Why The 12volt RV Fridge is Amazing! RV Fridge Comparison.
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- Опубліковано 3 лип 2024
- Today I wanted to compare a Residential Fridge with an RV Fridge (Absorption) and a 12-volt compressor Fridge. I mainly look at how much power it draws but we also look at temperature and use. I was very impressed with the use and simplicity of the 12volt fridge but it needs to be offset with a couple solar panels. I hope this helps you decide what type of RV fridge would be best for you if you are looking for a new one.
12-volt fridge. amzn.to/3J0SZso
Absorption fridge. amzn.to/3793a0C
Solar Panels. amzn.to/3uPLLST
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The fact that you fixed that compressor refrigerator says a lot and one of the reasons I subscribe. The other fact that the RV Repair Facility did not fix the issue and that no one there saw the potential in repairing it is the reason I do my own work. If they are not smart enough to do simple diagnosing then they are not touching anything I own. Great video, thank you!
Sadly that is so common with RV repair facilities, now I don't want to put all of them in the same basket because I know there are some very good techs out there...I have yet to find one.
We had to order our trailer because I absolutely wanted a 12v fridge. The advantages substantially outweigh the disadvantages and since we rarely boondock it was a no brainer. The dealer was not to happy since they had 3 of the exact same trailers on the lot with absorption fridges but that's their problem.
There is a third option for an RV fridge, replace the absorption mechanism with a compressor system from Jc Refrigeration/ DutchAire. This uses the current fridge "box" while replacing the tubes, burner, and electric heaters on back with 12 volt compressor system. They also sell a120 volt replacement too. I did this with my 14 year old Norcold at a price at that time of around $800. One thing that a self contained 12 volt compressor fridge does is add additional heat to interior of RV, which during hot weather can make the interior uncomfortable or put more work on your air conditioner.
Top score! Thank you for the lead! I was feeling pretty salty about the idea of throwing away the whole fridge because one part failed. This looks like our cost effective option, and I would expect better performance--quicker cool down time. We are full timing so most of the year adding heat is a benefit, and in the summer I think I can just open the original wall vents. Looks like about half the cost of other options I've found so far.
When i was speaking of extra heat from fridge is if you buy a complete aftermarket 12 volt compressor option. Those type vent from underneath. The JC refrigeration version requires the vents on side and top/side be left open for proper cooling of their system. Any compressor type does cool much faster - we are a week at a time campers and from start -up to cold enough for food it takes ours about 2 hours, plus any extended time with door open, it recovers quickly too.
I have a lot of experience using absorption refrigerators and and some recent experience with DC compressor fridges, primarily through using large cooler style refrigerator/freezers. If the upright DC fridge works like my coolers, I think an advantage you overlooked is that you don't have to "pre-chill" everything before it goes in, as you do with the propane fridge. You mentioned that it takes awhile (8 hrs) to cool the propane one before you load it, but you also have to load it with food that is cold to start with. The ones I've had would take DAYS to cool foods from anything close to room temp. If you tried that with certain foods I'm sure they would spoil before they got down to a safe temp. DC compressor fridges, based on my limited experience with large car coolers, work every bit as well as if you were putting stuff in your kitchen fridge. I made 31 lbs of ice from tap water in less than 24 hrs recently with one of my coolers. I know that I couldn't do that with any absorption fridge that I've owned.
You're a lucky puppy to have gotten that fridge for free. Good job! Now use it.
Been wondering about 12V fridges. Thanks for doing all this research and posting
Thanks for your time
Love your videos! I've been a full timer for 5 yrs and still learning. That's where your videos come in handy cause you are a wealth of knowledge and a blessing.
My Starcraft trailer I bought last summer came with a 12v refrigerator. It has worked great! I can’t imagine having any other style!
Thank you for the video- yours are very informative!
Great comparison. Loads of good info. Thanks you!
our new trailer just arrived and we inspected it today - opted for the 12 volt firdge - and was happy to see it was a norcold. cant wait to try it out! looks great.
That is exactly the comparison I've been wanting to see. Thank You!
Glad it helped!
Thank you SOOOO much for having actual facts and an informative video. So hard to make good decisions with all these opinion pieces!
Very helpful. Thank you. Especially appreciate the power consumption comparison.
Love your short and to the point videos. Always informative. Thank you
Thanks!
Outstanding video and as always full of information!
Thanks for providing lots of details.
Great explanation. Never even thought about changing out the fridge for efficiency. Thanks for sharing. Peace
Thanks
Very good information, thank you for digging into the data.
Very informative. Our Ekko has the 12 volt fridge, and works great. ( as good as the one at home, and yes it cools down very quickly when we get ready to leave.)
Another GREAT food for thought video! Thanks
I'm impressed that you hauled a conventional fridge into your 5th wheel for this!
its not a conventional fridge, it is just a compressor style RV fridge.
@@uhjyuff2095which by just about any def is a conventional fridge!
@@chriskibodeaux9818 I guess you right. I just thinking about my home fridge and how I would never attempt to install it in an RV trailer, its just too big.
Always good information.
Thank you
You made an excellent video and it covered all the details I really appreciate it
thanks for video. needed these details
Great info! Great video! I need to replace my absorption fridge, and think I will go with a 12v. Your info really helped!
Excellent video!!! Thank you for this info.
Love my 12 volt. Cool quick and keeps items colder.
thanks Jared. Great information!
I have been looking at the JC Refrigeration replacement units thinking that my 17 year old absorption unit will fail some day. I had not convinced myself that this is the best way to go as we don't boondock very often but I think you have convinced me.
Great video. I've been considering a 12v fridge for our trailer if ours goes out. Thanks for the data and pros/cons.
I have been wondering what the "real" deal was and this is very helpful. Thank you Jared for making this video.
Definitely a thought for the future
That was great! Thanks.
I love your channel. I have learned so much from you. You are in my top three recommended UA-cam channels.
Just a thought for you. They have larger 12v refrigerators. Grand Design has one in their new larger RVs. Now I know that you don't need one now, but if and when you do, the larger 12v's would compare to your RV fridge you have now.
Keep these great videos coming.
Our new GD Reflection 337 came with a 16 cu ft 12v Furrion fridge and I’m loving it. We had an absorption fridge and switched to residential in our motor coach, but this 12v beats them all.
Purchased a new Grand Design Reflection 320MKS in February and it came with the 16 cf Furrion side by side 12v frig. Wow! 2500 mile trip to AZ and back and frig never skipped a beat. Cooled down in less than 2 hours and stayed there for a month. Also came with the 165w solar package so frig is powered 24/7. Swapped out the OEM batteries to my Lion UT1300 lithium (x 2) and never went below 75%. The system is awesome.
Love our 12V fridge!
We just purchased a new Hrand Design Reflection 5th wheel and it came with a 12 volt fridge. This video put my mind at ease and I’m excited to get the new coach out and go camping! Thank you for the video!!
We've been GDRV owners for over ten years now. We've had two Reflections and we bought a new Solitude in October. I swapped out the absorption refrigerator in our second trailer for a 10 cubic foot 12V compressor refrigerator. It worked flawlessly for over seven years. The people I sold it too say it's still working great.
Our new Solitude comes with a 20 cubic foot compressor refrigerator and we're thrilled with it. We mostly boondock, so we wanted a nice size solar and battery set up. I installed 920 amp hours of batteries, and 2000 watts of solar. So far, everything is flawless.
I have a Norcold 12 volt fridge/freezer in our Tiffin Wayfarer and LOVE it. I had the Dometic gas/electric in my last RV and was always having trouble with it. It would get too warm even in cooler weather. And the ice in freezer would not completely stay frozen.
Great information!
We have a 12V compressor fridge in our 2022 Motorhome. We live in Arizona and have had other Motorhomes with absorption fridges. It would take us 48 hours to cool down them down in the summer. The 12V cools down much quicker. It runs much smoother but we are struggling trying to run it on batteries only. Fine while driving but if we park it for 24 hours the 200 W solar panels don’t keep up with it. This is probably a result of the lead acid batteries not charging fast enough or having been discharged too deeply.
Thank you for your videos
Ahh you need more solar panels. At least a thousand watts.
Great info. Thanks.
We just upgraded from our old pop-up to a new Surveyor Travel Trailer and so have not tested the 12V compressor fridge yet. The pop-up had a 3-way absorption fridge. You can significantly improve the cooling efficiency of the absorption fridge by installing a 12V muffin fan ( like a 120mm computer fan ) to blow on the outside radiator of the fridge. The absorption fridge relies on convection of the air to rise from the lower vent to the upper vent to cool the radiator. A small fan can significantly increase the air flow. In our pop-up, the under counter fridge would cool in half the time with a fan blowing on it, vs not using the fan. I used a small switch to turn the fan on when we turned the fridge on, and to shut it off when we packed up at the end of each trip.
Interesting video! Always wondered about the 12v fridges.
Excellent info and great find.
Thanks!
I was fearful of buying this used KZ240TH with 120vac/12vdc fridge but you made me quickly realize that some solar panels and some lithium batteries will serve my extensive Boon docking requirements well. Thanks.
We boondock in below freezing temps to go snowmobiling, sometimes below zero F. The Norcold absorption fridge does not work well in those temps causing me insulate the exterior vent door leaving only a small opening for combustion air. That mostly solved the problem. So I'm intrigued by the 12v compressor fridge as a better solution. A plus is sealing up the vent door and roof vent to lower heat loss. Thanks for the review.
Glad you mentioned the footprint vs. the interior volume. When renovating an old camper, we compared the absorption vs 12v compressor, and when we found the interior volume was that much better for the compressor- we when that direction.
I use a 55 liter dometic "cooler" and it's insane nice.... 3.5-4 days of run time with 80 degrees ambient and set to 34 on a 100AH lifepo4 battery!!
Great video! Thanks!
Thanks
Love your video. I would like to see a more pro and cons list. If you had time
Great video mate
For our RVs, we have owned both Absorption and 12 Volt. Winner: 12 Volt!!! It keeps the temperature more consistent.
We switched to 12v fridge when we got a scratch and dent fridge in Elkhart. We love our 12v compressor fridge, we've had absorption and residential also.
Glad to hear you like it after having all three in the past.
Always informative. We have a 2014 303 whose frig just went out. I opted for a new Norcold because we don’t have any solar. But if I did I would have opted for a 12 volt.
I hope it is frost free. If not after continuous running the inside coil may freeze up. At least that is what happened to the 3 different units we had. Finally just purchased a 120 volt AC unit from Best Buy. Current draw is 109 watts normal and 140 for the defrost cycle. Ours has been running 24/7 for just over 2 years. Have had zero issues. If you would like you can check out a update video on the channel. Thanks for your videos we appreciate the time and effort you put into them.
Jared- we upgraded from our absorption to the Dometic 12v DMC4101RH and I agree with you in saying that due to the high-cost of these things, it's almost cost prohibitive to swap-out only to get a little more space if you have a working unit. But since our absorption was costing us more and more to trouble-shoot between the burner, the lower control board, we made the switch. However a consideration that I also took into account was the stable amperage draw of lithium rather than lead acid. Blown boards (at worse) and blown internal fuses seem to be common with these 12Vs due them pulling higher amperage to maintain the 12V in order to compensate for the lead acids depletion when not properly charging (i.e. boondocking and letting the battery drain down too much before re-charging- which is easy to do for people unfamiliar with 12V systems). As as a result of this sensitivity that the 12V fridges have, we upgraded our lead-acid to a single BB lithium as well as the Progressive 9160 charger with Victron's Battery monitor, DC-DC and MPPT chargers. Needless to say, the battery upgrade with the chargers and all of the ancillary pieces (wire, battery terminals, fuses, tools, crimpers, cable loom, insulation, touch-up paint, spray-foam, dicor, wood, ) cost almost as much as the fridge itself! Admittedly, the monitor, DC-DC and MPPT chargers were not needed and argueably neither is the Progressive charger. But, we saw it as both piece-of-mind and the ease of expandability of future upgrades to the battery system. This was esp. true since we had to move the battery to the storage compartment (we have a 2015 Outback TT) in order to protect the lithium. So figuring out where to put everything and adding the expansion while we had it opened-up made sense. Lastly, not only was re-wiring needed for the battery, we needed to run a NEW 10 gauge line from the camper's fusebox to the fridge. For many rigs this will be easy and in some cases not necessary, but in a rear living travel trailer with the fridge in a slide and only a previous 14 gauge wire from the absorption fridge, we needed the new wire and it became a whole new animal! I point all of this out to try and help your followers get an understanding of the second and third-order issues they may want to think through before buying an expensive 12V fridge. Especially those that have a Travel Trailer that did not previously have lithium batteries and has the fridge in a slide. It would be really interesting if somebody would do some type of root-cause analysis out there on the repair/replace of 12V fridges (less than 2 years old) to understand if a depleted lead-acid is a contributing factor to the 12V fridges coming in for service. If it is, this could be a big market for shops to tap into to install a lithium. So far our upgrade/conversion is working well, but we haven't really had it out as of yet to test it for long trips. Cheers!
Wow! Thank you for the detailed explanation. Newbie here, and I learned a lot from your post. Cheers
Thx for the additional info!
RV Tech here with 36 years experience . The majority of fires that I have seen in rvs are because of propane fridges. We deal with both of the RV fridge manufacturers and I'm here to tell you that profits is number one on their mind!
When my rv fridge kicks the bucket, I will not hesitate for a second and install a compressor fridge!
The 5th Wheel that we are purchasing has a reasonably new 3-way unit in it. We want to do 95% free camps (boondocking), so I will be upgrading the current solar set-up that is currently on the rig also.
My point is, that I am currently looking into the pros and cons of the different types of fridge/freezer units available and with your spans of knowledge (from your yrs in the RV industry), with all I've just shared with you, would you recommend us getting the 2-way compressor unit? From my understanding, they use the least electricity and you get more internal usable space, is that right?! And are they any more reliable than the absorption units?
I look forward to hearing from you 🙂
@@colincutler194We recently bought a motorhome and the Dometic fridge is done (leaked ammonia). We will be installing a 120 volt only, fridge, probably Danby. Solar, if roof space is available, 4 360 watt panels. Batteries will be 4 Valiant cold weather lithiums with Bluetooth. The inverter is going to be ic 3000watt go power. We may have to supplement some generator run time. I dislike generators but a bit of a hybrid system is good.
Other retrofits would be a composting toilet,minisplit ac /heat and some sort of recycling shower system.
This is my opinion of an off grid, near perfect RV.
I really like your videos..... keep up the awesome job!!!
Thanks
❤❤ Great info. Thanks for sharing. Would like to have seen your diagnosis and parts replaced on your newly acquired fridge. 👍👍
I have the JC refrigeration conversion on my norcold unit for over two years now. Totally happy with it and love having a cold refrigerator and ice cubes in the freezer! Plus, I was able to get solar added to my roof by JC refrigerator while getting the g12 volt conversion on the refrigerator at a very reasonable price. Thus never worry about cold food or the low power the unit draws. Should have done it sooner!
What is your battery and solar set up? Thanks
We have a 12v in our Navion and it's fantastic. We boondock with 200w of solar and rarely have to run the generator. Besides think of all the space you gain.
What kind of battery/ batteries does your RV have for that to work? Would it be adequate for my two 6volt Trojans I have linked in series to produce 12 volts. The amp/hr is 250. I wonder if there's 12 volt refrigerators available yet that will also operate using propane? 🤔 thanks
Hi , we have a Vista with the 12V fridge from Winnebago. We are struggling boondocking with it. 200W of solar but lead acid batteries. Do you have lithium?
@@anthonyb2334 sorry to hear that. Hope you're able to find a way to have success with it. I'm really wondering why these 12 volt refrigerators aren't made so they'll operate with propane too. Especially since they're made for the RV.
@@Hundert1 I see you have two 6volt batteries, and from everything I’ve read, they work better than two -12 volt. I cannot the 6volt in my coach, but I can fit lithium. I just need to figure out if I want to spend the money.
@@anthonyb2334 yep, not sure why though. They advised me two 6 volts are very good. What matters for storage capacity is the total amp/hrs. So, my one 250 amp/hr battery when I joined in series two 6 volts, just the volts doubles into 12volts but won't increase/double the amp/hrs . If we join two 12 volt batteries in parallel we'd get double the amp/hrs which means alot more storage power but the voltage remains at 12 volts. I'm saving up for lithium ions or something similar when my two 6 volt Trojan T-145 go bad. Battleborn brand lithium ions are supposed to be a very good brand but I hear they're way over priced and there are other brands as good for much less. The usable power of lithiums is much more and they weigh, much less. Typical lead acid batteries only can be drained at most halfway otherwise damage can occur. Lithiums can be almost totally run down without damage. I'd like to go with having about 400 amp/hr lithium battery or link two 12 volt lithiums to total about 400 amp/hrs. I'm still researching the best lithium ion system. I think it's worth it getting lithiums. But shop around. Thanks, Happy and safe RVing
I also have the furrion 12v and i had to replace it 2 times so far 3rd time a charm
Awesome video. My little absorption fridge broke. Gonna try the Whynter 45 12V compressor cooler. Thanks for the great info
Thanks
On my second RV and it has a 12 volt, first on had propane/120v absorption. The 12 volt definitely cools better. Was camping in July in the Florida sun and ice cream stayed frozen in freezer! Only down side is many manufacturers only include on battery so I would recommend a 2nd one, especially if you don't have a generator. Another tip, monitor RV voltage when you plug in the connector to the tow vehicle. When tow vehicle is running, the RV should show 13+ volts. I had an issue where truck wasn't sending power to RV to keep the battery charged and after being on the road 12 hours the fridge ran the battery down so much the jacks barely worked. Tow vehicle charging is fixed now but I still make sure the RV voltage goes up when I start the truck .
After going from our absorption fridge on our 278bh, to our 12vdc on our 324mbs, we are happy with the 12vdc fridge.
Nice job, great video... we made a mistake not knowing any better that our RV did NOT come with a 3 way fridge. But glamping for years with a domestic 12v in my jeep and going away for 2 months, I wanted another fridge that can run on 12v. So after speaking with a dealer and they wanted like one $2000 to change out the fridge I bought another Domestic CFX 75 size which REI had at 20% off so came in at about $1100. We used that as our primary until we got to an RV park where we were staying for a few weeks, but in between we kept the Domestic going. We boondocked for 7 days, using 400 watt solar panels to keep our batteries charged, 2 lead acids and never had any issues. Of course the Domestic does occupy some space but didn't really get in the way. Beats spending another $2000 to swap out a perfectly good 2 way, and then what would I do with it anyway. So now we have 2 fridges. The Domestic one uses so much less power, can be digitally set the temp etc.. and monitored via the app. Just my $0.02.
We made the swap to a 12v fridge (Everchill French Door) last year and aren’t looking back. We absolutely love it! It is incredibly efficient. Another big bonus with the 12v fridge is no longer having to defrost!
Yes that is a big advantage
@@AllAboutRVs I've been having a hard time finding any small 12v fridges that are automatic defrost/frost free. Norcold and RecPro said theirs weren't. A while back the Norcold rep was on a Surveyor youtube video saying that theirs were frost free, but now they're not? Any thoughts? We are wanting to replace our Dometic 6 cu ft with an 8 cu ft 12v if we can find one that's frost free.
Great job/ My 12v fridge was full when I was away for 10 days, the RV lost power due to a storm on day 2. This RV has a very small solar panel which was enough to keep everything frozen, which was a lot while the fridge area had very little. Great units!
Love our 12v fridge in our camper. Stays cold and has alot of room.
We switch to a 12v last year . Love it wouldn't go back
My adsorption fridge gave up due to a leak in the cooling coil. I priced new lpg fridge, rebuilding my old cooling coil and a 12v comressor fridge. I went with the 12v compressor fridge at 1300.00 cdn. And it fitted where my old fridge came out. I loved it and worked great even off level. I upgraded my camper and back to the lpg fridge. Ho boy do I miss the fridge
We just went through this exercise. We have a 2021 5th-wheel and the Norcold 2118 18-cubic foot reefer never performed adequately. We replaced the absorption assembly with the dual-compressor unit from JCRefrigeration about a week ago and it has been performing superbly since then. While replacing the guts of the reefer we found out why it was not performing very well, there was NO thermal paste between the cooling unit and the cooling plates in the reefer. I would definitely consider this a manufacturing defect but try to prove that to Norcold. Regardless, we now have a 12-volt DC refrigerator and both the refrigerator and freezer functioning correctly so very happy with the change.
We will be back there in September to have our 2118 changed over.
So wait, are you saying you converted your existing absorption fridge to 12V compressor? I’m gonna take a look at that site.
@@jeremyspecce Yes, exactly. They created compressor-driven units that replace the original cooling unit on your absorption 'fridge. They have both 12-volt DC and 120-volt AC models for the 2118. Since I already have a fairly large lithium house bank I opted for the 12-volt DC unit. Using a 120-volt AC unit through an inverted would be a significantly larger draw on the the battery. We just arrived at a COE campground after a 2-hour drive and the freezer was at -3 and the fridge was at 37. We NEVER got that king of performance from the absorption cooling unit, even with outside temps below freezing. The up-side to going this was is I still have the original fridge volume and did not have to change any cabinetry. The total cost for the unit, installed by JCRefrigeration was ~$1800. The unit was ~$1300 and they charged $400 to install it. I could have installed it but did not want to wait till I was in a location to do so.
@@martyschwartz3485 I assume you DO lose the propane ability with the conversion?
@@WillBelden Yep.
I’m getting ready to convert the Norcold in our 28BH to 12v dc compressor with the DutchAire conversion kit. Hopefully will have it in soon.
A couple things to keep in mind. The residential fridge is likely larger, maybe much so. Ours is 20 cu ft which is huge for an RV. It also has auto defrost which is nice and some like the ice maker. With that said, the Hisense fridge in our unit hasn't been 100% reliable and can sometimes just stop cooling requiring a power cycle.
I replaced my propane fridge with an ever chill 12 volt compressor fridge. It worked well,even in 110 degree weather.
Thank you for the information. I am planning my next RV and was not sure if I wanted the residential, 12v, or propane combo. Not planning allot of boondocking. I guess I am at a loss for why they are so expensive (because rv is associated with them?). So I am thinking of longevity. 12v sounds great but what could I expect for useable lifespan. No one will be able to answer that one because they have not been out all that long...Welcome viewers comments. Thanks again.
Plussed. Subscribed. I'm in the market for a new RV and I do want a compressor fridge. The rental ones (Cruise America) are all absorption... and in Arizona they are almost useless. They can reduce tempy to 20°F below ambient OAT. When it's 110°F out, 90°F isn't a "win". It's a "get your butt to an Igloo cooler and buy ice bags daily."
Thanks for the in-depth analysis -- especially the watt hours and per day usage. I already knew how to size my inverter... but thanks to you I know how to size my battery bank. Solar's great... but again... in Arizona we boondock OUT of the sun. That means RV engine power to charge those batteries.
Again, thank you!
Ehud
Tucson, Arizona
12v fridge works really good, had so much problems with regular rv fridge.
I donot have 12 v on my fridge at all. Still rocking the old absorbtion with gas/120v only. I have wondered what the 12v fridges were like. In my case, I probably would not swap only because i like the propane option when boondocking. Considering that I do not have solar "YET". Thanks for the review.
great great stuff
This is a great debate, The main factors for me where energy consumption and size. That being said there would only be myself and my bride. And we would be 95% full time which would weigh in on decision as well...With your data and our situation I think 12 volt or residential would prob win. Nothing against 3 way...thanks for taking the time to do this comparison and sharing‼️
Really informative video.
I just wanted to share an experience. We have a truck camper and we swapped out our dometic absorption fridge for a 299$ 7 cu ft residential 110V dorm fridge. And it’s working great. We are averaging 50-60 ah to run the fridge per day in 80 degree weather in Baja. This is with our 1000w PSW inverter running all day. A DC compressor fridge is great, however these cheaper fridges are also very efficient and much cheaper.
I upgraded / replaced our 8 CuFt Absorption Fridge with a 10.7 CuFt Compressor Fridge, we are so happy with the 12V DC Fridge. No worries about traveling down the road with Propane on, no long cool down time.
What was the size difference between the two fridges?
@@frankhazelton4591 The new fridge fit perfectly in the space for the old fridge.
Minor cold 12 ft.³ refrigerator freezer wasn’t cutting it in the heat so I converted it to a JC refrigeration conversion with a compressor 120 V. I should’ve went with the 12 V unit. But this fridge does the trick.
I did the same to my 18 ft. Refrigerator from JC refrigeration.
That 12v fridge will slide right into my 8CF absorption fridge space in my Imagine 2970RL.
I have one just like that and I love it, My propane lasts forever now.
I have the Furrion 12 volt and loved it until about 6 months in, it stopped cycling off and just stayed on all the time. I took it in under warranty, thinking that they would do something like replace a thermostat, but no, they just ordered a new one. So after 2 months I have a brand new one working great. I upgraded to a fairly large solar system (600 AH, 1500 Watts, 3000 multiplus) and the power consumption of the fridge is comparatively quite modest. Thanks for all the informative videos.
@@forgenorth1444 Mine uses about 100 watts and not constantly. Before I upgraded my solar I was running it off two 170 watt panels and a 100 amp agm battery and didn't have any problems
@@forgenorth1444 The fridge was already hooked up to the battery when I bought the camper. So yeah just hook it up to your main DC busbars. Might want to fuse it too.
This was a cool video.
Thanks
Our 2022 g.d 3100rd came with a 12v fridge and it’s nice. Nothing mind blowing. And when you take it out of storage and turn it on you can’t overload your fridge at first. It takes quite a while to cool everything down in there. Took over a day on our first trip because we had to many waters in there and food and what not. Ended up taking out a lot of waters and had less things to try to cool and once we did that finally got down in temps and and works great. The freezer works great with no problems. It was just the fridge part that takes a while to cool off once loaded up.
On initial start up we place a bag of ice in the freezer and pre-chilled water in the fridge. Ready to roll with everything in an hour.
Thanks god bless
Certainly would like to change our absorption for a 12v compressor unit but unless it’s an exact fit for the old hole that won’t happen until the absorption unit fails completely. Actually the absorption unit in my fifth wheel works great, in fact it cools great!
1 year later and new camper with a 12v compressor refrigerator and it is GREAT!
Absorption = $1/Day or More!!!
You also need to account for running an absorption fridge in the driveway. We left ours on between trips and our electric bill spiked, after looking at the daily reports from our electric bill we narrowed it down to the fridge. Our Dometic cost us over $1 per day to run on shore power, My whole house runs just under $3 per day normally. Crazy!
We love our 12v! Had a residential in our old RV. 12v cools so much quicker and we have had better consistent cooling in the Texas heat with the 12v.
That is awesome!
I figured I needed more freezer room to supplement our 1200 Norcold, since we boondock 50% of the time. I added a small cheap chinese 40 Quart 12v freezer, 1 180W bougerv solar panel, plugged into my ac50s Bluetti. Very effecient, 35 watts at -4* (when the compressor is running. No problem as the little Bluetti is getting up to 122W . $180 for the panel, 40 for cables/ connecters/sealant, $239 for the 12v compression fridge/freezer.
We bought a new Winnebago TT last month. It had the 12v 10.5 cf which was one of the things that we felt was a plus for the trailer. Also had 190 watts solar, another plus. First shakedown trip in three weeks so it will be interesting to see how it works. Pretty sure we will be happy with it.
What brand of fridge is it and is it frost free by any chance? Thanks!
It is Dometic and has an auto defrost. Not sure how good that will work. Had it running to test it for a couple days but didn't build up any frost.
Great comparison info. I have been repairing R V s for 45 years. most of my customers camp with hook ups. So, power draw is not an issue. Customer that have toy Box R Vs camp with no hook ups, so absorption refrigerators are the way to go. Norcold refrigerators on # 9 setting will freeze milk in the lower compartment. and i have seen the freezer at 0 degrees in 24 hours of running. If solar panels are installed, then 12 volt refrigerators are fine . Plus running the generator for about 1-2 hours a day is going to override the battery loss from the 12 volt Refer.
All we have ever had is a 12v fridge in our 2021 Rockwood MiniLite. It’s awesome. No desire for an adsorption fridge after reading about them. We did upgrade our solar to 400 watts of panels on the roof and a 206 amp-hr SOK lithium battery. Actually provides for a decent boondocking experience with the 12V. Maybe not quite at the adsorption boondocking capability, but close enough for us! I love the simplicity, quick cooling and small footprint for the volume. I think adsorption fridges will mostly die out over time due to improving battery/solar technology
Yes I agree
JC refrigeration has a kit that converted our absorption to 12V compressor. Installation was really easy and we kept our existing quad door fridge. Best of all the world's if you ask me. I didn't want the propane burner style. Just grab another battery.
Interesting!