fridge question

[stevenrees]

Hello all,
I own a 2013 3612 elevation and I thought that the fridge would work on propane only. I turned on the propane and then I lit the stove to purge the air out of the gas line. After making sure thefridgewas running, I then closed up for the night. I was trying to get the fridge cold so I could fill it with food and take off.
I turned the battery switch to off, thinking that it only needed propane to keep the fridge cool. When I opened it up this morning, nothing was running and the fridge was warm.
Obviously I did something wrong, but I want to be clear about this for future trips.
I was told to turn the battery switch to off when not in use,(because the C02 moniter will run the battery down).
My question is this---would someone please tell me the correct procedure for running the fridge without having shore electric or the generator running. If it needs battery power, then what keeps the battery from running down.
Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

[BDLuke]

Nope, you need 12v DC along
with the gas. 120v AC without gas. If you have a heat strip on the door lip to
evaporate condensation, make sure it is turned off when you are on battery. You
should have an owner’s manual that explains your model's features and
functions.
</span>Depending
on your use of lights, heater, inverters and fridge will determine how long
your battery will last before you need to fire up the generator. Those that do a
lot of dry camping will be of better help and suggest optimum battery setups. <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /></span>

[mwebber78]

The control board on your fridge requires 12v to operate even on propane.

[sleepyT]

Steven -- If you are worried about your battery running down when you are just running your fridge overnight you have a dead short somewhere. Most campers have DEEP CELL batteries you should be able to run that fridge for a long time on the battery.

[stevenrees]

Thanks for all the help---I have not had my battery run down yet on my 3612. (actually two 12v batteries in line).
I did however have that problem with my 08 MK-33. The alarms / monitors would wear my battery down in one day.
I am still learning as I go with my Elevation, I am not an Electrician ( not even close ), and all thedifferent electrical items in my Elevation are sometimes overwhelming.
So please have patience with me asking questions that may be no problem for you, but myself &amp; others need the info.

Thanks Again

Steve

[artgpo]

Isn't the fridge DSI? Don't you need 12V to get the spark to ignite the burner?

Why would you run anything in an RV on propane then disable the CO detector?

Just thinking.........................................

[socoguy]

Art the fridge panel and spark are 12volt. My question is if you turn the battery switch off will the fridge continue to operate afterignitionor will it recognize the lack of 12 volt power at the panel and shut the gas valve. I personally would not do this in either case but I am curious. Thanks.

[BDLuke]

socoguy, it will shut off. No different than your battery going dead.

[socoguy]

I thought so Thanks Bob.

[stevenrees]

I guess I was not being clear about my question.

My 5er is in storage and I wanted to start the fridge a day early so it would be cold when we loaded the next day.

I do not run anything without shore/ battery power while people are in it.

I turned the battery off because of my experience with my 2008 MK-33, when I left the batttery connected, the monitors would drain the battery and then the generator would not start.

To be clear---I thought that the monitors would run my battery down before I picked it up from storage.

To the people that questioned my running propane without monitors----did you have people question your intelligence when you were new to this life?? I ask questions because I want to learn how it is done, not to be put down.





steve

[Hunter11]

Steve, if you have two batteries in your current trailer and they are both up and charged you should be able to go to your trailer the day before you leave, turn the battery switch on andstart the fridge on propane. You should be fine the next day when you go to hookup to it as far as battery power. If not and both your batteires drain overnight due to the fridge running on propane and what few monitors there are in the trailer then you have other issues with it.

[socoguy]

Sorry you took offense, most of us commenting only meant to help you. You did say you disconnected the battery which in effect shut down the fridge and you were surprized or confused in the morning. Dicconnecting the battery also deactivates the propane alarm. Just thought you realized that. I don't believe anyone intended to insult your intelligence. This is a good community and you can profit from it. Have a little patience my friend.

[Flyone]

Your fridge is electronic spark ignition---it needs 12v (or 120v) in order to spark to ignight the burner. You need to leave the batt on--and it needs to be in a good charge state. Your rig will be alright on a good battery for 3 days or so. The rest of your procedure soundsspot on.

Flyone

[azandy]

Steve, to make this simple, you should be able to run a day or three on battery and propane to run your fridge.
It draws little 12 volt and mostly propane.
Your battery switch can stay on most of each year. Maybe just turn it off If your not going to use it for an extended period. Like our crappy Wisconsin winter here. Lol
I pull the battery from November to about March.
When you post a question, many people will read it and interprete it differently. It works best for you when you just pull out the info that will help. Some may sound critical, or challenging.
Hope this helps some.

[harley]

This past summer I ran for almost 5 full days on 1 battery with fridge on gas and limited use of lights and hot water ...when the battery gets to 10 volts your propane sniffer will start to beep .then just hook up the truck to the trailer ...or do like I did and finally add a 2nd battery . with switch...then just switch over to the spare battery .

[denlor]

From our experience you need 12V or 120 to lite the propane as it will not ignite otherwise.