Traveling with a refrigerator |
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mjlrpod
Senior Member Joined: 27 Sep 2016 Location: Massachusetts Online Status: Offline Posts: 1214 |
Topic: Traveling with a refrigerator Posted: 17 Mar 2018 at 3:45pm |
I only TRAVEL with 12 v option. When I stop, its either shore power, or propane. I would never run the fridge on 12 v unless the T.V. is running. But I would never pull into a gas station with my propane running, its illegal, again, I try to take every precaution to make my trip as stress free and fool proof as possible. I would hate to be the guy that blows up a gas station.
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2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
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Richand Cindy
Senior Member Joined: 16 Apr 2016 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 328 |
Posted: 17 Mar 2018 at 4:23pm |
We cannot tow on 12 volts without killing the battery so its always on propane when traveling. And the propane lasts forever. Did not even empty a tank the entire summer. We also always forgot to turn it off when filling up on gas but we do have the bug screens which did not know also serve as flame arresters. We will be taking 16 hour ferry to Newfoundland so will have to shut off refrigerator. We bought a Lifetime ice chest (a poor mans Yeti) to store the food during the crossing. It can keep ice a week.
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OLD 2017.5 RPOD 180 + 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
NEW: 2018 Passport Elite 23RB + 2017 Ram 1500 Diesel |
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marwayne
Senior Member Joined: 25 Oct 2011 Location: Edmonton AB Can Online Status: Offline Posts: 1002 |
Posted: 17 Mar 2018 at 4:27pm |
StephenH, you make it sound like there is a flame like a blowtorch in the fridge, it smaller the a pilot lite. That is why many people think when they look at the flame that it is a pilot lite and are waiting for the burner to get lid. |
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If you want something done right, do it yourself.
2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra 5.7 Litre, Ltd. |
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Tars Tarkas
Senior Member Joined: 14 Jan 2013 Location: Near Nashville Online Status: Offline Posts: 1446 |
Posted: 17 Mar 2018 at 5:53pm |
I run my fridge on propane when on the road. I tried 12v and managed to barely avoid running my batteries down. If your vehicle electrical system, which includes having heavy enough wiring to the Bargman, has the amps, there shouldn't be a problem using 12v but not all vehicles have the amps. Watch what you're doing if you run the fridge on 12v while traveling or you may end up with warm beer, a depleted Pod battery, and, worst case, a drained tow vehicle battery.
As for it being illegal to run propane appliances at gas stations, that seems like a reasonable thing to assume, and there are a million citations on the web that say that's the case. I certainty haven't searched the whole web yet, but I haven't been able to find anything beyond assumptions and opinions on this -- nothing official. I'd be interested if someone can find a citation from a state DOT or somethng similar. Totally irrelevant, but I still see plenty of people smoking while they fill up. I've seen the signs for the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, and I'm pretty sure I've seen signs for some ferries, but I don't recall ever seeing a sign at a gas station. And as far as I know I've never seen or heard of a burned out gas station where the fire was caused by an RV fridge. Not saying it hasn't happened, but it doesn't seem to happen a lot. Of course I'm fine with people who are uncomfortable with running appliances on propane not doing so, especially at gas stations. I'm not advocating those people do anything they're uneasy about. I think it's worth reiterating though, that one should be careful when first trying the fridge on battery power, to be sure they don't run their batteries down too far. TT |
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2010 176
FJ Cruiser |
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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6283 |
Posted: 17 Mar 2018 at 6:35pm |
In my case, it was like a blowtorch when the flame was shooting out in the wrong direction. After it was fixed, it looks more like a pilot light. I'm not entirely sure it is working well as this past summer, even with a circulating fan setup inside and the fan outside, it had a hard time keeping consistent temperatures. Before using it this year, I will give it a thorough cleaning.
From what I understand, the Frontier has a 110 AH alternator. I do not believe it is sufficient to run the Frontier's accessories plus charge the R-Pod's 6V batteries plus run the refrigerator. I have a voltage gauge inside and can see the state of the batteries when we stop. If I were to upgrade the alternator to one more powerful and if the wire is of sufficient gauge, then I would be more willing to try to run the refrigerator on 12V again while towing. |
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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jato
Senior Member Joined: 23 Feb 2012 Location: Kewadin, MI Online Status: Offline Posts: 3215 |
Posted: 17 Mar 2018 at 6:45pm |
Propane almost entirely for us. Yes we installed bug screens years ago, (wasp nest necessitated that) and with the screen vent being on the drivers side verses our filling point on our Explorer's being on the passenger side, feel quite safe. Have been doing it this way since we picked up our 177 back in March 2011. Nearing 30,000 miles to date with no incidents. As Stephen H noted above, batteries do not last long. Found that out the first summer as I was pre-cooling the fridge only to find out after 6 hours our battery was dead and the beeper was going on and off. Once in a while we do use the 110V option when we are not boondocking, but that is not too often. It has been a great fridge, don't forget to pre-cool your fridge for a day before leaving and put in cold items straight from your homes fridge. Have only had one incident where we had to throw food away, and that time we were on 110v. The fault was not with the electricity but with the muffin fans behind the fridge not going on when the heat built up. By repositioning the bi-metal switch on the back of the fridge, the fans kicked on immediately and we have never had any problems since.
As always "Furpod" is right on with his wisdom and analysis. |
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God's pod
'11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
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mjlrpod
Senior Member Joined: 27 Sep 2016 Location: Massachusetts Online Status: Offline Posts: 1214 |
Posted: 18 Mar 2018 at 9:46am |
Stephen. My frontier runs the fridge, and the battery is fully charged at my arrival. Have you checked the voltage supplied at the 7 pin connector? The pin at " 1 o'clock" and "7 o'clock" are the battery and ground pins. I tow with a/c on all the time. I have never towed more than 3-4 hours at one time, so maybe if i went longer it would run down. I also never shut off the T.V. for more than 10 minutes while towing. I also cool the fridge all day before hooking up.
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2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
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lostagain
Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2583 |
Posted: 18 Mar 2018 at 12:50pm |
According to the wiring diagrams for our NorCold, to run the fridge on battery power, one is supposed to hook up a separate heavy wire from the TV battery (seem to me it was 8 or 10 awg, but I can't remember) and have it on a separate circuit. It was just too much bother when I replaced the fridge, so we run on either AC or gas.
I spoke to a refrigerator repair specialist in the Reno area asked him about wether it was worth it to hook up the battery in our Pod. I can't repeat his response verbatim because of the specific words used (David will get after me for using vulgarity on the forum 👺] but the gist of what he said was it was better not to hook it up. I guess that where having a propane fridge running when you gas up is illegal, the solution is to the gas off while fueling, then back on when you pull away from the gas pumps.
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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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StephenH
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6283 |
Posted: 18 Mar 2018 at 2:42pm |
I will check the voltage when I get a chance. It is the amperage being delivered that I would be more concerned with, but I don't have a meter for that. One other reason I leave it on propane unless I have AC available is that I want to make sure my batteries have sufficient power to run my CPAP machine plus the furnace plus the incidental use of the refrigerator, AC, lights, and other parasitic power draws. One of these days, I will check out the wire gauge and how it is connected. It may be that Nissan used too small a wire. Is your frontier's connector stock wiring or did you change the charging wire out for one of a larger size? |
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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS |
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Tars Tarkas
Senior Member Joined: 14 Jan 2013 Location: Near Nashville Online Status: Offline Posts: 1446 |
Posted: 18 Mar 2018 at 2:49pm |
Can anyone point to a state or federal regulation that says it is illegal to run an fridge on LP at a gas station? I've come fairly close; one site (and I don't recall if it was "official") said IF there is a sign posted at the pump saying it is prohibited, then it's a misdemeanor to have an open flame within 20 feet of the pump. This brings up what I think is a valid question: what is an open flame? Or more specifically, is the flame enclosed in a refrigerator an "open flame"? My attempts to answer that so far seem to indicate that it is not.
I'd really like a genuine answer as to whether it is illegal to run a fridge on propane at a gas station. A million people saying it is, maybe because 999,999 other people say it, doesn't make it so. And legal or not, there is still the fear a lot of people have about this. I have no doubt that is a real fear -- although I've yet to find any evidence that the fear is justified. Actually, the evidence seems to lean the other way. TT |
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2010 176
FJ Cruiser |
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