Roo Boondocking question=Extending Battery Life

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by Burnking

So do ALL Dometic fridges have heaters? I have a 2017 Rockwood Mini-Lite 2304ks. How would I verify that the fridge has a heater and then disconnect it?

Thanks

Open the outside door and look at the wiring diagram. Here's mine:


The heater is item K (very bottom left). It's in parallel with the switch (H) and the light (G).

Note that you'll see it twice. The bottom left is the circuit schematic and the upper right is the wiring schematic.

[Burnking]

Thanks,

I went and looked at the fridge. It is a DM2652LBX. Looking on line at the manual; it states that there is a switch under the front panel. Checked; not there!!

So I need to pull the connector on main board outside?

[Burnking]

Got a magnified view of wiring diagram. So it looks like the heater comes off the switch for the fridge light?
Am I reading that correctly?

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by Burnking

Thanks,

I went and looked at the fridge. It is a DM2652LBX. Looking on line at the manual; it states that there is a switch under the front panel. Checked; not there!!

So I need to pull the connector on main board outside?

You have the same model that I do (i.e., you should have the same diagram I posted). They haven't been actually installing the switch for at least 4-5 years that I know of.

Originally Posted by Burnking

Got a magnified view of wiring diagram. So it looks like the heater comes off the switch for the fridge light?
Am I reading that correctly?

Yes.

See the attached doc on how to disconnect it at the light. If you don't mind not having the light, you can just pull the wire off of pin J2. (If your fridge is in a slide, it may have a small fan that's also powered from pin J2, so make sure you don't kill the fan. Unless it's pretty cool out and you don't "need" the fan.) Rather than pulling the wire from J2, another option is you could install a switch in that wire and turn it on/off from there.

[aeblank]

I just clipped the wire behind the light cover. Had to guess which was the feed and which was the heater. Amazingly, I guessed right.

[jehrbear]

How much draw is the fridge heater?
I probably won't be doing that in the near term, but it's interesting (in a bad way) they would use that to solve a frost issue.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by jehrbear

How much draw is the fridge heater?
I probably won't be doing that in the near term, but it's interesting (in a bad way) they would use that to solve a frost issue.

0.5 amps. See pg 2.

[n4uaj]

Originally Posted by jehrbear

The other boondocking I do is at the US Nationals in Indy (drag racing event). One of the guys that comes in from Illinois brings a construction style generator.
[opposite of a quiet one], but we only run it as needed (AC or Coffee Pot) and not too many folks complain there since everyone else has one too.
.
If we start boondocking more often (my wife says we won't ) I'd buy a genny.

If they at drag races, a little generator racket surely wouldn’t bother them[emoji12]

[aeblank]

Originally Posted by jehrbear

How much draw is the fridge heater?
I probably won't be doing that in the near term, but it's interesting (in a bad way) they would use that to solve a frost issue.

That's the way they all do it, your home fridge included.

I haven't measured the draw yet. It's on my to-do.

[abewitched1]

We camp Spring and Fall where it easily gets below freezing at night. We use a Big Buddy heater placed on our table. It heats our Roo very nicely (even just set to pilot) and we don't have to hear the fan motor. Our batteries last forever.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

0.5 amps. See pg 2.

That actually stinks. That's 12 amp hours a day which means all by itself it kills the battery in less than a week. I didn't know about this but will disable that tomorrow! Thanks.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by abewitched1

We camp Spring and Fall where it easily gets below freezing at night. We use a Big Buddy heater placed on our table. It heats our Roo very nicely (even just set to pilot) and we don't have to hear the fan motor. Our batteries last forever.

Remember to crack a vent so you don't asphyxiate.

[Hersbird]

As for nice little generators we bought a Westinghouse 2200ixlt for under $500. It is as quite as a Yamaha or Honda 2000 at 52dBa at 25% and 59 at 50% load, holds more gas for a 13 hour runtime at 50% load, has the inverter, and can be paralleled as well. I think they might have replaced it with the Igen 2200 now, same price, some new features like usb ports. We have had ours for 4 years and it is rock solid reliable, starts right up and idles right down to whatever the load on it is.