How do I run fridg on electric?

**Bailey'sMom** · 07-10-2013, 06:48 PM

As I mentioned in my other post, I have trailer setup in driveway and plugged into electric.

So how do I turn refrigerator on electric? The power selector is set on electric and the dial is set on the coldest setting, but it is not cooling. Is there something else needed to turn it on?

ZekenSpider · 07-10-2013, 07:51 PM

No. You have done what is needed to make the Refrig run. This is another indication that you do not yet have AC (shore power) getting into your TM. As in your other post, your Main 30 Amp circuit breaker in the converter panel may be off or tripped. Perhaps there is also something wrong with your house connection (tripped GFIC, bad extension cord, bad plug adapter and etc).

Jerry

07-11-2013, 07:12 AM

Also keep in mind that it doesn't cool like a house fridge, with a compressor. It takes a lot of time to actually feel cool air. I live in a hot climate. It takes a full 24-48 hours to cool my fridge down enough to put stuff in it.

Brutus · 07-11-2013, 02:50 PM

Yup, once you get your electrical issues figured out, all you can do is switch to electric and "5", toss in an el cheapo thermometer, and wait overnight. I had my running a couple nights ago and with an empty fridge, not running the refrigerator fan, about 65*F for a low temp, I had 32* on the bottom of the fridge. Good enough for our purposes...

**Bailey'sMom** · 07-11-2013, 08:31 PM

Okay so based on what I am reading about only running frig on battery with the fan on while the camper is folded down, how do you pack for your trip?

I used to fold down my camper one or two nights before I left, with the refrig packed, with thermometer where I could read it just by opening the half door. The night before I left I would hook up everything but the lights, stay plugged into house power, and go to bed.

Then Saturday morning I would get up, stick the ice chest with the rest of my stuff in the car, grab the dog, unplug from house power, switch fridg over to battery (this was on outside of trailer), plug in lights and take off.

Now I am thinking that I will need to keep the TM popped up til right before I leave so I can switch from electric to battery for the 4 hour drive.

Also, since I don't want to blow out my dc converter like I accidentally did on my pop up, can you be plugged into house power and switch fridg over to battery? Or should I unplug from house power first, then switch?

Brutus · 07-11-2013, 09:02 PM

Lots of opinions on this topic. Some pack it the night before, set fridge to DC, close up with fridge fan running. Stay plugged in until right before they leave. TM converter will keep powering fridge on DC.

Quick test. Do the above, then unplug shore power. You'll notice a discernable drop in fan speed, meaning the converter is doing a decent job of keeping things cool. This method also keeps the cold in as you get ready to leave.

For a 4 hour drive, some will just pack the freezer with blue ice, leave fridge on electric, unplug at last minute and go. Then fridge (and fridge fan) is off but the cold from the blue ice drops down to the fridge.

Or you can get the fridge packed with non-perishables the night before, keep camper open, leave fridge on electric, pack milk and such the next day, close TM, unplug and set fridge to DC (turn on fridge fan) and go.

No wrong answers for a 4-hr trip IMHO. Throw a cooler in the mix and you have even more options. Just gotta try different ways and see what works for you.

**Bill** · 07-11-2013, 09:02 PM

For a four hour drive, there is really not much point in switching the refrig to battery. It is much easier to just pre-cool the refrig on shore power (AC) a day or so before you leave, load it with food, turn on the refrig fan, and close the TM whenever you like, leaving shore power plugged in. When you are ready to leave, just unplug shore power and go. This leaves the refrig without power during the trip, but over four hours, it retains its cold pretty well. When you get to your campsite and plug in, it will immediately begin to re-chill to make up for whatever it has lost during the trip.

Advantage: easy
Advantage: fold the TM down at a convenient time
Advantage: the refrig will not and cannot discharge your tow-vehicle battery

Bill

ZekenSpider · 07-11-2013, 10:58 PM

Sarah:

Bill is right of course, but remember that if you need to run the frig on "Battery", you are really running it on converter as long as you are plugged into shore power. The converter is beefy enough to run the frig and keep your battery charged and run your power jack, etc. The converter always produces more DC voltage than the battery so it always rules when plugged into shore power.

I usually (because my trips are 8 to 10 hours) pre cool the frig and pack in the food on AC while open. When ready to close, I turn on the fan, switch to "Battery" (really converter), close the TM but keep shore power on. In the morning when ready to leave I start the TV, plug the Bargman into the TV, then disconnect shore power. When I stop to fuel or eat, I unplug the Bargman from the TV until the TV engine is running again.

You also have your solar panel helping to recharge the TM battery during the day time while parked or driving. It's not much but it makes up for about half of what the frig takes out of the battery.

Speaking of the solar panel system, you should be seeing it working as it is parked in your drive way even though you are on shore power. The solar control panel (below the sink next to the status panel) should show yellow light when charging and green light when charged. There is a switch on the panel that lets you see battery volts, solar charging current, control set points, etc. Let me know if you want more info on that system.

Jerry

**Bailey'sMom** · 07-12-2013, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZekenSpider

Sarah:

Bill is right of course, but remember that if you need to run the frig on "Battery", you are really running it on converter as long as you are plugged into shore power. The converter is beefy enough to run the frig and keep your battery charged and run your power jack, etc. The converter always produces more DC voltage than the battery so it always rules when plugged into shore power.

I usually (because my trips are 8 to 10 hours) pre cool the frig and pack in the food on AC while open. When ready to close, I turn on the fan, switch to "Battery" (really converter), close the TM but keep shore power on. In the morning when ready to leave I start the TV, plug the Bargman into the TV, then disconnect shore power. When I stop to fuel or eat, I unplug the Bargman from the TV until the TV engine is running again.

You also have your solar panel helping to recharge the TM battery during the day time while parked or driving. It's not much but it makes up for about half of what the frig takes out of the battery.

Speaking of the solar panel system, you should be seeing it working as it is parked in your drive way even though you are on shore power. The solar control panel (below the sink next to the status panel) should show yellow light when charging and green light when charged. There is a switch on the panel that lets you see battery volts, solar charging current, control set points, etc. Let me know if you want more info on that system.

Jerry

Hi Jerry
So even though the tow vehicle is running, and you are still plugged into shore power, that won't blow any fuses/circuits, damage anything?? That's my big concern based on prior issue with old camper/TV.

Yes my solar panel was recharging. Once I realized that shore power was NOT working is when I realized that the solar panel was doing a decent job of recharging the battery. Again a nice little test.

Love to know that I can just switch to battery and stay on shore power. Then I can keep my routine the same and close down when I want to. Such good news. I do always pre-cool several days in advance, then put food in.

So when I am dry camping and the fridg is on propane, can I still run the fan on really hot humid days? How much battery power does the fan take?

ZekenSpider · 07-12-2013, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bailey'sMom

Hi Jerry
So even though the tow vehicle is running, and you are still plugged into shore power, that won't blow any fuses/circuits, damage anything?? That's my big concern based on prior issue with old camper/TV. I have always disconnected shore power and put the 30 Amp cord and plug back into the mouse hole before plugging the Bargman plug into the TV Bargman receptacle. It probably would not blow any fuses to do it the other way though. In fact it may be better to do it that way.

Yes my solar panel was recharging. Once I realized that shore power was NOT working is when I realized that the solar panel was doing a decent job of recharging the battery. Again a nice little test.

Love to know that I can just switch to battery and stay on shore power. Then I can keep my routine the same and close down when I want to. Such good news. I do always pre-cool several days in advance, then put food in.

So when I am dry camping and the fridg is on propane, can I still run the fan on really hot humid days? How much battery power does the fan take?

The fan can be run at any time and takes about 0.4 amps. (see attached, incomplete summary of current usage by various TM devices). What that means to you is it uses 0.41 amps per hour = 0.41 amp-hours of energy from the TM system. If you are dry camping I would not run the fan because it really is not needed with the TM open. If you are dry camping and on frig propane you are trying to conserve electrical power. Your solar(in full sun will put about 4 amps x 8 hours = 32 amp-hours back into the battery during the day. The frig fan running day and night is using 0.41 amp-hours/hour or 0.41 x 24 = 9.84 amp-hours of energy each day. You can see that your solar will put back into you battery everything the frig fan uses but it may be using energy that you need for other things...lighting for instance. Looking at the attachment you can see the kitchen florescent draws 1.48 amps. If the fixture is on for say 6 hours the energy used will be 1.48 x 6 = 8.88 amp-hours using up almost 1/3 of the energy put into the battery that day before you turned the light on for the evening.

Other equipment uses much more energy. The incandescent lamps in most other fixtures, the water pump, the fantastic fan, the toilet, etc. all figure into the thought process when dry camping is the goal. This can be mitigated somewhat by the use of LED lighting, but that too is expensive.

Any how, you get the idea and have the tools to figure it out.

Another part of the great adventure.

Regards,

Jerry