Power,battery etc question

[Jeffp60]

I have 1 interstate hd24dp. N8x norcold fridge.
Hooked up my meter on 10amp. I got ;
nothing on(parasitic) .20
Fridge on gas .70 I unplugged the interior light. Tested for around 20 minutes
Led ceiling Lights and fridge 2.25.
Gas light green,hear gurgling and vent fan running. Sticker says dc 17 watts 1.38a.
Am I missing something?.70 with just fridge when it says 1.38 ??

[Pickledill]

Co2 detector, memory backlight/clock in radio ?

[Jeffp60]

I know that stuff. What I am questioning is fridge draw. It's HALF of label. Not to mention fan too. My initial thought about draw was maybe .75 actually. Just check temp, Open valve, repeat. I thought 1.38 was high.
Everyone says expect 10-12 hrs on fridge tho.

[craigav]

Originally Posted by Jeffp60

I have 1 interstate hd24dp. N8x norcold fridge.
Hooked up my meter on 10amp. I got ;
nothing on(parasitic) .20
Fridge on gas .70 I unplugged the interior light. Tested for around 20 minutes
Led ceiling Lights and fridge 2.25.
Gas light green,hear gurgling and vent fan running. Sticker says dc 17 watts 1.38a.
Am I missing something?.70 with just fridge when it says 1.38 ??

Perhaps the fridge has a 7.5 watt light bulb that the sticker wattage is including, once you reduce the 7.5w bulb from the sticker 17w - 7.5w = 9.5W and 9.5W at 13.8 volts will get you very close to your .7 amps (.688).

What amperage do you get with the light bulb turned on and at what voltage? ~CA

[Jagiven]

The frig cycles on and off as needed. Most amp draw is when it is cycled on, as the solenoid valve is being electrically held open (normally closed safety device). If the frig was nice an cold when you started your test, it might not have cycled on during your 20 minute evaluation.

I checked my Frig amp draw years ago, and on propane the amp draw was really low.

If you are checking all your power draws, might also want to look at your water heater when running on gas. It to uses 12V for the control power just like the frig.

[Jeffp60]

Craig,Don't recall now. I tested radio too.it went up like 2 amps I think.

[Jeffp60]

Jagivin, fridge was in 80s. I was suprised when I saw sticker that said 1.38 amps. Maybe led , but I turned on lights (7leds) I think it was 5. I gotta take a pen and paper with me .... but at .7 wouldn't I get more than 12hours out of a 100 amp interstate hd24dp ? And I mean EVERYONE said 12 or overnight.

[craigav]

Originally Posted by Jeffp60

Jagivin, fridge was in 80s. I was suprised when I saw sticker that said 1.38 amps. Maybe led , but I turned on lights (7leds) I think it was 5. I gotta take a pen and paper with me .... but at .7 wouldn't I get more than 12hours out of a 100 amp interstate hd24dp ? And I mean EVERYONE said 12 or overnight.

Yes, you would get much more than 12 hours (assuming something else other than the fridge didn't run your battery(s) down). Just for more information, if you have a 100 amp battery, that means 100 amp hours (ah), so theoretically (because it doesn't work out perfectly) you could run 100 amps for one hour, or 1 amp for 100 hours, or 25 amps for 4 hours, etc.. Most all recommendations (including mine) are not to run a lead acid battery all the way down, many people suggest 50% max and others say 75% max (for the best battery life). So with that in mind, 75% of a 100ah battery = 75ah means you can divide the 75ah by .7 (the current) 75/.7=107.14 which would give you just over 107 hours and that divided by 24 (for the hours in a day) and that works out to 4.64 days running only the fridge.

But, and a big but, other 12v items will also pull the battery down (as you mentioned and especially the heater blower in the winter time), so you need to know the total average current draw to get a better idea of how long your battery(s) will last. If you plan to boondock, I would consider another battery or two, and perhaps a solar panel or a small generator so you can charge up the batteries if\when needed. ~CA

[Jeffp60]

Craig, that was my math too. That's why I was/am confused. What is everyone doing to kill it so quick? They say everything is off but, at 3 amps I could watch TV for hours and still be good till tomorrow.