We have a Dometic RPD218 compressor fridge and after 4 years of issues we now plan to replace it. Ive met people in our travels that have installed a house fridge and hooked up to an inverter to run it off 240volt. Has anyone on this site done this successfully and can you help with advise on the pros and cons please.
Depends on the size of your batteries and the draw of your inverter. I would be sticking with the 12V compressor fridge, the 218 is quite a large fridge.......I have a 190lt and it's fine on 2 x120 amp batteries and solar.
Maybe if you stayed in CP's on 240V it would be ok, but what about driving/free camping etc?
Other Nomads with Sparky experience may help with info.
Many have done as you are considering and I may well do so in the near future but: carefully consider the electrical energy needs of a domestic fridge/freezer and how you will provide for them.
In round numbers a domestic fridge/freezer will use around 1kWh of energy per day. I assume you intend to supply this from solar therefore you need to consider how much wattage of panel you need, how much battery for days when there is little sun and whether you need a generator to fill in for no-sun days. This may well be a complex computation.
If you travel around northern Australia and camp on beaches then 200W or 300W of solar and a 100Ah battery may be all you need. If, like me, you spend most time camped in forests in Victoria then 800W+ of solar and 300Ah of battery and probably a generator will be required. If you drive every day or two that will reduce solar needs but what about when you wish to rest for a week or two?
A solar panels's output is *severely* reduced in cloud condition of if there is tree shade. It all can be done certainly but all factors must be carefully considered first.
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"I beseech you in the bowels of Christ think it possible you may be mistaken"
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I'll put this in simple terms I will never have a fridge made for caravans be it 3 way or 12/24v compressor fridge ever.
My setup since 2016
Samsung 228ltr Digital Inverter Compressor Fridge. (no longer available)
Victron 350va Inverter.
The only time the fridge works through the inverter is when we are mobile or theres a power outrage, otherwis its via the 240v system because we stay where there is power available, we have no desire to free camp.
Mike, just a heads up my samsung draws 65 amps a day, after one more I forgot to change over the fridge from battery to 240v for 3 days mid march, solar kept up to the fridge demand, when I realized it, the battery still showed 13.8v
-- Edited by Gundog on Monday 11th of July 2022 11:23:30 AM
We have been running a Samsung 255l digital inverter mains powered frigde/freezer here in NZ for the last 8 years of full-time travel in our motorhome.
Powered by a dedicated $100 300W PSW inverter hidden away unseen behind the fridge running 24/7.
2.6A average overall current. 800W solar and 300Ah 4 cell 13V LiFePO4 battery.
No generator but 90A alternator charging helps occasionally especially at this time of the year.
We paid $700 and the fridge is still available here but inflation has increased the price to $750 on special. A bargain.
Faultless performance so far.
"90A alternator charging" means our Li 300Ah battery charges at c90A until all but full.
What would a 80% 300Ah LA battery accept even with a 12V 500A alternator I wonder?
"90A alternator charging" means our Li 300Ah battery charges at c90A until all but full. What would a 80% 300Ah LA battery accept even with a 12V 500A alternator I wonder?
Lithium will suck anything you throw at them, not good for the battery.
Not good for the alternator if it is running at maximum for extended periods.
The reason for power management.
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50L custom fuel rack 6x20W 100/20mppt 4x26Ah gel 28L super insulated fridge TPMS 3 ARB compressors heatsink fan cooled 4L tank aftercooler Air/water OCD cleaning 4 stage car acoustic insulation.
We ran an LG gt279wdc linear inverter 240v fridge for years with 300ah AGMs, 400w solar and Victron 375/12 300w inverter. The fridge cost $499 on special from Good Guys. Superior in every aspect to the overpriced 12v stuff. Even with inverter losses used less power and auto defrost.
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If we are going to be altruistic I want to get something out of it
We have 620w on the roof and 120w folding panel charging 2x130ah batteries. I plan to instal a Victron 600w inverter to power all power points in the van so based on your shared info I think we are on the right track.
I did some rough calculations for my own purposes yesterday and calculate that if I change to a 240V fridge my daily power consumption will increase to about 1.4kWh per day (900 fridge, 500 other) so 300Ah of battery should see me through two days of little to no sun which I expect to happen a couple of times during a Victorian winter so I'll still need a generator to do a few hours battery charging then but as I plan to carry a generator anyway that's no issue.
Otherwise I am confident my 800W of free standing solar will produce that 1.4kWh, however my Victron MPPT controller limits charging current to 30A which equates to 3.5h of good sun or rather longer of average sun but all should be OK ( Harding said confidently :)
Edit:
Just noticed your mention of the Victron 600W inverter, it'll probably be OK but may get a bit marginal with some loads when the fridge is running especially during the defrost cycle. I've been looking at this recently, it has all the required safety and emissions approvals and is capable of running a microwave, if you have enough battery:
Determine carefully your base power supply (Solar panels, MPPT controller, Inverter and batteries) for present and future needs.
1000W (as advertised but not actual, probably approx. 600-700W) solar panels, 60A or 80A or 100A MPPT controller, 400-500AH LiFeP04 batteries and 3000-6000W inverter should have all humming comfortably.
Overcast weather will not affect charging to any great degree (my experience) and you could supplement solar input with light weight portable panels if absolutely necessary.
So far in the past 12 months I have had no charging/storage issues (even in several days of inclement weather) with such a base setup and also, run the aircon this way. Said bye bye to the gennie a while ago.
Maybe others, with a similar setup, could provide you with opinions of their experiences in running 240V appliances in their rigs.
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Cheers, Richard (Dick0)
"Home is where the Den is parked, Designer Orchid Special towed by Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited"
"4x250W solar panels, Epever 80A charger and 3x135Ah Voltax Prismatic LiFePO4 Batteries".
