Newbie with a 1206

AdventureGSA · 09-28-2016, 10:28 PM

I have a few questions I hope you guys can help with. I just purchased a 1993 Jayco 1206. It has 3 way fridge, little TV, furnace nothing big. I have a Honda eu2000i generator and the group 27 battery. Now.. Do I just plug the cord from the trailer to the generator? If I'm not running the generator and am running 12v from battery is it best to run my fridge off the propane tank to save the battery? I could use any help I can get.. Thanks guys n gals!

Rustysocket · 09-28-2016, 10:46 PM

If you only have one battery, I'd use 12V on the fridge going down the road and propane or AC when at the campsite.

That's one thing nice about a 3-way fridge is that you can run on 12V when driving. Most now days don't have the 12v capability.

abarkl · 09-28-2016, 10:50 PM

You don't see the 3-way fridge too much but having the two way for many years I can say that the propane usage is very minimal.
You could probably run the fridge on 12 volt with a charged battery or AC with the generator running.
We leave our fridge on Auto and when the generator is running or on shore power it draws AC instead of propane.

No matter which cooling selection you set the fridge for it will still use 12 volts for control circuitry.

The generator should typically be connected when the battery has been discharged, and it should be stored fully charged.

5thGenTexan · 09-29-2016, 11:03 AM

I will tell you about running the refrigerator off the battery....

We left home one morning on a camping trip and when we made our stop for the night about 8 hours later the refrigerator that we were running off the battery while on the road was warm and the trailer battery was dead. There was an inline fuse on the 12volt line under the hood of the truck that had blown at some point. So, the refrigerator was running off the battery and since that fuse was blown the trailer battery was not being recharged as we drove.

Point is... a refrigerator will kill a battery quickly.

bankr63 · 09-29-2016, 11:22 AM

Yeah, our 1007 had a 3-way fridge, but don't think I ever more than experimented with the fridge on 12V - would suck a battery dry about as quick as a short circuit. Run it on 110 when you have shore power, propane the rest of the time. I wouldn't even bother switching it over to 110 when running the genny; doesn't use much propane at all.

AdventureGSA · 09-29-2016, 03:32 PM

OK great thanks for the help! I have another question if I run the refrigerator on propane but have to charge my battery at some point on the trip. I guess like a car I would disconnect it right? If I do that won't the refrigerator stop working without 12v? Sorry if it's a dumb question but this is my first time with a pop up. Thanks for the help.

bankr63 · 09-30-2016, 01:03 PM

So, yes, the fridge needs 12V to operate on propane. This is used for the control circuitry that calls for cooling as required.

The fridge won't light while the battery is disconnected, but should start right back up when the battery is reconnected (the pilot on ours was a manual light, and would stay on without power).

HOWEVER, you probably don't need to disconnect the battery to charge the battery though. I would expect your unit to have a 12V converter and charging circuitry that charges the battery when AC is present. So your battery is charging while your generator is running and supplying 110V to the TT, or while you are on Shore Power.

5thGenTexan · 10-01-2016, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bankr63

So, yes, the fridge needs 12V to operate on propane. This is used for the control circuitry that calls for cooling as required.

The fridge won't light while the battery is disconnected, but should start right back up when the battery is reconnected (the pilot on ours was a manual light, and would stay on without power).

HOWEVER, you probably don't need to disconnect the battery to charge the battery though. I would expect your unit to have a 12V converter and charging circuitry that charges the battery when AC is present. So your battery is charging while your generator is running and supplying 110V to the TT, or while you are on Shore Power.

I have a 92 Cardinal and the 3 way refrigerator is a Dometic 2310. I was just looking through the manual. From experience using it and looking through the book there is no need for 12 volt to light the pilot. To use propane you have to lie on the floor and press the gas button then then repeatedly press piezo igniter till it works. The lighter only has one wire going to it on the diagram and I assume that is just a ground. There really isn't any fancy circuit boards or anything. You turn the knob for the power source and it goes. If the pilot goes out on propane you find out when the box gets hot.

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