I have no choice but to replace my fridge as it quit working. I have been looking at the NovaKool 3800 but would really like to purchase an Engel SR 70
Here is what I currently have: Dometic 2354
Dimensions: 21 7/8 (w) x 30 3/16 (h) x 22 3/4 (d)
Recess: 20.5 x 29.75 x 21 3/8
Engel
Exterior Dimensions (W x H x D) 19.9" x 20.9" x 23.1"
Cut Out Dimensions 18.5" x 20.5" x 20.7"
I am thinking about adding a drawer under the fridge for extra storage.
I currently do not have solar and have 2 new Duracell 27 rv batteries with 80 amp hours each.
Power draw for the Engel: Variable from 0.5 - 2.7Amps (12/24V DC)
I have no choice but to replace my fridge as it quit working. I have been looking at the NovaKool 3800 but would really like to purchase an Engel SR 70
Here is what I currently have: Dometic 2354
Dimensions: 21 7/8 (w) x 30 3/16 (h) x 22 3/4 (d)
Recess: 20.5 x 29.75 x 21 3/8
Engel
Exterior Dimensions (W x H x D) 19.9" x 20.9" x 23.1"
Cut Out Dimensions 18.5" x 20.5" x 20.7"
I am thinking about adding a drawer under the fridge for extra storage.
I currently do not have solar and have 2 new Duracell 27 rv batteries with 80 amp hours each.
Power draw for the Engel: Variable from 0.5 - 2.7Amps (12/24V DC)
Can I make this work? TIA for any help.
I think that whether or not that will make it will depend on how often you drive or have shore power and how much other power you will use along with the Engle. With 160ah you will have about 130ah usable. Fridg will use probably 25-40ah per day by itself, if it can vent adequately.
[ consider myself more a traveler than a camper. The longest I may stay at campsite is 2 nights and on those occasions I will plan to stay somewhere with hook ups if necessary. Boondocking will be limited to 1 night.
I have looked at getting a Hackett or something similar with solar panels if I find that the batteries are being depleted.
QUOTE=booster;146673]I think that whether or not that will make it will depend on how often you drive or have shore power and how much other power you will use along with the Engle. With 160ah you will have about 130ah usable. Fridg will use probably 25-40ah per day by itself, if it can vent adequately.[/QUOTE]
MsNomer: That is good to know. Researching online there seems to be the opinion that solar is necessary. How many night can you boondock with your setup and what Engel do you have?
Fridg will use probably 25-40ah per day by itself.
That isn't too bad all things considered. I was under the impression that any fridge with a freezer took more out of the batteries than that. Is this the minimum for a compressor fridge with a freezer or are there any models that beat it?
That isn't too bad all things considered. I was under the impression that any fridge with a freezer took more out of the batteries than that. Is this the minimum for a compressor fridge with a freezer or are there any models that beat it?
I am assuming this is an Engel with the swing compressor and small capacity based on putting a drawer underneath.
Our 3.1 Isotherm runs in the 25-ah per day almost all the time except when it is really hot out, like 100*F.
Larger frigs and colder freezer temp units can and usually will use more than that amount.
This may make absolutely no difference to you but the 2354 is sized close to the NovaKool at c.3cu.ft. The Engel that you're considering is c.2/3s the size. If you are using the RV mostly, as you say, to travel and, say, eating out at restaurants a lot, it's probably fine.
MsNomer: That is good to know. Researching online there seems to be the opinion that solar is necessary. How many night can you boondock with your setup and what Engel do you have?
Quite honestly, that setup was seven years ago, so I don’t remember the details. I do remember that we were reluctant to add solar because we liked the clean lines of the bare roof, so we obviously didn’t consider it a must-have.
Our present setup is 300Ah lithium, 300A solar, 40A B2B, Engel MT45 (fridge), MT27 (freezer), microwave, instant pot, induction, electric shower water heating (Sous Vide), Webasto heater. Fridge, freezer, dinner microwave plus lights, computer, etc., together use about 10% (30A) over a 12-hour night. Shower uses 5-10% depending on initial water temperature. During the day in summer, we can usually gain half of that back plus run whatever. With good sun, we have never wanted to stay put longer than electrical would allow. Without good sun, we are good for about 4-5 days. So I now heartily recommend solar if you can.
Just an opinion but I would put an RM2354 back in. A compressor fridge, at that level of battery, can take all your power and leave you little or nothing for electronics which, for me, are very important.
Adding cold temperatures could really put you behind. I’m usually on the road with low temps around 40F. Those that have done it are in the know but you will note many have more power now. Either get more power or replace a 3-way with a 3-way. Why go through the same learning curve. Yes, you can make it work, but that is all that will work.
I replaced the RM2554 in our '08 Roadtrek 210P with a Nova Kool 5810 back in 2018, and we will never own another 3-way fridge.
The Nova Kool gave us more cold storage, but yet was much smaller than the RM2554. Initially I wanted to install a drawer underneath the Nova Kool, but given that the base behind the fridge serves as a drip pan/catch basin for water that may enter thru the vents I opted to build a shelf above the Nova Kool (our RT is parked on our driveway when not in use so rain does sometimes accumulate behind the fridge and won't drain completely due to the incline).
After installation I ran a test to see the impact of the Nova Kool on our Duracell coach batteries (2-6V, 235AH). Attached is a summary of the project and the battery test results, which I have posted previously.
We have a small 2.7 cu ft compressor refrigerator in our van. Most Rv'ers would look at our refrigerator and conclude that it is way too small. I guess it is human nature to always think that bigger is better. This is not correct with RV refrigerators for us.
Our small refrigerator takes very little space and very little daily battery power. It can hold the equivalent of about 2 cases of pop and beer (or the equivalent in food). Just to use the drink reference, we only use maybe 4-6 cans of cold beverages per day at most. If I simply refill the refrigerator with drinks every evening, we have a steady supply for the next day with just a few hours of cooling. There is no need to stock 4-5 days of cold beverages in the refrigerator like we would do at home. It just requires a little different use of the refrigerator in the RV for us to get by with a small refrigerator and save our battery capacity for other things. We don't give up anything important with a smaller refrigerator as long as we use it wisely and a little different than at home.
If I build another Class B, I will again look for a fairly small but very efficient refrigerator and use the saved space and battery capacity for other things.
To us, your 2.7 cu ft would be huge. In my 1.5 cu ft Engel, I have dedicated spots for
gallon of milk,
half dozen canned soft drinks,
84oz homemade yogurt,
pound of cole slaw,
pound of pimento cheese,
pound of strawberries,
pint of blueberries,
head of iceberg lettuce
head of bunch lettuce or bag of spinach
2 x 8 oz shredded cheese
8 oz Swiss cheese
half pound of sliced ham
3-4 zucchini
10-12 carrots
8 oz mayonnaise
8 oz ranch dressing
8 oz thousand island dressing
15 oz Tostitos salsa
In addition, I may add mushrooms, hummus, peppers, boiled eggs, fresh meat, cooked potatoes, cut onion, etc.
I replaced the RM2554 in our '08 Roadtrek 210P with a Nova Kool 5810 back in 2018, and we will never own another 3-way fridge.
The Nova Kool gave us more cold storage, but yet was much smaller than the RM2554. Initially I wanted to install a drawer underneath the Nova Kool, but given that the base behind the fridge serves as a drip pan/catch basin for water that may enter thru the vents I opted to build a shelf above the Nova Kool (our RT is parked on our driveway when not in use so rain does sometimes accumulate behind the fridge and won't drain completely due to the incline).
After installation I ran a test to see the impact of the Nova Kool on our Duracell coach batteries (2-6V, 235AH). Attached is a summary of the project and the battery test results, which I have posted previously.
Interesting post. Thanks. Would have liked to see the 8pm-8am with the fridge starting at cooling temp instead of startup. I suspect your consumption would have been much lower and more like what it would take to maintain temp overnight. By my figuring the 9am-9pm (daytime) run took about 64AH from your batteries. That's a consumption of about 5A/H in temps beneath 90º. And that, in turn, supports what hbn7bj says to the OP: He needs some more battery power to make it work.
Interesting post. Thanks. Would have liked to see the 8pm-8am with the fridge starting at cooling temp instead of startup. I suspect your consumption would have been much lower and more like what it would take to maintain temp overnight. By my figuring the 9am-9pm (daytime) run took about 64AH from your batteries. That's a consumption of about 5A/H in temps beneath 90º. And that, in turn, supports what hbn7bj says to the OP: He needs some more battery power to make it work.
I noticed that also about having the cooldown in the measuring time. It throws it off a bunch from what I have seen with our Isotherm.
The test is also trying to relate small amounts of power use to battery rested battery voltage which known to be very a very low accuracy way of doing it. The only way you really know how much power you will use is with a test using a power monitor/accumulator on the frig only and with it precooled and filled with stuff as in normal use. I use a Watt's Up small accumulator for that. I don't know if it is still made or not, but there are a lot of low cost ones that copied it on Amazon.
That's a consumption of about 5A/H in temps beneath 90º
Quote:
Originally Posted by booster
Our 3.1 Isotherm runs in the 25-ah per day almost all the time except when it is really hot out, like 100*F.
These are two very different asserations! Booster's number might be manageable with even 100AH Lithium settup. 5A/H would require three or four times that. I worry that if I ever were to swtich over to a compressor fridge I would end up with something nearer to the latter.
These are two very different asserations! Booster's number might be manageable with even 100AH Lithium settup. 5A/H would require three or four times that. I worry that if I ever were to swtich over to a compressor fridge I would end up with something nearer to the latter.
For those that might be confused, I listed out van as how many amp-hours per day of use. I will point out that our frig has been tweaked to use less energy than it would in stock form out of the box. 30-40ah per day in normal conditions would be more typical for an out of the box Cruise 85 Elegance like ours.
Gallen listed his calculation as 5A/H which would be 5 amps per hour which is not a real term for power. If you assume it used a continuous 5 amps for and hour it would be 5 amp hours per hour of time and I think that is what was meant. That would mean the Novakool would use 120 amp hours per day, which is very, very likely not correct. The included cooldown use and going by voltage would explain the error, I think. We typically see testing of the Novakools in the 40-60ah per day, I think.
It is getting very common for people to use amps and amp hours as interchangeable which they are not. The manufacturers started it all because they wanted to be able to list a 400 cold starting battery as a 400 amp when listing their vans. IMO, that was plainly done to mislead customers to thinking they were getting much more battery capacity than they were. Roadtrek had one system listed as 400 amps in the specs, with no amp hour rating while other systems were listed in amp hours in the same place in the specs. The 400 amp batteries were really something like 130 amp hour batteries, but the customers didn't know it, and many were not happy when the learned about it when the went to use them.
30-40ah per day in normal conditions would be more typical for an out of the box Cruise 85 Elegance like ours.
We typically see testing of the Novakools in the 40-60ah per day, I think.
Thanks - that does clarify things. But even so, it does sound to me like someone considering replacing a three-way with a compressor would be wiser to think in terms nearer 60ah per day than to 25. So it really does require either a very big battery bank or a very convenient way to recharge. Even though I have an Onan, I would not want to be obligated to fire it up every day or even every other day to keep the fridge going.
Thanks - that does clarify things. But even so, it does sound to me like someone considering replacing a three-way with a compressor would be wiser to think in terms nearer 60ah per day than to 25. So it really does require either a very big battery bank or a very convenient way to recharge. Even though I have an Onan, I would not want to be obligated to fire it up every day or even every other day to keep the fridge going.
The kind of standard for doing a compressor frig has been to say you need at least 200ah of battery capacity, but in the real world it is more like all things related to power systems in being "it all depends.....).
How big the frig is, how hot a climate you are typically in, how you recharge and how often, change the calculation for everyone.
The biggest thing, I think, is how much other power you use beyond the frig. With all the other things that now eat up power are showing up a lot, things do change. If you have a van that has a centralized control and panel it may use power 24/7. Charging devices like phones, tablets, wifi or cell boosters, laptops, all add up to quite a bit for some people. Streaming devices and bigger TVs and soundbars can be surprising in use. Of course if you have induction cooking or use the microwave or other electronic cooking devices you need to cover them all.
So, IMO, the 160ah of battery would be enough if the OP is not a big user of other power sources. He does say that two days of overnight and then driving is the norm and that he has solar of unknown capacity. If he is a low power user, it could probably be in the range of 50-60ah per day of use, which would we handleable if the recharges are getting the batteries all the way to capacity and the solar a bit. The Engel is very small and they are efficient, but I think it is a front door model that will be a bit less efficient than a chest if it is.
I would put it right on the edge, however, and getting a bit more capacity would better and less worry for him.
Engel SR70 in 07 Roadtrek 190
Linear Mode
