Norcold N10DC refrigerator

[Dmarcian]

I have a 2023 Greyhawk 27U. Don’t care for absorption refrigerators. Looking at the Norcold brochure they have the N10DC compressor refrigerator. The specs say that it is the exact same size as my current N8 absorption refrigerator. Has anyone looked into this and made the switch? If so, are you happy with the decision? Thanks

[mini4mw]

how handy are you? The 12v fridges seem to be pretty good and people like them but right now they are $1,500. I put in a larger inverter and put in a 10cu residential fridge connected to the ATS/Automatic Transfer Switch so it runs on battery or 120 when I'm plugged into shore. So far its working great. Pulls less than 1amp on 120 and 5 on 12v. Cools down in 30m and I don't have to worry about it being too hot outside or being just right level for it to work well. I tried fans inside the absorption fridge and on the coils in the back and while it worked, it was never a 'good' fridge.

The new inverter and fridge cost me $800. I installed/wired it all myself. Fairly easy if you know how to wire up switches, electrical panels and follow wiring.

[Dmarcian]

Thanks for all of that. I am not that handy. I am having the Norcold 12v fridge installed along with a 200 amp hour single deep cycle battery. I may beef up the Solar beyond the single 190 watt standard panel. If I get all of this operating properly I should be good to go. Planning a multi month trip this summer and don’t want to risk having refrigerator problems in 100 plus degree weather.

[mini4mw]

The fridges will suck up some power. If its similar to the 120v fridge and pulls 5amps using 12v (my example through inverter), with a 200amp deep cycle you can use up to 100amps, which means just running the fridge will use all battery power in 20hrs (100amp hours/5amp used an hour = 20hrs).

If you are boondocking and not plugged in, I would definitely consider additional power generation methods. Solar, generator or running the Greyhawk (alternator charging house battery). If you go the solar route, consider where you are parking. If you are under trees or in the shade you may want to add ports/plugs to the solar charger for a portable solar panel instead of an additional panel on top. Adding a panel on top does no good if either one is in shade. Having the solar ports on the side of the RV lets you move portable panels around to get sun. You can always run the Onan or Ford engine for to charge as well, just be mindful of gas. My Onan uses 1/2 gallon an hour under medium loads.

[Dmarcian]

Thanks for all that. We have never been big boondockers but would definitely like to try that lifestyle. Agree with your numbers above. I think another 190 watts of Solar is in our future.