Compressor Fridge

[John in Santa Cruz]

I'm very happy with the Norcold N2175 I mounted in my Escape. 6.something cubic feet, large freezer compartment, my total power usage including the fridge, furnace at night, fan in the day, and lighting is around 600-800 watt*hours per day, and the 360W rooftop solar easily makes 2000-2400 watt*hours in a day if needed. its very quiet, on the 21 its near the back of the trailer, and the bed is in the front, that probably helps.

[chesaka]

I like my compressor fridge. I have two solar panels and two lithium batteries. I have had zero issues with powering the compressor fridge even in continuous days of rain. The batteries nearly always read 100%. The freezer keeps food and ice frozen. It does make some gurgling noises. I am sound sensitive but the noise doesn't bother me. I hardly notice it now. I've had the trailer since May.

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by chesaka

I like my compressor fridge. I have two solar panels and two lithium batteries. I have had zero issues with powering the compressor fridge even in continuous days of rain. The batteries nearly always read 100%. The freezer keeps food and ice frozen. It does make some gurgling noises. I am sound sensitive but the noise doesn't bother me. I hardly notice it now. I've had the trailer since May.

I’m with you, I have one less hole in the camper and one less potential propane problem.
The gurgling is the defrost cycle, no different than the one in our home kitchens.

[BobG]

I have the Norcold DC558 in a 21NE. I only have 160 camping days with it but I think it will be ok. I like it because it is quiet, I sleep with my head next to it, it uses very little energy, no vent holes in the roof or side of the trailer, it allows me to have a solar panel over the top of where the vents would have been, etc.

I don't like not having an automatic defrost cycle and I would like a larger freezer but it is large enough. At first I was concerned about recharging the batteries and I still am. I don't carry a generator and never will. I have had only 1 day when my batteries didn't charge to 100% but I mostly camp in the winter where it is warm and sunny.

If you have room for another battery then you can always add that later if you find you need it. One thing about the lithium batteries is that if you do need to run the generator to charge them, they will take the full output and do it very efficiently. I think the Escape furnished charger puts out 50 amps. If your generator is up to it, you could always get a larger charger to plug into it so you don't have to run the generator as long.

You can also go with just a cutout and the 2 DC wires installed to the cutout so you can plug in the larger refrigerator like John did. From what he says, it is an awesome refrigerator. Make sure that if you order the compressor refrigerator that you tell Escape to not cut any holes in the roof or anywhere. If you order just a cutout so you can add the larger refrigerator then you can also add batt insulation to close the side gaps and board insulation to the outside skin and foil insulation to the curved roof area of the cutout. I don't know which trailer you are ordering.

I built a refrigeration system for my sailboat 14 years ago and I used the same compressor that Norcold uses except that the compressor was Danfoss then. Danfoss sold to a Chinese company but hopefully it is still the same compressor. It is a very efficient compressor.

[RMarkH]

Good info all. Pretty confident on going compress. Like the less holes part. Pretty sure I won’t need the gennie too so no worries if any of you camp near me ;-)

[alanerickson]

I have a 2021 E19 with a DC558 190W on the roof, and 200AH of battery capacity. DC558 is certainly not silent like an absorption fridge, but overall very quiet.

Fridge uses about 35AH every 24 hours, and then the rest of the camper is probably about 10AH/24, so roughly 45AH per day. So about 3 days without any solar and one starts to worry. Going with the compressor is probably the biggest thing I have second thoughts about.

Typically we shoot for a spot that has power, but for a couple of reservations this summer that wasn't an option. It looks like you're in the pacific northwest, and you might have the same problem we did, which is too much tree cover to get decent solar. Luckily we have two 100W solar suitcases which we were able to strategically place that saved us. A generator would have been an option at one site, but in another site generators were prohibited.

[Ynnde]

Does anyone else have more either empirical or observational input on maintaining the compressor fridge on solar only ? We are not yet at the configuration stage on an E19 but I would like to do full 2 panel solar (380W), 200Ah and a compressor fridge . Until retirement our use would be typical Ontario Provincial Park with some shade. I would like to hear experiences both during the summer AND shoulder seasons when the furnace will be running. Thanks in advance !

[splitting_lanes]

We have an evaporator refrigerator. It’s a power hog, 24amps of DC, or over 2 amps of AC, or 1.5lbs of propane per day. It’s a limiting factor in how long you can camp and where you can camp.

If I was redoing my build sheet, I’d be inclined to select the compressor refrigerator, as it’s so much less energy.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by splitting_lanes

We have an evaporator refrigerator. It’s a power hog, 24amps of DC, or over 2 amps of AC, or 1.5lbs of propane per day. It’s a limiting factor in how long you can camp and where you can camp.

If I was redoing my build sheet, I’d be inclined to select the compressor refrigerator, as it’s so much less energy.

If your refrigerator is using 1.5 pounds of propane (emptying a tank in less than 2 weeks), I'd check the door seals, etc. I get well over a month from a tank in a Dometic DM2663LBX.

[splitting_lanes]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

If your refrigerator is using 1.5 pounds of propane (emptying a tank in less than 2 weeks), I'd check the door seals, etc. I get well over a month from a tank in a Dometic DM2663LBX.

The propane figure is from the rating. A DM2683lb is rated to use 1,500btu/hour. One pound of propane is 21,500btu. 1,500 x 24 hours = 36,000btu, a little over a pound and a half.

I’m still on my first tank, every where I’ve camped we’ve had hookups.

Edit: corrected part number

[brroberts]

That does sound like a lot of propane, but it’s also a location of NY vs SoCal. I can say; however, I’ve never used that much with a fridge.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by splitting_lanes

The propane figure is from the rating. A DM2683lb is rated to use 1,500btu/hour. One pound of propane is 21,500btu. 1,500 x 24 hours = 36,000btu, a little over a pound and a half.

Reminds me of the saying that you can prove anything with statistics.

Our reality and a lot of propane fridge use doesn't match your numbers.

Ron

[WanderBred]

We have the full lithium batteries (2), and the two solar panels and the compressor fridge and love it.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by splitting_lanes

The propane figure is from the rating. A DM2683lb is rated to use 1,500btu/hour. One pound of propane is 21,500btu. 1,500 x 24 hours = 36,000btu, a little over a pound and a half.

I’m still on my first tank, every where I’ve camped we’ve had hookups.

Edit: corrected part number

thats what it might use if you left the fridge doors open and it had to run continuously to try to get cold. once its cold, it uses less than half of that.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Ynnde

Does anyone else have more either empirical or observational input on maintaining the compressor fridge on solar only ? We are not yet at the configuration stage on an E19 but I would like to do full 2 panel solar (380W), 200Ah and a compressor fridge . Until retirement our use would be typical Ontario Provincial Park with some shade. I would like to hear experiences both during the summer AND shoulder seasons when the furnace will be running. Thanks in advance !

I have my own homebrew upgrade on an older Escape...

solar: 360 W monocrystalline panel, with a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30
battery: 2 x 206AH SOK Battery Lithium Iron Phosphate
fridge: Norcold N2175 DC compressor fridge

typical daily total solar production when camping, this includes furnace at night, maxxfan in the day, lighting, water pump, etc, as well as the fridge: 600-800 watt*hours/day.

shut solar off for 4-5 days to run battery down below 50%, switch back on, get 2 days of ~ 2000 watt*hours.

I estimate I could dry camp a full week with zero solar or other charging.

[splitting_lanes]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

thats what it might use if you left the fridge doors open and it had to run continuously to try to get cold. once its cold, it uses less than half of that.

Yeah, I found that the 24amp DC figure that I measured dropped to 0amps after about 12 hours. So, the figures are based upon 100% cycle time, which drops after things are cool in the refrigerator.

[alanerickson]

Originally Posted by Ynnde

Does anyone else have more either empirical or observational input on maintaining the compressor fridge on solar only ?

Attached is some empirical. This is from this summer. Showing state of charge from a shunt on 200AH of battery. DC558 fridge. Down trend is no solar gains. Trend up is with solar gains, about 90% coming from suitcase. Other graph I just drew in yellow lines showing 25% on the horizontal and then the other would be the trend if solar were zero. And if you're in the shade it's pretty much zero (okay, maybe 1A if you're lucky).

I have shunts on battery and fridge, so I know where power is going. This is from a mid 70's temp day, cooler evenings, so not terrible hot weather.

[Camp@Home]

Have the same setup 'cept for the added suitcase solar (yet). Last week camped in the woods, did OK first couple days, morning of third day found batts almost dead. Our real first outing so still learning, had set the fridge too cold for starters and didn't realize how much it was draining. Also left inverter on all day 2nd day. Tested that at home today and it is significant. Turn off when not in use, stick to the remote operation and the GoSolar app for monitoring. Just be sure to be careful and monitor. Don't regret decision on order, more of a learning curve issue so far. Also, 3rd day it was cloudy and rainy and state park did not allow generator use! Ouch! Did some minor charging via vehicle connection just for water usage and lites end of nite. Made do, got by, had alternatives. Enjoy!!

[Rossue]

Hmmm- two days then issues eh? Sounds like larger compressor refrigerators can be iffy. And lithium batteries are not the savior unless you really go for it- like some others with a big $$$ spend and then trying to figure out the other devices needed to keep it all charged.

Meanwhile, our new Dometic RMD 10.5XT performs! And after 8 years with one battery replacement last year our dual 6V batteries with 1500W ETI installed inverter keep on ticking with our original 160W solar panel. We never use shore power.

[Camp@Home]

I'm hoping this was just because I was running it too cold, we hadn't gotten used to where setting should be yet, so REALLY overran it. Food was starting to freeze. Maybe not so iffy, my point is just be aware of the gotchas mentioned. I'm confident we just need more practice/experience with our setup to fine-tune best usage. Backup plan is to add a couple more batts for 400ah total.