12 volt Refrigerator vs Propane gas

[aircommuter]

Refrigerant has been regulated since 1968. For good reason

Except they go too far sometimes for other reasons. I started using R12 in 1966 installing automotive a/c units. Still have a big bottle as well as r134, 410a and r22. Today it’s just doing what is needed.

 

[capeharj]

Hmm, your the first proponent of a 12 volt fridge I have read about on here.

He's not the first, I put one in my 2018 Salem 187RB after my gas refrigerator caught fire. I've had gas for 48 years with no fire, but have seen many on the side of the road burned out. I seen my fire in time to pull over and put it out. The 12 volts work great and have more room inside and cost about the same.

 

[ak49rzrs]

Wow. Not sure what the purpose of this thread is.
You like all electric and solar and are afraid of propane or just don't like it? By all means use 12v or residential fridge in your RV if it works better for you.

I prefer propane 2 way fridges in RVs and always will. Nothing wrong with that either. Doesn't mean I'm behind the times, unsafe, or afraid to try new things. It works for my style of RVing.

Everybody has different RV needs and different methods to fill those needs.

Have an open mind and be tolerant of those who do things differently.

BAM! you nailed it there with RV needs, methods and to add where you spend most or all of you time with an RV. Makes me wonder if peoples accounts are getting highjacked. There was a bizarre post on IRV2. I live in Alaska and the cost of Lithium is still expensive due to availability, mark up and shipping costs for batteries. Lastly I'm usually not camping where I have hookups.

 

[Aussieguy]

should make a section on the forum... If you coming to Alaska can you bring me.... xyz

 

[MCTroy]

I don't spend much time on long ramblig threads. Skimming through I'd say I love my absorbsion fridge and dread the day I have to go to a 12v model.

Ditto.
Our good working frig is another reason we are keeping our 2015 travel trailer.

 

[desuhu]

We just sold our 2005 37' RDQS May 1st and the buyers just told me that the absorption fridge just quit working, so they bought an electric one to replace it. They won't be able to boondock now though.

 

[NMWildcat]

We just sold our 2005 37' RDQS May 1st and the buyers just told me that the absorption fridge just quit working, so they bought an electric one to replace it. They won't be able to boondock now though.

Bad choice they made..... IMO

 

[Bob K4TAX]

We just sold our 2005 37' RDQS May 1st and the buyers just told me that the absorption fridge just quit working, so they bought an electric one to replace it. They won't be able to boondock now though.

Why not? Add a 1kw pure sine wave inverter and a 2nd battery and the residential refrigerator is ready to go. We did exactly this in our other/smaller trailer and it worked great for several years.

Bob

 

[GolfingDave]

Why not?

X2
If they were boondocking before I would sure think they already have a generator/solar. Had to keep the batteries charged somehow. Unless they only go a day or two at a time until the battery bank is depleted?

 

[jimmoore13]

X2
If they were boondocking before I would sure think they already have a generator/solar. Had to keep the batteries charged somehow. Unless they only go a day or two at a time until the battery bank is depleted?

What's missing in this analysis is that a 12 volt compressor fridge uses several times more power than anything else in the camper...and that load is ADDED to all the existing loads. It's entirely possible to boondock with no solar and just a little generator time each day (to recover from furnace use). Add in a 12 volt compressor fridge, and the battery consumption increases several times over. Equipping a rig to handle that load typically means substantial battery upgrades AND lots of solar.

 

[Aussieguy]

What's missing in this analysis is that a 12 volt compressor fridge uses several times more power than anything else in the camper...and that load is ADDED to all the existing loads. It's entirely possible to boondock with no solar and just a little generator time each day (to recover from furnace use). Add in a 12 volt compressor fridge, and the battery consumption increases several times over. Equipping a rig to handle that load typically means substantial battery upgrades AND lots of solar.

my fridge only uses 5 amps and is only running compressor 50% of the time
it is not a huge power hungry monster that can't be satisfied..


anyone doing boondocking with any fridge is going to upgrade the battery capacity anyways, making the battery upgrade a moot point!

If you want to use the furnace for any length of time... it uses almost the same amount of power as the fridge so battery upgrade benefits a lot of things
Not just the "enormous fridge power"

one or two 200w Solar panels could be used ... depends on location but most people subscribe to "Bigger is better" so more solar is installed because you can and it makes sense to put the max your controller can handle.


my 200ah battery can allow me a weekend away without hookup
added solar just because we wanted more than a weekend

12v fridge ... solar.. lifepo4
some of the best things to happen for boondocking
set it up correctly it just works...

If i happen to like a shady location where solar won't work drag out a small generator < 1000w easy to store and carry and a full charge will last several days

 

[REL]

Was boondocking at an MX track Thursday through Sunday. Left the camper because I was coming back in 4 days. Fridge and freezer were full. Turned on the propane for the fridge. Came back 4 days later the beer was still cold. Can't do that with a 12 volt without spending some big $ on solar and lithium.

 

[aircommuter]

Was boondocking at an MX track Thursday through Sunday. Left the camper because I was coming back in 4 days. Fridge and freezer were full. Turned on the propane for the fridge. Came back 4 days later the beer was still cold. Can't do that with a 12 volt without spending some big $ on solar and lithium.

Yep a little propane goes a long ways. Mine goes from room temperature to freezing in less than 3 hours and I have never had an issue keeping things cold. Plus I camp in early spring and fall when sun angles are low and I don’t like being in the sun anyway.

 

[GolfingDave]

It's entirely possible to boondock with no solar and just a little generator time each day (to recover from furnace use).

Thanks for making my point. If they have a generator to replenish the battery they just have to run it a bit longer if they use more of the available battery supply.

Who boondocks for more than a day maybe two without a way to replenish the battery? I haven't read any posts of more than a night without recharging myself.

I guess they could be using the camper just as a shelter.

 

[pgandw]

Who boondocks for more than a day maybe two without a way to replenish the battery? I haven't read any posts of more than a night without recharging myself.

I guess they could be using the camper just as a shelter.

I guess I'm the outlier, although I've met a lot of pop-up campers and A-frames doing the same thing. Camp in the shade, in beautiful public campgrounds is often dry camping whether you want to or not.

We sized our battery bank (210 AH GC-2) for 4 nights dry camping without recharging. At the end of 4 nights/5 days, the batteries are down to 50-60%, the fridge is getting empty, and so is the water tank. It's time to move on.

This would be impossible to do without a propane fridge. My norm is about 20AH/day with some heater and/or fantastic fan use, less if none. We don't use the stereo, all lighting is LED.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2022 Hyundai Palisade

 

[MGD1961]

350 watts of solar and 200 ah on reasonably sunny days will self sustain indefinitely in our case with 10.7 square foot 12 volt fridge.

 

[MT Biker]

I have to say the Hot Point 12v refrigerator in our new ML25SRK sucks.
I will take a good ole propane fridge any day of the week over this piece of garbage.
The manufactures suggested user guide for settings depending on season is absolutely useless, if you can come up with a combination of where to set the dial in the freezer and what level (1-5) to set in the fridge that will actually cool the fridge to below 40 degrees you have accomplished a miracle and should be proud.
Our trailer stays connected to shore power 24/7 while it is stored at our home, nobody has been in the camper for about a week and I just went and checked the temperature... 41.7 degrees.
It will sometimes (sometimes ) get as low as 35.1 but it mostly stays around the 39-41 degree temp range.
This means when we are traveling we have to put all meats in the freezer as I am not risking them in the fridge and sitting at temps over 40-degrees.
So you can have all your solar, batteries, panels and what not, these 12v fridges are garbage.

 

[Sunseeker16]

I have to say the Hot Point 12v refrigerator in our new ML25SRK sucks.
I will take a good ole propane fridge any day of the week over this piece of garbage.
The manufactures suggested user guide for settings depending on season is absolutely useless, if you can come up with a combination of where to set the dial in the freezer and what level (1-5) to set in the fridge that will actually cool the fridge to below 40 degrees you have accomplished a miracle and should be proud.
Our trailer stays connected to shore power 24/7 while it is stored at our home, nobody has been in the camper for about a week and I just went and checked the temperature... 41.7 degrees.
It will sometimes (sometimes ) get as low as 35.1 but it mostly stays around the 39-41 degree temp range.
This means when we are traveling we have to put all meats in the freezer as I am not risking them in the fridge and sitting at temps over 40-degrees.
So you can have all your solar, batteries, panels and what not, these 12v fridges are garbage.

I just got home from 3 days at a local state park in 90+, high humidity and my absorption fridge stayed at 33-34 degrees. I'll take that over a 12 volt anyway. Since I added the internal fans it cools down really fast too.

 

[Aussieguy]

I have to say the Hot Point 12v refrigerator in our new ML25SRK sucks.
I will take a good ole propane fridge any day of the week over this piece of garbage.
The manufactures suggested user guide for settings depending on season is absolutely useless, if you can come up with a combination of where to set the dial in the freezer and what level (1-5) to set in the fridge that will actually cool the fridge to below 40 degrees you have accomplished a miracle and should be proud.
Our trailer stays connected to shore power 24/7 while it is stored at our home, nobody has been in the camper for about a week and I just went and checked the temperature... 41.7 degrees.
It will sometimes (sometimes ) get as low as 35.1 but it mostly stays around the 39-41 degree temp range.
This means when we are traveling we have to put all meats in the freezer as I am not risking them in the fridge and sitting at temps over 40-degrees.
So you can have all your solar, batteries, panels and what not, these 12v fridges are garbage.

according to Military and FDA guidelines below 41 is the norm for fresh non frozen foods including meats..

A fridge full of food (not empty) maintains temperature better ,the mass of cold food slows heat loss. whereas thin insulation and opening doors can have a large effect on a empty fridge.


therefore ... trying to get close to 35 is just inviting food to accidentally freeze, and then to be tossed out. I want my lettuce to be crispy.

some meats like beef ...
air cure it for 21 days before refrigeration..... if you want real tender

Food HANDLING is the biggest problem... dirty unwashed hands and drinking milk from the carton are the worst ! ewwwwwww

 

[CPUDOC]

No 12V for me

12V refrigerators make NO sense to me. You have to move up to lithium batteries that poor little kinds in China have to mine, You have to have solar panels or fire up the generator to keep the refrigerator running.The good old lead acid batteries that can allow a refrigerator to run off of propane for many days are easily recycled vs the lithium batteries and solar panels that are not easy to recycle. Propane is MUCH safer than gasoline that most people run in their generators and tow vehicles.