Dear Readers,
As I write in my guest essay in the RV Travel Newsletter, one of my projects for 2019 is a study of the number of solar panels and batteries needed to run a residential-style refrigerator in your RV while dry camping, without using a generator. While propane/electric refrigerators have been the norm in RVs for decades, in the last few years it’s become popular for RV manufacturers to install full-size residential refrigerators.
This is great for food storage, but means that you either need outside 120-volt power via a campsite pedestal or generator, or you have to add solar panels and batteries to your RV if you want to live “off the grid” while keeping your residential refrigerator running. My plan is to set up a full solar/battery/refrigerator system and meter it for a month or so while monitoring sunlight and weather conditions. That should give me some real-world data that I can use to predict what’s needed to work for you.
I’ve already spoken to several RV gear manufacturers about this proposed experiment, and they’re very enthusiastic about being part of it and will send me all the products I need. I love a good experiment!
Solar panels with appropriate inverter/chargers are already on their way to my shop. Plus the battery manufacturers are stepping up and sending me a number of Lithium, AGM and standard Lead-Acid cell technologies.
Already promised is an 8-cubic-foot, marine-grade refrigerator from Vitrifrigo with a 12-volt Danfoss swing compressor. This technology is electrically way more efficient than a standard residential 120-volt rotary compressor. Plus this refrigerator is built for the marine industry and designed for vibration, something that might be a problem for a residential refrigerator compressor and copper coolant pipes designed to sit in your non-moving home.
The only thing missing from a full experiment is a standard residential refrigerator similar to what you might already be using in your RV. That’s where you come in. No, I don’t need to borrow your refrigerator – I need to know what brand and model refrigerator is most commonly used in the latest RVs. Then I’ll ask the refrigerator manufacturer to send me a donor unit for the test.
Here’s how you can help. In the comments section below, simply tell me which RV you have and what brand, model and cubic-foot residential refrigerator was installed by the factory. I don’t need info on propane/electric units right now since that’s not part of this particular test. I’ll take if from there and get an appropriate residential refrigerator to complete the experiment.
Thanks for your help. Let the trials begin….
Mike Sokol is an electrical and professional sound expert with 40+ years in the industry. Visit NoShockZone.org for more electrical safety tips. His excellent book RV Electrical Safety is available at Amazon.com. For more info on Mike’s qualifications as an electrical expert, click here.
##RVT866
35′ PrimeTime Crusader 5th wheel. Retrofitted with a Whirlpool 10.7 cu ft residential fridge model WRT111SFDM.
42’ Blue Ridge 5er Kitchenaide model KBFS20ECMS00 double door with ice maker and water dispenser
45′ Jayco Seismic 4350 With a Frigidare Side By Side with ice maker.
It has an Inverter in the coach but keep having issue with it 3 replaced so far.
I have a theory about why there’s been so many failures of Inverters running residential refrigerators. More on this later, but I don’t think that modified sine wave inverters are appropriate for this application and can have failures of both the inverter and refrigerator compressor.
I have worked in refrigeration for a little over 50 years and the bouncing around on the road is of little concern. the compressor is spring mounted and the copper will work harden but most likely the unit will wear out before then. On typical residential units the duty cycle is about 30% or so. Meaning that is the amount of time that the unit will actually run. That translates into around 250 watts per hour when running or around 2250 watts per day. Not actually a lot but it pulls in the neighborhood of around 2 amps at 120 VAC. You will most likely need solar panels of around 250 watts to supply enough power for a 24 hour day. This should be a pretty close ballpark number.
I’ve heard this directly from a residential refrigerator supplier, so I’ll need to get more information to validate their hypothesis. But it is true that a number of refrigerator manufacturers will void the product warranty if it’s installed in an RV. Back in the day I used to design shaker tables to simulate packages taking road trips on UPS trucks. I don’t think I’m prepared to go down that rabbit hole right now, but at least I could talk to a few refrigerator engineers about their product testing procedure and if travel vibration could be a problem in a few years. Right now it appears that more inverters are blowing up than refrigerators are failing. More to study…
General Electric – Model GSH22JSDB SS
22 CU FT.
Side by side w/ice maker & water filter
Fleetwood Providence 42P
Same here. FW Providence 42M.
Whirlpool 20FDBM residential 6.5 full load
Samsung model RF18 HFENBBC-
18 cuft with ice maker, no water in door. Run off a 600 watt inverter.
PFSS2MIX GE Profile 22.2 Cu. Ft. Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator with Internal Dispenser.
*GE website states this model is no longer being manufatured
2006 Winnebago Journey 32t retrofitted with GE 15.5 GTE16GSHSS refrigerator. Magnum 2000 pure sine inverter with 800 watts solar panels. 4-6 volt arm batteries. Will be adding separate 1000 watt inverter dedicated to refer and additional batteries. No problems running refer while off power. Replaced horrible 4 door NotCold!
Mike, the OEM fridge in my 2002 Monaco Windsor PBT was a NotSoCold aka Norcold 12 cu.ft 4-door which was a fire hazard. It was a disaster waiting to happen. I had it removed in April 2012 and installed a Samsung model RF-197 residential French door 18 cu.ft fridge powered by a Xantrex/Trace MSW 2000 W Inverter with 4 – 6 VDC GC-2 Batteries wired in series/parallel. Best decision and upgrade to the coach I have ever done. The newest version of this fridge is the Samsung model RF-18. Another very popular fridge that Monaco member’s have been installing is the Fisher/Paykel model RF170ADX4-N or model RF170ADUSX4-N.
Great news! there is alot of information on solar,but what versions are the honest and correct ones! I can trust your opinion!
We have a 2017 Tiffin Allegro Open Road with an LG mod.LTCS2022OS.
Terry, thanks for putting your trust in me. Since I don’t sell anything, I’m not beholden to any manufacturer or technology. And I don’t believe marketing publications, only technical white papers from engineers. Even then I do peer review of any conclusions they make in these papers, and will often talk to the head of the engineering departments that released the papers. That’s absolute gold for me since I now have a basis for setting up an experiment and gathering data. Of course this takes time since I don’t have all this gear sitting in my shop. But the RV accessory manufacturers are really hyped that I’m doing these tests and sending me review samples of everything I ask for. Once I get an experiment running I’ll do weekly updates on RVelectricity.com. But remember, raw data is really raw so it’s hard to draw conclusions until we interpret it. I’m fishing for a grant so I can afford to do more of these experiments, but I think it’s important that someone with an engineering background do these evaluations.
2019 Sunseeker. Dometic DM2652. About 44 CU Ft.
Vanleigh Vilano 325Rl. Samsung 18 cu ft; RF18HFENBSR
Replaced the original Dometic refrigerator with finally a Fridgidaire 9.9 cu. ft Uses 110 VAC. I have a 100 watt solar panel connected to a Goal Zero 1250 watt inverter generator that I run an extension cord from the fridge to the generator, The solar panels keeps the generator charged. In the process of pucessing a generator since the solar panel only gives me 39 watts of charging power at full sun. Had a wake up call power out for 15 days due to wildfire in Idylwild , CA. Southern Edison cut off the power Anza Electric CoOperative needed to rent 5 industrial generators in order to help their solar system out. In order to give electricity to the surrounding areas of Idyllwild.
2009 Tiffin Phaeton w/GE Profile 22.2 cu Ft bottom freezer, French doors, ice maker, water dispenser.
2018 Tiffin Alkegro Red, Whirlpool model WRF540CWBM01
We have a Samsung RF18 with ice maker in our 2016 Fleetwood Bounder 33c. Would like to know how much solar is needed.
I have a 2018 Grand Design Solitude 310GK-R which came with a residential 120 volt Samsung 18 cu. ft. French Door refrigerator with ice maker. My RV has a 2000 watt full sine wave inverter. I dry camped at Quartzsite last year for 8 days with no solar. I have four 6-volt 240 amp hr. deep cycle batteries (480 total amp hours at 12 volts) which I charged each day for 3 hours with my generators (two 2000 watt inverter generators). Each day before I charged the batteries, they would have gone down to 2/3 full charge (thus I used about 160 amp hours running the refrigerator, lights, 2 tvs furnace, pumps, etc. each day).
2015 Heartland Cyclone 4200 toy hauler
Refrigerator is an LG model LFC 22770 ST
Two solar panel s with Go Power 30 app PWM digital solar controller and Xantrex/pro XM 1000 inverter. Two marine batteries.
2017 Tiffin Phaeton 40AH with Whirlpool residential fridge. 1000 Watts solar, 6 AGM oversize 6 volt house batteries, Midnite solar controller, 2000 magna sine inverter, 10000 watt generator. Boondocking in desert- hardly ever ever have to start generator!
I have a 2014 Entegra with a GE MODEL GSCS3PGXGFSS
110-127 VAC 60HZ 11.6 AMPS
It eats power!
We have the Whirlpool ED2FHEXVS and it is powered by a PSW inverter with 8 GC2s behind it. Thanks, Mike.
Picking a residential fridge that is not an energy star one is not a valid comparison. There are many residential energy efficient fridges out there, please pick one for your study.
I would also be interested in seeing a loaded with room temperature items and then steady state after everything is cold.
That’s part of the plan. I’ll load it full of warm beer and see how long it takes to reach proper drinking temperature. Yes, I’ll do real food as well…
2015 Tiffin Allegro Open Road with Whirlpool WRT359SFYM02. Runs off 110 V from 4-batteries and factory-installed inverter.
This is not a refrigerator I would recommend to anyone. I’ve had circuit board failures and I fear the door latch (plastic!) is about to break off. None of that, however, is likely related to it being a 110v AC home-style refrigerator.
Check out the new retrofit cooling units from JC Refrigeration; They have 12vDC and 120VAC models that use HVAC compressors. They say that the 120V model runs a 0.8A and the 12V model draws 5.5A DC. The retrofits fit the popular 4 door refrig (Norcold 1200) and Dometic side by side fridges. Please include this option in your test as it is by far the most cost effective as it keeps the existing fridge box but replaces the cooling unit with a compressor.
2005 Holiday Rambler Navigator with residential fridge installed. Samsung RF18
Remodeled Airstream with Avanti 7.4 cu.ft. refrig 400 watts solar 400 ahrs lithium and 2000 watts pure sine after 1 year seems to be working pretty well, no generator.
Please be careful in interpreting this data. Lots of people, me included, are replacing absorption refrigerators with residential. In my circles, like Dr4Film-Richard, there are a lot of Samsung units, first RF197 then RF18. But, if you want to know what manufacturers are currently using, it seems (from my limited RV Show browsing) to be mostly Whirlpool/equivalent with some GE mixed in. You may need to poll manufacturers directly if that’s the data you’re aiming for.
The other consideration, of course, is that a solar-residential configuration could be standalone for just the refrigerator but more likely part of the whole RV’s systems. So, any solar system would have to be sized to handle all the loads, not just the refrigerator.
As an aside, I have the Samsung RF197 in an RV with 8 GC2 batteries and 960 watts of solar, and I can power everything with no generator use as long as there is 8-10 good hours of sunlight. And diesel for the hot water. And no microwave, hair dryer, or curling iron. And of course, no air conditioning. ?
2012 Monaco Knight 36PFT. Frigidaire 23 cuft FGHC2335LE0.
2015 Thor Tuscany 4RX with Whirlpool GI0FSAXVY011
Mike, this is Greg Illes (rvtravel writer)….
I’m SUPER interested in your project, and have for some time been considering this conversion. I’m presently running 360AH of lithium batteries, with 400W of solar. I suspect the batteries are adequate but the solar is not, but it’s hard to tell with the minimal information available on fridge power consumption.
I’d love to swap ideas and info, any time.
Hi Mike. I have a 2016 Grand Design Solitude ST300GK-R that came with a Samsung RF18HFENBSP. I love the fridge and would never go back to LP/12 volt. Looking forward to hearing about your test results.
Maytag french door in my 2013 Thor Tuscany.
I have a 20 cubic foot Whirlpool 3 door G10FSAXVY in my 2018 Entegra Aspire with 4 large AGM batteries.
Rickster-1
I am very interested in your experiment and would like to know the outcome. I have a 2015 Forest River Cardinal and a Frigidaire Gallery 22.6 cu. ft. with ice maker. I also plan to put in the correct number of batteries and solar panels to get off the grid. I am very interest in your undertaking. Please let me know the results and recommendations. Thanks again…
Mike.
We have a 2006 Bounder and just replace the original rv refrig with a residential Haier HA10TG21SB 9.8 cubic foot. It fit into the cabinet perfectly too! We are very interested in your experiment!
Hi Mike
2017 Forest River 34QS
2K pure sine wave inverter
4 @ 16L 390 Ah AGM batteries
480 Watts solar
Frigidaire 16cf reefer Model-FFHT1621QS
I have a lot to say about your interest on these subjects. But way too long for here. I would like to share my experiences with you & what I’ve learned on this subject of inverters, batterie, solar & refrigerators Let me know on how to contact you if you’re interested.
Dave
I installed a 10.7 cf Whirpool because it fit in the same space as the 8.5cf Norcold.
1500 watt MSW inverter, 500 watts of solar, 4 GC batteries.
RR and other minor (tv, sat dish, led lights) stuff will use about 100ah over night, 100% soc by 10 am in good sun, cloudy days longer.
Installed about 8 months ago, no problems so far.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Whirlpool-10-7-cu-ft-Top-Freezer-Refrigerator-Black/50301515
We have a 2017 Jayco North Point 377RLBH. We have a 22.2 CU side-by-side Fridgidaire with ice maker & water dispenser (FGHC2331PFAA).
We’re wanting to install solar panels in the future, so I’m excited to see what you discover with this research. #NursingOurTravelBug
2006 Beaver Monterey
2000W Magnum inverter W/400AH AGM batteries
Samsung RF18 (installed with it’s own Xantrex 750W pure sine wave inverter and Xantrex automatic transfer switch)
When I bought the Beaver 2 years ago, the original Dometic was dead. With a little research, I determined that most owners of Monaco built coaches of the era were using the Samsung 18 cubic foot counter depth residential fridge for the conversion (mostly because it fit the hole). The other option would have been the Fisher Paykel, but it was almost double the price. I have been very happy with the Samsung. It consumes about 1.8kwh per day. I anxiously await your results since I currently only have the original 100W solar panel, so my next project is solar expansion.
Mike
Before I purchased my Samsung RF18, I spoke to Samsung customer service about my plans. The Samsung rep said they did not recommend usage in an RV and doing so would negate any warranty. I am hoping that in your discussions with Mfg’s, you can influence company’s like Samsung to change their tune. Obviously, I bought the Samsung anyway and have been very happy with it (no need for warranty service).
Richard,
The problem is that Samsung (and most other residential refrigerator manufacturers) suspect that their products could have a shortened life by bouncing them around in an RV going down the road. Not only could the internal workings of the compressor be damaged by road vibration, these residential refrigerators use copper tubing to connect the floating compressor to the other working parts of the refrigerator.
This constant flexing of the copper pipes from road vibration may eventually work harden them, causing the copper turning to break and leak freon all over the place. This is one of the reasons I’m studying these products for overall operation. It’s not quite as simple as selecting the same refrigerator you can get in Best Buy and hooking it onto whatever inverter they can get for cheap. I think that the residential refrigerator manufacturers are denying warranties on their units installed in RVs because they suspect some additional failure mechanism. My gut feel is that the RV manufacturers may not have done their homework and there could be premature refrigerator failures from road vibration. That’s one of the things I’ll be looking at…
It seems that the refrigerator manufacturers didn’t have a problem with selling the RV industry thousands & hundreds of thousands to them. To add to that my reefer warranty expired & they sent me an application for an extended 1 yr warranty for $38.00, when I got it, the fine print said VOID if used in a recreational vehicle. So who’s calling the pot black here? However I can see issues relating to what Mike said!
Dave
I’m not sure there IS a problem with residential refrigerators in RVs. But when manufacturers start voiding warranties then it needs to be looked at seriously. So I’m going to make it part of my study. At least I should be able to get white papers from the various refrigerator manufacturers to read and ponder on….
Hi Mike,
2016 Augusta Luxe 39FB
Magnum MS-2812 pure sine wave inverter
Four 6-volt 190 AH AGM batteries (380 AH @ 12V)
Three 160 Watt solar panels (480 W total)
LG 21 cu.ft. factory-installed residential refrigerator
model LFC21776ST
We are full-timers, more often than not at a full hook-up RV park, with very little dry camping experience. However, on a typical travel day with about 8 hours between pedestals, the battery monitor rarely drops off 100% state-of-charge, implying that the solar panels easily keep up with the draw from the fridge.
We are replacing our norcold 18cu ft unit with this LG model being delivered in one week. I did notice the shelves slide inward for storing larger items. Have you had any issues with this during travel? Do you use spring bars to keep items from shifting during travel?
Thanks!
Kirk
NOT factory installed, but now we have a Samsung 18 cubic foot residential fridge.
We also have 1440 watts solar installed by AM Solar, 3 8D aAGM batteries, Victron solar controller and invertor charger.
To add, this a 2003 Foretravel motorhome, with 10KW diesel generator.
We have a 25 cu ft Whirlpool, model #WRS965CIAM00, in a 2014 DRV Suites.
We have an 08 Tiffin Allegro Bus that came from the factory with a Maytag MCD2257KES 21.6 cu ft.
2017 Allegro Bus. Maytag refrig
Mike we have a Whirlpool Side by Side refrigerator, model number GI0FSAXVY011, in our 2014 Thor Tuscany 40RX Class A. It’s a 36″, 19.7 CF unit.
I have this same refrigerator in my 2017 Thor Challenger 37 LX.
Whirlpool side by side, bottom freezer. 20cu ft Model GI0FSAXVY012. Phaeton 40AH
Mike,
We have a Whirlpool, 30-inch Wide French Door Refrigerator – 19.7 cu. ft.
Model #: WRF540CWBM01
From the Topeka Indiana factory, where our 2017 Forrest River Cedar Creek Champagne came from, we have installed, (1) 200 watt solar panel, a Go Power GP-PWM-30 solar controller, a 1000 watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter WF-5110HP, and (4) Interstate Deep Cycle Marine/RV SRM-24 550-CCA 690-MCA batteries. The (4) batteries were rewired by the dealership to be parallel.
Two weeks ago while RV was in a storage lot in Las Vegas, in full sun for three days, freezer held at zero for two days and on third day we found it at 32 degrees, with batteries completely discharged.
Only three items ran on DC while in storage: Refrigerator, CO2 alarm and digital clock in radio.
Mike in our gas Tiffin Allegro Open Road 2016 32SA, we have an LG LTCS20220S/01…defrosting at 240W, and ice maker at 191W…20.2cu…
I run a 9.1 cu ft 12V Novacold marine fridge with a true 12V compressor. It is now about four years old. Everything else in the coach that can be is run on 12V, but a 2,000 Magnasine takes care of 110V needs when required.
Our bus conversion has two 600 watt banks of flexible solar panels (currently snow covered in Calgary), but usually adequate to run the fridge and everything else we really need without a gen set of any sort. They do not get great efficiency due to being wrapped around two sides of a round roof, but on sunny days will pull in 400 watts plus and on dull days still enough to get by.
Four 6V batteries (at 120 lbs each) provide adequate storage for the dark or no sunshine hours.
My 2016 Cedar Creek, 36CKTS, came with a Whirlpool, French door, bottom freezer with inside water dispenser and ice maker. Model #: WRF 540 CWB. 20.0 Cu Ft. We live full time in our RV, and therefore use the Whirlpool 24/7 either on shore power or my 4 6 volt batteries as we travel around the continent (just came back from a 3 month trip to Alaska).
“Here’s how you can help. In the comments section below, simply tell me which RV you have and what brand, model and cubic-foot residential refrigerator was installed by the factory.” We have a 2013 Tiffin Allegro Bus QGP 43 with a Whirlpool model GI0FSAXVY010 residential refrigerator.
2018 Forest River Columbus 320RS with LG inverter Linear Model LFC21776ST/06, 115V 60HZ 4.2 amp 350 watt, 2017
MADE IN CHINA, UGH.
Samsung RF18.
2018 Montana 3731FL, Samsung 18 cu ft; RF18HFENBSR. I find it curious that Samsung voids warrenty and advises against RV installation at the same time they are supplying them to Keystone. Not sure if my dealer knows of this since he sold me a warrenty for life that includes all the appliances. Time will tell.
Whirlpool GI0FSAXVY011 in a 2014 Winnebago Tour coach.
2017 Thor Palazzo 33.3 with a Whirlpool model Wrt518szfm00. Really appreciate what you’re doing!
Hi Mike,
We have a 2017 Coachmen Chapparl 5th wheel; model # 391QSMB. It came factory equipped with a Hisense 15.8 cubic foot, residential refrigerator.
Model # BCD-376WYB/HC1 (EXH1).
2019 Winnebago Outlook. Came with a Danby 7.3 cu.ft. refrigerator, model # DPF073C1BSLDD.
2018 Newmar Ventana LE – we have the manufacturer option:
Whirlpool 19.7 Refrigerator, 2000 Watt Pure Sine Inverter & Six 6-Volt Batteries and 22 gal. Propane Tank (std with propane refrig would have been 4 batteries and 32 gal propane)
Whirlpool Model no. WRF560SEYM05
I have a 2010 Winnebago Adventurer 35Z that was retrofitted by the previous owner with a Samsung RF197ACRS.
I have a Samsung Model RT18M6213SG in a New Horizons 36ft Summit
We have a 2017 Forrest River Riverstone with a 20 cubic LG fridge.
Thanks for taking on this research project! We have a 2018 Tiffin Allegro Open Road 32 SA. The residential refrigerator is Maytag MRT118FFFM01. It also has ice maker. It’s designed to work off my inverter but the inverter needs to be replaced. I am considering getting 3 solar panels but not sure yet. I look forward to your research and survey results.
We have a 2015 Fleetwood Expedition, 38K, that came with a Whirlpool, 19 Cu. Ft. side by side refrigerator. I do not have the model number. It failed last January, but we couldn’t get anyone to work on it. RV dealerships and repair services wouldn’t because it was a residential refrigerator. Appliance repair services wouldn’t touch it because it was in an RV. We were on a trip, so we had it replaced by Classic Coach Works in Florida. They suggested Samsung, but we chose another Whirlpool, model WRF560SEYM05, which could be delivered faster and more cheaply through the local Lowe’s. So far so good with it, and the wife is pleased with its features. The coach came with six flooded cell batteries and a pure sine wave inverter. I try not to test it, but if necessary the batteries will power the refrigerator for more than 24 hours if the doors are kept closed and other battery drains are minimized.
Sorry, it was not a side by side refrigerator, but was a freezer on top model. I believe the model number was WRT359SFYM.
This finger pointing as to who will work on a residential refrigerator in an RV puts an important spin on this study. I can’t imagine an equivalent situation in the automobile or trucking industry. In both of those groups there’s a vetting process as to the selection and integration of nearly every part and sub-assembly that goes into a car or truck. One of my colleagues ran a company that manufactured cables for motor vehicles. They made things like emergency brake cables, speedometer cables, every kind of cable that went into a vehicle. There were complex design procedures that assured these parts were going to fit and work properly, stocking procedures that made sure previous year parts would still be available for repair, etc… But because the interior of an RV is more domicile than vehicle that design and testing procedure is apparently lacking.
Hi Mike, I have a 2015 Dynamax DX3-37RB that has, as OEM equipment, a 22 cubic foot Frigidaire three door refrigerator (Model # LGHB2867PFLA S/N 4A64915456. I bought the DX3 new in May, 2014. After the third winterizing, this unit developed a tiny leak in one of the water supply/ice maker hoses when I dewinterized it. At the 2017 FROG Rally, I was told by a Dynamax manager that my use of RV antifreeze had weakened the hose. I had tried just using compressed air but, I was concerned that ALL the water had not been blown out (hence the additional step of using RV antifreeze). By the way, the water filter inside the fridge REMOVES the pink colorant!). Dynamax was unable to look at the fridge at the FROG Rally and, asked if I could stop at the factory after the rally. I agreed and, after waiting a couple of days at the factory, Greg and Marty (the “Repair Department”) got to my DX3. I suggested they get a “platform” that the fridge could be pulled out onto (the fridge is 9″+ off the floor). A platform was made and, after pulling the fridge out of its’ enclosure, they opened the valve that supplied water to the fridge. A tiny (but steady) stream of water made the leak’s location obvious. The factory had NO repair parts. One of the Dynamax crew drove to the nearest Menards for parts. The section with the hole was cut out and replaced. When the water was turned back on, there was a SECOND leak! Back to Menards. The fridge leaked returned again in 2018. This time, a different employee (who was obviously untrained and clueless about fridge repair) attacked the problem. He wound up shutting off water to my lower ice maker and, the water on the door was no longer chilled but, failede to find the leak. I offered to BUY a new refrigerator. Boy, you’d think I had asked for body parts. I left the factory after a Dynamax manager chided me for “taking up residence” in one of their RV parking spots. My Super-C was apparently designed by Shemp & Curly Joe and, was built by Moe, Larry and Curly. The manager who chided me online (Bryan Clemmens) had, years earlier (after I complained online) that my rig was built by Moe, Larry and Curly, posted “I fired those guys”! What he DIDN’T do, was to get my rig back to the factory for a PROPER Quality Control Inspection (I expect he knew how many problems would be found and, he didn’t want to deal with them). They had my money I had an RV; I should just shut up, go away was the impression I left with. By the way; documentation for the 2015 model year was VERY poor. I had BEGGED Matt Swihart (Service Manager back then) for instructions as how to properly winterize all the residential appliances in my rig. Matt told me repeatedly that said information was online. I found winterizing instructions for RV appliances but NOT for residential ones. My request to Matt for a HYPERLINK was never answered.
PS: I would be VERY interested in attending your seminars. I look forward to meeting you in person!
Regards,
John Koenig
We have a 2012 Winnebago Journey diesel 36m with a 20 ft whirlpool refrigerator model
mfi 2067AES9. Absolutely no problems.
I work for a RV dealer and I see mostly Whirlpool ans Samsung, I put a Whirlpool in my 5th wheel.
UPDATE: My Vitrifrigo 12-volt DC Marine/RV refrigerator just arrived, which is one important piece of the puzzle. I’m now in the process of selecting a demo 120-volt residential refrigerator for the test, and I already have a Xantrex inverter. I’m still waiting on solar panels and batteries, but those should be here in another week or so, then the testing will begin. Thanks for all your feedback so far.
Mike, all of this refrigerator info just came to my email( RVTRAVEL). It’s 7 months old. Why so long on emails/important info and what’s the current status on your testing as of today-06-15-2019?
Thank you!
Still waiting for my solar panels for a full test, but I have some preliminary watt/hr usage numbers I can publish soon. Since I have zero budget for this, I have to beg for gear from manufacturers, and that takes a lot longer than simply writing a check. Sorry…
My refrigerator is a Whirlpool model WRT111SFDMC1 I’m unsure as to the cubic feet I’m guessing about 20cuft . It is installed in a 35ft Thor Miramar 34.3
2019 Fleetwood Flair 29M:
I have a Whirlpool model#WRT111SFDM04( freezer on top) , 2x170w solar panels, 2- 6vlt Lifeline AGM Batteries and a Giandel 4000/8000W inverter. Not sure of cu.ft., as it didn’t specify on the sticker inside fridge.
My Whirlpool WRR111SFDM04 is 11 cu.ft. According to Whirlpools website.
2018 Winnebago View 24D came with Norcold 7 cu foot compressor – DE0061. Also came with
200 watts of solar, 1000 watt inverter and runs off of 2 6 volt golf cart batteries. Originally came with
2 12 volt batteries but not enough amps so replaced with 6 volt – much better!
Boon dock a lot and as long as we have sun works perfectly!
Some new owners had a bad thermostat and had problems, once replaced ran fine!
I just installed a 2019 Magic Chef 10.0 cu ft. Model Number HMDR1000BE. I purchased it from Home Depot 3 weeks ago. I do not run it through my RV inverter. Refrigerator has a dedicated power cord to the electric meter. Freezer on top. Frig on bottom. I love it.
Amy. I installed the Vissani 9.9 cu ft. in my Sprinter van 3 yrs. ago and it’s still doing great .I have the Xantrex 1kw psw inverter 300 watts solar , 200 amp batts LA . This frig uses R 600 which is propane. Before install I partialy incased the compressor in foam so it could not move. Model # HVDR1040 W
We have a 2021 Thor Challenger 37FH with a Whirlpool WRS321SDHZ05… we currently have 4 sealed 6-volt batteries and 480 watts of solar on the roof… we will find out very quickly if this is enough or not.