Residential Refrigerator

[rossboyer]

I just saw online that Samsung is selling a counter depth refrigerator with two doors and drawer freezer. Prices are in the range of $1,299 which is just about the same as the RF197 that many of us installed to replace our rv refrigerators a few years ago. The specifications look to be the same as the RF197. Those of you that are looking to replace what you have might see if this unit would fit your needs. Our RF197 has served us for a little over 4 years and operates on our Xantrex MSW inverter while we travel across country. We did not add more batteries, but we do not dry camp. 

[deejohnmc]

Does anyone have experience with extended time ( months ) dry camping with residential refrigerators of any brand ?

John McClure -- Monaco Diplomat - 05

[rossboyer]

You will frequently need shore power. I have dry camped overnight while on a long trip, but never have we done more than that. 

[hermanmullins]

deejohnmc,

Welcome to the Forum. 

Yes, you may camp for an extended time, but and it is a big BUT. You will need to run your generator several times each day to recharge your batteries. The Samsung RF 197 will run on your inverter but for only as long as they are charged. Remember the Fridge is not the only thing you will be using, water pump, radio, clock, TV and more. 

I have dry camped for 2 maybe 3 days but also ran my generator several time a day to maintain the charge.

Herman

[richard5933]

I know that residential refrigerators are becoming more and more common, but if dry camping is what you're after you might consider a 12v compressor fridge. They are typically smaller than a residential unit, but they can run longer using the available battery storage. Our is about the size of many RV fridges, but they do come larger. The downside is the cost, which is typically much higher than a low-end residential.

Another option is for you to add capacity to your house battery bank so that you can run the inverter longer without having to run the generator. Or, you can add solar to keep charging the batteries while you're dry camping.

[kaypsmith]

The key to running a residential fridge on an inverter is to look at the specs and shoot for the lowest amp draw. My 20 CF Samsung max draw is 3.9, it is an inverter style fridge and typical draw is about 1.7 after startup which is pretty consistent, therefore a rather small solar system will provide plenty of reserve power to keep it running for days when there is adequate sunshine for 8 or more hours in each day.

[desertdeals69]

3 hours ago, kaypsmith said:

The key to running a residential fridge on an inverter is to look at the specs and shoot for the lowest amp draw. My 20 CF Samsung max draw is 3.9, it is an inverter style fridge and typical draw is about 1.7 after startup which is pretty consistent, therefore a rather small solar system will provide plenty of reserve power to keep it running for days when there is adequate sunshine for 8 or more hours in each day.

I think most refrigerators draw around 8 amps for the defrost cycle which could happen every 8 hours.  What I have done on those installations is put a switch on the heater circuit so I can turn off the autodefrost when on the inverter.

[richard5933]

9 hours ago, kaypsmith said:

The key to running a residential fridge on an inverter is to look at the specs and shoot for the lowest amp draw. My 20 CF Samsung max draw is 3.9, it is an inverter style fridge and typical draw is about 1.7 after startup which is pretty consistent, therefore a rather small solar system will provide plenty of reserve power to keep it running for days when there is adequate sunshine for 8 or more hours in each day.

Remember though, the information that's listed on the fridge will be for the 120v operation. That information has to be converted to the actual draw on the house batteries. It takes about 10 amps @ 12vdc to produce 1 amp @ 120vac using the typical inverter. That means that the load on the house batteries is actually 17 amps, not 1.7 and this is all in addition to whatever loss is involved plus the current draw for the inverter just to keep it running. Your Samsung sounds like it draws 39 amps from your batteries at startup and 17 amps after, which would run a typical factory-installed battery bank down pretty quickly.

Contrast with a 12vdc compressor fridge which will draw only about 5-7amps @ 12vdc to operate.

Both options are doable, but it's important to keep the higher current needs of the residential in mind when sizing battery banks.

With our 12v compressor fridge we can go 4-5 days dry camping with no solar operating and without running the generator. Maybe 2-3 if the furnace is running. You learn to carefully manage battery use when you want to dry camp in silence (no generator).

[elkhartjim]

From my actual experience, I could run my Samsung RF197 along with the miscellaneous other power draws for 24-36 hours on 4, 5 year old house batteries. 

This thread is turning in to another "this is what I have and its the best" thread. 

[jleamont]

39 minutes ago, elkhartjim said:

From my actual experience, I could run my Samsung RF197 along with the miscellaneous other power draws for 24-36 hours on 4, 5 year old house batteries. 

This thread is turning in to another "this is what I have and its the best" thread. 

There is also a lot of variables to be determined that will ultimately determine battery life including habits that no one can calculate for but you.

I would recommend running it on a trial at home and simulate how you dry camp if traveling. For us I gave up around the 12 hour mark with 85% battery life remaining. If that concerned install a generator auto start/stop and solar on the roof. I actually figured out how to set up the auto start/stop feature while watching TV testing the draw in my driveway. Now I just make sure its programmed properly and forget about it. We also make hot beverages and breakfast in the AM so starting the generator is a morning must (induction cooktop).

[elkhartjim]

Exactly, each rv'ers results will depend on how they use their energy. We had a gas stove and oven at the time but I'm sure the induction cooktop I have now would draw down my 8 batteries pretty darn quick, if it will even operate off the inverter.  

[wildebill308]

Jim, with that many house batteries there is a chance you can operate the stove off the inverter. One way to find out, (well ok 2 ways) turn off external power and see if it works or read the owner's manual/instructions. 😄

Like Joe said the, only real way to find out how long you can go on your battery bank is to experiment as everyone's setup is different.

Bill 

[hermanmullins]

Jim, is that 8 batteries on one or two inverters? Carl has 8 batteries with two inverters with 4 batteries each. I am not sure how long they last without recharging. I believe each has designated items they service.

Herman 

[jleamont]

21 minutes ago, hermanmullins said:

Jim, is that 8 batteries on one or two inverters? Carl has 8 batteries with two inverters with 4 batteries each. I am not sure how long they last without recharging. I believe each has designated items they service.

Herman 

You still running (4) 6 volt batteries and the MSW inverter on the Dynasty? 

[elkhartjim]

23 minutes ago, hermanmullins said:

Jim, is that 8 batteries on one or two inverters? Carl has 8 batteries with two inverters with 4 batteries each. I am not sure how long they last without recharging. I believe each has designated items they service.

Herman 

8 batteries on one inverter.

[wildebill308]

7 hours ago, elkhartjim said:

8 batteries on one inverter.

That is quite a bit of capacity. I am wondering what you find that works on the inverter. What size is your inverter? 

Bill

[elkhartjim]

42 minutes ago, WILDEBILL308 said:

That is quite a bit of capacity. I am wondering what you find that works on the inverter. What size is your inverter? 

Bill

I am all electric, Bill. Magum 2000 watt  Pure Sine Wave.  I know it powers all 4 TV's and their components, refrigerator and microwave. Plugs in master and half bath, 2 plugs in kitchen, the computer work station plug, driver dash plug. I've never tried the induction cooktop.

[richard5933]

Eight batteries doesn't mean much without knowing the capacity of the batteries. We've got only four 6-volt batteries, but it gives us 780 Ah @ 12v since they are Trojan L16 batteries. With a 2000-watt inverter I can run up to about 1800 watts of continuous load safely. Figuring a 50% max draw down, that means I can run at 1800 watts for about 2-1/2 hours. Doesn't really matter was that 1800 watts is, as long as the total never exceeds 1800 watts.

Here's a website where one can input the load being placed in the inverter in ac and calculate the load being drawn from the battery bank.

https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/tools/ac-to-dc-amperage-conversion-run-through-an-inverter.html

If I input the data from above for running a residential fridge of 1.7 amps @ 120vac, that equals about 18.77 amps dc. I assume that the fridge will cycle on only about 1/2 of the time once it gets cold. That gives me the following calculations:

780 Ah/2 = 390 Ah of usable capacity. Divide 390 Ah by 18.77 amps and then x2 since the fridge is only running about 1/2 the time = about 41.5 hours of run time if the only thing running was the residential fridge. Of course, there are other things being run off the battery like the fans, lights, water pump, etc., so the actual time between running the generator would be less. Solar would of course make it longer.

For comparison, our 12v fridge only draws 5 amps. If we only run our fridge the run time would be 156 hours using the same calculations. Of course we have other loads so we can't go this long on battery alone, but since we also have solar, the time can be extended even longer between generator use and/or plugging in.

If it's possible to either run the generator or plug in every day or so, then a residential fridge would be able to run on most decent sized battery banks, but you've got to do the math using your own numbers to see how long you can run.

I'm not trying to push anyone to choose one type of fridge over another. Makes no difference to me. I'm just trying to help by showing how we did the calculations to determine what we needed when I set up our battery banks and installed appliances.

 

[elkhartjim]

Upgraded from AAA to D cells.....😱

[kaypsmith]

So what is the L-16 ah rating @ 6 volts?

[manholt]

4 TV's?  I got 3 and that's just boarder line, overkill.  Once a month, Linda will watch her taped series in bedroom, rest of the time we catch some news on front TV and very seldom outside for College Football or Golf.  When outside, we get others that want to watch their team play...we are not rude, but others are!  So, we watch inside! 

IMHO. if we ever want to boondock more than one night, we would get a trailer or a tent.  I know, some people want to do that in a coach, just not us..I did all my interaction with nature, when I was a Boy Scout and Explorer! 

My coach is all electric, because that's what I wanted.  Our (Linda & I) New to us coach will be the same....she loves to travel with the comfort of home, be it by RV, cruise or flying!  She's happy/I'm happy! 

[richard5933]

6 hours ago, kaypsmith said:

So what is the L-16 ah rating @ 6 volts?

390 Ah @ 6v

We've got four, wired in series/parallel, which gives a total of 780 Ah @ 12v.

[rsbilledwards]

Jim,  we have a single induction unit that we use all the time when boondocking, no problem. We do also have a lot of solar that gives a great recharge every day. I have rewired the power from the inverter to power the all the duplexes in the coach, obviously not all at once use. It is a lot more convenient for sure. 780 amp hours 6 Crown 260s 2012 Magnum full sine wave