Quote:
Originally Posted by Garbman
Just another thought, to complete the record. I also considered replacing the current refrigerator with a 3-way model of the same size. It would be a plug and play replacement, except for up sizing the 12vdc wiring to accommodate the added load and adding an auto switch.
I have put this on hold while I try getting underway with the LP. I am curious to see How long my 2 - 20# tanks last. Not crazy about needing to find swap outs for one or both of them daily.
Any hint as to how long a 6 cu ft frig will last on a 20# bottle?
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We had a small 2.5 cuft 3 way Dometic refrigerator in a pickup cab-over camper. We had a dedicated GP31 battery to power the camper and if we left the camper in the sun to visit a "tourist trap" along our route, with the refrigerator running on 12 volts, it would kill the battery within a couple hours. 3 way absorption refrigerators use a "DC or AC resistive heating element, not a DC compressor to keep the system working. It's about the most "INEFFICIENT use of battery power" that you'll find in an RV. Operating a 6 or 8 cuft "three way" on battery power without the truck running to keep the battery charged will be a "no joy event" at every stop along the route. And, if you tie in your truck battery to augment the trailer battery, best have a set of jumper cables cause you're going to wear them out in one camping season.....
As for how much propane you'll use, we regularly get well over 30 days of trailer use in the summer (refrigerator, water heater, cooking <stove and grill> as well as running the refrigerator on LPG) on a 30 pound LPG tank. We regularly dry camp as a matter of how we use our trailer and the only time it's plugged in is either at home or at an occasional "luxury site" where full hookups are available. Most of our camping is in state forest campgrounds where the only availalbe amenities are a fire ring and a broken down picnic table....
On a 20 pound propane tank, in the summer (no furnace use) you should easily get 3+ weeks of trailer use even with the refrigerator operating on LPG.
Honestly, if you look at the flame under the refrigerator boiler, it's about the size of a pilot light on Grandma's old gas stove.... It uses VERY LITTLE propane.....