DouglasW Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Am unclear about the fridge when driving. Is it normal to leave it running on propane when on the road. I have an add-on 1000 watt inverter installed in my Warrior and wired to the AC plugs (including the fridge) Would my alternator be robust enough to keep the coach battery charging and also run the fridge when I'm motoring. Propane runs the fridge better, no question, but not sure about driving with propane burning. What's normally done? DougW on Gabriola Island, B.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I run mine on propane while driving with no problem that said it is a good ideal to turn it off when you refuel. Most of the time I run it on propane even when I camp some where with power it would probably run months on propane with out a refill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 ... it is a good idea to turn it off when you refuel. Beyond being a good idea, is it not also a legal requirement? I know I don't smoke or run the engine while I'm pumping gas. A good law, IMHO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Most of these rigs have 3 way fridges. If yours does you can put it on 12 volt while on the road. Standard alternator would probably not be enough to run ridge on AC while on the road and you would not have full charge on coach battery when you stop. I run propane but do check it from time to time to make sure pilot is still lit. Yes you are supposed to turn off propane when you refuel but I'm not so good about that and I haven't blown up yet Linda S Am unclear about the fridge when driving. Is it normal to leave it running on propane when on the road. I have an add-on 1000 watt inverter installed in my Warrior and wired to the AC plugs (including the fridge) Would my alternator be robust enough to keep the coach battery charging and also run the fridge when I'm motoring. Propane runs the fridge better, no question, but not sure about driving with propane burning. What's normally done? DougW on Gabriola Island, B.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 ... and I haven't blown up yet Linda S If you had, who'd be left standing to report it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanman Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 linda s Most of these rigs have 3 way fridges. If yours does you can put it on 12 volt while on the road. Standard alternator would probably not be enough to run ridge on AC while on the road and you would not have full charge on coach battery when you stop. I run propane but do check it from time to time to make sure pilot is still lit. Yes you are supposed to turn off propane when you refuel but I'm not so good about that and I haven't blown up yet Linda S Being an old geeser I remember the days when gas vapors abounded around any running pump/tank being filled and venting the displaced air. Most places I've been to lately have vapor recovery systems on the pumps and I think there's been design improvements in the Vehicles a well ??? vanman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Most of these rigs have 3 way fridges. If yours does you can put it on 12 volt while on the road. Standard alternator would probably not be enough to run ridge on AC while on the road and you would not have full charge on coach battery when you stop. I run propane but do check it from time to time to make sure pilot is still lit. Yes you are supposed to turn off propane when you refuel but I'm not so good about that and I haven't blown up yet Linda S Being an old geeser I remember the days when gas vapors abounded around any running pump/tank being filled and venting the displaced air. Most places I've been to lately have vapor recovery systems on the pumps and I think there's been design improvements in the Vehicles a well ??? I think most of these rigs do not have 3way, most only propane and 120 volt ac (shore power). But if you do have a 3 way and decide to run it from 12vdc while driving my suggestion is to set it up with a relay and a flashing alert led light of some sort. The 12vdc coils want a huge amount of amperage. A few minuets in bumper to bumper traffic will run down your coach battery in no time. The relay supply's 12vdc power the the refer, the relay is activated by a switch on the dash. The reason for the relay is you do not have to run heavy gauge wire all the way to the dash and back to the refer. And you can turn it on and off at will. The switch should also get its power from the ignition so that only when the engine is running and the switch is on will the relay get power to supply power to the refer. The 12vdc refer heater coils draw about 15 amps if I remember. The flashing alert light should actually get its power from the refer side of the relay. That way if the light is flashing you know the relay is actually supplying power to the refer. If its not flashing the relay or led light has failed. Now for the bad news. The 12vdc and 120vac side uses a heating element. It does not get hot instantly. It conducts its heat through the side of the heating chimney, It takes awhile to get hot enough and is not very efficient. The propane side is far more efficient than the electric side. There is allot of debate about running you refer on propane while driving. The open flame scenario, getting into a crash with a propane leak or spilled fuel, KA-BOOM. 99.9% of RV fires are engine related, engine overheats or there's an electrical problem. Youtube RV fires, see what you get. I never shut down the refer when getting gasoline (this is not a recommendation). Gasoline fumes are heavier that air and the refer is high above the ground. In home garages if there is a water heater in the garage it is required to be on a platform above the floor because the gasoline fumes are heavier that air. When was the last time you heard about a RV blowing up in a gas station? Getting your propane tank filled is not the same. Definitely turn off all propane appliances when getting the propane tank refilled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 DouglasW; The answer to your question is Yes, you could run the frig on the inverter while driving down the road. Keep in mind it will draw about 10 amps at 12 volts. If you have a standard 55 amp alternator, this could be putting you close to the capacity of your alternator, especially if you have the headlights, Radio, Windshield wipers, and the A/C blowing on high. When I installed my Inverter, I also put an outlet in the Frig Exterior compartment. The outlet is mainly for running 110 volt stuff outside when we are parked (Don't need to run extension cord from outlets inside the Toyhouse), but I could just as easily plug the Frig into it, (i.e. maybe ran out of propane while on the road). If I do this I need to be aware of the other loads I'm putting on the trucks electrical system. PROPANE USE To give you an idea of propane use. I think if you ran nothing else except the frig, it would last about 3 weeks. (see calculations below) On our two week Christmas Trip, with the exception of one night that we had shore power, our frig stayed on propane. (Yes, even when we were fueling up, although its recommended to turn off all pilot lights while gassing up) About 1/2 of those nights, I hooked up our external BBQ tank, particularly if it was cold (10 deg F) and the furnace and heater were running all night. We had one night that I did not hook up the external tank, (Roswell NM, snowing blizzard, spent about 16 hours in Sam's club parking lot) In the two weeks, our Horizontal tank was almost empty, and the BBQ tank was about 1/2. One thing we did notice, when driving down the road, if there are strong wind gusts from the drivers side, the frig flame would occasionally blow out. We seen this once or twice a day when driving with strong gusts, So we got in the habit of checking the flame a couple times a day when we were driving. Propane is about 91,000btu per gallon, Tank holds about 4 gallons, Dometic frig, consumes about 600btu per hour. doing the math comes out to about 20 days John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I am guessing you do not have the 12v dc element in yours (neither do I) I would run it on propane - in about 20k miles mine only "blew out" (pilot light) a couple of times in extremely stormy conditions, The inverter thing might work but you might well have other issues over the long run. The way these are wired the coach battery does not always get charged "right". Am unclear about the fridge when driving. Is it normal to leave it running on propane when on the road. I have an add-on 1000 watt inverter installed in my Warrior and wired to the AC plugs (including the fridge) Would my alternator be robust enough to keep the coach battery charging and also run the fridge when I'm motoring. Propane runs the fridge better, no question, but not sure about driving with propane burning. What's normally done? DougW on Gabriola Island, B.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I am guessing you do not have the 12v dc element in yours (neither do I) I would run it on propane - in about 20k miles mine only "blew out" (pilot light) a couple of times in extremely stormy conditions, The inverter thing might work but you might well have other issues over the long run. The way these are wired the coach battery does not always get charged "right". My 1986 Sunrader 21 has a 3 way fridge in it; it also came with the instruction manual and the propan tank itself (horizontal stock I believe) has a HUGE warning sticker that says "the Driver shall NOT operate this vehicle without closing main gas valve" "Do not operate gas appliances while the coach is in motion". Also, the instruction manual for the 3 way Dometic says that as a "safety feature" that the ignitor to the fridge is disconnected after the engine has been shutoff for X minutes. ( cant remember the value of X off of the top of my head.) Thus should you want to run gas while driving after a fill up and your Pilot went out you must aim-a-flame it to life? just curious as all of my alternators from auto zone that died died with Fridge on 12 volt... Im with Waiter in that I think I will start using the gas option but want to know the best approach... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Frig shouldn't draw more than 10 amps on 12 volts. The Alternator should be able to run at capacity with no problem, unless it had a weak or bad diode trio. If I have time, I like to take my alternator to a local alternator shop, they go through it check all the diodes, put new brushes and bearings in it, about the same price as the Auto Zone, and I know I have an alternator that will last another 100,000. Yes, I probably should turn off the propane frig when I gas up, my bad. The odds of something happening are very remote, but the consequences are devastating. (Something like , the guy filling up on the other side of the island squirts some gas out of the nozzle and it sprays across the frig compartment. (HHUUMMM, I think I just talked myself into turning of the frig when I pull into the gas station) John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Frig shouldn't draw more than 10 amps on 12 volts. The Alternator should be able to run at capacity with no problem, unless it had a weak or bad diode trio. If I have time, I like to take my alternator to a local alternator shop, they go through it check all the diodes, put new brushes and bearings in it, about the same price as the Auto Zone, and I know I have an alternator that will last another 100,000. Yes, I probably should turn off the propane frig when I gas up, my bad. The odds of something happening are very remote, but the consequences are devastating. (Something like , the guy filling up on the other side of the island squirts some gas out of the nozzle and it sprays across the frig compartment. (HHUUMMM, I think I just talked myself into turning of the frig when I pull into the gas station) John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto John, does your rig shut off your propane ignitor? when you find the pilot has been blown out how are you relighting it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I have an 86 Sunrader too and have original dometic manual. I can't find anything about shutting down igniter when vehicle is off. I mean when your camping and you need to light the fridge, you don't need to start the engine first. I keep mine on 110 at home but light propane when I need to wash it. Engine has been off for days but propane lights right up Linda S John, does your rig shut off your propane ignitor? when you find the pilot has been blown out how are you relighting it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I have an 86 Sunrader too and have original dometic manual. I can't find anything about shutting down igniter when vehicle is off. I mean when your camping and you need to light the fridge, you don't need to start the engine first. I keep mine on 110 at home but light propane when I need to wash it. Engine has been off for days but propane lights right up Linda S no no, not when the vehicle is just "off" for some time...off; as in immediately right after engine was on for x minutes the fridge ignitor is disabled. after X minutes the relay is back on again for the electric ignitor. I am at work or I would scan and paste Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Totem; I have a mechanical pizo igniter, press the button and it gets a distinct "click" and a spark. I've seen some frigs that have electronic ignition, mine does not. no auto shutoff or any of that. I have two positions, GAS or ELEC (GAS is LP and ELEC is 110Vac) JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Totem; I have a mechanical pizo igniter, press the button and it gets a distinct "click" and a spark. I've seen some frigs that have electronic ignition, mine does not. no auto shutoff or any of that. I have two positions, GAS or ELEC (GAS is LP and ELEC is 110Vac) JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Yes, this is what I meant;. mine has the electric "automatic" ignition. it will (according to its own brain) attempt to light the gas when the switch is set to "On" and will even try to switch to gas if the battery mode is selected and the battery level drops below a certain voltage. During this an audible click clik clik clik is heard. if it fails to light and the battery voltage is too low and there is no 110 it will start flashing red led fault light then proceed to drain the battery dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 You have a newer fridge. Automatic light stuff was not available in 86. We only had old mechanical pezio lighters Linda Yes, this is what I meant;. mine has the electric "automatic" ignition. it will (according to its own brain) attempt to light the gas when the switch is set to "On" and will even try to switch to gas if the battery mode is selected and the battery level drops below a certain voltage. During this an audible click clik clik clik is heard. if it fails to light and the battery voltage is too low and there is no 110 it will start flashing red led fault light then proceed to drain the battery dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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