Inverter for Refrigerator

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Don & Linda Gidley

Inverter for Refrigerator

Post by Don & Linda Gidley »

We have all been made aware of the danger in having the LP gas on and running our refrigerators while driving.

With this in mind, I would like to run my refrigerator with an inverter while under way. Does anybody out there know the wattage/amps required to run the #641 refrigerator in my 2002 26' RB?

I wrote Norcold months ago and no answer and I see no reference to wattage/amps in the manual. Anybody?
Bill Ruh

Re: Inverter for Refrigerator

Post by Bill Ruh »

Hi Don and Linda,

http://www.norcold.com/n800.cfm says 3 amps at 120 volts. Use ac draw, as the dc draw of the equivalent 3-way frig is usually much smaller.

While I respect those who turn off propane, it is, IMO, not a significant risk, and we drive with propane and frig on...
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Mel Wilbur
Posts: 617
Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2005 2:39 pm

Inverter for refrigerator

Post by Mel Wilbur »

As Bill Ruh, we have been motorhoming for 35 years and are comfortable traveling with the refer operating in LPG mode. We do make sure all possible systems that run on propane are manualy turned off when stopping for gasoline (refer, hot water heater, furnace). The bottom line is you need to choose the option that you are comfortable with.
Mel & Connie
Randy Wilson

Post by Randy Wilson »

Don & Linda, I had the same idea back when I owned another brand of motorhome. I emailed Norcold and got the same amount of help that you did - exactly none. However, there is a sticker inside the Model 641 Norcold in our 2004 bf that shows the power requirements. The 12V requirement is 1.2A (14W) and the 120VAC requirement is 2.5A (300W). Since the control system always uses 12 volts, the 300 watt requirement for use on 120 volts AC is apparently feeding only the heating element.

If you have the same 400W inverter that was furnished in our bf, it would seem that you could use it to run the fridge while underway. The heating element is wired with a typical 15A, 120V style plug that could be unplugged and plugged into an adjacent receptacle fed from the inverter. You would have to be careful to transfer back when you stop since the inverter would be drawing 25A-30A from the coach batteries.

This having been said, try it at your own discretion since I have never tried it, and, like most, I still run with the propane enabled. :wink:
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