| Author |
Message |
Jason R (24.217.113.23)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 12:16 pm: | |
Why can't you use fridges that you could use in a home? I have wondered this forever. Thanks in advance |
bob m (198.81.17.56)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 1:13 pm: | |
i have a totally electric bus and have a sears side by side home unit. it also has a tank of propylene glycol in the freezer with additional cooling coils in it. freezes at below zero and will keep the unit cold for a couple of days. i can cycle the bus a/c coolant through this tank when i am not using the bus a/c. |
jmaxwell (66.42.93.125)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 2:15 pm: | |
Sam's club handles a 11.9 cu/ft. (overhead freezer) that only pulls 160 watts--$298. I'm sure there are others similar. |
FAST FRED (209.26.87.92)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 3:07 pm: | |
TO decide if you can live with a house fridge take the Gov. number for the annual consumption that the feds require on any new fridge.
Divide the KW per year by 365.
The result will be the KW at 120v required per day.
Multiply that number by 10 if you have a 12V system. You now have amps used per day .
(The watts used on the name plate are usually useless for this computation as you can't know if the unit will be on 50% of the time or 90%)
AS you should not discharge high quality batts over 50% , doubble that number and you have the amount of battery PER DAY required.
Just for the fridge , no lights , tv ,fans ect.
Actually as inverters are only 90% , and batts seldom will provide the best power unless fully charged the number will be fairly optomistic.
But at least you will have a Ball park , to decide how many hundreds of pounds of batts to install.
Usually if you enjoy camping the propane is the best. If you only need an occasional day or two , with lots of help a house fridge can work.
Figgure out how to keep it closed too.
FAST FRED |
Jason (24.217.113.23)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 9:16 pm: | |
We don't plan on doing too much camping in this bus. This will pretty much be used as a tour coach for my family, going from place to place. When stopped we will be plugged in so I don't plan on putting any extra batteries in this coach. Correct me if I am wrong since i am a novice |
Dwight (67.213.8.173)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 14, 2002 - 11:52 pm: | |
if you do not plan on dry camping go with the house unit, you will not regret it......we have a 19 cu. ft. house type unit in ours, love it to death, we have been camping since 1969 and have replaced about 5 of those $1400.00 RV fridges because of their failures, hated everyone.....to small, does not keep the food cold inside corrodes easy and so on and so on!!!! |
FAST FRED (209.26.87.35)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 5:36 am: | |
Sounds like a house fridge , with some sort of lock installed on the door , and an inverter of small size will work for you.
You might want to figgure largest load ( prob the 800W for a microwave) and get an inexpensive unit to run it , and everything else , but NOT together.
Even the microwave will be slower on inverter power.
Home Power , a mag you should download (free) every month , had a great article on measuring the working wattage of your microwave , by heating waterto a boil , with some math you can figgure REAL output and adjust cooking times to suit.
FAST FRED |
Pete (152.163.213.71)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 15, 2002 - 7:00 am: | |
Personally, I'd go with the RV fridge..just in case..better to have...then have not.. All it takes is one time that you desperatly need the propane/elect option..and you dont have it..you'll be kicking yourself in the arse.
I made mine totally self sufficient..I can go at least 14 days with no hookup but always have the option plugging into wherever I go..
I'd rather depend on ME...then someone elses plug
Pete |
Don KS/TX (64.24.4.32)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 6:47 am: | |
Dwight has the right idea, my experiences echo his exactly.
Remember, when you are driving, you have more than enough 110v always, thru the inverter. If you are in an RV park, you have all the 110 you need. Our $300 house fridge from Sams has far outperformed every last Ammonia one we ever owned.
It is all in your planned use, but I find very few people who REALLY go out in the woods with their 40ft conversion and "camp" for weeks without a generator, running back into town every day for food because you have a miniature RV fridge that won't hold enough food, and never gets cold enough. If you are making just a "day tripper" bus conversion, go for the RV type. |
Peter Broadribb (Madbrit) (216.67.216.189)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, April 16, 2002 - 1:41 pm: | |
The use of the bus surely does dictate the type of appliances that you install.
I have never had a problem with a propane refridgerator not being cold enough. The old Dometic in my '77 Apollo often tries to freeze the whole gallon of milk on the recommended setting "4", and we have to set it at "2" or "3" depending on the weather. I keep the burner clean and only use a good grade of propane.
My main usage is dry camping at Rallies and motor sport events for 4 or 5 days or driving long distances to pick up cars, etc. so I am never in an RV park to use hook ups.
Did try plugging into a lamp pole in a Walmart parking lot, but the security thought I was being too cheeky...... jus' kiddin'!!!
Madbrit. |
FAST FRED (209.26.87.48)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 5:32 am: | |
Most RV fridges last over 30 uears , in the past used motorhomes I bought , the orig fridge was still working just fine.(1968, 1973)
IF a Propane fridge gives low cooling its either lack of proper ventilation ( read Da Book for proper instalation ) or lack of service.
With some very cruddy propane the orafice and entire chimney needs cleaning every few months.
No clean , no cooling.
FAST FRED |
Don KS/TX (65.150.35.122)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 8:08 am: | |
Maybe it is the part of the country that makes a difference. I agree that if you can get a manufacturer to give you a 30 year guarantee it becomes almost a good deal, if you can put up with slow cooling and lack of space.
I had occasion last week to sit in a Camping World parking lot for a half a day, and noticed a huge pile of something out back. I walked over and it was junk ammonia style fridges, apparently they have some rules on disposal of them and were waiting for the semi to haul them off. Inside, a very large portion of the store was devoted to displays of ammonia style fridges (none of which had a 30 year guarantee). I never saw a 30 year old RV there the whole time, in fact they were almost all several year old or less top of the line plastic palaces. |
jim (209.240.222.32)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 11:34 am: | |
my '77 holiday rambler imperial 500 has a propane/electric fridge... its expensive to operate on gas.... but in the 5 full-time yrs, the only thing ive done was to replace the electric heater 2x....it freezes good ... keeps the beer mugs cold.....other than it has to be defrosted 2-3 times a yrs... i like it..... but i plan on a house type for my mci9..... |
Scott Whitney (24.205.239.4)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 12:39 pm: | |
You say your propane fridge is expensive to run on gas? It should be very efficient. I could probably go for a month or more on on 5 gallons of propane if all I ran was the fridge. That is like 25 cents a day or so.
Scott |
jim (209.240.222.32)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 4:34 pm: | |
something must be wrong...... mine seems to suck down a 5 gal bottle a lot quicker than that....my water heater is electric.....and i also use quartz electric heaters..... |
Lin (65.184.0.189)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 5:37 pm: | |
One other issue to consider between the RV type fridge and the house unit is leveling. When I had a propane fridge, I would get pretty concerned about how I was parked for anything more than gasing up, with the compressor machine, it's worry free. Even in a camp ground, comfort leveling is all that is needed. |
Scott Whitney (24.205.239.4)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 6:31 pm: | |
The rule of thumb now days is, if you don't roll out of bed, the RV fridge is fine.
BTW, this weekend my propane bottle ran out and in switching over to a new one, I got air in the lines. Attempting to relight the fridge, I turned the thermostat almost to max. (Anyone know if it draws gas at a faster rate this way? - I was trying to get propane down the lines faster. . .) Well I got it lit, but I forgot to turn the thermostat down again. I just went out to the bus to turn it off again and everything in the fridge area is frozen solid. . . soda cans had burst. . .
Scott
P.S. Until I get my heater hooked up, the fridge is the last appliance in line, so the trick of turning on the next appliance down the line won't work for me yet. |
Gary Stadler (Boogiethecat) (68.7.217.217)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 17, 2002 - 6:45 pm: | |
Maybe you plumb in a Tee at the end of your propane line, bring a new 1/4" line from there back to your tank area, and add a bleeder valve on the end...OR add a shutoff valve right where your tank hooks up to everyting so you can seal the system before you remove the tank...either way it makes things much easier....
Cheers
Gary |
Pete (205.188.193.166)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 18, 2002 - 6:30 am: | |
I went for the propane test last year..out in a cow feild in new york at a festival for 2 weeks..my propane Dometic fridge lasted the entire time..at setting 4 ( it got to 105 in the sun) and still made it to another event on 2- 20 gal tanks.
you might want to look at the manual. When we installed the fridge there was a venolation spec. apparently the heat rising up HAs to hit the amonia pipes in the back...no hot air up...all the gas in the world would cool it off. The right venolation..it will freeze at setting 2.. I keep mine at 2 all the time ..no need to set it any higher. I got the brand new unit on sale for $725.00 and couldnt be happier..couldnt afford it..but damn glad I got it now
Pete |
Jerry (205.188.193.46)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 19, 2002 - 6:23 am: | |
I'd echo fridge selection mostly depens on how you are going to travel. You mentioned you're mostly moving or plugged in some where -- if you have an inverter or generator sounds like your best choice is home style. I'm mostly away from hookups and like quiet -- spent the extra money and dealing with all the other problems were worth while. I had mostly good experiences with my RV fridge in last used class A but did have to replace the fridge after the original unit was only about 15 years old. The newer model worked much better. |
Phil (204.89.170.3)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 19, 2002 - 8:19 am: | |
The newer RV fridges are much better then they used to be. As far as propane use, I just left my Motorhome in Florida for service while I returned to New York for over a month. I had used the propane heat during a 12 day stay (very cold!!!) in Daytona for bike week. As there was food in teh fridge/freezer I left it running on propane. After 12 days of using the propane for hot water (dry camping) heat and the fridge, over a month of the fridge then 5 days dry camping (no heat needed) the tank refill was 19.8 gallons. I didn't think that was bad!! |