Installing a Residential Refrigerator in an RV! 👍
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2024
- This is an alternative option to a conventional overpriced inefficient absorption fridge.
Link to fridge:
www.lowes.com/...
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![How to Install a Residential Fridge in an RV [RV refrigerator replacement]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KuTC79peyPE/mqdefault.jpg)
UPDATE: My friend decided to pull out this fridge unit and return it due to the amps difference between A/C and D/C. This was designed to be used for A/C amps. His solar and battery bank was not adequate enough power to run this unit on D/C. However, this would be an excellent alternative if you were always going to be plugged in to A/C current 24/7. Thanks for Watching
So what did he really end up installing?? Would a 0.8amp fridge work??
I had a feeling he underestimated the power usage of a residential refrigerator. If it was that easy more people would replace the ammonia absorption ones with compressor ones. It's similar to people trying to run a residential room AC in their RV's on batteries. They make work for a few hours but not 24/7.
West Coast Roller i wondered if he was correctly stating the amps. Better to use watts as it’s agnostic between AC/DC. 1 amp at 120v AC is 120 watts. 3 amps at 12v DC is 36 watts. Stating amps alone doesn’t say much. Needs the volts to for context.
Even though this project failed, it was very instructive. Here is what I learned about fridges from the video and from the comments. Please correct me if I am wrong. I am trying to determine the best fridge for my needs. Open to feedback.
Residential fridge in RV:
1. Any amps draw is for 110V not 12V, therefore you have to calculate the draw for 12V which is much higher.
2. You need a substantial battery bank and solar power install + inverter to run this.
3. Fridge is not built for continuous earthquake forces in RV travel. The vibrations can crack the glass and cheap plastic shelves easily. Not robust enough or flexible.
4. Heavy, and noisy.
5. Not sure about whether they need to be level at all times like propane fridges.
6. Cools down fast!
7. Reliable operation.
8. No locking mechanism, need to add on, to keep doors closed during travel.
9. Cheapest option at $300.
RV fridge Propane Absorption type:
1. Very low propane draw from tank, propane lasts for a long time.
2. Built for RV travel with wire shelving and tougher plastics.
3. Quiet. Lighter.
4. Need to be level at all times with less than 15% grade or you can damage it permanently.
5. Takes 8 hrs to cool down, very slow.
6. May not always run predictably. Sometimes pipes get blocked, or fridge goes click, click, click when low on propane, or flame goes off without warning. Not 100% reliable.
7. Dependent on propane refills regularly.
8. Not efficient in very hot weather, fridge temp goes down.
9. Locking mechanism built in for doors during travel.
10. Costliest option at $1500.
RV fridge Electric Compressor type:
1. Efficient low draw directly from 12V battery source.
2. Built for RV travel with wire shelving and tougher plastics.
3. Not as quiet as propane but less than residential. Lighter.
4. Does not need to be level at all times unlike propane fridge.
5. Cools down fast same as residential fridge.
6. Reliable operation with very few things that can go wrong.
7. No dependency on propane refills.
8. Efficient in any weather. Cools much lower than propane in hot weather.
9. Locking mechanism built in for doors during travel.
10. Very dependent on one power source - batteries. You need a portable battery source in case house batteries get disconnected.
11. Medium cost option from $500 - $1000.
From this analysis, I pick the last option. I will be installing solar soon and replacing my fridge to an RV Compressor Electric model with no propane connection. Reliability is key. No leveling is very attractive.
I agree with you on last option. Thanks for your comment
Hi Dalton, Just have your friend turn the plug receptacle vertical instead of horizontal so he can keep the same power cord. You need to keep the factory cord as it has a ground wire. In an RV, always keep in mind the ground. Very important. Hope you are adjusting to the heat. Happy trails. Mike
MJ MOHN thanks for the input. You’re right and that’s exactly what I decided right after the video ended.
Good luck with the fridge. Many folks have taken the road you have taken, myself included, when it comes to eliminating the absorption type of rv fridge and going to a compressor type with an inverter. The higher end RV's now go that way as standard equipment and in time, I think the absorption fridge will go the way of the doo-doo bird eventually as refrigerators become more and more efficient. Happy trails Wayne. Mike
MJ MOHN thanks Mike But today I learned something new. The real reason most people don't use residential fridges is this. 120v amps is not the same as 12v amps. And we like to go camping so being plugged in all the time is not an option for us. This fridge only uses 1.45 amps but, caculated to 12V amps that turns out being huge. Not something my 275 watts of solar will support. Soooooo, it's back to square one. Forced to buy a $900 replacement RV fridge
Sorry to hear of your difficulty with your conversion to compressor from absorption fridge. From the video, it looked like you were trying the Frigidaire. It appears your rig is a towable unit, so you should have plenty of real estate up top to add lots of solar. Spend that $900 on upgrading your 275 watts to some good solar wattage. Your solar should produce more energy to the deep cycle batteries than you would need to power the fridge on that dedicated inverter in the cabinet above your fridge. Dalton can help you with that setup, he knows solar. Look at CITAP1 post for energy calculations. When boondocking, use the dedicated inverter to power the fridge. Your solar upgrade should power the fridge easily. I have an EdgeStar that works just fine on inverter power 24/7/365 in the TC. I also use a small induction cooktop. I have been trying to reduce the propane consumption usage. You can do quite a bit with solar for RV boondocking. Look into it, you will be pleasantly surprised. Good luck with your project Wayne. Happy trails. Mike
Great informative video! Very enjoyable. Where there’s a will there’s a way, but fridges never fit the first time. Always something in the way! Thank you sir!
Thanks for the video it is well designed for your rv.
That 120 volt fridge at 1.4 Amps will be about 10 times or 14 amps on the 12 volt battery side plus the inverter amperage so ~15 amps. 168 watts minimum to run this setup 12DC or 120AC.
www.leviton.com/sites/REST/controller/LCProductListRestController/fullpdf/1286-W.pdf?products=1286-W&locale=en
You can use this DPDT switch to control the power source between shore and inverter power if you want.
So 3 amps at 12vdc isn't the same as 1.5 amps at 120vac. It's been decades since electrical theory so lemme work this out. eli voltage leads current.... ok, forget it. I'll take your word for it.
The power/wattage will mathematically work out to be the same whether 12 VDC or 120 VAC. Watts or Power equals volts times amps.
The conversion is 1/10th or 10 to 1 depending on which way you're converting.
Lower voltage = more current to get same wattage/power. Higher voltage = less current to get same wattage/power.
120 VAC * 1.4 AC current = 168 Watts Power
12 VDC * 14 DC current = 168 Watts Power Add an Amp for the converter you get 180 Watts Power
A step farther, with solar or shore power running your RV converter charger, DC voltage will be 13.2 typically.
168 Watts/ 13.2 DC volts = 12.75 DC AMPS more realistically
180 Watts 13.2 DC volts = 13.65 DC AMPS Counting the inverter at 1 amp DC to power itself.
The values you gave above equal,,, 3 amps at 12 volts = 36 watts,,, 1.5 amps at 120 volts = 180 watts.
Take care...
Very nice clean work👍🏻😁
Looks like is going to work great.
Yep! 1.45 amps AC, 120 V equals about 14.6 amp 12 VDC. Watts divided by 12 V plus 1.5% for inverter. But.... fridge compressor will only run about 20 minutes an hour or about 35% of the time +/-.
3 - 100 AH deep cycle batteries, a 600 watt PSW inverter and 3- 100 watt solar panels will do the trick
Thanks for sharing those details!
@@WestCoastRoller And only 2 years too late
I was going to do this.a tiny dorm type but its about 130 watts but the problem it has no easy start so the compressor take 900-to 1,400 watts for 3 secound to start the compressor once ever 5 minutes and if your battery at 12.7 it's not powerful enough and you got to add the inverter throw away a few watts in the conversion.
The best way. Is what I did. Get a warranty . Buy the refrigerator at west marine my dorm refrigerator is 720. The warranty is 120. 840.00 for free shipping repair back and back again. In the stock warranty you buy it and pay for shipping to you. It breaks you go to a lot of trouble and 1 week to get the ok to ship it back. Then you pay for shipping again back to you. For me I save 500 in shipping cost. Now it's garrantee for 2 yr. and I love it. It's will save me money also. Only here a warranty make sense as it free with there stock
good to hear thanks for sharing!
I seen this last night and he has a log of doing it . It's possible, but it is a power hog.
ua-cam.com/video/gHFDvNN_P4s/v-deo.html
Just had my RV fridge Converted to 12 V by JC Refrigeration in Shipshewana Indiana. I have a Dometic 2652 and I used to average 20 amps per hour overnight now I average 4.7 amps per hour overnight. It's a game changer for boondocking.
Hi Ed looking at this option too..and same fridge. How are you liking this conversion so far? Are you using solar as well? How much solar is needed for your newly converted fridge to run efficiently while still needing enough battery power to run a few lights, pump etc.? We are thinking to go 12v we will need to install a solar system then but are clueless how many watt solar panels are needed. Battery type you are using?? Thanks so much.
Tell me what was the cost of conversion
Hey WCR! How's it going? Hope life is good for you and Bobbi!
Life is good update soon thanks for checking in my friend!......
I guess the only thing now is to see if it can take the vibration of the road. I don't know why it wouldn't. There is that whole power issue though...
strange how eazy you made that look, when every imperfection often leads to 5 other problems, & so on, etc., untill this 2hr job ends up taking like a week😔
Hello my friend it’s cold in my parts that being Winnipeg Canada 🇨🇦 need some vids from desert 🐫 I hope all is well anything my friend lol
Hello thanks for checking up from Canada! Been away for a while need to come back and share more life in the desert! 👍😉
Since the refer you finnally chose needs ventalation to it's outside walls, to remove heat- I'm surprised it works. Also many late refers wont work properly in cool or COLD weather. Do any off season camping? Check with the brand before wasting even MORE of your time & MONEY. Rick B. -- former Whirlpool, GE, Fridgidare factory autherized service Also Dometic service trainer.
Unfortunately even 1.4 amps at 120 volts comes out to well over 10 amps on the most efficient inverters @12 volts so the solar system has to be pretty decent food for thought...
Just turn the outlet around
Comparing amps between 12v and 110v is just wrong. The 3 x 12 v equals a total of 36 watt usage per hour. Doing the same with the new one makes 1.45 x 110 equals about 160 watts. So it takes about four times as much energy. Also there is a 20% loss converting DC to AC so it's more like five times more energy usage.
I would just rotate that outlet 90°.
Are you gonna be in quartzite in Arizona for the RTR?
And what did we learn here??? SFA really...unless watching 2 guys cram a fridge in a hole is your thing🙄
thanks for watching
I plan to remove my domestic RV refrigerator and replace it with a Frigidaire residential refrigerator. Did you Cover the vents on the roof and behind the refrigerator?
No he did not. They allow for ventilation.
Such a bad idea....residential refrigerators are NOT made to withstand the motion and bumps and rough roads that are traveled. This kind of use usually voids the warranty on a residential refrigerator.
People keep saying that about mini split residential air conditioners on an rv- yet millions are running them successfully.
Hmmm,,, Long Time No Video,,, Get A Job Or Something??? Take Care Kidz...
We're still here! Thanks for checking in! Hope all is well with you, Kelly, and Charlie.😁