Keeping refrigarator cold while driving - Event Date: 26 Jul 2014 |
Post Reply | Page 123 6> |
Author | ||
papabear
Newbie Joined: 24 Jul 2014 Location: Denver Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 17 |
Calendar Event: Keeping refrigarator cold while driving Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 3:16am |
|
Has anyone been able to keep their frig cold while running on 12 volt? I was talking to a guy from Oklahoma who said his 178 worked because the battery was being charged by the vehicle. My dealer says the battery only gets a trickle charge that will not keep the frig cold. On another vehicle I had, it was set up to charge the vehicle and when it was full a relay kicked it over to charge the trailer. I wonder if that would make the difference.
|
||
3ofUs
Groupie Joined: 12 Jul 2014 Location: TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 99 |
Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 6:36am | |
We use to run on propane in our Aliner until our friend said to use the 12 volt. Yes papabear is right your vehicle on the road will be charging your battery constantly. We continue to use 12 volt with RPod and every thing is very cold. Put a fridge thermometer in there so you can see the temperture. 38 on the highest setting when on the road and I take it down one setting once set up at camp on electricity. 40-42 is good unless you are opening the door a lot.
|
||
Outbound
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 19 Nov 2009 Location: Oshawa, Ontario Online Status: Offline Posts: 767 |
Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 7:51am | |
Yes, my fridge works perfectly fine on 12v. It doesn't cool down as fast as propane (or even AC), but it certainly maintains a cold fridge.
But, I did install and wire my vehicle's Bargman connector myself and used 6 gauge wire (and a 20 amp self-resetting fuse) on the charge line. If you've got 12 or 14 gauge wire on your charge line, it may very well be providing only a trickle charge to your trailer.
|
||
Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150
|
||
CharlieM
Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797 |
Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 8:32am | |
Unfortunately auto makers who install Bargmans seem to think we're just going to charge cell phones. A larger wire would also facilitate more recharge driving from site to site. |
||
Charlie
Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
||
papabear
Newbie Joined: 24 Jul 2014 Location: Denver Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 17 |
Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 10:59am | |
I wonder if different car companies use bigger wire. Mine is a Chevy but the guy I talked to had a Toyota. What vehicles do you guys use?
|
||
WillThrill
Senior Member Joined: 04 Jul 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 298 |
Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 12:35pm | |
From what I've seen and heard from others, nearly all factory-installed charge lines going to the trailer use 14 gauge wire. The maximum 12 volt amperage that line can handle over that length is about 5 amps. And a quick Google search indicates that RV refrigerators typically pull 5-8 amps of 12 volt power when the compressor is running. So unless you have thicker power line coming from your vehicle, your compressor might draw down your battery, but considering that the compressor won't be running continuously, this might never happen and would at least take a long to happen. If your fridge is already cold, your compressor won't be running very often, and your batteries shouldn't run down much, if any. That being said, your vehicle is obviously only charging your Pod when it's running. Stopping for 1-2 hours may put a dent in your Pod's batteries, but it certainly shouldn't drain them. Most deep-cycle batteries have at least 75 amp hours of power when fully charged. To be honest though, I don't know why so many people are afraid of running their fridge on propane while driving. I've only rarely heard of accidents by hearsay and even that only on the Internet. Just shut it off when you're refueling and you'll be just fine. |
||
"Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien
2014 Hood River 177 2005 GMC Envoy XL |
||
Cap-n-Cray
Senior Member Joined: 22 Feb 2014 Location: Bainbridge Is Online Status: Offline Posts: 121 |
Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 1:02pm | |
The RV refrigerator in our Rpods is an absorption refrigeration system. No compressor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUNmDQu_fvY My refrigerator worked fine on 12V on a 6K+ trip. My truck ran the frig and charged the pods batteries. Just remember to switch to propane when stopping for more than an hour. You could drain the TV batteries too. The freezer made ice and kept everything cold. Outside temps were in the 90's too. |
||
Cary
2014 RP-177 |
||
CharlieM
Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797 |
Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 1:19pm | |
The Dometic in the Pods does not have a compressor. It is an absorption system that requires a heat source, either gas or electric, for operation. Therefore you'll never hear a compressor running. The way the Dometic is made it will be "running" at almost any outside temperature above 50F. The small Dometic in the Pods is spec'ed at 10 Amps on 12V. That's 10 Amp-Hrs per hour, a significant load on a battery. 25% of a single GP24 battery when sitting for two hours in a parking over lunch. Recharge while driving is vehicle dependent, but probably a break even at best. Don't count on significant gain while driving if the fridge is on 12V.
All that said, I agree propane is best, even on the road. The current OPD valves on propane bottles provide excellent protection even with a severed gas line downstream. For non-automatic fridges such as in the Pods I run them on gas at the CG to protect against CG power failures. |
||
Charlie
Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
||
CharlieM
Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797 |
Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 1:24pm | |
A properly installed Bargman setup will isolate the TV when the engine is off. This can and should be tested. However, the TT battery can be drained. |
||
Charlie
Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
||
WillThrill
Senior Member Joined: 04 Jul 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 298 |
Posted: 27 Jul 2014 at 2:52am | |
Well I've learned something new on this forum yet again! A compressor-less refrigerator....interesting.
Very few TVs are going to provide a 10 amp charge to the Pod while running. So if you run the fridge on 12V, you're most likely going to drain your batteries at least 5 amps per hours even with the TV running, which isn't a good idea, especially if you're a dry camper like me. So just go with propane! |
||
"Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien
2014 Hood River 177 2005 GMC Envoy XL |
||
Post Reply | Page 123 6> |
Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |