running fridge at level

[diver110]

Marcopolo was nice enough to respond to my prior post. He mentioned the importance of operating the propane fridge on the level. I assume that means you have to have it turned off when driving. Can it run on electric when driving (I would not think so) or does the fridge keep cool enough to keep food from perishing while tuned off assuming that it not for too long a period?

What does a new fridge cost?

Should propane be turned off when driving?

Thanks.

[Steve_Guelph]

You can run the fridge on electric when you drive no problem. Never on propane for safety reasons. Some people think that because the fridge is not always level when driving you will damage the system. Not true. When the van is moving the fluid moves freely so there is no chance of an area over heating and forming crystals that will later clog your system. If you are parked don't run the fridge unless it is fairly level or the whole bottom of the tank may not be covered allowing it to over heat and then causing damage. I plug the van in at home before leaving and then switch to battery when driving. Hope this helps.

Steve

[renrut]

I have a Propane and 120Vac fridge. I don't have it running off propane while driving for safety reasons. If it is very hot out and I'm on the road a long time, the fridge will warm up a bit inside. Sitting in a parking lot is not a good thing. I found frozen food in the freezer will not stay too frozen by the end of a hot summer day. The fuller the fridge and freezer is, the better everything will stay cold.

I tried running my fridge off an inverter to keep it running on electricity while driving. It worked quite well except the load on the alternator was quit high and I actually noticed quite a difference in gas mileage. The fridge draws 2 Amps at 120Vac. Converted to 12Vdc, it would be 20amps draw off the alternator and battery. If you only have one battery, it wouldn't be recommended. 20Amp draw will drain a battery in a short time.

I haven't priced fridges in a long time. Maybe someone else can answer that part. I don't think they're cheap.

[markopolo]

My RT had a 3-way fridge; 120V AC, 12V DC & propane.

For me, propane & 120V AC would cool the fridge and 12V DC would try to maintain that degree of coolness. We would switch to 12V DC when driving.

My new fridge is 2-way; 120V AC & propane. I will run it on propane while driving on long trips. I guess I could run the generator while driving on long trips........ that's kind of noisy though

The safest way to travel with propane is to shut it off at the valve on the tank. You have to do that for some tunnels and when traveling on a ferry etc.

Always make sure propane appliances are off when refueling.