12v items? A dc-dc "converter/inverter" or whatever the proper term is. Or do you maintain a separate 12v battery system too?

My Chevy Volt utilizes a 360 volt 17kwh main battery for propulsion and the wires are around 8-9mm in diameter. It also uses a separate 12 volt battery for engine start and accessories.

With more and more "big watt" inverters becoming popular I'm surprised we haven't seen a change to at least 24 volts. Military did over 70 years ago and lots of commercial rigs likewise.

[AudiDudi]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Just read the specification section of the Manual and it will have the current @120 v and wattage listed. A lot cheaper than buying a $20 tool, especially when the information is there for free.

Agree - the label/manual will tell you that - but does not tell you how often the fridge will run, using that specified wattage. I highly doubt (and hope) the fridge does not run 100% of the time. For example, I know that my dieing old RV Fridge runs close to 40% of the time using about 430 watts when it runs when the outside temp is in the 90's. How often does yours run and how many watts does it draw?

[babock]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

Which is going to vary widely depending on ambient tenp, number of times opened, and how full. Plug it into a Kill-o-watt on Tuesday when it's 60 degrees outside and a week later you are in 90 degree weather.

For the OP's purposes it doesnt matter as he'll be cooling while driving and using your own estimate the refrigerator will be running around 30% of the time. If hot outside, maybe 50%.

So what are your test results on how long they run? A month or two ago you said you were going to hook up a clock to see how long the fridge runs?

[jeffnick]

I ran my small 120v chest freezer on a 12vdc inverter for 36 hours. It needed to run for 28 minutes to keep my beer at 28°.

More here...
https://72land-n-sea.blogspot.com/20...dings.html?m=1

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by babock

So what are your test results on how long they run? A month or two ago you said you were going to hook up a clock to see how long the fridge runs?

Haven't done it yet. I've had snow in the yard for several weeks combined with temps in the 20's. I've been occupied with indoor projects.


While "surfing the net" I did run across this post where a guy plugged his Amana 21 cu ft residential w/bottom freezer into a Kill-a - watt and took a 377 day "sample. Average was 54 watts. His refrigerator has a duty cycle of less than 50% so it appears that once cold they don't take much power to stay that way.

https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-tha...as-a-lightbulb

Read the second answer.


With my small, no freezer, refrigerator I'm guessing that it could well be a lot less than a 50% duty cycle and since the "nameplate rating" is only 96 watts, as long as I keep the door closed (which it would be while traveling down the road) I doubt that it will use more than what my charge wire can provide.

This is my Inverter:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Rated at 300 watts which is over 3x rated consumption of refrigerator and manufacture claims it will deliver peak power of 700 watts which is certainly more than enough to start the compressor.

When weather gets better I'll get everything hooked up and may just forget the clock test. I can reset my Victron monitor and then just run the refrigerator for 24 hours on battery only. That'll take me directly to Ah consumption per day. Naturally I'll cool it down before turning off converter..

[goduc]

Perfect. Cheap and easy.

[FreeWheeler]

At one of the FR Rallys a few years back, we sat with a ex-fireman, now fire safety educator, who gave us a ton of advice from experience. He even did live fire extinguisher workshop to show us how to properly use them and what to watch out for. He recommended that you NEVER travel with the propane ON. He says that an accident while traveling easily goes from damage to a fireball if the propane is on. His recommendation was to place a battery-operated circulation fan in the freezer and fridge, close them up and turn them off just before traveling. We've been doing this for 6 years now without any problem.Do this with both your fridge and little cooler.

[babock]

Originally Posted by FreeWheeler

At one of the FR Rallys a few years back, we sat with a ex-fireman, now fire safety educator, who gave us a ton of advice from experience. He even did live fire extinguisher workshop to show us how to properly use them and what to watch out for. He recommended that you NEVER travel with the propane ON. He says that an accident while traveling easily goes from damage to a fireball if the propane is on. His recommendation was to place a battery-operated circulation fan in the freezer and fridge, close them up and turn them off just before traveling. We've been doing this for 6 years now without any problem.Do this with both your fridge and little cooler.

Our ex fireman friend travels with the propane fridge ON!