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Old 10-20-2019, 07:00 PM   #1
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Refrigerator 2-way vs 3-way

If you are using a 2-way refrigerator with a 12dcVolt Compressor:

How do you like it?
Are there any draw backs?
When we stop at Walmart for the night will we have battery power in the morning?
How often does the compressor engage?
Is it quiet?

Thank you in advance from Kamper Dave.
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Old 10-21-2019, 08:18 AM   #2
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Dave, are you considering a 3 way fridge? If so, why?
When ever we stop at Walmart for the night, I use LP, just like when we are dry camping or traveling down the road.
As I remember the last trailer I had, the 3 way fridge in that thing could drain the battery in no time.

Now that was a long time ago. Maybe they have changed then since then.
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Old 10-21-2019, 09:06 AM   #3
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Down sizing

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lloyd View Post
Dave, are you considering a 3 way fridge? If so, why?
When ever we stop at Walmart for the night, I use LP, just like when we are dry camping or traveling down the road.
As I remember the last trailer I had, the 3 way fridge in that thing could drain the battery in no time.
Now that was a long time ago. Maybe they have changed then since then.
DW has been checking out pull behind 22' Travel Trailers. They are equipped with 2 way Dometic Refrigerators with a 12dcVolt compressor. They say energy efficient but I have to wonder. On a YouTube review the guy is using high tech AGM batteries and gets good results.
I would like to gather a few facts before I jump to a conclusion.
DC
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Old 10-27-2019, 06:29 PM   #4
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I was curious about this myself, and ran into an article that explains things well.
Here is the link:
https://www.lichtsinn.com/blog/what-...refrigerators/
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Old 10-27-2019, 06:53 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lloyd View Post
Dave, are you considering a 3 way fridge? If so, why?
When ever we stop at Walmart for the night, I use LP, just like when we are dry camping or traveling down the road.
As I remember the last trailer I had, the 3 way fridge in that thing could drain the battery in no time.

Now that was a long time ago. Maybe they have changed then since then.
Why stay at a walmart?

Support a campground so they stay in business.
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Old 10-27-2019, 06:53 PM   #6
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Thanks

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wingerdinger View Post
I was curious about this myself, and ran into an article that explains things well.
Here is the link:
https://www.lichtsinn.com/blog/what-...refrigerators/
Thank You! What interesting and surprising facts.
No holes through the wall and roof sounds good. No more ammonia refrigerant also sounds good.
I don't know why they keep coming up with being level for efficiency. Fire safety I can understand. We did have a neighboring camper loose his RV to fire due to a defective refrigerator. That also could have been from rodent nests; the pine squirrels were an ever present intruder.
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Old 10-27-2019, 07:17 PM   #7
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I guess i will show my age here but in the "old days" a 3 way refrigerator ran on gas - 12 volt and 110. It had a pilot light so it did not use 12 volt for ignition. It had a 12 volt and a 110 volt heating element. The pilot light would sometimes blow out going down the road with a good side wind so the manufactures added a 12 heating element so you could run the refrigerator while you traveled. If you stopped over night you would have to unplug the tow vehicle or it would run the battery down in it and the camper.

For the way we use our camper a "compressor type refrigerator " would be useless as we often dry camp. But for others it may be just the thing. I watched a video on the you tube where they converted an absorption refrigerator to the compressor type. Kind of interesting.
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Old 10-27-2019, 07:20 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sprink Fitter View Post
Why stay at a walmart?

Support a campground so they stay in business.
You just try and find a campground open for business when traveling the I-90 corridor mid April or mid October. They have more sense than to remain open with no campers stopping in OR having their plumbing frozen.
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Old 10-27-2019, 07:39 PM   #9
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I work for a large trucking company and all the new truck come with fridges with compressors. Most quit working within 6 months and all are compressor failures.
None of the fridges that are more than a year old are working any more. We don't even bother trying to get them warrantied.
Norcold made all the fridges in the trucks and getting warranty was costly as the truck had to have the fridge removed and tested. We did this a few times and the loss of time and labor cost to remove just wasn't feasible. And then it took a lot of shipping time to get new.
would stick with 2 way fridge. you can go weeks on propane, and have a small solar panel topping up battery every day.
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