Running fridge on propane on setting 1

[ibra0078]

I have two 30lbs propane tank, we are heading to a site this weekend but leaving it there all week and back the weekend after. Instead of leaving the camper plugged in to run my fridge, how much propane would the fridge use if I set the level to the lowest which is 1 out of 5. Reason doing this is, for my rig to be plugged in, it would cost me $10/day and for 5 days that would be $50. Would be better to pay the $10 a day, use my propane or not using anything and when I arrive switch the fridge to propane so it gets colder faster?

[GrumpyDad]

Less than 1 lb per day for sure, like a quarter of a pound or so. Once the fridge is all the way cold, it takes very little for it to keep cold. Guess it depends on ambient temperature too, somewhat.

Your water heater would use more I'd guess.

[oldmanAZ]

I'd use propane and set the fridge to its usual setting.
With the door closed, propane use will be very low and you won't have to worry about cooling it off when you get back.

[ttavasc]

Without knowing the size of your fridge and it's rated BTU input per hour it's hard to say. However, in general fridges use very little propane - you certainly wouldn't burn $50 worth. If you can find the rated BTU input per hour for your fridge then you can easily estimate how much propane you would need. For example, my little Norcold 2.7cf has a rated BTU input of 640 btu per hour or ~15360 btu per 24 hours. A gallon of propane has 91,600 btu so this fridge should run just under 6 days on a gallon of propane.

[bluie5]

You will be using some of your battery though. That will run out long before the propane does.

[Chet & Marie]

Blue 5 is right, it will use very little gas by battery will die in 2-3 days.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by Chet & Marie

Blue 5 is right, it will use very little gas by battery will die in 2-3 days.

I would disagree, we dry camp for 5 days on a single cheap group 24 battery, before it runs down. With it sitting idle, you'll be good for a week. Beyond that, the parasite power drains will take a toll on the battery.

As for propane usage you will have no issues. We go all summer on a single 20 lb tank.

[Chet & Marie]

We must use more juice than you do Jagiven as after 3 days we have a dead battery. Just setting in the shed this battery dies in 5 days?

[ibra0078]

Usually my battery last about a week, it all depends what's using it. I'll get the fridge specs and report back thanks guys

[NewBlackDak]

As already stated, once the fridge is cool it tends to stay there if the door stays closed. You can help it out by only putting cold stuff in it(not forcing it to do the cooling), keeping it full, and parking in the shade. Turn your water heater off, and your batteries will be done long before you run out of propane.

[RichR]

You want to set the temperature to a safe level that will keep food to an average of about 36 or 37 degrees. So you may have to set to 3 or 4, and that depends of your specific fridge model.

[ibra0078]

There will be no food in the fridge when we leave so it should keep cool, I set the setting to 3 if that would help.

[GrumpyDad]

Originally Posted by ibra0078

There will be no food in the fridge when we leave so it should keep cool, I set the setting to 3 if that would help.

A fridge full of cold food stays cool longer than an empty one.