Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Ok someone tell me about fridge setups for my trailer. I would like to be able to use it at night after the generator is off at the track, Could I use one of the small 110v from say like walmart on an inverter when not on generator?? What is the best setup?? Cheap too LOL

Not good; inverters are battery drainers in a big way. Unless you plan on running a large bank of batteries, you're gonna need a $$ RV fridge that is at least 110/12V, or propane. My little fridge (100/12V) will run 3 days on one deep cycle battery.

The other option is a high quality cooler with ice to keep unfrozen perishables safe. Anything that can be frozen can be loaded just before departure and then ice or dry ice added as needed. During spring/fall trips, I will leave cold drinks outside at night and let nature take care of it (depending, of course on what wildlife is about)

If your going to run it off of a Generator..........

And,

If you use a cheapie Wal-Mart ref with a small freezer in it, keep some blue ice's in the freezer and after you shut down your Gen for the night limit your opening and shutting the door It will last till the morning with no problems....Its still an insulated cooler.

Then start it up again in the morning.

Happy Trails

Len

One thing I learned form the temperature difference this winter - some 110 small fridges don't work very well when the out side temp gets below 50* or above 85*. The freezer portion quit working during a cold spell (the fridge was out in the garage) and the unit was only 4 months old. I read the owners manual and sure enough the outside temperature was to blame. When it warmed up a bit - the freezer started to work again. Now this is not one of those small fridge with the freezer inside - it had its' own top freezer. i would suggest reading an owner s manual before you buy. We bought another unit and it sates optimum outside temps at 30* - 105*

len19070 wrote:If your going to run it off of a Generator..........

And,

If you use a cheapie Wal-Mart ref with a small freezer in it, keep some blue ice's in the freezer and after you shut down your Gen for the night limit your opening and shutting the door It will last till the morning with no problems....Its still an insulated cooler.

Then start it up again in the morning.

Happy Trails

Len

...tis what I would do...run while gennie is in operation and not worry about it when it isn't.......

I know it's maybe not cheap enough $$$ but it's another option.



http://www.arbusa.com/uploads/PDF/newProductAdvice/New_FridgeModels_PR_media.pdf

It's around 700$ for a 50 liters.

Work on 110Vac and 12Vdc It's a real compressor fridge with low amp draw.

There is a pretty good discussion on 12v refers and other options. It is under cargo trailer conversions titled "question on 12 v refer." The last post was on July 27.

what I do is use a 4 foot cooler from costco and I take old 1 litter milk jugs that are filled with water like ice packs so if anything I'll always have water but I'm going to pick up a little freezer so then I can refreeze as needed the paper on the cooler said it can hold 198 cans thats a lot of beer......I mean pop

len19070 wrote:If your going to run it off of a Generator..........

And,

If you use a cheapie Wal-Mart ref with a small freezer in it, keep some blue ice's in the freezer and after you shut down your Gen for the night limit your opening and shutting the door It will last till the morning with no problems....Its still an insulated cooler.

Then start it up again in the morning.

Happy Trails

Len

Like Len said.

I have been running off a gen since last June and I only drink milk and it has not gone bad at all. I don't like running my laptop off the laptop battery as I like my monitor to be bright and I am always on it so while on the gen the laptop as well as the battery for the furnace is being charged as well as lights and of course the fridge. I run the gen about 6-8 hrs a day and then shut the gen down & bring it inside at night. In the morning the milk is still cold.

I had bought the cube fridge but got rid of it as worthless space inside. If you want then just have ice for the cold drinks. I have not used ice since being in my trailer since last April. I even have those frozen foods that call to keep them frozen and they are not kept frozen due to the freezer not freezing but they are kept cold for over a week and still I am not tossing them as they are still good to eat as they cook faster un frozen.

I usually keep the gen on until I fall asleep so when I do eat, the gen is on anyway so the cold is just replenished and the fridge is on well after I have opened and closed the door for dinner. I have had no food spoiling since living off the gen.

Ice cream products are about the only thing I think that really needs kept frozen.

Frozen food products (as long as you cook them within a week or a half will not spoil as far as I am concerned.) Maybe taste is the problem for them wanting the foods to be kept frozen but I don't notice the difference.

Russ
I have a small college fridge about 2 or 2 1/2 foot square that has a compressor not an RV type cooling system.
I have owned it since the 70's I bought it to take on a trip from Ohio to California and was told the bouncing of the trailer would ruin the compressor well 30+ years it still works as well as the day I bought it.

I plug it in when I get ready to leave home it gets cold I pack with whatever I need when I get to my campground 8, 10 or 12 hours later it's still cold even after eating lunch from it.

I also have a 12 volt cooler that I now carry in the truck when I don't want to take the fridge it does not work as well but keeps things cool I unplug it when ever we stop it will drain the truck battery very quick.
I use a 120 to 12 volt when I camp or even stay in a (GASP) motel.
when and if I ever convert a CT I will get a bigger fridge from walmart or Kmart or Lowes or Homedepot or who ever has the best price it will be 120 volt only.

jameswill4 wrote:Ok someone tell me about fridge setups for my trailer. I would like to be able to use it at night after the generator is off at the track, Could I use one of the small 110v from say like walmart on an inverter when not on generator?? What is the best setup?? Cheap too LOL

So, what I'm getting from this Post, based on experience...not theory or "I think so's" is;

If you are running a cheapo 2'X2' 110V ref off of intermittent power...i.e. a Generator, and shutting the gen down at night (8 to 10 hours). All your food will be fine by morning.

Right?

Happy Trails

Len

len19070 wrote:

jameswill4 wrote:Ok someone tell me about fridge setups for my trailer. I would like to be able to use it at night after the generator is off at the track, Could I use one of the small 110v from say like walmart on an inverter when not on generator?? What is the best setup?? Cheap too LOL

So, what I'm getting from this Post, based on experience...not theory or "I think so's" is;

If you are running a cheapo 2'X2' 110V ref off of intermittent power...i.e. a Generator, and shutting the gen down at night (8 to 10 hours). All your food will be fine by morning.

Right?

Happy Trails

Len

Len Yep!

I been doing this as stated since April and through the summer months. I have had it shut down during work hours or as well as six hours at night when sleeping and nothing spoils. I don't leave my gen out anytime when I am not with the trailer or sleeping.

I mean I am self conscious about how often I leave the fridge open such as I open it during the times it is on the gen or only open it about two hours before shutting down the gen is fine so it could build the cold back up. I like my milk cold and have never had it go bad.

After Katrina, we bought a dorm fridge , to use while we cleaned/Sterilized our home fridge (grrrr!!!) After that , we left it running and keep the cold drinks in there (and Beer) ... Still running !!! ... and the plan is, if we need it , pop it in the trailer and head down the road ... Got a couple Igloos too for , whatever!!!
I gave up on RV stuff ... too EXPENSIVE and problematic... should the little fridge goes out on the road , it's easily and Inexpensively replaced at any box store or Wally mart ...

Hello!
This is my first post here. I plan on trying to detail my project as I go along, but this subject is one I have researched and thought about quite a bit over the years, and I thought I might share some of my findings. I intend to power most of my conversion completely with solar power, so I am vested in being as efficient as possible.

First off: efficiency of design. Side opening (like a home refridgerator) is not a very efficient design. Every time you open the door, all the hard-earned cold air just pours right out into the floor! Have you noticed that in many grocery stores, they have open-topped freezers that run 24/7 with no lid at all? This is because the cold air stays inside, like a cold bucket. If you choose a top-opening style of unit (like a cooler) then you will conserve much more cold than a side opener. This can present a bit of a design issue, but bear with me...

Second point: Newer miniaturization technology
These days, they have made amazingly efficient tiny refridgerator units, designed to operate on 12 volts. The most popular of these is the "Danfoss Compressor". These are the real macoy: a sealed refridgerant-based compressor system, capable of making ice (mine can do 10F) and they are extremely power efficient.

I noticed that someone already suggested an ARB unit above. These are one of the models I am referring to, however, there are much cheaper versions that that one.

I will show you the two models I have, and explain the power requirements, cost, and reasoning behind my selections.

First, the workhorse:
The Edgestar 43 QT Fridge / Freezer
http://www.compactappliance.com/FP430-C ... lt,pd.html

and

http://www.amazon.com/43-Portable-Compa ... 031&sr=8-1

This unit is going to be my refrigerator. It draws about 40 watts of 12v power about 18% of each hour, at 85F. That is power sipping! It has lots of room inside. For $430.00 and free shipping, how can you go wrong?
One of the reviews on Amazon is a great efficiency read.

My second unit is a Dometic CF-18 18 Qt. Fridge/ Freezer.
I bought this unit as my Freezer, when inside my camper, but also as my 'weekender' for when we don't want to pull the camper (which is most of the time - the camper is for inclement weather)

http://www.adventurerv.net/dometic-cool ... -1231.html

It is even more efficient that the Edgestar, and it can make enough ice to keep other regular coolers stocked, for those event weekends when our friends need ice every few days.

It can also easily move to the jumpseats in our Tacoma for use on it's own, instead of a regular cooler, and never needs ice.

With these two units and a modest battery system, you can forget about turning it on and off at night, and probably not even need your genny for days at a time!

I own these two, so I can answer questions about either one.

I hope this is helpful in some way. As I said, I will detail my ongoing 6x10 conversion soon.

I'm glad I found this site!

Still kicking around the idea of a TD and what I would need for it.

So, what I have gotten from this tread so far is that for a two or three day boondocking camping a good quality ice chest would be just fine.

If camping in a campground with electricity then a cheap WalMart refer. would be okay. Or, if using a generator this would also apply.

If boondocking for a longer period of time and not using a generator everyday, then one of the two mentioned above would be acceptable to run off a battery.

If my understanding is flawed, please let me know.

Thanks,
Jerry