Tracey42 Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 I know this might sound like a stupid question. How do we keep the fridge running when our motorhome is parked up in a car park for a few hours whilst we go shopping or site seeing. Do we put the fridge on gas? because i believe it will drain the battery if left too long. TC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliB Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Run it on gas. The fridge is usually only connected to 12V when the engine is running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj8one Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 1 to 2 hours should be fine without electric or gas, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J9withdogs Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 I always keep cooler ice-blocks in the freezer compartment of my motorhome fridge. These keep the fridge cool when not hooked-up or running on gas and refreeze when back at the site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Tracey42 - 2009-10-19 1:47 PM I know this might sound like a stupid question. How do we keep the fridge running when our motorhome is parked up in a car park for a few hours whilst we go shopping or site seeing. Do we put the fridge on gas? because i believe it will drain the battery if left too long. TC Run it on gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Dwight Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 You should be able to switch over to 12v when engine not running. We often leave our fridge on 12v for several hours, never had a problem yet with the battery running down. Once when in Alsace we were on an Aire I left the fridge on 12v overnight as we were getting low on gas no problems, the battery recharged on the next run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey42 Posted October 19, 2009 Author Share Posted October 19, 2009 thanks for all the advice. I think we shall switch it over to gas to be on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tp002c784tp002c784tp Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 David Dwight - 2009-10-19 2:47 PM You should be able to switch over to 12v when engine not running. We often leave our fridge on 12v for several hours, never had a problem yet with the battery running down. Once when in Alsace we were on an Aire I left the fridge on 12v overnight as we were getting low on gas no problems, the battery recharged on the next run. I was wondering how you managed this David as most Motorhome and caravans will only run on 12volts if the engine is running and via a relay, Unless your fridge is wired different to my system. I once tried a few years ago to test a fridge out of our current vehicle at that time , I wired it ( the fridge ) up direct to a fully charged battery in my workshop and it flattened the battery in 3 hours. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 2 answers to this: 1) the fridge does NOT actually run off 12v when David thinks it does - it will keep cool for quite some time anyway so he may not notice. 2) the fridge does run on 12v when the engine's off but for some reason it doesn't draw much. As a matter of note, our fridge can be run on 12v without the engine running, it's just the way it's wired up and I assume this is the way that Rimor do it normally. Because of this we have to be careful not to leave it on AES when we get home (we always turn the gas off at the bottle when the 'van is not in use) as otherwise it will flatten the battery! 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Dwight Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Mel , our fridge is switchable to run off the leisure battery, as are the rest of 12v sockets, if as you say it wasn't then it would certainly not hold up over night. Of course this doe's not mean that all fridges our wired the same way. I have had this discussion before with someone who then checked my system, and was very put out as their fridge did not work like mine. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 David Dwight - 2009-10-19 2:47 PM You should be able to switch over to 12v when engine not running. We often leave our fridge on 12v for several hours, never had a problem yet with the battery running down. Once when in Alsace we were on an Aire I left the fridge on 12v overnight as we were getting low on gas no problems, the battery recharged on the next run. David, I'm sorry to contradict you, but unless you have a battery pack the size of the Albert Hall, no you didn't. You may have turned the fridge supply switch to 12V but, because the engine wasn't running, I'm convinced no power went to the fridge. In effect, I think you must have simply left the fridge turned off.They take around 120W, maybe a little more: so about 10A at 12V. Discharged at that rate, a fully charged 85AH battery would have been as flat as your hat after somewhere around 6 hours. So far as I know, there is no thermostatic control to any of the multi-energy fridges when on 12V, so the current draw would have been constant. I assume overnight would have been rather longer than 6 hours?Since all was well (apart perhaps from the food in the fridge!), and unless your van has substantial battery capacity (say 200+AH) there can effecitvely have been no 12V power (except for the interior light, which is wired from the habitation battery) going to the fridge when the engine was stopped.However, from what you have already said, the wiring in your van is not typical, so perhaps not quite safe to use as a basis for others to follow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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