Residential refrigerator

[artoo93]

We opted for the NorCold RV Gas/Electric fridge in our 2019 377RLBH. We had almost the same fridge in our toy hauler and loved it. Never had a problem keeping things cold and we wanted to be able to keep things cold as my truck wasn't always charging the trailer batteries like it should have (found couple wiring issues and fixed). Our NorCold also has a built in ice maker as well and we could care less about having thru the door ice and water.

[Gizmopilot]

Originally Posted by mrlarson59

How much did it cost to convert to the lithium batteries. And was it an easy change ? We have a res frig and our unit will be in storage most of the time initially until we can cut our work hours back within next couple years. So I’m concerned with frig sitting unused for extended periods

The battleborn batteries currently cost $949 each, the cost difference when ordering my eagle and going to the 18cf rv frig vs the 21cf residential was about $1000 so the net cost was about $900 extra to use lithium.

Keep in mind the lithium’s also have a ten year warranty and have a battery management system built into them that protect the batteries from damage, unlike lead acid that can be discharged (which damages them if taken past %50) and if drained completely substantially reduces their capacity - which probably explains why some people have reported draining 200ah in 6 hours. I would also recommend installing a $200 bmv-712 victron electronic battery monitor so you can actually see the precise state of charge and the precise amount of power that has been drained or put back into the batteries(I’ve attached a screen shot from my phone that I took in the summer while using it). So when taking this into account the lithium will actually be less expensive in the long term, take up less space and weigh substantially less.

These lithium batteries are a drop in replacement for lead acid batteries if you have a newer rv (mine was delivered 5/8/18) it came with lithium support built into the converter which optimizes the charging cycle and charges the batteries faster just by moving a jumper on the converter circuit board. If your converter doesn’t have lithium support the batteries just take longer to charge unless you press the boost button that many of them have.

My frig is sitting in the cold winterized and I have the batteries disconnected via the main switch since I have the bmv-712 every couple of weeks during the winter I check up on the rv and with my phone via Bluetooth I can check the batteries and they are still fully charged and this is since the end of October (another lithium advantage - they don’t discharge just sitting there unused)

When I winterized my frig I also put some of those spring loaded item organizers normally used to keep your frig items from moving around while traveling to keep the door propped open a couple of inches so there is air flow into the frig and I took a couple of plastic bags tied together through the door handles to hold it together. I did use an air compressor to blow the water out the water dispenser and then hooked up the antifreeze to the water pump until pink came out the water dispenser and while I was cleaning up and making sure nothing that could freeze was left inside the rv, I let the ice maker work until I got the pink cubes (about an hour) and then I removed the water filter dumped the pink cubes into the sink and did the doors as I described.

[easevado]

Well smarty it’s worth mentioning if it saves one person the trouble and mess. But since you are so smart I guess you knew that too. This is a blog to inform people of all the ins and outs of trailer life no matter how insignificant it may be.

[Puddle Pirate]

Originally Posted by Jay Bird

We love ours. Only negative is the weight. I believe it puts extra stress on the swintek slide, and had to have the whole mechanism replaced under warranty. Of course it may have been installed incorrectly as it still causes us problems. I leave my inverter on all the time. We have three batteries. When towing your truck keeps the batteries charged.

Same here, had the entire Swintek Slide mech both sides------ talked to the techs that make it, and there words were, Jayco knows better, but they trying to keep cost down, and they know if u use your 5th wheel a lot it will not last but it will get u past the warranty if you use it average, the fix is using the triple rail version, so far under warranty with Jayco I have had about $10,000 worth of repairs on warranty and have 4 mths remaining, and its in the shop for the past 3 weeks getting the slide out roofs repaired, the 2 big ones----

[ARMYG]

When we bought our 5th wheel Northpoint, one of the most important features was the residential frig with ice/water in the door. It saves us money by drinking water instead of other bad choices. The inverter keeps the food safe while travelling and the water filter provide excellent tasting water/ice cubes.

[rcflyertim]

Originally Posted by jasum

There is NO problem removing a residential refrigerator..........

How do you think they got it in there??

Have you been to the factory? They put the residential refrigerator in as it is going down the line! Side walls and roof are not even in yet!! Some 5th wheels have to have the slide out removed before they can replace the refrigerator others have to have the refrigerator dismantle (doors taken off and back panel removed) before it will even fit through the door.

[rcflyertim]

Originally Posted by timgarmon

When we bought our 5th wheel Northpoint, one of the most important features was the residential frig with ice/water in the door. It saves us money by drinking water instead of other bad choices. The inverter keeps the food safe while travelling and the water filter provide excellent tasting water/ice cubes.

Helpful TIP: Make sure you remove the refrigerator water filter before winterizing or storing in winter weather or it will crack!

WARNING!! Just another reason why I don't want a residential refrigerator in a camper!! Wait til you have a power surge on the condenser/compressor! And make SURE to read the fine print on the warranty for the residential refrigerator. Notorious for models being replaced about every 9 months. Good luck with getting parts 5 years from now.

[jasum]

Originally Posted by rcflyertim

Have you been to the factory? They put the residential refrigerator in as it is going down the line! Side walls and roof are not even in yet!! Some 5th wheels have to have the slide out removed before they can replace the refrigerator others have to have the refrigerator dismantle (doors taken off and back panel removed) before it will even fit through the door.

All that needs done is removing the refrigerator doors and it will go thru the door.

Some have removed the window to remove refrigerator.

[kgkundel]

Originally Posted by 73stroker

We just ordered our first Jayco, a 2019 Pinnacle 37 MDQS, we choose the residential frig over the optional gas/electric frig. We are wondering what type of experience others have had with the residential refrigerator in an RV?

Thank you,

Dave & Kathy

We LOVE the residential fridge. It stays cold with our family of 6 constantly in and out of it and has room for us. The RV fridges never could keep things cold with that many of us opening and closing throughout the day. We have 2 batteries and never have problems with power unless we are going to be camping without plug in power for more than 24 hrs. We use a Champion 3500W inverter generator for when we can't plug in. It will run up to one AC, lights, battery charger/inverter, and TV all at same time. It is portable, relatively inexpensive, reliabel, quiet, and does what we need when we can't plug in. You will love that you chose the residential fridge!

[Tireman9]

One thing many do not think about is the weight of a residential Refrig vs an RV fridge. they can be hundreds of pounds heavier .This increases the importance of confirming the side to side balance of tire loading. You will need to find a scale that allows one side weights to learn your actual tire loading. Only then can you conform if you have the suggested 15% reserve load when running the tire sidewall pressure.

[RipinSC]

The whirlpool 20.6 cubic ft residential frig weighs 242 lbs. The Norcold 13 cubic ft gas/electric frig weighs 231 lbs. Weight is not an issue! Leave a few beers out of the frig and it will be the same weight🍺

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by Tireman9

One thing many do not think about is the weight of a residential Refrig vs an RV fridge. they can be hundreds of pounds heavier .This increases the importance of confirming the side to side balance of tire loading. You will need to find a scale that allows one side weights to learn your actual tire loading. Only then can you conform if you have the suggested 15% reserve load when running the tire sidewall pressure.

The Norcold RV fridge weighs 238 lbs. The Whirlpool residential fridge weighs 321 lbs. That's only 83 lbs. difference, not "hundreds of pounds"!

[jasum]

Originally Posted by AKRUEBBE

The Norcold RV fridge weighs 238 lbs. The Whirlpool residential fridge weighs 321 lbs. That's only 83 lbs. difference, not "hundreds of pounds"!

X2. Exactly what I was thinking!!

[RipinSC]

Whirlpool site states the frig weighs 242 lbs not 321. Only 11 pounds heavier.

[jasum]

That’s the weight loaded with �� beer

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by RipinSC

Whirlpool site states the frig weighs 242 lbs not 321. Only 11 pounds heavier.

As Jack stated, I was including the beer

[Fleetman]

Have had residential fridge in previous pinnacle and now in north point. Travel sometimes 10 hours a day, never had battery issues in over 30k miles. Tow with f250 diesel with two batteries if that would make a difference, think not. Always leave inverter on auto unless shutting down completely.

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by Fleetman

Have had residential fridge in previous pinnacle and now in north point. Travel sometimes 10 hours a day, never had battery issues in over 30k miles. Tow with f250 diesel with two batteries if that would make a difference, think not. Always leave inverter on auto unless shutting down completely.

X2

[Gizmopilot]

Originally Posted by bgelyhome

Jayco manual says to shutdown inverter when on shore power.

I was wondering where you saw this reference? I searched my manual and the only references to turning off the inverter I could find were about maintenance type activities, ie replace fuse, batteries, winterization/battery disconnect, etc.

I also searched my Xantrex 1200/2400 manual and it’s auto power backup function wouldn’t work if it was powered down when connected to shore power, they even go so far as to say there won’t be any power interruption when connected to shore power.

Please share - I’m trying to understand the scenario when that is the recommended procedure.

Thanks

[LarryB41]

There's no right answer, it depends on where you camp, many NPS and state parks don't have hook up. I'll stick to my gas AC.