Leaving propane fridge on?

[Stangfire]

My trailer is set up permanently off grid. I have solar, batteries and propane. The fridge is ran off propane with (2) 30 lbs tanks.

We have 3 day weekends for most of the summer and will be away from the trailer for 4 days at a time during the week.

My question is can I leave the fridge running on propane for the 4 days we are not there? It would save us from bringing coolers, food, drink, ice, etc back and forth every 4 days. Plus save on time for the fridge to cool when we come back after the 4 days at home.

The fridge does not seem to be a propane hog so I’m not too concerned about the cost. I think the convenience of leaving it on will out weight the cost of propane for 4 days.

I guess worst case scenario the fridge shuts off for some reason and I waste some food.

Any thoughts or concerns? Do others have experience doing this?

[dutchmensport]

It won't hurt anything if you do. When we had electric / propane refrigerators, we left it on 24x7. Never shut it off, even when the camper(s) were not being used for a while. As long as you are confident with your propane supply, you should have no issues.

Your refrigerator does use the battery for the electronics part of it. Make sure your battery stays charged up good, or make sure you are plugged into shore power all the time. As long as you have power and propane, you can let your refrigerator run for years and never turn it off.

[chuckster57]

FWIW, we did an experiment with a Dometic 2 door refer. Had a 12V source for the board and a 7 gal LP tank. Temp set to coldest and it didn’t shut off for 30 days.

Norcold 4 door (1200 series) do seem to have a much bigger flame.

[Stangfire]

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

It won't hurt anything if you do. When we had electric / propane refrigerators, we left it on 24x7. Never shut it off, even when the camper(s) were not being used for a while. As long as you are confident with your propane supply, you should have no issues.

Your refrigerator does use the battery for the electronics part of it. Make sure your battery stays charged up good, or make sure you are plugged into shore power all the time. As long as you have power and propane, you can let your refrigerator run for years and never turn it off.

Thanks for the info! Good to hear and will make life simpler leaving it on!

[Stangfire]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

FWIW, we did an experiment with a Dometic 2 door refer. Had a 12V source for the board and a 7 gal LP tank. Temp set to coldest and it didn’t shut off for 30 days.

Norcold 4 door (1200 series) do seem to have a much bigger flame.

Thanks! That's some good information. Nice to know it's not a propane hog.

[LHaven]

I once had to abandon my rig temporarily in storage for a TV repair and take a rental car home and back. Still had plenty of propane when I returned, but had forgotten the fridge needed battery too. Battery was dead. Took a year to get the stank out of the fridge with charcoal and newsprint. Unlike a domestic fridge, an RV fridge has joints that let liquids leak outside the boxes. As long as your solar holds up, you should be fine.

[Matty Rich]

Originally Posted by Stangfire

My trailer is set up permanently off grid. I have solar, batteries and propane. The fridge is ran off propane with (2) 30 lbs tanks.

We have 3 day weekends for most of the summer and will be away from the trailer for 4 days at a time during the week.

My question is can I leave the fridge running on propane for the 4 days we are not there? It would save us from bringing coolers, food, drink, ice, etc back and forth every 4 days. Plus save on time for the fridge to cool when we come back after the 4 days at home.

The fridge does not seem to be a propane hog so I’m not too concerned about the cost. I think the convenience of leaving it on will out weight the cost of propane for 4 days.

I guess worst case scenario the fridge shuts off for some reason and I waste some food.

Any thoughts or concerns? Do others have experience doing this?

Leaving fridge on won’t be a problem. Since trailer is permanently located. I’ve seen mention on this forum before; calling a local propane company, have them supply you with a large tank and they will come fill it for you as well.

[Stangfire]

Originally Posted by LHaven

I once had to abandon my rig temporarily in storage for a TV repair and take a rental car home and back. Still had plenty of propane when I returned, but had forgotten the fridge needed battery too. Battery was dead. Took a year to get the stank out of the fridge with charcoal and newsprint. Unlike a domestic fridge, an RV fridge has joints that let liquids leak outside the boxes. As long as your solar holds up, you should be fine.

Noted! I have a good battery/solar setup so should be fine. I imagine the electrical draw from the fridge is minimal. I’ll make sure my propane and electrical are up to the task.

[chuckster57]

Dometic fridge will operate down to 10.4VDC, but won’t come back until 11.7VDC