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Old 05-19-2020, 08:05 PM   #1
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Dometic RM 2193 Refrigerator in LP Mode

My 2004 FR Flagstaff 206ST has a Domitec RM 2193 3-way refrigerator. It has a piezo igniter. When operating in LP mode, is a 12 volt circuit required to operate? In other words, can I operate in LP mode with a dead battery and no 120 vac power? Thanks!
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Old 05-19-2020, 09:21 PM   #2
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My 2004 FR Flagstaff 206ST has a Domitec RM 2193 3-way refrigerator. It has a piezo igniter. When operating in LP mode, is a 12 volt circuit required to operate? In other words, can I operate in LP mode with a dead battery and no 120 vac power? Thanks!
It should operate fine without 12vdc. Check the burner and flue for bugs, dirt or spider webs. Check page 10, SECTION D. MAINTENANCE & SERVICE of the attached manual.
Attached Files
File Type: pdf Domitec RM 2191-RM 2193 manual.pdf (695.1 KB, 175 views)
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Old 05-20-2020, 11:00 AM   #3
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Update: A week ago, I sent this question to Dometic customer service and hadn’t received a response when I posted the question on this forum. Well, I finally received an answer from Dometic. I copied and pasted it below.

Good Morning,
Thank you for contacting Dometic, yes there has to be a constant 12v supply coming in at the back terminal block of the fridge for it to operate.

Have A Blessed Day!
Thanks,

Shawn Stevenson
Dometic Retail Customer Service
Dometic Corporation
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Old 05-20-2020, 11:11 AM   #4
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It appears that Shawn doesn't know his product very well. Both the 2191 and the 2193 will run on LP without any electric power to the unit.

Different units use 12 volts as control power for the electronic control boards.
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Old 05-20-2020, 11:40 AM   #5
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Ha! This will be easy to test! My new to me 2004 PUP has a dead battery and no 120 VAC. We’ll see if it will light and cool down on LP only! The manual doesn’t indicate the 12 VDC circuit is required.
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Old 05-20-2020, 02:26 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bama Rambler View Post
It appears that Shawn doesn't know his product very well.
That's puttin' it mighty kindly there 'Bama.
Brian, those reefers make their own operating current by way of a thermocouple.
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Old 05-20-2020, 02:53 PM   #7
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I'm not going to pile on Shawn too badly, after all, it IS a 3 way refrigerator and it would need 12v for it to work in the 12v mode.

Depending on how the question was posed... ie: "Does my Dometic RM 2193 3-way refrigerator need 12v to operate?"... the answer could very well be as Shawn stated. (when using the 12v mode)
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Old 05-20-2020, 03:12 PM   #8
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My question to Dometic was:
I have a Dometic RM 2193. To operate in LP mode, does it need to be connected to a 12-volt power source?
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Old 05-20-2020, 03:52 PM   #9
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Consider:

That spark needs to come from somewhere.

A true piezo igniter requires mechanical energy to induce the spark. Your stove may have one of these, and your hand must rotate the knob to create the energy to make the spark.

In an automated system, there must be a power source to replace your hand rotating the knob or repeatedly pushing the button.

Damned physics.
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Old 05-20-2020, 04:14 PM   #10
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P.S. Don't EVER run your fridge on 12 volts.
A 2 or 3 way RV fridge is a giant heater.
As in 10 amps or more giant on 12 volts.

Your tow vehicle can't deliver 10 amps to replace that massive power suck draining your puny group 24 battery that only holds 35 USABLE amp hours.

10 amps for an hour = 10 amp hours. What this means at its worst is that it will take the RV fridge running on 12 volts just 3 1/2 hours to suck your battery dry. Let's say you arrive at your site after 3 hours on the road. On a good day, your TV can deliver about 7 amps through the 7 pin connector. So a 3 amp deficit for three hours equates to 9 of your precious 35 AH in the battery. Now, let's say it takes you an hour or so to get around to switching over to propane at the site...while you setup your rig, grab a beer, and go, "Oh yeah...switch to propane." Now you're down about 20 AH of the 35 you brung with you. Ask me how I know.

What to do? On the road and when boondocking, run on propane.

That's a whole other popcorn-worthy discussion, but you'll find that the lion's share of folks do just that. Yup, turn it off when fueling or going through tunnels, and ignite again when you are clear of the hazards. But run the fridge on propane unless you have shore power.

And that includes when you are boondocking and have a small 2KW inverter generator. Manually switch from "auto" to "gas" when boondocking so that when you are, for example, running the microwave, the fridge doesn't kick on and overload the generator. Yes, that happens.

To extend the point a bit, two "5-gallon" tanks of propane contain more that 500 times the energy equivalent stored in one puny 12 volt group 24 battery!! Batteries suck as energy storage devices. Find every way possible to avoid using 12 volt power if you can, and if you plan to boondock EVER, get solar. That's another whole big discussion.


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Old 05-20-2020, 05:15 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmoore13 View Post
P.S. Don't EVER run your fridge on 12 volts.
A 2 or 3 way RV fridge is a giant heater.
As in 10 amps or more giant on 12 volts.

Your tow vehicle can't deliver 10 amps to replace that massive power suck draining your puny group 24 battery that only holds 35 USABLE amp hours.

10 amps for an hour = 10 amp hours. What this means at its worst is that it will take the RV fridge running on 12 volts just 3 1/2 hours to suck your battery dry. Let's say you arrive at your site after 3 hours on the road. On a good day, your TV can deliver about 7 amps through the 7 pin connector. So a 3 amp deficit for three hours equates to 9 of your precious 35 AH in the battery. Now, let's say it takes you an hour or so to get around to switching over to propane at the site...while you setup your rig, grab a beer, and go, "Oh yeah...switch to propane." Now you're down about 20 AH of the 35 you brung with you. Ask me how I know.

What to do? On the road and when boondocking, run on propane.

That's a whole other popcorn-worthy discussion, but you'll find that the lion's share of folks do just that. Yup, turn it off when fueling or going through tunnels, and ignite again when you are clear of the hazards. But run the fridge on propane unless you have shore power.

And that includes when you are boondocking and have a small 2KW inverter generator. Manually switch from "auto" to "gas" when boondocking so that when you are, for example, running the microwave, the fridge doesn't kick on and overload the generator. Yes, that happens.

To extend the point a bit, two "5-gallon" tanks of propane contain more that 500 times the energy equivalent stored in one puny 12 volt group 24 battery!! Batteries suck as energy storage devices. Find every way possible to avoid using 12 volt power if you can, and if you plan to boondock EVER, get solar. That's another whole big discussion.


[emoji897]
Interesting...

I've had three 12v option refrigerators. One in a truck camper and two in pop-ups. I used all three on 12v for 8 hours driving (sometimes more when we were young and dumb) with just a single on-board battery and still had power in that battery upon arrival usually late at night.

My real world experiences don't parallel those that say tow vehicles don't provide anything but a negligible charge.

There's no question, a 12v refrigerator will consume a batteries capacity with nothing going in, just as a furnace will but I simply cannot agree you can't use it going down the road
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Old 05-20-2020, 05:53 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmoore13 View Post
Consider:

That spark needs to come from somewhere.

A true piezo igniter requires mechanical energy to induce the spark. Your stove may have one of these, and your hand must rotate the knob to create the energy to make the spark.

In an automated system, there must be a power source to replace your hand rotating the knob or repeatedly pushing the button.

Damned physics.
If you open the manual I attached, OP has the push button piezo igniter so there isn't a need for 12vdc to light the gas side of his fridge.
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Old 05-20-2020, 09:12 PM   #13
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Reply to jmoore13.

I did some monitoring with a Dometic 3 way in my first A-frame towed by a Hyundai minivan. While driving, the output is sufficient to power the fridge in DC mode and trickle charge the battery. It was on long stops - an hour or more - where I lost serious ground on keeping battery fully charged. I learned to switch over to propane for long stops on hot days.

By running a wireless thermometer inside the fridge, I found out the propane flame would get blown out by the airflow at highway speeds. Without an automatic start for propane there was no way to keep the fridge cool enough on propane while towing.

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