Refrigerator died, Need advice.

gus · April 13, 2012, 07:50:26 PM

Absorption refrigs only have to be level side to side, usually fore and aft on the bus.

It is a common myth that they require leveling in all directions.

Uglydog56 · April 13, 2012, 09:29:55 PM

I'm not done fitting it in it's hole yet, but I'm putting in a 9cuft chest freezer with an external thermostat (so it's a fridge now) run off it's own 300w pure sign inverter. 450.00 total investment, 450watt-hr per day according to the kill-a-watt.

muldoonman · April 14, 2012, 07:07:20 AM

Replaced our house double door with another one and was shocked that they pulled front passenger windshield out (91 prevost) to get old one out and new one in. They said it was easier. Replaced glass also. It had a chip or 2.

JohnVickrey · April 14, 2012, 07:14:10 PM

Thanks all for your input.

I have the old one turned over on it's top and I'm going to set it back up tomorrow and plug it in. Wheather that fixes it or not this is a excuse to get a little bit bigger fridge. We have a freezer that lives in the bay and runs on the inverter. We do a lot of dry camping and I kinda like the idea of the fridge not dependent on the generator or batteries. Sometimes we can go a couple of days without starting the generator.

Anyway, I think I'm going to order the Atwood. It's a little bigger and the co-pilot likes the way it's laid out.

Thanks again for all your input.

Linda-XL40-FL · April 15, 2012, 09:13:23 AM

"It's a little bigger and the co-pilot likes the way it's laid out."

You are a smart man, John! LOL

Iceni John · April 15, 2012, 03:01:33 PM

Quote from: Uglydog56 on April 13, 2012, 09:29:55 PM
I'm not done fitting it in it's hole yet, but I'm putting in a 9cuft chest freezer with an external thermostat (so it's a fridge now) run off it's own 300w pure sign inverter. 450.00 total investment, 450watt-hr per day according to the kill-a-watt.

Aha! Someone else here who's seen the light! I shall also be going this route when the time comes, if only because I shall be using a roofload of solar panels instead of a generator. I've heard that "fridgers" typically run for only 90 seconds to 2 minutes per hour, well withing the ability of PV. I also plan on it having its own dedicated inverter which will be switched on and off by the external thermostat, thus avoiding any current drain when the fridger's not running.

John

OLD -ED · April 15, 2012, 03:15:42 PM

Just replaced my old frig. with a Norcold marine frig. runs on 12 volt @ 2.3 amps and 120volt ac @ .4 amps and it will work at up to a 30 degree angle,And it will fit in the same space as your old frig. they run $ 1400.00 but looking it over I think there worth it.

Geoff · April 15, 2012, 05:26:04 PM

This subject has been hashed over the bus conversion boards for as long as I can remember and the apartment refer and decent inverter/genset have always been the winner. Or have the times changed? Are people more concerned about living off the grid because diesel is too expensive move the bus? Bring on cheap solar panels and move to the desert!!

Ericbsc · April 15, 2012, 05:52:50 PM

I have a Summit refer. It has the freezer on the bottom. It is 120v but the draw is 2.0 amps. Yeas that is correct!! It has run 24-7 since I installed it in 2009 with no problem. I leave my bus plugged in when at home. It is 14cf. and is less than 24" deep. I have no ties to this company, but I have been extremely pleased. They make speciality refrigerators, stoves, etc. I forgot to plug the bus in after a trip, and 5 days later it was still running!!LOL

http://www.summitappliance.com/catalog/model/FFBF285SS

hargreaves · April 15, 2012, 06:23:19 PM

My Westinghouse apt. fridge uses 1.5 amps . The issue is when the defrost cycle comes on for about 20 min. it is using 20 amps at that point. If I disconnect it, it freezes over.

Gerry

Ericbsc · April 16, 2012, 05:23:50 AM

Never had a problem with mine freezing over with defrost turned off.

luvrbus · April 16, 2012, 07:08:14 AM

3 thousand for a good inverter 2500 for a decent battery bank 10,000 for generator all to run a fridge lol the 1400 looks good to me fwiw I never cared for my electric coach I still think the 12/24 fridges like SunFrost is the way to go for a electric fridge but we are all different

good luck

Geoff · April 16, 2012, 08:23:25 AM

Or we can try $300 for 4 ea golf cart batteries, $1200 for a decent inverter, and $5-6k for an 8kW 1800 rpm diesel genset. And if you are building a livable conversion you are going to need the above no matter which refrigerator you buy. I cannot see spending $1400 or whatever for a refer that uses 1 amp less electricity than an $300 apartment refer at 1.5 amps @ 120v. And I know how much power my Sanyo apartment refer is using as the load amps on my Trace SW2512MC inverter flashes between 1 and 2 amps with the refer on. I have yet to catch how many amps it is drawing on the defrost cycle, it doesn't do it too often. And I could always disconnect the defrost if I wanted to.

GilligCrown · April 16, 2012, 10:16:14 AM

I too am using a chest freezer with external thermostat.

Oonrahnjay · April 16, 2012, 04:10:45 PM

Quote from: OLD -ED on April 15, 2012, 03:15:42 PMJust replaced my old frig. with a Norcold marine frig. runs on 12 volt @ 2.3 amps and 120volt ac @ .4 amps and it will work at up to a 30 degree angle,And it will fit in the same space as your old frig. they run $ 1400.00 but looking it over I think there worth it.

That was my choice. I went with the 12v only; about 40watts (once it's cooled down and not much more than that while it's cooling). BIG money but I love it; it was one of the few things that I went for the big expense for and I think it worked out pretty good.