Frost free

[Smitty43]

Can anyone tell me why they don't put frost free refrigerators in RVs?---Smitty

[jsmith948]

Don't know for sure, but, a frost free fridge would require fans that would consume a good deal of power.

[JRTJH]

Frost free refrigerators have fans, heaters and evaporators to circulate air in a "conventional" refrigerator. The absorption cooling system does not "force air with a fan" into the cooled area. There is no heater to dry the air and no circulation system to move the air around. Making those kinds of compromises to an absorption cooling system would make it so inefficient it wouldn't be able to cool the refrigerator.

The amount of energy used to make a refrigerator "frost free" would be so great it wouldn't be feasible (with today's technology) unless the RV were connected to shore power all the time. No battery system could provide that kind of power and be portable enough for RV use.

[Smitty43]

Thanks, just wanted to know. But they sure would be nice. We do stay in hookups all the time so it wouldn't be a big deal. Be a nice option uh.---Smitty

[JRTJH]

A number of people replace their absorption referigerators with small compressor refrigerators when they finally give up the ghost. A replacement dometic is upwards of $1000 for most 6 cu ft boxes and a compressor type about the same size can be had for $150 or so (on sale) Some of these small compressor refrigerators are frost free, have ice makers, etc.

We dry camp too much to even consider it an option, but for someone who seldom moves, never camps without electricity and wants the features of a conventional referigerator, they are available and not that difficult to install in the space.

[mhs4771]

If you look around you will find that many of the higher end MHs do come with Frost Free House fridges, but they come at a cost. You need a large bank of Batteries and a good size Inverter to convert that 12 volt battery bank into 120 AC to run the fridge. The problem with most Towables is the lack of space for the battery bank needed and the additional weight they would add.