refrigerator

wpski · 05-07-2009, 12:35 PM

Reece

My wife takes injections every day for her osteo porosis the medication needs to be kept refrigerated at around 40 degrees and I dont want to drive with the propane on how many watts does the refrigerator draw and would an inverter take care of this problem to run the frige on 110 while we are driving or would this kill the battery I'm not worried about being low since we have a generator and will top off the battery when we set up for the night.

Thanks Walt and Linda

amirie · 05-07-2009, 11:23 PM

What about one of those small coolers that plug into your cigarette lighter in the vehicle? I think that they come in a variety of sizes..

gbaglo · 05-07-2009, 11:34 PM

Quote: What about one of those small coolers that plug into your cigarette lighter in the vehicle? I think that they come in a variety of sizes.

A brilliant and inexpensive solution, in my opinion. And doesn't the Tacoma have a couple of power outlets? I have one near the rear hatch in my RAV.

baglo

escape artist · 05-08-2009, 06:25 AM

Hi: All... All power outlets in vehicles are not created equal. Friends of ours have a koolatron that they use on trips back& forth from Florida and it will only work in the Ciggy lighter not the power outlets

Go figure!!!
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

amirie · 05-08-2009, 08:32 AM

Woops, I fogot about that.
When the motor of the vehicle is turned off, ours only works one of the outlets and for the life of me I can't remember whichone it is.
I use the cooler for my trips up and down to Bellingham and I am able to bring many frozen things across the border....

Right now the Escape fridge is loaded up and on shore power waiting for me to come home tonight and disconnect and then pickup Doug from work..

FIRST time out!!! Yahoo!!!!!!!

wpski · 05-09-2009, 12:08 PM

thanks abaglo, escape artist, and amirie I had thought of those too but it is my understanding they don't cool that low a temp. The one we have only cools about 20 to 25 degrees below the air temp. Thanks though. I would still like to know the watts used by the 5.0cf frige in the 19 ft to make a decision on the inverter.

Walt & Linda

gbaglo · 05-09-2009, 02:03 PM

I had a look through the manual and can't find the info. Suggest you visit:
dometicusa.com
If the info isn't on the site, there is "Contact Us" there.

baglo

Hokie Escape · 05-10-2009, 10:04 PM

Why wouldn't you just run it on propane while you drive? Is it against the law in Canada? We do it all the time if we're going far enough that the temp won't stay cool with just the refrig door being closed.

gbaglo · 05-10-2009, 10:52 PM

Not sure if it is illegal, but it is ill-advised.
In the event of even a minor accident, hoses are subject to breaking or separating. Safest place for the propane to be is in a secured and closed tank.

baglo

Hokie Escape · 05-11-2009, 05:09 AM

Hmmmmmm...come to think of it, it may well not be a good idea if you have some kind of snafu along the way! Hate to feed a possible fire with propane.

escape artist · 05-11-2009, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wpski

Reece

My wife takes injections every day for her osteo porosis the medication needs to be kept refrigerated at around 40 degrees and I dont want to drive with the propane on how many watts does the refrigerator draw and would an inverter take care of this problem to run the frige on 110 while we are driving or would this kill the battery I'm not worried about being low since we have a generator and will top off the battery when we set up for the night.

Thanks Walt and Linda

Hi: Walt... Could you put her Med's in an insulated lunch bag with a freezer pack...all zipped up and in the fridge...bottom shelf. Then make sure to refreeze the pack at night when plugged into shore power for the next days driving. We use the reverse of this to prevent the lettuce from freezing...put it in the lunch bag w/o the freezer pack so is stays slightly warmer than the fridge.
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

PGDriver · 05-11-2009, 08:55 AM

We have always driven with the fridge on propane and running all the time,
the only place we have been asked to turn it off was on the ferries.
Everyone we have camped with or know does the same.
Have seen a couple of bad RV crashes, one the propane tank wasn't even
close to the RV anymore.....

wpski · 05-11-2009, 10:34 AM

thanks gbaglo, escape artist,and doug P.

All great Ideas but I'm not fond of the Idea of leaving the propane tanks open just me I guess. We travel now with the ice bag deal but was just wondering if there was a solution that would keep ithe meds cold without killing the batteries with an inverter. I don't know how long it takes to get the frige cold again after stopping for the night. Is there any problem with the pilot blowing out while driving?

Thanks again for all the Ideas it's great to have this forum to ask questions since all of you seem to have been there done that.

Walt & Linda

JeffZ · 05-11-2009, 08:26 PM

Hmmm.. I could be wrong but doesn't the 19ft have a fridge that is just two way.. propane & 110. So when traveling it has to on propane to keep things cold.. Also I think in case of a crash it would be just as probable that your cars gas tank can be compromised.. I imagine a ton of TT's are running on propane when being pulled.

FYI - we travel with the propane on with the AS..

escape artist · 05-11-2009, 08:47 PM

Hi:wpski... Walt, we have never travelled with the fridge on. Just make sure to turn it on as soon as you get near a "Currant Bush", or use the propane in a Wall o Mart parking lot.
I am sure that it is safe to tow using the propane and it should be wind proof but in the event the flame dies the propane shuts off auto pronto!!! You don't want it on while filling the tug... and lots of places won't let TT's or RV's in with it on!!!
Our fridge stays good and cold with the door closed and the beer is ready to drink while getting site set. I always take cans and use a hugger to prevent frost bite.
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

reace · 05-12-2009, 10:39 PM

Hi Walt....Off the top of my head, the fridge draws 1 amp on 110V....don't know how many watts that is....I will try to find out....

Reace

Edgar · 05-12-2009, 11:06 PM

That calculates to 110 watts.

Tacoma has a 110V AC outlet in the back that puts out 400W when the engine is running. How about if you rig a pig tail on the fridge and then run a normal extension cord to the back end of the tacoma. When the truck is parked it can only put out 100 watts from the bult-in inverter. Good reason to eat fast food.

Edgar

Wilfredo2009 · 05-13-2009, 08:33 PM

Thanks for the concern about using fridge or refrigerator.

_________________
Refrigerator Water Filter

gbaglo · 05-13-2009, 09:31 PM

You have to keep in mind that some appliances use much more power to start up than to run. I found a table recently using Google. I'll look for it again and post it if I find it.

baglo

gbaglo · 05-13-2009, 09:42 PM

One table:

http://www.absak.com/library/power-consumption-table

I Googled "power consumption of appliances". There are many others, but I didn't find the reference to start up. As I recall it can require 2 to 3 times as much power as simply running.

baglo

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