My panel to battery connection has been upgraded from #6 to #2 wire. You should have at least #8 wire to the battery for this load and depending on length you may still encounter enough voltage drop pulling 28 amps that the inverter can prematurely shut down. You can try it as is and see, upgrade your battery connection, or mount the inverter close to the battery and pull 120v wire to the transfer switch.
Don't oversize the inverter as then the 12v connection and fusing gets larger quickly. Shoot for 400w. I think my 300w is a bit small and was not intended for this use even if it does work.
I do run my Dometic fridge (305 watts) from my MSW inverter.
It does draw about 30 amps @ 12 volts.
Unfortunately, the duty cycle is still 2:3, even when the fridge is cooled down, so plan on 20 amp-hours of capacity for every hour the unit is run.
I would size the inverter at 400 watts.
johnvb wrote: I want to use an inverter for it for when we are on the road. The nameplate on the unit states it's 2.5 amps, 300 watts @120 volts. The manufacturer's web site shows a slightly higher rating of 3.0 amps @120 volts. Called Norcold, absolutely no help there.
Is it safe to assume that at a minimum, a 400-500 watt inverter would be fine, if there are no inductive (motor) loads?
If you open up the back of frig. You'll see that it most likely pluged into a recepticale. I just ran a cord to it. Note that on the older models there was a panel on inside that you could open to light the gas side of unit with a sparker. But you should still beable to sneak a wire in there some how.
I tried the same thing back when I had a TT. After about 4-5 hours of travel, the TT battery was run down and the inverter had shut down. The TV couldn't keep the TT battery charged. Two batteries would have helped, as would a heavier wire to the TT, or putting the inverter in the TV and running a 120v line to the TT.
Class C, 2004/5 Four Winds Dutchman Express 28A, Chevy chassis
2010 Subaru Impreza Sedan
Camped in 45 states, 7 Provinces and 1 Territory
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I plan on installing the inverter on the RV, as close to the battery as possible (but not in the same air space, but above it in a bedroom compartment) and use HD gauge wiring for the 12 volts. Then run 120 volt power from it to whereever I need to do the switching, etc.
The frig is connected to a receptacle in the back (accessible from the outside panel) so that will be easy to get to. Looks like I have a few options on how to wire it up, guess the next step is to pickup an inverter and go from there. Definitely will be going with a second battery too.
Just curious, why don't you just use propane on the road like the refrigerator is designed to do?
This would eliminate inverters, extra batteries, running heavier wire, remembering to shut it off when you stop, etc. These are all places that failure can occur. They increase the complication factor many times over. The vast majority of RVers use propane refrigerators while traveling with very very few problems.
Didn't want to get into the gory details but in our area many times I have to go across bridge tunnels which require pulling over and shutting off the propane tanks. Then either have to leave off the refrig till we get to where we are going, or pull over again somewhere, get out and turn the gas and refrig back on.
At least with the inverter, once I get back on the road after the first inspection going into the tunnel, I don't have to worry about the food getting too warm afterwards. Just a piece of mind thing. Or maybe just laziness
I did the exact thing you want to do on our previous trailer. I ran a 400watt inverter to run the fridge while on the road. I got a short HD appliance extension cord and left the end in the back of the fridge compartment. when the time came to hit the road I turned on my inverter, unplugged the fridge from the RV supplied outlet and plugged it into my extension cord. I did this on a 2 week trip. if I stopped for more than 15 minutes I turned the inverter off so the fridge would switch over to propane. I really don`t feel like running the fridge on propane while on the road is very safe! I only had one battery and I never had any issues with battery or alternator problems. When I do it on my current TT, I will use 2 batteries just because it will last longer, and I wouldn`t have to worry about running the battery down when I stop for a short time.
Wife Kim
Son Brandon 11yrs
Daughter Marissa 10yrs
Dog Shadow
07 Cherokee 32B
02 Excursion 4X4 V-10 4.30 gear 5Star tuner Y-pipe mod Hellwig sway bar
Reese HP dualcam Prodigy brake controller
A bad day of camping is
better than a good day at work!
johnvb wrote: Your are right, not about saving energy, but just getting off the tank while we are underway. I could probably swing something like this, use up some of those HD gift cards I have laying around:
Offline
Online
but in our area many times I have to go across bridge tunnels which require pulling over and shutting off the propane tanks. Then either have to leave off the refrig till we get to where we are going, or pull over again somewhere, get out and turn the gas and refrig back on.
