Residential fridge while in storage

Spletbr · 04-12-2022, 01:00 PM

I’m new to having a residential fridge. Great while traveling and plugged in but wonder what people do when storing the trailer with no power…? Also, if storing for a shorter period and have power do you keep it on?

**flybouy** · 04-12-2022, 01:13 PM

If you have a residential fridge then I believe you'll have a dedicated battery and inverter. Storing the trailer without shore power the fridge would run via the inverter and battery. Depending on the battery it won't be long before the battery runs down, the fridge stops running, and you have a large stink bomb waiting for you when you open the fridge.

If your storing for a "shorter period" with power available then certianly let it run, as long as your confident that it won't get disconnected inadvertantly.

Spletbr · 04-12-2022, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

If you have a residential fridge then I believe you'll have a dedicated battery and inverter. Storing the trailer without shore power the fridge would run via the inverter and battery. Depending on the battery it won't be long before the battery runs down, the fridge stops running, and you have a large stink bomb waiting for you when you open the fridge.

If your storing for a "shorter period" with power available then certianly let it run, as long as your confident that it won't get disconnected inadvertantly.

Thanks. I should have mentioned that we would turn the fridge off and disconnect the negative on the battery if no power for a while, and unload the fridge. Do you then leave it open?

**sourdough** · 04-12-2022, 01:24 PM

Upon arriving home we empty and clean the fridge. We turn off and leave the doors open for a few days for it to dry/air out. I leave the slides out while doing this. Prior to closing up we put a container of baking soda for fridges in the freezer and one in the fridge compartment, close the doors, put the retaining screw in then bring in the slides. I do not disconnect the battery cables but mine is on shore power always. If not, I would pull that cable also.

dutchmensport · 04-12-2022, 03:23 PM

... but wonder what people do when storing the trailer with no power…?

If you have no power, then you need to treat the refrigerator exactly the same as you'd do at your house if you shut it down for a while. Since the electricity is already off, you don't need to turn it off. But, you do need to prop the doors open so they can get air in and air out. If you close them up, they will stink horrible in a very short while. So prop them open and you are good to go. Of course, remove everything from the refrigerator too.

Also, if storing for a shorter period and have power do you keep it on?

We never turn our refrigerator off, except for very rare occasions. We use ours all year round. Now, when we are home and if the weather is around 10 degrees or less, I'll shut down the trailer and move into the house. Usually this is the month of January and February. And of course, the refrigerator is left open, unplugged (I keep the camper on shore power all the time). I have to unplug if I want it truly off, because there is no turn off... unlike an RV refrigerator that can be turned off with the flip of a button.

Of course, if we have traveled South during those cold months, the refrigerator is always running.

We leave it running when traveling. That's what the inverter is for.

If you are looking for a short time storage, like an overnight or even a couple days and have no shore power, and you want to keep stuff in your refrigerator, then you inverter will keep it running, probably about 12 - 14 hours. But this also depends upon the condition of your batteries, and if you have one, two, or more also.

We had a situation a couple years ago where we had no shore power, no solar, and no generator. I was able to keep ice in the freezer for 3 days when we were able to get hooked up to shore power again.

Residential refrigerators will cool down and the freezer will drop from 90 degrees to -2 in about 2-3 hours, unlike an RV refrigerator (gas absorption) that takes 12-18 hours to cool down completely. So, what we did was turn on the inverter and let it run for 2 hours and then turned it off. We did this about ever 12 hours apart. And just an FYI, if the refrigerator is not opened, they will stay cold and keep stuff frozen easily for 24 hours.

The other option is to remove everything in the refrigerator and stock it all back up for the next outing, even if that is only a couple days away.

Mikendebbie · 04-12-2022, 05:32 PM

My Samsung RF18 has been running 99% of the time since I bought the rig Jan 2018. I am always plugged into shore power here at the S&B or at the campground, and inverter keeps it going on the road.

ChuckS · 04-13-2022, 06:00 AM

Yup if you dont have shore power to run the fridge the inverter will kill the battery for it in short order.. Unload it and prop the doors open and be done with the worry...

We never leave ANY food in our fridge when at home with the RV even though we have shore power... waste of money IMO

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