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Old 09-05-2011, 05:24 PM   #1
11155
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Running Camper Fridge on propane/12DC without 120VAC power available.

Ran into an issue today where I wanted to leave my fifth wheel with a refrigerator full of food at a location where there was no electricity. I though I could just run the fridge on propane for about 4 days and keep everything cold. However I got to thinking if the battery dies, the fridge must shut off(not good). So I simulated loss of DC by turning the battery disconnect switch off and sure enough the fridge shut down.

My question is this: what are others doing for extended run times on their refrigerator when they don't have AC power available.

My thoughts:
1. The obvious, a generator (wasn't an option for me this time)
or
2. A solar panel to keep the battery charged.

Any ideas or experiences here greatly appreciated.
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Old 09-05-2011, 05:40 PM   #2
CarKath
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You could also run your truck and plug in the trailer to truck and charge batteries or use booster cables to charge batteries. If your doing day trips away from trailer and keep truck batteries charged up, you could just stay plugged in to truck and use that power.
And i case of emergency, hope you have good camping nieghbours and booster cables to get truck going if it is now dead.
Just an idea. Gen is my back up
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Old 09-05-2011, 05:48 PM   #3
SteveC7010
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Our camping is almost exclusively dry camping up until now. While it was in a different brand of RV, the fridge is a Dometic, and the battery and charging systems are pretty much the same as the Keystones.

Typically, we use some lights in the evening for reading and the fridge runs 24/7 on propane/12vdc. The hot water heater also uses a small amount of 12vdc for its control circuits. Because we can use the generator for a couple of hours each day in NYS parks, we've gotten a bit lax about energy conservation. I have converted some of the lights to LED's but that is an ongoing project.

Two big users of 12vdc that no one thinks about are the propane detector and the AM/FM/CD/DVD radio unit. Even when turned off, the radio continues to consume electricity. The propane detector pulls amperage 24/7.

So, if you want your battery to last 4 days to control the fridge, at a minimum, do the following:
  • Pull the fuse on the propane detector
  • Pull the fuse on the AM/FM radio
  • Pull the fuse on the hot water heater
  • Make sure ALL lights and other 12vdc appliances are off or unplugged
  • Make sure the battery is fully charged before you leave it
  • Double check and then check again that there is nothing else using any 12vdc before you leave

Even with all the above, if your battery is not up to snuff, it may not go the 4 days. Age and past treatment of the battery comes into play here.

As an aside, I am going to be learning about 12vdc conservation all over again with our new trailer. All the systems are "bigger" and the lighting is more extensive. Bigger fridge, too.
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Old 09-05-2011, 06:28 PM   #4
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During our dry camping outings in previous years as well as this year, we rely on our solar panel to maintain the charge on our 2 6v golf carts. Having 2 good batteries that are "up to snuff" is key. We are not fans of generators but they are tolerable as long as people who use them do not abuse their use and are mindful of their neighbors.
With prudent use of our lights, water pump and other current draws, we are able to stay out for long periods of time. We have yet to pull the fuses on our propane detector and the stereo.
The majority of our lights - and there are so many of them - have now been changed to LED. They draw far less current but the downside is they emit less light. The changeover has not been costly. I have ordered lights (yes, from China) on eBay and they are quite inexpensive. When hooked up, I remove the LED lights over the table, sink, sofa and other reading areas as well as the bathroom sink and toilet lights and replace them with the 921 bulbs. A nuisance? Yes, but it doesn't take that long. We notice a big decrease in current draw using the LED's at night.
We also try to not use the water pump, except to shower, and instead go to a water container or jug and pour our cold water by hand. A nuisance? No. Less convenient? Yes.
There are some sacrifices to be made when dry camping and some folks wouldn't even consider not having hookups because of the inconveniences and having to go without using all of their appliances, TV, etc.
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Old 09-06-2011, 06:01 AM   #5
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Festus,

This points out some of the differences in dry camping in various situations.

Solar is not much use where we camp because all the sites are in the tall trees. A lot of my friends have tried various solar setups here with little success. They all gave up when they figured out that to get even fair battery recovery each day, they had to stay in camp and move the solar array every hour. I would have much preferred to have spent the money on solar rather than a generator.

We camp almost exclusively in New York State DEC parks which allow up to 5 hours a day of generator time within fixed time periods. Our generator is a Honda eu2000i which is super quiet. I only run it as needed, usually an hour or two total per day. I also site it so the exhaust is not pointed at either of our neighboring campsites.

I suggested to the OP pulling the fuses only to help insure that a single battery would drive the fridge for 4 days. We stopped pulling the fuses when we got the generator.

Everything up until now that we have done to make dry camping better has been based on a single battery setup. I'm planning on upgrading to two in the spring when I de-winterize.

I converted some of the lights in our previous TT to LED, but DW hates the cool white ones. I have some warm white ones on order for the new Cougar, but as you pointed out, there sure are a lot of them. My reading light remains a cool white one.
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Old 09-06-2011, 06:38 AM   #6
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Steve:
Your comment about solar not being effective in the midst of a forest is quite correct. Cloudy and rainy days can also be included. So you might ask....."Why does Festus bother with solar when he is living in a West Coast Rain Forest?" Mmmmmmmm, got me there!
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Old 09-06-2011, 06:44 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Festus2 View Post
Steve:
Your comment about solar not being effective in the midst of a forest is quite correct. Cloudy and rainy days can also be included. So you might ask....."Why does Festus bother with solar when he is living in a West Coast Rain Forest?" Mmmmmmmm, got me there!
Because maybe where you camp is a little more open?

I have a friend who covered the roof of his 24' TT with several very large and expensive solar arrays prior to wandering around the US and Canada for several years. He keeps 4 6vdc golf car batteries fully charged, and can run any appliance in the TT off a very large inverter. (see everymilesamemory.com for details) Yet he still needs to a generator or shore power sometimes depending on his camping situation.
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Old 09-06-2011, 08:16 AM   #8
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Not sure what brand you have but the DC current draw for a Dometic refrigerator running on propane is 'less than 500ma' (per the Dometic spec.) so you should be able to run it for 4 days on a typical 100Ah battery and still be at 50% charge (as long as the battery is in good shape and fully charged to begin with, and you remove all other parasitic loads as described above.)
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Old 09-06-2011, 04:48 PM   #9
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Put in another battery, problem solved!
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Old 09-07-2011, 01:41 PM   #10
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From an interested reader what does it take to install a second battery? Do you install them in series or parallel.f
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Old 09-07-2011, 04:05 PM   #11
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Thanks for all the great advice. I really appreciate it.
- First of all, it doesn't appear like a solar panel will be the best option for me since I do alot of camping in the trees, so I will toss that idea out.
- Secondly, I like the advice of pulling the fuses on the items that are "ghost loads" to reduce battery drain. Since my curiousity has the best of me, I am going to find out how much each of these "ghost loads" draw. I will put my Fluke in-line amp meter on these loads this weekend and find out their amperage. I can report back if anyone else is interested.
- Thirdly, I think I will add a second battery (in parallel) to double my battery capacity.

Last but not least, I may give this all a trial run without food in the fridge(maybe fill it with water jugs). I think I will put fridge on propane, disconnect A/C power and see how long the battery lasts, both with ghost loads connected and disconnected. I know there will be some variances, due to weather, battery condition, etc.., but should give me a good idea of what to expect.
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Old 09-07-2011, 06:47 PM   #12
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I don,t know what you call it series or parallel, but you connect positive to postive and negitive to negitive! Just guessing, I would say it is called parallel.
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Old 09-07-2011, 06:55 PM   #13
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Yes that would be parallel. + to + and - to -. Otherwise it would be a series connection and give give you 24 volts DC.
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