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Old 11-29-2016, 11:43 AM   #1
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Dometic Fridge while driving.

Back in the day we left the RV fridge on on Propane while driving and it worked fine.

The new Dometic switched to gas when no 120V ac is supplied.

Is the modern technique to operate the fridge on the 1800W inverter, and just allow the unit to do its thing?
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Old 11-29-2016, 11:51 AM   #2
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You have a residential fridge just like at home.
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Old 11-29-2016, 11:56 AM   #3
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If it is a residential, ie will operate on an inverter while driving, if it is a Dometic, I would assume both Propane and electric.
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Old 11-29-2016, 12:07 PM   #4
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Mine is on all the time when driving. I let it 'think for itself' and choose what it deems is the best operational mode.... I run it on 'auto'....

Dometic 3 way...
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Old 11-29-2016, 01:00 PM   #5
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Never heard of a 3 way fridge, I have heard of gas or electric, what is the 3rd way
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Old 11-29-2016, 01:05 PM   #6
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Never heard of a 3 way fridge, I have heard of gas or electric, what is the 3rd way
3rd way was DC off battery. Had this years ago on my Winnebago MH Later RJD
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Old 11-29-2016, 01:14 PM   #7
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3rd way was DC off battery. Had this years ago on my Winnebago MH Later RJD
Thanks... 110 or propane or 12 volt heating element.....
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Old 11-29-2016, 01:46 PM   #8
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My Dometic Refer users manual says this under the leveling instructions:

"Any time the vehicle is parked for several hours with the refrigerator operating, the vehicle should be leveled to prevent loss of cooling."

and

"When the vehicle is moving, the leveling is not critical, as the rolling and pitching movement of the vehicle will pass either side of level, keeping the liqid ammonia from accumulating in the evaporator tubing."

My take-away from this is that Dometic considers it perfectly okay to run the refer on propane while traveling. The only other consideration would be any local (state) rules regarding propane use while in motion.
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Old 11-29-2016, 04:39 PM   #9
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Had a strange occurrence this past summer regarding the fridge.
Fridge stopped working after long trip across very windy open terrain.
What happened is the stack safety switch and thermal fuse both opened at some point.
Got the parts at Valley Mobile Home & RV Center in Missoula,MT (the parts are hard to find).
The owner at Valley explained that the high winds can force air down the stack causing excessive heat from the flame in the lower part of the stack causing the protective devices to open. He suggested when driving in high wind conditions to shut off fridge.
The owner at Valley (forgot name) was friendly and took the time out of his busy day to explain things, highly recommended.
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Old 11-29-2016, 04:46 PM   #10
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Not really a "third way" to operate. With an inverter, the fridge is not going to know if it's on shore power or the battery - all the same to it, just feeds through the outlet it's plugged into.
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Old 11-29-2016, 04:46 PM   #11
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I spent some time this summer in Greer AZ, elevation 8,300 feet. The fridge would not run on propane - not enough oxygen in the air to stay lit.
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Old 11-29-2016, 09:15 PM   #12
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Yep years ago my dad had a refrig.that worked on propane,12DC and 110Vac but that was back in the 70's
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Old 11-29-2016, 09:16 PM   #13
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My dometic runs on 110 while parked(shore power) or with the generator.always on propane while driving.
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Old 11-29-2016, 10:53 PM   #14
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Mine is a 2014 Dometic. Operates on all 3, 110, 12 or propane. I let it decide, it's always on automatic.

Mine has 2 fans on the backside as well to suck the air over the amonia condenser. Works really well.

Going down the road it favors propane and parked on shore power it will switch to 110. Don't believe it's ever ran on 12 volt but the heater is in the boiler stack (along with the 110 heater.
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Old 11-29-2016, 11:11 PM   #15
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Going down the road it favors propane and parked on shore power it will switch to 110. Don't believe it's ever ran on 12 volt but the heater is in the boiler stack (along with the 110 heater.
I have a 3-way Dometic and when it is in automatic mode it will only switch between 120V and gas operation. To use 12V mode I have to turn off automatic and manually select it. Since I have the 12V I never run propane while driving.
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Old 11-30-2016, 06:25 AM   #16
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Thanks for the responses.

Back in the day the 12V was to reduce the propane consumption and blowouts while underway.

The big hassle was the desire NOT to enter a gas station with the propane pilot flame burning..Some brain boards would turn off the propane for 20 min when the vehicle ignition was cut .

Sounds like all auto is the way to go.

A heating element is almost as happy with square wave power from the inverter as power pole electric. And the MB alt seems large enough to power the inverter 100% of the road time.
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Old 11-30-2016, 09:19 AM   #17
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I have a 3-way Dometic and when it is in automatic mode it will only switch between 120V and gas operation. To use 12V mode I have to turn off automatic and manually select it. Since I have the 12V I never run propane while driving.
That could be the case. Never looked. I just run it on 'auto' all the time. Never gave a thought to check....

Good Fridge btw. I had a Norcold in my other unit. It was a PITA. Glad this one has a Dometic, much less complex.
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Old 11-30-2016, 09:43 AM   #18
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Yep years ago my dad had a refrig.that worked on propane,12DC and 110Vac but that was back in the 70's
Yeah I had one of those. V flexible. I cant understand why they dont manufacture them any more.
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Old 11-30-2016, 10:00 AM   #19
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Yeah I had one of those. V flexible. I cant understand why they dont manufacture them any more.
In as much as mine is a 2014 unit, I'd say they must still make them....
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Old 11-30-2016, 10:21 AM   #20
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Yeah I had one of those. V flexible. I cant understand why they dont manufacture them any more.
They still make them. I have one in my 2.5 yr. old TT. From my experience it has been limited to the smaller refrigerators likely due to the current draw required by the 12 VDC heating element.
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