12 volt fridge

[mrrupp]

how cold should 12 volt refrigerator get and how long to get there?

[CTGT]

I had to keep turning the temperature up on my 10 CF Furrion because it got really cold. I think that mine is set slightly colder than the mid-point on the dial. It seems to be similar but somewhat quicker to my residential fridge at home when it comes to recovery. Very satisfied with mine.

[mrrupp]

thanks for the info

[Minnesota]

mrrupp - I have a 2021 Eagle HT FW and my 10CF Furrion 12V struggles to get down to 50 when running constantly on max for several days on shore power having loaded it with cold and/or frozen food. The freezer gets VERY cold, though. I'm waiting for a replacement unit under warranty, but Furrion is 4-6 weeks out. After some forum surfing, it seems like these 12v Furrions have a lot of duds in the mix, so if yours won't get cold, you might have a dud, too.

[RichR]

What's the advantage of having a 12-volt? Cheaper for Jayco is my idea.

[Minnesota]

We ordered a 12v instead of a propane intentionally. Certainly, reasonable minds may differ, but what it boiled down to for us was that you don't have to deal with the propane aspect of the typical propane RV fridge. No creatures living in the exhaust or fewer leveling issues. If you're not boondocking for extended periods of time, you can have a 12V fridge run on your battery while in transit (also pulling a little juice from the tow vehicle in transit) and you'll be back on shore power when you get wherever you're going. Propane fridges can be difficult, but in theory, 12V should be less difficult. Also, it seems like you can put a 10 cubic foot 12v fridge in the same hole as an 8 cubic foot propane fridge, so you get a little extra room. All of this, of course, depends on the fridge getting cold....

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by RichR

What's the advantage of having a 12-volt? Cheaper for Jayco is my idea.

It's an option and is an 8 cu/ft vs the standard 6 cu/ft so how is that "cheaper" for JAYCO?

[gatorblue92]

I've got the 12v fridge and the battery along with the Jayco solar option does a good job at keeping it running for a few days of boondocking. I will say from experience that you definitely want to be on shore power or connected to the tow vehicle when you first turn the fridge on since it will drain the battery pretty quickly when its running full time getting cool.

[sturgissteele]

When I remember to do it, I turn the fridge on the day before we set out. Typically we start loading cold stuff into it as well, so by next day, it's ready for traveling. This last trip I forgot to start it early and we loaded it up the same day. Seemed to me the fridge wasn't cooling down very quickly but the freezer was going great. I switched over to propane and it seem to do better.

[Loomis077]

Our new 29.5 BHDS has a Furrion 12v refrigerator in it. I started it last night and set it to max. The compressor is running nonstop. The freezer is about 24 F and the refrigerator is about 50-55 F. Do these things take forever and a day to cool? The gas/electric in our last unit took a solid day and a half to get cold but I thought these were supposed to be crazy better?

[Kim Gass]

So far it sucks. Even night mode drains the battery in 24 hours We shut the freezer off to try and conserve energy
We are not using any electric other than lights
We have been in a forest three days and sun non existent;solar panels useless
I dont think we have enough juice to run the furnace so glad for extra blankets. Ita about 50 now going close to freezing tonight

[skids]

The fridge is not capable of running on propane?

[Kim Gass]

nope Jayco popped in these 12 v dc things and a solar panel
We could have ordered exactly what we wanted but it would have been a loong wait.This one popped up in Feb and we grabbed it. Even then we had to wait 3 mos for PDI as the dealer wanted to check it
Beware ye who come to Maine and boondock( and there is great boondocking) Bring a genny Your solar panel s are just decorations
And its cloudy and cold
We wanted to try the a/c with a 2000 I Honda to see if it would start at all . We didnt try that yet as the furnace is still on
We have temps in the 50's daytime

We need to talk you snd us Thor Industries

[67L48]

Originally Posted by skids

The fridge is not capable of running on propane?

No, that's the trade-off. The 12V fridge trades volume for flexibility. On trailers like Eagle HT, you can pay $30 (yep, only thirty dollars) to upgrade from the 8 cubic foot 2-way to a 10 cubic foot 12V.

So, if you're camping with power most of the time or have a good solar (or other charging) system, then 12V gives you more fridge volume and maybe a less complex system.

If you're camping without shore power and don't have or want to bother with a charging system, then the stock 2-way is probably the better bet.

In the trailers I've owned in the past, I have really valued the flexibility of propane operated fridges. I've never had a problem with one (knock on wood) and they always get super cold. I also don't camp with shore power very frequently. So, for me, it's an easy choice -- I'll take the flexibility at the expense of the 20-25% additional volume.

Safe fridge temp is about 40 F. So, any refrigerator, RV or otherwise, should get down into the 35-40 F range and hold that. If not, then there's something wrong with your fridge. Freezers should be 0 F at the most and should live in the single digit sub-zero range.

[Cincinnati Kid]

Thanks for the posts. I think that a 12 volt compressor fridge might be in our future, as long as they prove to cool properly. We don't boondock, and are plugged into either the truck or shore power at all times.

This would also solve the dilemma of propane/no propane while driving.

[skids]

Originally Posted by Cincinnati Kid

Thanks for the posts. I think that a 12 volt compressor fridge might be in our future, as long as they prove to cool properly. We don't boondock, and are plugged into either the truck or shore power at all times.

This would also solve the dilemma of propane/no propane while driving.

If you ever do boondock, the 12v fridge might take down the battery to the point that you can’t pull in the slides without the use of a generator.

[67L48]

Just make sure you think about the power and camping properly -- I see mostly contrasts between boondocking and camping with power ... and that doesn't account for 80% of the camping most people end up doing. Boondocking means that you're off grid out in some unimproved, unmarked camping area, such as a random location in a national forest or BLM land. No services, no vault toilets, not an actual campground.

There are tons and tons of improved, legitimate campgrounds that have no power. The vast majority of USFS campgrounds in Colorado are this way. For me, these forested campgrounds make a 2-way (propane) fridge much better ... but this isn't boondocking. I've never boondocked, but I also don't camp with power very frequently.

[Kim Gass]

Not niggling ssemantics but the 12 v fridge draws down to 11.3 volts overnight with no elec supply
at 4 am the fridge quits and the dradown also causes the furnace not to work
If we had not been in a camoground we could have plugged in the genny but those hours don't start till 8
The food did stay cold and at temos in the 40's we were cold too
I don't like this fridge

[Jay2504]

Kim, what kind of battery set up do you have as of now? As I am sure you know, more battery capacity is needed on your rig. Is space a concern? I think that the 12 volt fridge can be made to work ok for you guys. At 11.3 volts the battery that is there now already has taken a beating. I have some ideas that might help. Jay

[Kim Gass]

Originally Posted by Jay2504

Kim, what kind of battery set up do you have as of now? As I am sure you know, more battery capacity is needed on your rig. Is space a concern? I think that the 12 volt fridge can be made to work ok for you guys. At 11.3 volts the battery that is there now already has taken a beating. I have some ideas that might help. Jay

its the only battery that came with the rig.. Obviously this rig was designed for electrical service or boondocking or non service only out West. Here we have a State that is 94 percent treed. And not little ones.. most are 80 feet high.

open to suggestions. We have more room than we need.

The battery pops right back to 12.7with an hour or two on the genny. The battery minder on the interior wall has color codes and red means fridge and furnace are automatically cut off.