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  1. #21
    Seasoned Camper Russ Olin's Avatar
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    Well, lets see. No absortion fridges in a year? I'll believe that when I see it. You know like Texas freezing over. I had a 1997 Holiday RV with an absortion fridge for 18 years. I never touched the fridge one time. Never had a problem. Sometimes I stayed in it for months at job sites. It was still in the RV when I sold it & ran just fine. As far as a 110 home fridge being so much cheaper for a unit, fine. But what this guy is not telling you he's probably spending 5 or 6 G's for batteries & converter to run his home fridge. I don't think everyone wants to do that. And if you are going to boondock like we do, a 12 volt fridge will suck a lot of amps. So you are going to spend way more money for on solar panels to run 12 volt fridge or run the generator a lot more. Those are just the facts. 12 volts have to have constant power from somewhere. And a 12 volt fridge will need a lot more power. Like 5-6 panels on the roof & maybe a couple 100 watt panels on the ground. This is where absortion fridges beat all these options, just saying. Plus doesn't someone make a kit to upgrade these absortion fridges, I saw it somewhere. My Outdoor RV is new with a large Norcold fridge. If I don't like its performance I will research this upgrade kit. My older RV's had Dometic, so this is a different brand for me this time. Just my 2 cents worth.
    Russ
    Russ & Deb
    Myles, Blu & Sadie aka furry kids
    2019 F-150 - 2021-F350 (aka red rocket2)
    2000 F-250 aka the snow plow truck

  2. #22
    Long Hauler offtohavasu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Russ Olin View Post
    Well, lets see. No absortion fridges in a year? I'll believe that when I see it. You know like Texas freezing over. I had a 1997 Holiday RV with an absortion fridge for 18 years. I never touched the fridge one time. Never had a problem. Sometimes I stayed in it for months at job sites. It was still in the RV when I sold it & ran just fine. As far as a 110 home fridge being so much cheaper for a unit, fine. But what this guy is not telling you he's probably spending 5 or 6 G's for batteries & converter to run his home fridge. I don't think everyone wants to do that. And if you are going to boondock like we do, a 12 volt fridge will suck a lot of amps. So you are going to spend way more money for on solar panels to run 12 volt fridge or run the generator a lot more. Those are just the facts. 12 volts have to have constant power from somewhere. And a 12 volt fridge will need a lot more power. Like 5-6 panels on the roof & maybe a couple 100 watt panels on the ground. This is where absortion fridges beat all these options, just saying. Plus doesn't someone make a kit to upgrade these absortion fridges, I saw it somewhere. My Outdoor RV is new with a large Norcold fridge. If I don't like its performance I will research this upgrade kit. My older RV's had Dometic, so this is a different brand for me this time. Just my 2 cents worth.
    Russ
    JC-Refrigeration makes replacement absorption units, helium conversion, 12v conversion, and 120v conversion.
    Curtis, Christine, Cole, and Charlotte

    2007 Chevrolet Silverado Duramax LBZ, CCLB
    2020 Momentum 351M

  3. #23
    2018 Reflection 327
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    Huntr70- Whether the industry moves away from ammonia or not, there will be older units in use for years. You raise a good point about critters hiding in the fridge ignition areas and it’s probably a bigger issue for those in the south east of the continent but not so much further north. The bottom line is that there is a list of maintenance items that need attending to on a regular basis and being aware of them all is important for every RVer. Those with no mechanical ability or that fall into the can’t be bothered category should be hiring an expert take care of the list of maintenance items on a regular basis. If your unit catches on fire you could be parked next to a number of unsuspecting RVers and ruin their year. Many RV fridge issues are preventable and cudo’s to those creating awareness on this post.

  4. #24
    Seasoned Camper
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    First, let me say that I am solidly in the residential fridge camp. We replaced our Norcold 2118 with a 22 cuft LG and couldn't be happier. We also boondock extensively. Because we do boondock we have a fairly substantial solar system but that came well before the fridge swap.
    I also believe the smaller absorption fridges work well but the larger ones do not! While we didn't have a problem keeping the fridge part cold, our Norcold would barely maintain 5 - 7 F in the freezer. Well above the USFDA recommended range. We did have the flapper issue initially but had that fixed right away.
    The other issue was fuel/power consumption. That fridge would burn through 30# of propane in about 8 days and that is to manufacturers spec (~3000 btu/hr)! I also calculated the power use and it worked out to about 7500 kWh/year.
    As a comparison, our LG is rated at 650 kWh/year and in reality, we are seeing around 500 - 550. It maintains -2 / -3 F with no trouble and freezes meat solid in only a couple of hours.
    Bonus with ours is 2 icemakers that really work and a cold water dispenser.

    To address the OP's point about the ARP fridge defend, I have seen their presentations in Quartzsite and if I had a smaller, more efficient abs fridge, I would definitely consider installing one. Cheap insurance.

    -Rob-
    Rob, Chris and fur baby Maya - Follow us at rctravels.rmcd.ca
    2019 Solitude 374TH, Victron Multiplus II 3000 2x120, Cerbo GX, 6x Battle Born 100AH, 1800W Solar, Blue Sky CC's, Starlink
    2023 GMC Sierra Duramax Denali 4x4 DRW Longbox Crew Cab, Curt Q25

  5. #25
    Seasoned Camper Russ Olin's Avatar
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    A lot of interesting information here. As far as the upgrade kits, I checked them out & they are for real. I could switch over the Norgold in my new ORV to a 12 volt for around $750. And it would run just like your house fridge. They also have the 120 volt kit. Jerk out the fridge, lay it over, change out the equipment in the back & slide it back in. You are good to go. Little easier than taking windows out to change style of fridges I think. As far as me, I bought this RV to camp in the cooler high country of Colorado. The hotest temps we will be in is the 80's. So I think this fridge will work fine. If not, that 12 volt upgrade might just be the ticket. I do have 4- 6volt batteries & solar on the roof. And adding a 200watt side panel. So the 12 volt upgrade might be a option for me in the future. As far as propane usage on refridgerators thats going to vary widely depending on outside temps. Much better to have 8-9 days of refridgerator on a propane bottle than 1 or 2 days on 12 volt fridge & 2 12 volt batteries be dead in 1 to 2 days. Just depends on how you look at it. As far as fires they are always going to happen anyway. Its a fact of life. Even homes built to code can catch fire from time to time. And burn other homes down that are next to them. Its the game of life.
    Regards,
    Russ
    Russ & Deb
    Myles, Blu & Sadie aka furry kids
    2019 F-150 - 2021-F350 (aka red rocket2)
    2000 F-250 aka the snow plow truck

  6. #26
    Seasoned Camper
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    Quote Originally Posted by Russ Olin View Post
    Little easier than taking windows out to change style of fridges I think.
    Regards,
    Russ
    Regarding removing windows or slides to swap out fridges, I think you will find that most will fit through the doors easily. We had to take the doors off ours but even with that, ours came out and the new one went in in about 5 hours and that includes the de-installation, re-installation and hookup of the new unit.
    Some motor homes can be a challenge but our TT's and 5'ers should be pretty straight forward.
    Unless your kitchen is in an odd place, it shouldn't be a problem.

    -Rob-
    Rob, Chris and fur baby Maya - Follow us at rctravels.rmcd.ca
    2019 Solitude 374TH, Victron Multiplus II 3000 2x120, Cerbo GX, 6x Battle Born 100AH, 1800W Solar, Blue Sky CC's, Starlink
    2023 GMC Sierra Duramax Denali 4x4 DRW Longbox Crew Cab, Curt Q25

  7. #27
    Long Hauler bertschb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Russ Olin View Post
    ...As far as fires they are always going to happen anyway.
    Do residential fridges catch fire????
    Brian & Kellie
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
    2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

    Previous setups:
    2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
    2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

  8. #28
    Seasoned Camper
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    Quote Originally Posted by bertschb View Post
    Do residential fridges catch fire????
    Can never say never but as they don't use ammonia for a refrigerant and typically don't have a source of flame near the cooling unit, the odds are extremely small.
    If they did, it would most likely be due to an electrical fault.
    Rob, Chris and fur baby Maya - Follow us at rctravels.rmcd.ca
    2019 Solitude 374TH, Victron Multiplus II 3000 2x120, Cerbo GX, 6x Battle Born 100AH, 1800W Solar, Blue Sky CC's, Starlink
    2023 GMC Sierra Duramax Denali 4x4 DRW Longbox Crew Cab, Curt Q25

  9. #29
    Site Sponsor openrangeowners's Avatar
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    Curious if the ARP has a sensor to detect out of level and alert you or better - cut power until the fridge is closer to level. This would alleviate the issue with running when not level - although I am assuming that since heat is what makes the absorption fridge work, removing the heat does not instantly fix the issue that causes the corrosion part.

  10. #30
    Big Traveler Txfivver's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bertschb View Post
    Do residential fridges catch fire????
    Yes they can if loaded up with cheap beer, that's why I prefer rum! lol
    2019 Solitude 375RES Onan 5500 Splendide W/D Samsung res. fridge
    2020 Ford F450 Platinum dually 6.7L 4:30 gears
    B&W Companion for Ford puck system 20K lbs
    Jeff

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