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  1. #1
    Fireside Member
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    Residential vs Gas/Electric Refrigerator

    We are getting closer to a GD 375res but still a bit undecided on the type of refrigerator. I like the idea of having a propane option but not ever having a residential refrigerator in a RV I'm not sure. We plan to full-time. Any thoughts either way are appreciated.

  2. #2
    Long Hauler
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    A lot would depend on your type of camping. If you will have electric sites , or an alternative source , solar , generator , then the residential fridge may be worth it. If you plan on camping with no electric and relying on just battery power then the gas will be your choice.

    Brian

  3. #3
    Long Hauler DaveMatthewsBand's Avatar
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    With a decent battery bank and solar (or a generator) you can easily run a residential fridge while dry camping, since they run on less electricity than the RV fridge.
    Residentials keep food much colder and have options not available on RV fridges like ice makers and being frost-free.


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  4. #4
    Site Sponsor orbiker's Avatar
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    You just got both views Ironman.
    I had a 380TH Momentum with the gas frig. I now have a 374TH-R with the residential Samsung frig with an icemaker. It defiantly get way colder then the gas an quicker. It holds it temp better if the door is being opened a lot too.
    We have 2 12v 100A batteries and it's barely enough for overnight if not much else is running. I plan on getting 2 lithium batteries someday soon. Then I will have 2 battery banks (keeping them separate). The lithium will be our backup. We only boondock a couple times a year for a day or 2. We have 200W of portable solar and a Honda 2000 for now.
    It all depends on where you will be camping or spending on solar. KEN
    Backpacker and tent camper all my life, including BSA as a kid and adult.
    Motorcycle trips across the USA with a tent - 1978 to Present.
    02-10-2005 - 2002 F350 SWD PSD and 2003 Citation 10'8S mostly for Crater Lake Ski Patrol.
    10-29-2015 - 2016 Grand Design 380TH. It's HUGE compared to a camper.
    10-19-2018 - traded truck for a 2016 Ram 3500 DRW Laramie CC 4 X 4 Long Box.
    03-16-2019 - Traded Momentum for a New 2018 374TH-R Solitude
    FULL TIME RV'er Nov 2021

  5. #5
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    I went through the same thought process as you. I ended up going with the residential and don't regret it one bit. It cools fast, makes ice, and stays at a stable temp much better than an RV fridge. We just got back from a guys trip to road america for a race weekend. We arrived at RA, and my fridge became the "beverage" fridge. We loaded it completely full with bottles of water, beer, pop, etc. and all of it was warm. Everything was cold a few hours later. I don't think an Absorption rv fridge could have done that. They struggle when you leave the door open to long.

    The one issue is power, as stated above if you are always connected to shore power then its a non issue. Someone on here did a test and at least on his truck it provided right around the power needed to run the fridge while traveling so with a battery as a buffer travel shouldn't be an issue for anyone.

    But if your going to do any boondocking or even stopping for an overnight without power, I would recommend at least one lithium. Mainly for the capacity but also for how fast they recharge. A regular battery takes forever to fully recharge as it needs to slow to a trickle at 70-80%. With a lithium converter they can charge at the full output of your converter to just about 100%, mine slows down a little for the last 3 to 4 %. They also have their own built in management system so you don't have to worry about draining them to far and damaging them or charging outside of acceptable temps, etc.

    For a real world example, our trip to Road America is dry. I have 2 2500w generators (to run both air conditioners if needed) and no solar. I have two lithium's which nets out at about 200 usable amp hours. I typically shut the geney down around 9 or 10. I have my outside tv hooked to the inverter which is usually on until 11/12 am. With whatever misc lights, water pump usage, the maxx fans usually running all night for circulation, the refrigerator, a CPAP for one of the guys, and whatever other parasitic draws there are I'll have 50% to 60% left the next morning at 8 or 9 am. During the day it would drain faster with the fridge running more often. I normally just run the geney all day as noise is not an issue at a race track but I could shut it off and just re top the batteries before bed. One geney gets the batteries back to 100% in 2 to 4 hours. If I had a bigger converter I could cut that down even more.

    Good luck!
    2021 Solitude 375 RES-R
    2024 GMC Denali ultimate DRW

  6. #6
    Big Traveler
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    The RV fridges are energy pigs and tend to perform poorly in warm / humid areas. If you stay mostly in cooler areas you are probably fine.

    I ripped our RV fridge out within two months and replaced it with a residential. Stupid thing was costing me $40+ a month in electric when a residential was around $5. I had residential fridges in my other RV's and we swapped the Norcold that was burning down units for a residential as well. So no strangers to having both. Can't stand the RV fridges.
    2019 Momentum 395
    2018 Ram 3500 DRW 4.10 AISIN

  7. #7
    Site Team traveldawg's Avatar
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    Another vote for residential. Have one now, had one in previous RV. I put in 4 AGMs from Sam's Club and have no problems keeping them charged going down the road. Have dry camped and run the generators (2 Honda 2000's) maybe 3 hrs in the a.m. and 3 or 4 in the evening depending on other requirements. Have forgotten to plug in the RV when getting home once or twice; no problem keeping the frig going for 24 hours (when I finally remember to plug it in).
    Larry KE4DMG
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  8. #8
    Fireside Member Copperhead's Avatar
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    One option that very few people seem to realize exists is DC compressor fridge. Norcold makes a nice 10CF DC compressor fridge that only uses about 5-6 amp per cycle in full mode and 3-4 amp per cycle in night mode. A typical DC compressor fridge cycles around 30% of the time on day mode upwards to 50% on a hot day and frequent opening of the door. At night when things are cooler and folks are not getting in the fridge, it may cycle only 20% of the time. Far more efficient than a residential fridge or absorption fridge. And a DC compressor fridge can be operated effectively at up to 30 degrees off of center.

  9. #9
    Long Hauler DaveMatthewsBand's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Copperhead View Post
    One option that very few people seem to realize exists is DC compressor fridge. Norcold makes a nice 10CF DC compressor fridge that only uses about 5-6 amp per cycle in full mode and 3-4 amp per cycle in night mode. A typical DC compressor fridge cycles around 30% of the time on day mode upwards to 50% on a hot day and frequent opening of the door. At night when things are cooler and folks are not getting in the fridge, it may cycle only 20% of the time. Far more efficient than a residential fridge or absorption fridge. And a DC compressor fridge can be operated effectively at up to 30 degrees off of center.
    Just out of curiosity, do you have one?
    Thanks for the info.


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  10. #10
    Fireside Member Copperhead's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DaveMatthewsBand View Post
    Just out of curiosity, do you have one?
    Thanks for the info.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I am presently without a RV and am looking at several units. I have used DC compressor fridges in several applications in the past. I will have it no other way. I am looking at several different brand and floorpans right now for a new TT, and one of the first things I will do is yank out the absorption fridge (unless I can get them to install a DC compressor version from the factory... Coachmen is offering that option now in some of their lineup) and replace it with a DC compressor fridge. I will gain 1-2cf over the absorption fridge size and make my life so much simpler. The equivalent of a residential fridge but far more efficient, built to take the beating of RV / Marine use, and low DC power draw.

    Dometic makes some, but only smaller versions. Norcold makes 6cf, 8cf, and 10cf DC compressor units in their Polar line. Nova Kool also makes very good DC compressor fridges that, like Norcold, are direct fit replacements for standard RV absorption fridges. Nova Kool fridges are different in that they have the freezer on many of their units in the bottom instead of the top of the unit. More of a European style. Their 9.1cf unit that replaces the typical 8cf absorption fridge does not even need exterior venting like an absorption fridge! It has its own venting built in at the bottom of the unit where the compressor and fan are.

    I do have a smaller 4cf DC fridge/freezer in my commercial truck. I can shut the truck off every evening and when it comes to weekend, Friday eve thru Monday morn and leave the fridge running and the truck will still start on Monday, but then, it does have 4 Group31 12v batteries in it. Oh, that unit has run consistently for well over 1 million miles. Only when had to replace batts or other work to the truck that needed the batt power shut down was the fridge ever not turned on. It now has over 7 years of constant, 365 days a year use. Had to replace a door latch, but that is it.
    Last edited by Copperhead; 08-24-2019 at 08:05 PM.

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