What type of fridge to go to?

[Mikelff]

Originally Posted by kowbra

I'm concerned about the draw of the JC 12v system...
We do boondock and the normal for us is to use propane when off grid. Even with the Solar 1200 with 510ah of battery, when I left the RV fridge on 12v one time, it drained most of the batteries within a day.

But, like others, the RV fridge performance is not good in the heat.

So, I'm trying to narrow down what impact the JC system has on the batteries. Does anyone have the info on how much current the 12v JC system draws?
Related, does the JC gas/elect system use the same efficient 12v compressor along with a propane option?
I'm sure they can answer the above, but hoping to get some "real world" feedback from forum members, especially relating to their 12v system and boondocking.

Thanks in advance!
Brad

I would call JC Refrigeration on this. I believe it is about a 6 amp draw when the compressor is running ( I have one compressor), which cycles when at temp. I don't boondock much but when I do, I run the generator twice a day, in morning till fully charged back up and just before I head off to bed with batteries fully charged. Had no issues with dead batteries. (150 amp deep cycle golf cart battery).

[Mikelff]

From what my rv dealer tells me residential fridges pull about 5-8 amps. How long they run between cycles would only be a guess on my part.

[scottz]

Originally Posted by Mikelff

From what my rv dealer tells me residential fridges pull about 5-8 amps. How long they run between cycles would only be a guess on my part.

At 120VAC that is 600-960 watts for a residential refer; that is a lot if you plan on running it on batteries through an inverter. I think the gas absorption refer running on AC pulls about 625 watts. The gas absorption refer running on propane does not use much power but it sure burns a lot of propane.

JC claims the 12VDC unit pulls 139W but does not specify if this is with one or both compressors running.

For some real world numbers see https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...ad.php?t=89348 post 19 and https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...t=78426&page=2 post 26.

There are a lot of variables to consider. How much battery capacity do you have? How much solar do you have? Are your batteries conventional or lithium?

[scottz]

Ok, I just went out and measured again.

Gas absorption refer running on AC: 634 watts

Gas absorption refer running on gas: 22 watts + lots of propane

12VDC dual compressor refer: 139 watts according to JCR but could be as much as 200 watts with both compressors running; I'll have to wait until it is installed to get actual figures.

[Foldbak]

Originally Posted by scottz

Ok, I just went out and measured again.

Gas absorption refer running on AC: 634 watts

Gas absorption refer running on gas: 22 watts + lots of propane

12VDC dual compressor refer: 139 watts according to JCR but could be as much as 200 watts with both compressors running; I'll have to wait until it is installed to get actual figures.

Dam that's a lot of current draw. Could be a deal killer...

[scottz]

Originally Posted by Foldbak

Dam that's a lot of current draw. Could be a deal killer...

Not for me. I have enough battery capacity and solar. Well worth it for a refer that actually works.

I just finished a three week boondocking trip; the refer went through a 40# propane bottle in a week; that's about $36/week or $144/month in propane.

[Foldbak]

Originally Posted by scottz

Not for me. I have enough battery capacity and solar. Well worth it for a refer that actually works.

I just finished a three week boondocking trip; the refer went through a 40# propane bottle in a week; that's about $36/week or $144/month in propane.

I was in Bodega Bay for 4 days. Overcast and had to use the gen twice as much as normal to keep the batteries at 90%. I only have 200 AH.

[rpkittle1]

When we bought our 2011 Montana the previous owner had converted from the standard gas/electric refrigerator to a 120 volt residental one )must have had problems). The previous owner must have gone from campgroung to campground because there was no inverter and the battery was small. We are members of Harvest Hosts and want to boondock offen. I checked the current draw of the refrigerator and found the running draw was about 185 watts. I installed 400 amp hours of lifepo4 batteries and a 1200 watt inverter (did not work because it was only modified sine wave). I then install a 2000 watt full sine wave inverter and found I can run 3 days on the batteries depending on how much heat I use. We travel mainly in the fall, winter and spring. I now have a DC to DC battery charger and 500 watts of solar. No worry about batteries even though we power the whole 5th wheel and watch TV about 3 hours a night. We also have an electric reclining loveseat. I use the microwave to make oatmeal in the morning. All the confort of home. I reciently upgrade to a 3000 watt full sine wave inverter.

[rames14]

Per the JC Refrigeration site, it uses 11.4 amps at 12v (139 watts). Compared to residential 120v which are much higher wattage. $1245 without install. A 12v unit is much more efficient than a 120v unit when on battery. Find the wattage and divide by 12 - that is your amperage from the battery.

[kowbra]

[QUOTE=scottz;1279416][Quote]I'm concerned about the draw of the JC 12v system...
We do boondock and the normal for us is to use propane when off grid. Even with the Solar 1200 with 510ah of battery, when I left the RV fridge on 12v one time, it drained most of the batteries within a day. Not sure I understand this; do you mean you left the fridge on 120VAC (through an inverter) and it drained the batteries? I could understand that. My current gas absorption fridge runs on either propane or 120VAC; only using 12VDC for control circuitry.

But, like others, the RV fridge performance is not good in the heat.

So, I'm trying to narrow down what impact the JC system has on the batteries. Does anyone have the info on how much current the 12v JC system draws? The information is on their website.

Related, does the JC gas/elect system use the same efficient 12v compressor along with a propane option? Check the JCR website; the gas/elect system uses either propane or 120VAC. I think you might be confusing 120VAC & 12VDC.

I'm sure they can answer the above, but hoping to get some "real world" feedback from forum members, especially relating to their 12v system and boondocking.

Thanks in advance!
Brad

Hi Scott,

Oops, rushed through my earlier reply; yes, using the fridge on 120v through the Magnum 3000 inverter was draining the batteries faster than I liked. In fact, it seemed that the load was close to that of a residential fridge (but going from memory from over a year ago).

Thanks for clarifying that the gas/electric is 120v not 12v. If it were a propane with the high efficiency 12v compressor that would be more interesting to me.

Appreciate the feedback!
Brad

[mhs4771]

We have a Whirlpool Residential fridge running off a Magnum Inverter. When the fridge compressor is running it draws 11 amps from the battery bank, but remember it only runs to keep the temp and with the doors closed doesn't cycle very often. I'm running 400 amp hrs of battery and can overnight without power using normal lites (all LED) and batteries will still be 12.5 to 12.6 in the AM.

[Route66Rambler]

We had the Dometic 1350 in our 2019 MHC 330RL. Like most others, it just wasn't performing well and I didn't trust food to stay safe for very long. We did all the things that are recommended and looked at the installation manual to make sure everything was installed correctly but it still would not cool consistently. We weighed the options of the JC Refrigeration conversion or replace the entire fridge. In order to do the JC conversion the entire fridge unit must be removed from the enclosure and that is a lot of work. We figured since the fridge must come out anyway we might as well replace it with a Norcold N15DC 12 volt refrigerator. No inverter is required and it is larger capacity than the Dometic by about 2 cubic feet. Those are two pluses. There is some additional wiring because larger gauge wire is required.
This unit is an exact fit to the opening of the Dometic so no modification to the opening is needed. This fridge is designed to be in an RV. A residential is not and will fail eventually. There is even a model with an ice maker if you want that.
We feel this is the best overall solution to the Dometic cooling problems.