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Old 09-03-2020, 08:46 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
State: California
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THOR #20373
running refrigerator only on propane without battery?

Hello, what is the proper procedure to run the refrigerator over night to get it prepped for camping?
I was hoping I would use the battery power to start the pilot light than turn off the battery and let the refrigerator run over night.
This does not seem to work.
Can anyone confirm that the battery must be left on over night as well?
Could this drain the battery? Assuming all 12volt things are turned off like lights.
We do not have shore power at our storage facility.

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Old 09-03-2020, 09:04 PM   #2
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Model: Miramar 37.1
State: California
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THOR #12698
Hi Kon21
Welcome to the forum. You should be fine if you are only using it the night before. Your house batteries should not drain down for that short of a period. You do have to leave your use switch on during that time period. I usually bring my motor home to the house from storage the day before and run an extension cord from my garage with a dog bone adapter for a 110 to 30 amp adapter to run the refrigerator before a trip to cool it down. I have never had a problem with the batteries running down the few times I could not hook up to my house and had to park it across the street in the school parking lot for a few days at a time. Remember to have the use switch turned on whenever you are driving it.

Paul
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Old 09-03-2020, 09:43 PM   #3
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Model: Axis 24.1
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THOR #20289
I do what Paul described above- run the fridge on shore power overnight, then switch to propane the next morning when we are ready to go.

Yes, you absolutely need battery power to the fridge's controls for it to work. It doesn't draw much current. I once measured a few tenths of an amp for the controls which your batteries will never notice overnight.

David
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Old 09-03-2020, 10:28 PM   #4
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Model: Tiffin Wayfarer 24 BW
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Welcome aboard!
Yes; you do need 12 volt power to run the fridge's electronics. Even if you're using propane to cool it.
(Mine is running in exactly this manner right now.)
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Old 09-06-2020, 04:34 PM   #5
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You won’t have any problem with the batteries by running on propane overnight but you DO need the battery to run the control circuit. It has very low draw.
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