Rerouting Mini fridge outlet?

[MikeHoyt]

We have a 2022 Passport 221BH. Recently installed an inverter. During this process we determined which outlets were on the inverted circuit and which were not. We found the two bedside outlets at the murphy bed, the outlet in the galley, the outlet for the TV and the outlet in the bathroom (GFI outlet) were on this circuit. The outlet near the floor by the pantry, the microwave and the two outlets by the upper and lower bunks were not. Outside the outlet for mounting a TV or what ever was on the inverted circuit and to my surprise so was the mini fridge!

So if I am off grid I want limited use of 120v appliances drawn from battery. While it might be nice to have a second refrigerator operating while off grid it seems very impractical. For this reason I leave the mini fridge unplugged most of the time

So here is my question. The microwave which is not on the inverted circuit is physically near the mini fridge. Has anyone considered running an appliance extension cord from the outlet supplying the microwave to the mini fridge compartment? This would give a real option to have the fridge running on a dedicated shore power supplied circuit and never have it accidentally drain the batteries.

We sometimes watch movies and with the TV on the TV and firestick draw approximately one amp which is very manageable. I would not want to be also drawing from an appliance that I am not using.

With all this said I have not yet checked the amp draw of the mini fridge to see if it is a real concern. Also I must note that I could simply turn the mini fridge dial to off. I would like to have that mini fridge always on when connected to shore power and almost always off when not

Thanks
Mike Hoyt
2022 Passport 221BH

[NH_Bulldog]

Mike, I had just responded to your PM and then saw this post.

I like the mini-fridge in my outside kitchen and was thinking we would have to bring a cooler when we go rustic for this long weekend. I have everything to temporarily connect a 300 watt inverter I had from when I used to spend a lot of time working on the road (and before having vehicles with built-in inverters). I am planning to hook it up and test how long I can realistically operate on a shaded campsite without much hope of gaining any recharge from the solar. I will have my generator which is super-quiet, so I wouldn't be left stranded, but I am curious to see how long I can go before my BMS shuts the batteries down (I set the floor to 10% SOC).

In regard to your question, is the microwave outlet easily accessible where you can get a cord plugged in? Is there any concern that the fridge and microwave are on the same circuit and could that trip the breaker if both were running at the same time?

[JRTJH]

You didn't make any mention of which SolarFlex system you have in your Passport and don't indicate which, if any inverter you might have and how it's currently wired (OEM Romex or a "custom install).

So, there's really not much in the way of what you can run or how much load you can place on an unidentified inverter system.

Many people (not everyone) has indicated that they have issues with operating their microwave on a 2000 watt inverter. Installing anything larger than a 2000 watt inverter would require changing out the ROMEX from 15 ga to 20 ga. On most SolarFlex 200 systems, 15 ga ROMEX is the standard build wiring.

So, what size inverter do you have? If it's the "optional SolarFlex 400 system" then what size ROMEX is installed? Additionally, is your microwave a 900 watt "typical RV small microwave" ??? Or do you have a "standard 1000/1100 watt microwave, usually installed in S&B houses and in more expensive travel trailers. They are included in some upgrade appliance packages.

Knowing what you have in your trailer will help people offer better recommendations.

[MikeHoyt]

Microwave is not on the inverted circuit. It is shore power only

Fridge is on the invertef circuit

221bh came inverter ready so is the outlets powered by the romex loop

Inverter is renogy 1000w pure sine wave inverter with ups auto transfer switch buit in

I would like to have fridge on a circuit that is shore power only. Microwave is a small factory installed one. The outlets not on the inverted circuit are microwave bunkhouse and floor level by the pantry. All of ghese are seldom used

Original question was can i run the outdoor mini fridge from one of the non inverted outlets

Hanks

Mike

[JRTJH]

Here are some thoughts for you to consider.

1. There is an exterior outlet just under the galley window. It should be accessible from under the sink. If it is not on the inverter, you can tap into that and run ROMEX along the back of the galley cabinets, over the furnace and to the outside refrigerator outlet.

2. If your power center is under the stove, if there's an open space, you can wire a new circuit breaker dedicated to that outlet and run the ROMEX as in #1.

3. If your power center is under the lower "flip up bed" in the bunk area, you can do the same as above, just route the ROMEX along the top back part of the outside galley space.

4. If you have a Gas/Electric refrigerator, there should be a "NON inverted" 120 volt plug for the refrigerator behind it. You can tap off that and wire to the outside galley plug.

[LHaven]

Personally, I would never run anything on a MW circuit but a MW. The single MW outlet box is usually the only thing on that circuit, and the MW pretty much maxes out the circuit when in use. If you add other appliances to that circuit, you may end up popping the breaker when you want to use the MW.

[NH_Bulldog]

Thinking about this a bit more, the MW is on a dedicated 20A circuit. It could have a single outlet as opposed to a duplex, so it probably isn't a good idea to modify that. Thinking outside (actually inside) the box, do you have another outlet in the ceiling of the kitchen space in the storage cubbby next to the refrigerator compartment? On my Passport (it was a 2019 240BH), I had a second outlet in that space. I didn't have an inverter prep on that unit and the only way to turn the mini-fridge on or off was to pull it out of the space and turn the dial on the back of the unit. It was a real pain, so I pulled up the bottom bunk plywood base and could access both the outlets from there. I wired a household switch into the ceiling of the refrigerator compartment so I could flip it on and off as needed. 3 years later they might have changed how it is set up, but it might be worth looking into.

[MikeHoyt]

Thanks for all the input. The power center is beneath the lower bunk and shares a wall with the outdoor kitchen. I will see if there is an empty spot on the panel

Thank you all

Mike Hoyt
221BH

[firestation12]

Today my son filled me in on a situation to watch for. One of the kids plugged in a 120 volt phone charger overnight. Even though the current draw was negligible to charge the cell phone, it prevented the inverter from going into a power saving mode and drained the 12 volt battery overnight.