Does anyone have experience/advice replacing 3 way refrig in camper with compressor?
- Thread starter Robert907
- Start date
Ace hardware or your local propane dealer will have the cap. I love my compressor fridge. You may need to add solar depending on how you camp. My build here.
doug720
Expedition Leader
We travel thousands of miles each year in our motor home with a Dometic DM 2662 2 way fridge, always running on propane without any issue. I have done this on every RV we have owned over the last 30 years, with Dometic, NorCold, etc fridges, without issue.
We are dry campers only, never staying where there is power hook-ups, so for us propane is the best. For most campers, 12 volt power is limited unless they have a method to re-charge battery(s). We have a great solar system with 7 panels and 3 battery banks, even then, I think we would get behind the curve on keeping the batteries charged without a mechanical source. I doubt a 12 volt compressor fridge would work for our multi week stays.
What operational benefit is the 12 v compressor over propane? Both get cold, propane is quiet, maybe the compressor would be better if the vehicle is way out of level, but beyond that, I'm curious?
We are dry campers only, never staying where there is power hook-ups, so for us propane is the best. For most campers, 12 volt power is limited unless they have a method to re-charge battery(s). We have a great solar system with 7 panels and 3 battery banks, even then, I think we would get behind the curve on keeping the batteries charged without a mechanical source. I doubt a 12 volt compressor fridge would work for our multi week stays.
What operational benefit is the 12 v compressor over propane? Both get cold, propane is quiet, maybe the compressor would be better if the vehicle is way out of level, but beyond that, I'm curious?
highdesertranger
Adventurer
doug how much propane do you carry? the problem I have with propane is sooner or later you run out of propane. also they are not as efficient as in they don't cool as well. I tried using the rv propane refers. instead of making ice runs I was making propane runs not as often but still had to get propane. I don't understand the fact you have 7 panels and can't keep up with a compressor refer. I have 2 80 watt panels, 2 batteries, and two 12v compressor refers and can stay out indefinitely without propane or ice runs. even with a week of cloud cover thrown in. I posted on another thread that I had tried everything for refrigeration and nothing and I mean nothing beats the 12v refers. highdesertranger
doug720
Expedition Leader
We have a 15 gallon propane tank and it will last for weeks summer camping, running the fridge, hot water heater and stove/oven. During the winter, we can still go 10+ days, with the FAU burning the majority of propane. I have never really paid much attention to propane use other than in winter. We are set up for extended stays where I can feed the motor home propane through our BBQ "T" from an outside bottle if needed.
I would think a 5 gallon bottle should last a week running the fridge, cooking and hot water heater.
Granted we camp (Glamp - Class A MH) in mostly sub 90 degree temps, and mostly at elevations of 3-8000', but we do go to the Colorado river in summer at least once a year and it will be in the 105-115 range, and the fridge works great on propane. I do run a small interior fan to help circulate the air around the food, but it stays good and cold and we freeze water bottles for the LandCruiser ice chest each night. So no issues at all for us.
On our old Bounder motor home, it also had a Dometic, but a 3 way, but we never ran it on 12v. It also did not cool well when it was hot and humid. I fixed that by adding a small computer fan to the exterior vent area of the fridge. It turns out that Bounder/Fleetwood did not allow enough air circulation around the coil. It would work ok most of time, unless it was hot and humid, which caused it to freeze up and not cool worth a damm. The little fan made it work like it was in the arctic!
When it was not cooling well due to poor air circulation, it ran all the time and used considerably more propane. Maybe see how your venting looks. The fan was $10, add a switch, wire and an hour and your good to go. Maybe worth a try.
As for us running a compressor fridge, my wife likes her comforts, so we use a fair amount of 12v power, hence the panels and storage. Most of our trips are in the winter, so short days to recharge, or we are in the Sierra and get shaded by tree's most of the day, so we need lot's of storage for 7 day+ trips. We also use an invertor to run many a microwave, tv/satellite and coffee maker. We seldom run the generator, unless we have many days of no sun, snow or heavy tree shade. Even then, storage will take us at least a week.
It just seems a waste to replace something that is commonly used and that normally functions well in 10 of thousands of vehicles. I agree a compressor style is nice, but why when propane is quiet, easy and normally works well.
Either way, i hope this helps.
Doug
I would think a 5 gallon bottle should last a week running the fridge, cooking and hot water heater.
Granted we camp (Glamp - Class A MH) in mostly sub 90 degree temps, and mostly at elevations of 3-8000', but we do go to the Colorado river in summer at least once a year and it will be in the 105-115 range, and the fridge works great on propane. I do run a small interior fan to help circulate the air around the food, but it stays good and cold and we freeze water bottles for the LandCruiser ice chest each night. So no issues at all for us.
On our old Bounder motor home, it also had a Dometic, but a 3 way, but we never ran it on 12v. It also did not cool well when it was hot and humid. I fixed that by adding a small computer fan to the exterior vent area of the fridge. It turns out that Bounder/Fleetwood did not allow enough air circulation around the coil. It would work ok most of time, unless it was hot and humid, which caused it to freeze up and not cool worth a damm. The little fan made it work like it was in the arctic!
When it was not cooling well due to poor air circulation, it ran all the time and used considerably more propane. Maybe see how your venting looks. The fan was $10, add a switch, wire and an hour and your good to go. Maybe worth a try.
As for us running a compressor fridge, my wife likes her comforts, so we use a fair amount of 12v power, hence the panels and storage. Most of our trips are in the winter, so short days to recharge, or we are in the Sierra and get shaded by tree's most of the day, so we need lot's of storage for 7 day+ trips. We also use an invertor to run many a microwave, tv/satellite and coffee maker. We seldom run the generator, unless we have many days of no sun, snow or heavy tree shade. Even then, storage will take us at least a week.
It just seems a waste to replace something that is commonly used and that normally functions well in 10 of thousands of vehicles. I agree a compressor style is nice, but why when propane is quiet, easy and normally works well.
Either way, i hope this helps.
Doug
Reason for the switch from 3 way
Thanks for the comments and expertise. I am going away from the Dometic because the 12 v option is basically useless. If I try to run the refrigerator on 12 v it kills the camper battery in just a couple of hours-even if I am driving the truck at the time.
My goal is/was to be able to start the refrigerator (on 12 v) a few hours before leaving the house-fill the refrigerator up- then switch to propane when I arrived at the campsite. This didn't work because of the amount of electricity the Dometic uses and because my propane thermocouple doesn't seem to work right.
I have purchased and Isotherm ac/dc 65 model. Best I can tell it uses a fraction of the energy the Dometic uses and it has a small freezer section.
Now comes installation.
Thanks for the comments and expertise. I am going away from the Dometic because the 12 v option is basically useless. If I try to run the refrigerator on 12 v it kills the camper battery in just a couple of hours-even if I am driving the truck at the time.
My goal is/was to be able to start the refrigerator (on 12 v) a few hours before leaving the house-fill the refrigerator up- then switch to propane when I arrived at the campsite. This didn't work because of the amount of electricity the Dometic uses and because my propane thermocouple doesn't seem to work right.
I have purchased and Isotherm ac/dc 65 model. Best I can tell it uses a fraction of the energy the Dometic uses and it has a small freezer section.
Now comes installation.
doug720
Expedition Leader
Sounds like you have a good plan.
Question, why didn't you run fridge on 120v prior to your trip instead of 12v?
As to the thermo coupling issues,
1) spiders and other creatures love the smell of propane and will enter the burner. This will affect the flame contact to the thermo coupling. I used compressed air a few times a year to clear the orifices and burners.
2) Flue scale and rust collects on the burner and will affect efficiency and operation. Again I use compressed air to clear the flue and burner after taping the flue pipe with a screwdriver handle.
3) Clean the electrical contacts - bad connections affect operation of the thermo coupling and other parts.
Good camping
Question, why didn't you run fridge on 120v prior to your trip instead of 12v?
As to the thermo coupling issues,
1) spiders and other creatures love the smell of propane and will enter the burner. This will affect the flame contact to the thermo coupling. I used compressed air a few times a year to clear the orifices and burners.
2) Flue scale and rust collects on the burner and will affect efficiency and operation. Again I use compressed air to clear the flue and burner after taping the flue pipe with a screwdriver handle.
3) Clean the electrical contacts - bad connections affect operation of the thermo coupling and other parts.
Good camping