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podwerkz 
Senior Member 
Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
 Topic: How Cold Does Fridge Get?Posted: 06 Apr 2019 at 7:19pm |
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That's a valid point but not relevant for me. I wanted a 'backup' so that I can flip the main DC power off and still have the fridge control power working.
I might do this when away from the trailer for hours, especially when boondocking and on cloudy days when solar input will be in short supply, or I have secured the portable panel inside to deter theft. The propane detector pulls about 100 ma or so, and yeah I could put that on a switch, and wire the USB power socket on a switch, and the stereo parasitic drain on a switch, etc etc, so that the ONLY thing pulling any DC would be the fridge control board. If I'm away for a few hours, the propane detector is useless if I'm not there to hear it anyway. All the other parasitic drains are also useless when I'm away. So, in my case, the simple answer might be to have a battery backup in the fridge, after all, the fridge has that option, and all I need is the little battery holder. But where to buy? And how many hours or days will the 8 AA batteries last? No one seems to know. I would like to find out! |
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r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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DavMar
Senior Member
Joined: 04 Aug 2017 Location: Lexington, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 592 |
Posted: 06 Apr 2019 at 7:33pm |
podwekz I don't know the model year of your Pod but if its the same age as mine or older check out the refrigerator control board and I'll bet you it doesn't have battery back up for its control board. Believe me its not that hard to deplete your battery when the converter goes out and you don't know. Being plugged into shore power is no help then which it wise to carry a dumb portable battery charger. If I had a schematic of this control board I think I could figure out where to add this back up and what voltage it would take. It probably is allot less then what you think. If you can figure out how to get an emergency battery backup to the frig please let us all know. Its a shame that the manufacture doesn't make a upgrade kit (or didn't when I talked to them last year) or that FR is still putting in the bottom line refrigerator instead of one they make which does have battery backup.
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Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog. 2017 Rpod 180 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4 Lexington, NC |
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podwerkz
Senior Member
Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
Posted: 06 Apr 2019 at 7:55pm |
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The fridge has the compartment for the battery holder, but no battery holder is in there. The battery holder is referred to as an 'accessory' in the manual. I googled around but that is a wild goose chase, every time I put in search terms like 'dometic refrigerator' and 'battery holder' I get a slew of responses related to battery powered 12 volt fridges. Dometic's webpage itself has no information about this that I can find, they want me to contact my dealer. Well I don't want to drive 150 miles for a $5 battery holder, but it may come to that. |
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r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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DavMar
Senior Member
Joined: 04 Aug 2017 Location: Lexington, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 592 |
Posted: 06 Apr 2019 at 8:26pm |
podwekz, you can drive around the world for this battery holder and find no dealer has it. Why, because your refrigerator control board was made NOT to have this battery backup. Please, don't you or anyone else believe me, instead go ahead and call Dometic tech support. Give them the model number of your refrigerator like I did and then I bet you will also find out that your refrigerator control board is made NOT to have this backup and there is NO add on battery holder you can get. Sorry to say but FR went on the cheap to maximize profit on our refrigerators with buying Dometic's bottom line frig.
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Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog. 2017 Rpod 180 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4 Lexington, NC |
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podwerkz
Senior Member
Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966 |
Posted: 07 Apr 2019 at 1:29am |
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Oh, that's interesting. Like vapor-ware.
Or a 'concept' that was there for marketing but no solid implentation. That would explain a lot. I looked in the compartment and there is a connector, but no battery holder so that had me thinking I just need a $5 part, or maybe it's $50, who knows. But as you say, maybe it's made of 'un-obtanium' so I can't afford one at any price, unless I owned a plastics molding plant in China. Maybe, just maybe, I can 'fool' the fridge into thinking that it has that battery holder full of 8 AA batteries. A small rechargeable 12v sealed battery might work....hmmmm.....
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r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!
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DavMar
Senior Member
Joined: 04 Aug 2017 Location: Lexington, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 592 |
Posted: 07 Apr 2019 at 3:46pm |
podwerkz, please do yourself a favor and go and copy your model and serial number for your frig down and then call Dometic to see if or if not your model has this battery add on capability. When I contacted them last year about my model frigerator and getting this battery backup power supply add on they sent me the following message: David, Hello and good morning. This part is not available for your American model refrigerator. I have attached the parts list for you above. Sincerely, Carrie Dometic Retail Customer Service 1-800-544-4881 Opt.2, Opt.2 Dometic Corporation 1120 N Main St. Elkhart, Indiana 46514 Hopefully you find out your model frig is different and this back up battery is available for it. Best of luck! |
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Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog. 2017 Rpod 180 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4 Lexington, NC |
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furpod
Moderator Group - pHp 
Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128 |
Posted: 08 Apr 2019 at 8:55am |
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Look.. it takes 8 AA batteries. It ain't rocket science. If it has the capability to run on AA's, then the control board has to have connection points for leads... Go get ANY "8 AA battery Holder" and go to it. As long as they are the right format to fit the space, and honestly I have only ever seen a couple formats, will fit...
https://www.amazon.com/CO-RODE-Battery-Holder-Switch/dp/B00VE7HBMS https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Holder-Snap-Connector-Corpco/dp/B01N91OF9H Or go crazy cutting edge and wire this in...
https://www.amazon.com/TalentCell-Rechargeable-12000mAh-Multi-led-indicator/dp/B00ME3ZH7C/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_23_bs_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=CWWS9V5996KQR99E5VCH |
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DavMar
Senior Member
Joined: 04 Aug 2017 Location: Lexington, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 592 |
Posted: 08 Apr 2019 at 10:06am |
furpod, may I ask how do you even know IF his refrigerator control board has battery backup? Mine sure doesn't which I confirmed with Dometic and visually by me when I removing the board. This is why I "suggested" he called them with his model and serial number of his refrigerator to confirm if indeed has this back up. If it does then great he can order the part direct from Dometic. Also this board may just run on 5Vdc as allot of control boards do and not 12Vdc. Its best to check out first wouldn't you agree?
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Dave & Marlene J with Zoey the
wonder dog. 2017 Rpod 180 2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 4x4 Lexington, NC |
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lostagain
Senior Member
Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2595 |
Posted: 08 Apr 2019 at 10:34am |
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Uhmmm, if you are going to run the fridge on propane with the 12vdc house batteries turned off then aren't you running a gas appliance without the benefit of the gas leak detector? Seems to me that the tiny bit of amps used to power both the fridge board and the leak detector are minimal at worst and not enough to materially deplete your battery for quite some time. All the other stuff, like the stereo, usb plugs, etc. can be switched off, thus drawing no current.
Turning off the gas leak detector is a bad idea if you have the gas to your trailer turned on at the tank. You never know when a leak may develop, which is the reason those leak detectors are required, I suspect. You may head out to do something on a cloudy day and on entering the trailer with cigarette in hand or making a tiny spark with the door latch, you may experience a rather unpleasant hot flash. At least if you hear the alarm screeching away, you will be alerted to turn the gas and battery off before entering. There is a safety reason to have the operation of gas appliances linked with the operation of the leak detector via the house battery. If you are going to bypass that important safety feature, please park your Pod well away from ours. Maybe FR had motivations other than getting the cheapest refrigerator they could find.
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Never leave footprints behind.
Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost |
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TheBum
Senior Member
Joined: 26 Feb 2016 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 1407 |
Posted: 08 Apr 2019 at 11:10am |
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The fridge in our 179 gets cold enough that we can run it at a setting of 4 most of the time and keep things plenty cold. It does take a while for room temperature drinks to get cold, so just make sure you keep them well stocked. We don't use the freezer compartment, so we took it out to make more space. We have a countertop icemaker for ice.
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Alan
2022 R-Pod 196 "RaptoRPod" 2022 Ram 1500 Lone Star 4x4 Three cats |
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How Cold Does Fridge Get?