303RLS Fridge constanly running while boondocking?

[trailrydr]

Jim, Thank you for this, it all helps alot and I can't wait to give it a try. Do you have a schematic of how you tied it together?

I do. I'll hunt it down and PM you with it.

[MikenKerri]

As you know the 303rls has the fridge in the slideout.... so no vent on the roof that naturally lets hot air rise out of the fridge compartment... Cabinet PC Fans as suggested will help.... I also, using some sheet metal made a baffle from the top of the fridge directly to the side vent so no hot air could linger above the fridge.Really helped ...Blocking off the sides and top of the fridge helped also..... A couple of lithium Batteries and some solar, and I only use the generator on really overcast days..... I know Lithiums are expensive, but we now look for shade when picking a campsite...As they charge really fast....

Thank you Big Blue, do you have some pics if the baffling? I have an idea, just want affiemation. And I get that the fridge vents are probably laid out different.

Cheers,
Mike

[MikenKerri]

Thank you Big Blue, do you have some pics if the baffling? I have an idea, just want affiemation. And I get that the fridge vents are probably laid out different.

Cheers,
Mike

Forgot to mention, but LiFePo are in the plans as well as solar - lots of good info on here already

[MikenKerri]

I do. I'll hunt it down and PM you with it.

Thanks, see my edit to my 1st reply.

[MikenKerri]

If you made it through a whole week on 2 lead acid batteries that is actuall pretty darned good! If you plan on dry camping more a good set of batteries are a must have and solar would make it better. If you are not power hogs you could maybe get by with 2 or 300 W

Also as others suggested ffans on the fins and in the back help improve the performance. We run 3 computer fans (quiet style) in the back and 2 small fans on the interior

I forgot to mention that every morning, the idiot lights were down to 2 (4 is full charge if you believe that) after running the gen for over an hour that eveneing.

Solar and LiFePo are in the plans

[Scramjet]

I would suggest that you get a real battery monitor first so you know exactly what is going on with your batteries. You will need it sooner or later in any case.

Brian

[Big Blue]

Thank you Big Blue, do you have some pics if the baffling? I have an idea, just want affiemation. And I get that the fridge vents are probably laid out different.

Cheers,
Mike

Sorry no Pics at this time.... I used some 16" flashing from Lowes... Positioned side by side to cover the width of the fridge....Using a Harbor Freight sheet metal brake ( bender) put a slight bend to match the top of the fridge, the other end a 90 degree bend to attach to the wall just above the top of the upper vent... using the natural bend of the flashing to direct air into the vent...

[rootusrootus]

The OP has a 2019 Reflection, which uses a standard rv refer. It is an ammonia absorption fridge, which "sucks" the heat out of the box.

A standard household fridge creates cold air using a compressor.

Your 2021 Transcend could possibly have a 12 volt compressor driven fridge, which they all have now. If it is a Furrion, it is a 12 volt fridge.

Okay, thanks for the explanation. Yes, the Transcend has a 12V compressor fridge. I've forgotten about the older absorption fridges at this point ;-)

[goducks14]

Running the gen for an hour won't do diddle for recharging your batteries if you have the stock WFCO charger. It will take 40 hrs to recharge a dead battery using the WFCO at a rate of 13.6V of charge.
If you want to charge faster you need to get a 4 stage charger like a PD 9100 or 9200 that has the Charge Wizard which allows you to manually override the charger and go to boost mode at 14.4V.
If you're on the 2nd or 1st light on your panel then your battery is way way low or almost dead. On the 3rd light I'm showing close to 12.2 which is almost 50% drained.
I have 500W of roof solar and 100W of portable feeding 4 6V GC batteries running a 12V fridge, 2000W inverter thats powering the whole coach along with a Dish sat receiver. On cloudy days the solar can't keep up so we run the gen for 2 hrs in the morning and 2 hrs at night.
I installed a PD9100 charger in the front storage compartment that runs separately from the the OEM WFCO. When I need to boost the battery I run the gen and manually set the PD9100 to boost at 14.4. I can see the readout on my Victron app and it will tell me the volts going into the batteries..

Your batteries are draining because you're not giving them enough charge each day.

https://www.progressivedyn.com/rv/ch...echarge-curves

[Firmn74]

So I had the same trailer with dual 6-volt batteries. I bought a portable 100watt solar panel from Amazon, and wired up a 50’ cord to plug into the Furrion connection on the front wall. You will need a solar controller also, but I would move that panel around the campsite throughout the day to follow the sun. That was enough to keep the batteries topped off to where we could boondock indefinitely.