operating refrigerator on gas--HELP
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=5020
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Topic: operating refrigerator on gas--HELP
Posted By: grandma20
Subject: operating refrigerator on gas--HELP
Date Posted: 23 Jul 2014 at 1:16pm
 NEED HELP ASAP please. We have bought our first camping trailer ever from a private seller. We do not know what we are doing. Our son told us over the phone we should run the refrigerator on gas while we are traveling. It is plugged into eletrical in our garage now, It is a dometic rm8501 model. To switch to gas it said to open the as cylinder valve ( on the gas cylinder, correct?) It then says "Open the shut-off valve for gas supply to the refrigerator" Where is that? We cannot find it anywhere. We are hooked up and ready to leave. Perhaps well just have to run it off the truck battery. Frustrated!9 ------------- Judy |
Replies:
Posted By: NLPod
Date Posted: 23 Jul 2014 at 1:52pm
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Never run it off the propane while traveling, run it from the battery as the tow vehicle will charge the battery as you are driving, IMHO. ------------- RV --> 2014 RP176 TV --> 2009 Toyota Tacoma V6 4X4 |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 23 Jul 2014 at 1:55pm
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I'll try to help since you're leaving soon, but I'll be going from memory since I no longer have a Pod. Perhaps a current owner will jump in and confirm or correct my memory. You are correct to run the fridge on propane while traveling. Twelve volt operation is not as effective and can run your battery down quickly. This is a topic of great controversy, but the majority of campers run the fridge on gas while traveling. There is no safety risk. The propane bottles have built in flow limiters to prevent fire danger. Larger trailers do not even have a 12 volt option! You are correct that the "gas cylinder" is the gas bottle. The valve should be turned on. If this is the first time since it was filled or connected you should run the stove a minute to clear the air from the gas line. The gas shutoff valve referred to in the book does not exist in the Pod. Just ignore it. Make sure the fridge is set to gas on the front pane by cycling the mode button until the flame icon lights up. The fridge should light in a few minutes. You may not be able to detect this, but you will get a flashing icon in a few minutes if it fails. If the fridge does not stay lit, cycle it to off with the mode button and try again including the air bleeding with the stove. Have a good trip. ------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: marwayne
Date Posted: 24 Jul 2014 at 1:04am
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It's like CharlieM said, turn on the gas at the propane tank very slowly then lite your cooktop ( it may take a while because you have to bleed the air out of the line) now select your propane setting on the fridge, it should lite fairly quick. If you want to switch to 12 volt or 110 power select the setting on the fridge, your gas to the fridge will be automatically shut of, but only to the fridge. ------------- If you want something done right, do it yourself. 2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra 5.7 Litre, Ltd. |
Posted By: 3ofUs
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 7:21am
| As previously stated in another post, save your propane and run your fridge on the 12 volt when traveling. It is being charged, and my fridge on the highest setting is 38 degrees when on the road. Once set up in camp, switch to electric if available or propane if dry camping. |
Posted By: Budward
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 7:27am
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Running the fridge on 12v is very dependent on wiring sizes in the tow vehicle and the rv plus the connector contact condition . Bottom line, many tow vehicles simply do not supply adequate current to keep the battery in the rv fully charged up while the fridge is running on 12v. If yours does and you want to run on 12v then do so. Personally after having owned many RVs over the last 40 years I've never been real happy with 12V operation, but others have. YMMV and all that  ------------- 2014 179 Towed by a 2015 Ford Transit Diesel Supervised by a German/Aussie mix and a Labradoodle! |
Posted By: 3ofUs
Date Posted: 26 Jul 2014 at 7:31am
| I guess, Budward, we have always towed with an F150, so that has made the difference. Prior to 2009, we thought we had to use the propane. |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 28 Jul 2014 at 11:35pm
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Agree on the wiring issues with many factory setups, propane is just more reliable and is the "easy answer" w/o going into the elecrical technical stuff that many don't want to deal with. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: grandma20
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2014 at 8:48am
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If you have to turn off the propne befre refueling do you stop before entering a gas station or when/ how do you shut it off? ------------- Judy |
Posted By: Harry
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2014 at 9:20am
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Another related questIon: a month ago we got caught in PEI in our R-pod when Hurricane Arthur hit. The campground lost power for over a full day. When it happened, I immediately switched the fridge to propane. But, the battery eventually lost power and the fridge shut off and I couldn't relight it. I assume that 12 volts must be present for the propane function to work... correct? I also,suspect that my battery is not holding a charge properly, so that's another issue I will have to sort out. Thanks for any comments.
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Posted By: Harry
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2014 at 9:23am
| It's on the front of the fridge. Cycle through the "Mode" until all the lights are out. This indicates the fridge is off. Wait a few minutes before filling. |
Posted By: WillThrill
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2014 at 12:42pm
It's unfortunate that modern RV refrigerators pull any electricity when running as it's quite unnecessary. The typical draw on one is about 1-1.5 amps. Given that you have about 1 amp of draw coming from other sources uncontrollably like the propane detector, this means a single, new, typical (~75 amp hour) marine battery would last for about 30-36 hours if you used nothing else (lights, water pump, fan, etc.). If your battery is old (>5 years) and/or hasn't been on a good battery maintainer, it's capacity may be significantly reduced from this. Batteries must not be left in a less-than-fully charged state for long at all, and keeping a battery maintainer connected to it all the time (when you're not camping) is best. Both Battery Tender (http://smile.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-021-0123-Junior-Charger/dp/B000CITK8S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406651804&sr=8-1&keywords=battery+tender) and Battery Minder (http://smile.amazon.com/BatteryMINDer-Charger-Maintainer-Desulfator-System/dp/B00D7HZ6FC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406651876&sr=8-1&keywords=battery+minder) are some of the best brands of maintainers. I believe that the Battery Minder linked above is one of the best you'll find for its size, though it's a bit pricier than a similar Battery Tender. You're experience is not unique. Everyone who dry camps at all deals with this issue. This is why so many Podders carry at least two batteries (preferably golf cart batteries; they're more durable and higher capacity usually) and/or get solar panel setups (though they might not have been helpful in your situation; they don't work when it's not sunny  ) or generators to help recharge their batteries. An overlooked method that will work perfectly fine also is to get at least an 800 watt inverter, connect this with alligator clamps directly to your tow vehicle's battery, connect a 30 amp smart charger to the inverter, and then run your car (be sure to run your car while doing this or you'll drain your car battery). This will replenish most of a single battery's power in a couple of hours at most.------------- "Not all those who wander are lost." Tolkien 2014 Hood River 177 2005 GMC Envoy XL |
Posted By: 3ofUs
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2014 at 2:30pm
| We have always turned it off at the pump. Also, Virginia requires propane to be turned off before entering tunnel. There is lane to stop and take care of that. |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2014 at 4:53pm
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Don't worry about it. I discussed the properties of gasoline in prior discussions here, which make it nearly impossible for the flame at the back of your fridge to be a danger at a gas station. Gasoline fumes are heavier than air, they stick low to the ground. The fridge is 2-3 feet off of the ground, well away from any fumes. Plus, those gasoline fumes will be mixed heavily with the surrounding air, which brings up the next point. Gasoline has a very narrow flammability limit. Just a little too much air and it won't ignite. Finally, gasoline fumes are controlled before they even escape. For years many states required vapor recovery systems at fueling stations. The fuel pumps had the collapsible rubber "boots" which pressed against your car while in place. This sucked the vapors into a filter while the fuel entered the tank. This is no longer required in many states since onboard fuel vapor recovery systems have been on cars since 2000 and light trucks since 2006, so since a high percentage of cars on the road now have this, some states have eliminated the requirement at fuel stations. If you want to turn your fridge off, it is the safest option of course. But necessary, no. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2014 at 4:57pm
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As for the need for 12 volt power even when using propane mode, this is one area where camper technology has backtracked, IMO. Older camper fridges didn't need it. Yes, between the LPG detector and the fridge "brains", you'll only go 2-3 days w/o some means to recharge. Far less if you use the heater (the heater is the biggest propane and DC hog in the camper), or the lights too much. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: Harry
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2014 at 10:30pm
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Thanks for all the comments and information. Unfortunately, my battery lasted only about five hours with only the fridge running (on propane) and the other uncontrollable(s) - the Propane detector you mentioned. As soon as the power failure happened (about 2:00 pm local time), I shut everything down that I could, thinking I would save the battery for lights and water pump for that evening. No such luck. And this was after the battery had been charging from the on-board power supply for over 24 hours. The battery was first used a year ago, and was stored in my basement with a tender attached. Text-book perfect storage, or so I thought. I'll haul it out within the week and get it load tested, and decide what to do from there. I do like Willthrill's suggestion of the golf cart batteries. I used a couple of scooter gel-cell batteries in my previous RV, a pop-up, and they worked very well. But, back to the original point, that little pop-up had a fridge that worked very well on propane with no battery in the vehicle at all. Convince me we have made progress. Thanks again.
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Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2014 at 10:11pm
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It sounds like a textbook case of battery sulphation. I'd bet the tender isn't working right. Time for a new battery. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: henksailor
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2014 at 10:46pm
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Since this is our first RV, too, I have some questions about operating the fridge. I had a fully charged battery and attempted to turn the fridge on, first with electrical - which it fired right up. Next I tried to switch it to propane (tank valve was open), but the warning light on the right end of the control pad began flashing and beeping. The fridge wasn't running. When I cycled it back to electric, it stopped the warning. What was that about? We are taking the pod out for it's maiden voyage this weekend, just a local run to a campground to hook it up to 30A and make sure that all of the systems work. A little concerned about firing up the water heater, furnace, tv, microwave/convection, using the water pump and having everything work as it should. Speaking of which, turning on the water heater, I think he showed us a valve or igniter behind the panel on the outside of the RV that had to be turned on or something. Anyone that could walk me through the steps for that? (Model 177 pod) Thanks! ------------- '13 Silverado Z71 4x4 Crew Cab '14 RPod 177 (Uncle Ed) 2 big labs and one large mutt (our 4-legged crew, hence the crew cab) |
Posted By: Harry
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 8:31am
| Thank you. My suspicions are the same as yours. |
Posted By: Harry
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 10:16am
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Hi Henksailor: Sorry for the previous reply; it was misdirected. I think what you experienced with the blinking light on your fridge was the fridge trying to light up on propane, but the line had air in it, and it timed out, or, in common vernacular, it gave up trying. You'll see people referring to "bleeding the propane line", a common practice in all RV's whenever the tank is removed or changed. Simply, air gets in the line and has to be removed. Assuming your stove is downstream of the fridge, as it is in my 176T, simply turn on one of your stove burners, and repeatedly try to light it until it finally does light. This means the air is gone from the system, and you can now light your fridge normally. You may also experience the same problem lighting your furnace and hot water tank (on propane) after air has entered the line. Use the same trick with the stove. On the hot water tank, the dealer was showing you the AC power switch which is partially hidden behind some of the propane plumbing on the front of the tank. Push the switch down to turn on AC power. To switch over to propane hot water, shut off the AC power on the tank, and turn on the propane inside the rpod (in my case, just inside the entrance door). If I need hot water quickly after setting up, I will start up the tank on propane, and then switch to AC power once it is hot. Most of the time, though, in campgrounds, it remains on AC. Happy exploring! Even after a year, I continue to discover new things about my 'pod. I just learned yesterday that a 3/4 socket wrench and ratchet easily opens and closes the slide-out if there is a breakdown or no power. Good to know! ------------- 2013 R-pod 176T TV: 2013 Honda Ridgeline 3.5 L 4WD |
Posted By: Harry
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 10:18am
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Agree. Thank you. ------------- 2013 R-pod 176T TV: 2013 Honda Ridgeline 3.5 L 4WD |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 10:29am
When at a campsite with hookups the WH can run both electric and gas at the same time. This effectively doubles the recovery rate, heating the water much faster. ------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 31 Jul 2014 at 10:46pm
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And the AC mode will maintain the temperature so you aren't using propane until you start your shower. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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