| Author |
Message |
mclough
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 4:40 pm: | |
Hey guys,
I am at the point where i need a new fridge for our "home on wheels". Weve looked at a few of the RV models and they are so small for the money. Power is not an issue, i will either be running genset or plugged into power.
is a noraml 110 fridge able to stand up to the motion etc in a coach? what would yall do in yours?
thanks
morgan
www.outreachacrossamerica.com |
TWODOGS (Twodogs)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 4:51 pm: | |
got a house one in my Eagle...works fine...got to get latches to keep it from coming open...couple dollars at any r.v. supply |
david anderson (Davidanderson)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 5:32 pm: | |
I'm with Twodogs on this, too. Bought an E-wave from Home Depot and run it off the inverter. I think it was under $200.
Go to the "Search" in the "utilites" and type in "refrigerator" There was a string on here not long ago that has about 30 responses on it. Very informative.
David Anderson |
Don/TX
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 6:57 pm: | |
One of the smarter things think I done, was to put a house fridge in the bus. I went full size with icemaker, ran it off the batteries at night thru inverter, and when running down the road. Years of use, never gave any problems. At that time it was considered a foolish thing to do, now it is common. |
Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 7:08 pm: | |
You sir are a true innovator, a leader among men and a high pou-bah of busnuts.
Gary
BTW pou spelled p-o-o is banned content, even if you subsititute zeros for the O's. that's pretty extreme. Howdy Doody would have to watch his language here... |
Don/TX
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 7:11 pm: | |
Yeah Gary, that is what I am, well said. |
Gary McFarland (Gearheadgary)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, November 05, 2004 - 7:25 pm: | |
I just thought I'd make it ofishul
Gary |
Gary Carter
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 12:48 am: | |
Make sure you check the running amps used. You will find a big difference between refegerators.
We have a 21 cubic foot side by side amana. Great unit when traveling or plugged in. This is the way we spend most of our time.
On the flip side it is a power PIG. It will suck 12 T105s dry in less than a day and a half. Need to put about 4 hours a day or better on the generator just to sorta keep up with the drain. And we have 500 watts of solar on the roof.
We have a great coach the sucks at boon docking,mostly because of the refegerator. |
Lin
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 2:56 am: | |
House frig is good for the use you mention. Really most people do not boondock for long periods. If you were, a propane frig would be worth it. |
Stephen Fessenden (Sffess)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 4:22 pm: | |
If you really will run the generator full time, a house unit is fine. Cost to use will be higher because fuel is high. I found I was using .66 gph on a 12.5 KW generator with a Perkins engine, running only a 4 to 5 KW load. That amounts to 16 gallons a day. At $2.20 a gallon for fuel, that is $35 a day. I prefer my LP gas refrigerator because I am cheap. But if you only travel where you need Air Conditioning full time, the electricity for the refrigerator is free. Many Coaches, factory and self converted, have 120 vold AC refrigerators. No special brand, just what you want. |
TWODOGS (Twodogs)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 6:42 pm: | |
don't forget to fasten to wall...ref. tip when you do donuts in the parking lot |
WA David (Wacoastmci)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 10:34 pm: | |
As an alternative, you may want to check out NovaKool refer. We had a miserable Norcold in bus. Replaced it this fall with NovaKool unit which has 50% more capacity but fits into same cutout. Unit uses a 12 v. dc compressor with seperate bottom freezer and upper refer units. Unit vents out bottom, with fan. Seems OK so far and really keeps foods much colder than Norcold. Refer is made in Vancouver BC area.
David in WA (soon to head to Indio, CA for winter!!)
MCI 102D |
Jim Stewart (H3jim)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 07, 2004 - 9:35 am: | |
It looks like Novakool only makes refers in the 2 cu ft to 7 cu ft range. and they cost between $900 and $1400 for the DC only models. While you're spending $, also look at Sunfrost. While it "only" costs $2500 for a 16 cu ft, it uses about 1/4 to 1/5 the power that a normal house refer does. If you are plugged in to the grid or run the generator a lot, it doesn't matter much, but if you're boondocking a lot, the weight and space savings of fewer batteries might be worth it. Also noticeably less heat rejection in your living quarters. |
Marc Bourget
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 07, 2004 - 10:47 am: | |
You can achieve even better energy efficiency than that by purchasing a insulated containment from Glacier Bay and configuring it as a chest type unit.
Onward and Upward
Marc Bourget |
WA David (Wacoastmci)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 07, 2004 - 9:10 pm: | |
Jim,
NovaKool has a new unit RFU9000 which is 9cf. That's the one we replaced Norcold with. Looked at Sunfrost, but wanted something that would fit in same cutout as Norcold but have more interior space (and a light!!).
David in WA |
FAST FRED
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, November 08, 2004 - 5:48 am: | |
Most off grid folks feel each 1 dollar spent to reduce a load will result in $3.00 of savings manufacturing & storing electric .
A cheapo house fridge is GREAT for Power Pole living , basically always plugged in to 120V .
It can be a DISASTER for someone that wants to go boondockin for real.
A weekend on a home cheapo is doable , on rare occasions , but Quickly becomes far more of a nusance than a "savings".
Suddenly its a system to monitor & manage with heavy expensive batt sets at risk if you fail, and flatten the batts.
Big buck new very very smart 12v systems can be had that will work off a couple of 80-120W solar panels, but they cost more than a propane fridge when all costs are counted.
Our boat propane is over 30!!! years old , so its pretty cheap long term.
Decide what you really DO with your coach , and purchase what works best for YOU.
FAST FRED |