Cooling residential refrigerator overnight

[Cherden]

Greetings:
Just bought a new 2016 Thor Quantrum yesterday, had the walk through, and have a burning question on how to cool the residential refrigerator overnight for an upcoming trip. Can't use the generator in my hood at night so it would have to be electric or battery. My walk thru guy said "all we had to do was access the panel, unplug the cord, (assuming its 110) and plug into an extention cord overnight". Now my issue is, I would have to run it out of the front door, up the driveway to get this done, while leaving the rv unlocked all night. Its not my neighbors I don't trust but sometimes we have people come through the community looking for unlocked doors.
I've read ALL the booklets, Whirlpool doesn't address this. I had no idea I would be having this issue, thought it would be like my last 3 rv's, propane & electric. My fault entirely for not doing my homework on the word "residential", thought it just meant the size of the frig, not how it works.
So far, this seems to be the only thing I'm upset about.

[EA37TS]

For the short term - Not sure if you have 30 or 50 amp service but you can but the adapters necessary to plug your coach into a 100 outlet in your garage. It should run the refrigerator just fine but make sure the AC is off or you might trip the house breaker.

For the long term you might want to have an electrician install a 30 or 50 amp receptacle on the side of your house so you can run full shore power to the coach.

Lesson learned from my personal experience. I had 30 amp installed on the house for my Class C. Cost 300.00. Bought the Challenger and had the power swapped over to 50 amp. Cost 350.00. Had I initially went with 50 amp and used the 50 to 30 amp adapter I had to buy anyway I would have saved about 250.00 in the long run. Lesson learned.

[Cherden]

Its 30 amps. Will probably try and get an adapter from rv store and a heavy duty extension cord.
I did read other postings about making sure the a/c is not on. So I'm storing that info.

Thanks for the reply !!

[bandorr2000]

I have run my residential overnight, not plugged in, with no ill effects on the batteries. Just make sure batteries are charged. Mine is a Whirlpool 18 CU.FT. I believe after compressor kicks in, current falls off to about an amp to an amp and a half.

[WillowRun]

not sure if you just want to cool the fridge cuz you think it will be too warm or if you want to know how to hook it up to do it out of curiosity- but we have a residential fridge in our Four Winds- we take out what we want from our fridge and start loading up or take it out last and then leave---the fridge runs as you go down the road and they are COLD! at least ours is--I put ice cubes in the freezer in case we wanted a drink down the road--good grief---the ice maker was getting busy and the cubes I brought we solid as ever! The hour or so that your food is in there seems to be no issue because the refrigerator catches up really nicely.......or just wait till first thing in the am...turn on your gen....load up then load the fridge--it doesn't take long!!

[bigben]

Not sure if you have house batteries and an inverter. But given you have a residential fridge, I'd think that you would. One of the things that the house batteries help with is taking 12 volts from your batteries and provide 110 for a couple of circuits in your motorhome. Generally one of those circuits is the residential fridge. So you ought to be able to turn the inverter on and run the fridge off the house batteries. Need to make sure your house batteries are charged.

Also, as Dave mentioned above, simply get an adapter for your 30 amp power cable to take it down to a 15 amp. Won't have to run anything out a window, just attach it to the power cord. I uploaded a picture of what that looks like.

I tried to understand your equipment from the Thor site but there is a huge variance in on board systems


If you already knew the above, apologies. If you didn't, the PDI should have covered the fridge's operation on 12v.

[Cherden]

Thanks everyone !! Its Whirlpool, 18 cu ft, have 2 batteries, and will make sure they are charged up before the first trip. Also getting the adapter and a heavy cord to run out the back. Can't believe the walk thru guy told me to unplug it from under the frig and run an extension cord. Never mentioned the adapter and using the power cord.
Goes to show you, from my sales person to the service advisor to finance guy, no one has ever used a rv or owned one, and they are telling me how to use it.....

[bigben]

Cherden - ask most of us here if we are surprised by your recent epiphany. No - most of are not. Pass the word, come to the forums both here and IRV2 before you buy, as you buy and after you buy. Like many others here, the info shared has saved me huge and I try to pay it back.

On your batteries, I'd go out and make sure they are full. If not, get some distilled water and filling them - one of the easiest way of killing your batteries - low on water.

Also, now that you've figured out how weak your sales team was - do yourself a favor and find a good service shop that will do your warranty work. You will have some.

[ournextstop]

Also make sure your water heater is off or on gas when you plug in to a home (15 amp) outlet. I plugged mine in one time some time ago a and popped the CB several times. Finally figured the water heater was on electric.
But with your inverter you should be able to turn refrigerator on in the evening and run it overnight without plug-in. In the AM check battery status and if your departure is delayed run your Gen set.
Good luck and ENJOY!!!

[Travelin' Texans]

DO NOT USE this type of adapter or the black one that looks like a hockey puck, they are known fire hazards, buy the adapter with about a foot long cord (15 to 30 amp). Also handy to have is the 30 to 15 amp for parks that don't have a 15 amp at their pedestal, I use it regularly to plug in my small vacuum & pressure washer.

[bigben]

Travelin' Texas - thanks for the heads up on the fire hazard. When did the info come out on it? I have the regular dog bone adapter for 50 - 30 amp but not the 15 amp. Thanks again.

[ksciacca1]

you should be able to run your refrigerator on LPG and not use any electricity.

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by ksciacca1

you should be able to run your refrigerator on LPG and not use any electricity.

The original poster asked about cooling down a residential fridge. No LP option available.

[Travelin' Texans]

Originally Posted by bigben

Travelin' Texas - thanks for the heads up on the fire hazard. When did the info come out on it? I have the regular dog bone adapter for 50 - 30 amp but not the 15 amp. Thanks again.

That was several years ago when that came out, but as far as I know nothing has changed. The last one like those I used after about a hour it was so hot I couldn't touch it, the dog bone ones I've used don't get even warm.

[bigben]

Thanks for the info.

[Cherden]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone !!! I have made note of it all.
I will make sure that only the frig is on when we are going down the road.
Wanted the info due to we live in SC and its really hot here when the seasons change. Who am I kidding, its hot here most of the time!!
Also on our 5th wheel, we lost all the food in the frig coming back on a trip due to a pinched gas line when the slide was closed. Traded in the 5th wheel on the Class C, which gave us a whole new problem. Residential frig !!!
With all the help that is here on this site, we should be able to figure it out.
Haven't been able to go out with it yet as its been in the shop since day one.. Probably not a good sign....
One slide motor wasn't getting the signal, new one came in yesterday. And the Seiki tv didn't want to work, so a new one of those too.
Suppose to be ready this coming week.

[TurnerFam]

it looks like your model has the residential fridge, generator, AGS(AutomaticGeneratorStart), house batteries, and Inverter/Charger...

like us, you should never have to turn OFF your fridge...

-if plugged into 30A shore power, it will power EVERYTHING in your coach, and will charge you house batteries through the inverter/charger
-if plugged into a 30a to 20A adapter to a standard residential type outlet, then the same applies, except you could trip the outlet breaker if you have too many items running at the same time
-if using your GENERATOR, it will also power everything, and also recharge the batteries
-if no outside Power Source is available, your INVERTER will use the House Batteries to run everything in your coach, except your A/C unit.
-you can turn your Generator on to RECHARGE the batteries, or
-turn your AGS on - you can set it to Automatically turn your generator on anytime your batteries need charging, such as at a setting of 12. it will then come on anytime your batteries fall below that level for several minutes. this keeps your batteries charged without your generator having to run constantly, and keeps your from allowing to batteries to be depleted. You will also tell the AGS to run the generator for a specific timeframe, such as 30mins(or other timed optioned) - it will then shut down automatically as well.

note: your Alternator may also provide charging for your house batteries while driving(ours does)...

we have traveled extensively for over two years and have never turned our fridge off, or even turned our Inverter/Charger off. we have drycamped a lot, both in camprgounds and parking lots using our AGS, used adapters for 20a and 30a outlet options for our 50a cord, and parked for many weeks and months with full 50a service, of course.
your unit is designed to allow for all the type of situations you find when traveling... even though you eventually learn to be somewhat of an 'electrician' type to manage all the options : )

[EA37TS]

Originally Posted by TurnerFam

it looks like your model has the residential fridge, generator, AGS(AutomaticGeneratorStart), house batteries, and Inverter/Charger...

like us, you should never have to turn OFF your fridge...

-if plugged into 30A shore power, it will power EVERYTHING in your coach, and will charge you house batteries through the inverter/charger
-if plugged into a 30a to 20A adapter to a standard residential type outlet, then the same applies, except you could trip the outlet breaker if you have too many items running at the same time
-if using your GENERATOR, it will also power everything, and also recharge the batteries
-if no outside Power Source is available, your INVERTER will use the House Batteries to run everything in your coach, except your A/C unit.
-you can turn your Generator on to RECHARGE the batteries, or
-turn your AGS on - you can set it to Automatically turn your generator on anytime your batteries need charging, such as at a setting of 12. it will then come on anytime your batteries fall below that level for several minutes. this keeps your batteries charged without your generator having to run constantly, and keeps your from allowing to batteries to be depleted. You will also tell the AGS to run the generator for a specific timeframe, such as 30mins(or other timed optioned) - it will then shut down automatically as well.

note: your Alternator may also provide charging for your house batteries while driving(ours does)...

we have traveled extensively for over two years and have never turned our fridge off, or even turned our Inverter/Charger off. we have drycamped a lot, both in camprgounds and parking lots using our AGS, used adapters for 20a and 30a outlet options for our 50a cord, and parked for many weeks and months with full 50a service, of course.
your unit is designed to allow for all the type of situations you find when traveling... even though you eventually learn to be somewhat of an 'electrician' type to manage all the options : )

If no outside power is available and you are using the inverter it may not power everything as mentioned. In my coach only the TV and refrigerator outlets are run off the inverter. The microwave and other outlets, to include AC, are not wired into the inverter.

The only way to know for sure is to disconnect from shore power, turn the inverter on and see what does and does not work.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by TurnerFam

it looks like your model has the residential fridge, generator, AGS(AutomaticGeneratorStart), house batteries, and Inverter/Charger...

like us, you should never have to turn OFF your fridge...

....cut....

Nice summary.

In looking at specs, it appears their motorhome may have an inverter rather than Inverter/Charger. I'm not sure how Thor would wire that differently if that's the case.

[TurnerFam]

call me crazy, but I don't know of any reason an inverter would be supplied, along with an AGS automatic generator start, if there were no Charger included - how else would the batteries be charged?