Which Type Refrigerator with Standard Solar and two 2 flooded battieries?

[Ron in BC]

I don't remember ever changing the tank for much less than 3 weeks use. I do know when I change over because I do it manually. Yah, yah, that's just me.

Fridge setting is in the middle and the usage can include AZ and Baja.

Our results are so regular that we can almost predict to the day when the tank will run out.

Ron

[kathytony1985]

That's great! Are you using the propane for anything else, ie. Water heater, grill?

[John in Santa Cruz]

My 2014 Escape 21 came with the dreaded Dometic (Electrolux) RMD8555, and mine failed, apparently both controller boards. No ETA for spare parts.

I happily replaced it with a Norcold N2175, and then did a major upgrade of my DC systems to a 360W solar panel and 2x206AH Lithium batteries, 5200 watt hours. I believe my batteries can run my typical DC load camping 2 up for a week without any sunshine. if they get run down hard, it could take 2 full sunny days to put most of a charge back in them.

total overkill. Since this was all new to me, I figured better safe than sorry. I'm not sorry, in fact, I'm happy. The marine fiberglass guy charged me more than i expected for the solar panel install but he did a really nice job, so I can't complain, powder coated 6061 extrusions as risers for the larger panel.....

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

I happily replaced it with a Norcold N2175, and then did a major upgrade of my DC systems to a 360W solar panel and 2x206AH Lithium batteries, 5200 watt hours.

What was your total cost?

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

What was your total cost?

Fridge was $2225
Battery and cabling/chargers $2725
Solar hardware was $500
inverter and AC wiring (one outlet) was $320

all told about $5760

[alanmalk]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

My 2014 Escape 21 came with the dreaded Dometic (Electrolux) RMD8555, and mine failed, apparently both controller boards. No ETA for spare parts.
...

.....

Ahh, the "dreaded RMD8555" is also installed in our 2015. That means we don't even think about ice cream in the summer. Or at least until we sprang for another Dometic product - a portable CFX3-45 freezer that runs on 12 Volts DC or 110 VAC. That solved the problem of soft ice cream (and long storage of meats and dairy) at a considerably lower price point than a totally revamped system. While it adds a bit of complexity to trailer camping to have an additional gadget, on the other hand it gives us the option of having a freezer when car camping without the trailer.

And to emphasize the spare parts problems - we had to replace the Dometic 'fridge shelves a number of times thanks to washboard roads. The credit card was in agony...

[John in Santa Cruz]

yeah, our short term fix was a CFX3-75, which I mounted on a slide-out tray in the back of my truck. the 75 is dual zone, so one half was fridge, the other half freezer, and it worked great. Even when camping with the trailer, it was collected to the truck batteries due to convenience, my 100W solar panel kept the truck happy when we didn't drive anywheres for a few days.

[Mike G]

I'm surprised there aren't more people saying how hard it is to keep their absorption fridge cool enough in hot weather. The 3 cu ft Norcold in my last SOB trailer gave me fits, not just with poor cooling but with the pilot light blowing out during driving. Are ETI fridge installations really that much better, is that the difference?

[John in Santa Cruz]

in very hot weather, like over 100F, the Dometic absorption fridge did have trouble staying sufficiently cold. But I didn't have issues with blowouts while driving.

the little one that was in my Casita would blow out in a gust of wind while camping, so annoying. that had a manual pilot light, too.

[Jwinfrey]

Originally Posted by Mike G

I'm surprised there aren't more people saying how hard it is to keep their absorption fridge cool enough in hot weather. The 3 cu ft Norcold in my last SOB trailer gave me fits, not just with poor cooling but with the pilot light blowing out during driving. Are ETI fridge installations really that much better, is that the difference?

I was skeptical of the absorption fridge for our 2021 5.0, but went with it anyway. I could not be happier with our choice. It cools down quickly even with our dry 100 degree days in my part of the world. It also stays lit when driving but we have started driving with it on DC. 2 standard solar panels and driving during the day keep our 2/6 volt batteries about even.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by kathytony1985

That's great! Are you using the propane for anything else, ie. Water heater, grill?

We use the fridge 24/7 on propane except for ferry rides, a little bit of cold night furnace use and occasional hot water tank use. We use the hot water tank for showers otherwise a kettle of hot water does the dishes just fine.

Ron

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Jwinfrey

I was skeptical of the absorption fridge for our 2021 5.0, but went with it anyway. I could not be happier with our choice. It cools down quickly even with our dry 100 degree days in my part of the world. It also stays lit when driving but we have started driving with it on DC. 2 standard solar panels and driving during the day keep our 2/6 volt batteries about even.

It's too bad that installation issues and model specific issues gave absorption fridges such a bad name.

Couldn't ask ours to perform any better. Head and shoulders better than our previous one.

Ron

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by kathytony1985

That's great! Are you using the propane for anything else, ie. Water heater, grill?

we use the propane for furnace, water heater, stove, oven. 2 20 lb bottles lasts us at least a month of typical use. the furnace is undoubtedly the major user.

we carry a 3rd bottle in the back of the truck if we bring the grill and/or firepit. a propane firepit uses a /lot/ of gas.

[Bryan in NC]

I recently met with a couple of Escape owners and was fortunate that one had a 3-way fridge and the other a compressor fridge. The owner of the 3-way (2017 21C) had some remorse about his choice and said his fridge only kept a temperature at about 40 degrees lower than the outside temp when on AC and only about 10 degrees better on propane (the freezer is fine; e.g., ice and ice cream stay solid). He uses propane while driving. He has resorted to bringing a portable fridge during the summer to ensure food doesn't spoil. The other owner (2021 E19) boondocks quite a bit and is very satisfied with his compressor fridge. He had two 6V batteries and at least one solar panel, but he did mention he had to use a generator once when his batteries ran low because he didn't have sufficient sun. My original plan was to get the absorption unit, but my conversation with these two started to sway me the other way. The comments above have alleviated that somewhat. Thanks!

[chesaka]

I just picked up my 21NE with compressor fridge and went on a 3,000-mile trip back to Alaska. The trailer has two 190 watt panels and two 100 AH lithium batteries. The solar worked well!! Even on cloudy and one day where it snowed and was a blizzard. It kept things cold and freezer worked well. It does make some noise. I'm noise sensitive but it didn't bother me much. Just initially. The furnace had to work hard as it got colder closer to Alaska. I was glad the fridge wasn't on propane. I think it will work well for my needs. But I would not try it without lithium batteries and two solar panels
.

[Upfisk]

Our '18 E19 has the stock setup for that year. We have the 5cf absorption fridge, a single 160 watt solar panel., 2 lead acid batteries. We winter in Mexico, live in AZ, and do far too much camping at 85°F+. We have never set the fridge control above position 3, the fridge keeps a steady temp and is not affected by the outside temp. When it is 100°F the fridge remains in the mid 30s. The freezer continues to be in the high 20s. We get slightly over 2 weeks on a 20# bottle of propane. As Ron in BC says, we know to the day when we need a propane refill the absorbtion fridge uses such a regular amount. We drive with the fridge running on propane, it has not blown out. Our crappy Casita SD17 with the 4cf fridge was another story, the flame always blew out when driving, it could not hold a steady temp and 40°F below the outside temp was on an exceptionally good performing day. We are very happy with our 5 cf absorbtion fridge.

[StillCampin]

Can anyone with the offered compressor fridge and a shunt-based battery monitor report on their nightly battery deficit? This may help others determine how much battery & solar may be needed.

Personally, my 2019 E5.0 has the large 3-way fridge so no largish draw from it but I do run a 300 watt psw inverter 24/7 that supports my usb charging station, satellite tv receiver and sometimes my cell phone amp. I also have a 12v stereo with external amp & subwoofer (both set near minimum) that is also usually on 24/7 (satellite radio & tv sound).

I have the 380 watts of solar from ETI and use a non-ETI supplied mppt controller. I have 3 Battleborn 100ah batteries. My boondocking experiences have all been in Arizona, often in the desert but sometimes with trees around.

My cooking is largely electric via microwave & large Breville countertop oven, supported sometimes by Sous Vide for reheating meat and making yogurt in a 3qt Instant Pot at least weekly. I sometimes get some furnace use at night but if heat is really needed I use a Wave 6 heater.

Even tho it is sunny Arizona, that sun forces most boondocking to occur when the days are shorter & the sun is lower in the sky. Combine that with the fact that the panels sit flat I find that solar is doing very little before about 9:30 & after 4:00.

In addition to the 300 watt inverter I replaced the ETI-supplied inverter with a 2000 watt psw one to fully support my kitchen (tho usually one appliance at a time). I usually don't use the big inverter for my main cooking, especially for the Breville. Instead, I use a genny. Solar has already decreased greatly and my batteries are already going negative. The end result is that when I turn off the genny at around 6 or 7 in the evening I have a 100% full battery bank to start the night. If I don't start the genny until around 6 or so (and use only propane for cooking) my battery bank might start the night at least 5% down.

My nightime battery draw ranges from about 5-8 amps, usually at the upper end depending on how much usb charging is occurring (I've seen as much as a .8 amp draw increase for one device last night).

My nightime deficit is often about 30%, or almost 100ah. I usually run the genny in the mornings to bring the battery bank back to about 85% and the solar usually brings it back to 100% by early afternoon. I figure that if I add another panel and make the rooftop pair tiltable I won't need the morning genny time.

All this info to provide potential comparison info if someone can provide comparative battery draw in a trailer WITH the compressor fridge.

[John in Santa Cruz]

running the N2175 fridge on normal, the maxxfan on very low 'down' with the lid closed (so it acts like a recirculating fan), and the furnace on mid 60s with a low 50s outside temp, I end up using about 5% overnight of my 5200 watt hours capacity

on a typically sunny day, my solar generates 600-800 watt*hours per 24 hour day, but about half that is 'float' mode, where the batteries are already 100% charged. If I intentionally run the battery down hard (like by switching off the solar for 2-3 days), it will generate 1800-2000 watt*hours per day.

[John in Santa Cruz]

(note, the Norcold N2175 I have is, as far as I know, not the compressor fridge Escape now offers... It was an exact physical fit for the dead RMD8555 my trailer had.

[Hawkeye Ed]

Originally Posted by marant

Working on how to equip our new 21C.

. . .

We are considering getting the compressor fridge, but have some questions:

. . .

3. We are planning on the standard solar setup (1 panel, two flooded batteries), but are concerned about being able to boondock for 4-6 days. We will get the Zamp port so we can use a portable panel also. Really want to avoid the expense of lithium if possible.

Would especially appreciate reports from owners with our planned setup, as well as general comments.

Pound for pound, propane wins the energy storage contest against batteries hands down. So if you’re comfortable using propane for the furnace, hot water heater, stove and refrigerator, that’s the way to go, especially if your camping isn't regularly in hot, hot sunny days.

A gallon of propane is equivalent to 91,600 BTUs. That’s the equivalent of 2237 amp*hours of 12 volt electricity. Your batteries probably have a useable capacity of 100-200 amp* hours before they need to be recharged.

Since there are almost 5 gallons of propane in a 20 pound tank, you’re carrying over 900,000 BTU in your two 20 pound propane tanks. So it’s no wonder that folks who don’t need an inverter for cooking, a microwave, a compressor fridge, other electronics or other high-power electricity draws can boondock for days on propane without needing to spend a fortune on expensive lithium batteries and large solar arrays.

Propane absorption fridge/freezers aren’t perfect. They may not be able to stay as cold as you’d like in 90 degree plus weather. But our experience with them in our two campers over the years has mostly been positive. I’m no purist; I have a small compressor fridge in my truck to keep beer icy cold. But over all, a propane fridge works for us just fine here in the Pacific Northwest.

Ed