Upcoming changes to 2023 Momentum (Fridge and Water Heater)

**man-ko** · 01-14-2023, 07:02 PM

2023 Momentum’s (M and TH class) built after late January have some upcoming changes coming to the refrigerator and water heaters. I’m excited about both of these changes but wanted to get everyone else’s opinions. Standard refrigerator will now be a 20cf 12v fridge instead of the 18cf 2-way. The 18cf residential fridge will still be an option. Also, the water heater is moving to a Furion on-demand water heater. Both of these things were wants for me on a potential new Momentum so I’m pretty excited about it.

I’m also told they are working on a way to potentially move towards Azdel sidewalls on their larger units like the new Imagine AIM. No ETA on that.

What’s everyone’s thoughts on these changes? I’ve got a 12v fridge currently and love it. When it’s running it’s only pulling about 50 watts and gets cold FAST.

**A.Texas.Yankee** · 01-14-2023, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by man-ko

2023 Momentum’s (M and TH class) built after late January have some upcoming changes coming to the refrigerator and water heaters. I’m excited about both of these changes but wanted to get everyone else’s opinions. Standard refrigerator will now be a 20cf 12v fridge instead of the 18cf 2-way. The 18cf residential fridge will still be an option. Also, the water heater is moving to a Furion on-demand water heater. Both of these things were wants for me on a potential new Momentum so I’m pretty excited about it.

I’m also told they are working on a way to potentially move towards Azdel sidewalls on their larger units like the new Imagine AIM. No ETA on that.

What’s everyone’s thoughts on these changes? I’ve got a 12v fridge currently and love it. When it’s running it’s only pulling about 50 watts and gets cold FAST.

The 12v is much better than the dual fuel, but longevity on the 12v still seems to be in the air. I think it's s good move though.

AFAIK, both the dual fuel and the resi fridge are no longer available moving further into the year.

**Second Chance** · 01-15-2023, 07:38 AM

I am not a fan of the Furrion on-demand water heaters. There is no option to use them on electric (LP only) and they do not fare well in very cold temperatures (not well insulated and the heat exchangers can freeze and crack). The 12VDC compressor fridges are great... if they've gotten the compressor reliability issues ironed out. Azdel vs. well-laminated fiberglass doesn't make any difference to me - but that's just a personal opinion.

Rob

**Ynot4me2** · 01-15-2023, 09:23 AM

I second what @Second Chance mentioned. I'd love the 12v fridge but as far as the on-demand w/h goes, I'm not a fan. Lp only and issues when freezing outside temp which we encounter often.

**traveldawg** · 01-15-2023, 11:12 AM

Never was a fan of on demand / constantly hot water heaters. But we don't take long showers and if hot water runs low can wait 10 or 15 minutes for it to heat up. Conventional water heaters seems to head and shoulders above others for dependability and flexibility.

Did I see that you can't get a residential refrigerator and have to get the 12v? What's with that? We love the residential; but we are able to keep it constantly on even when in 'storage' at our house.

**Second Chance** · 01-15-2023, 11:14 AM

Originally Posted by traveldawg

... Did I see that you can't get a residential refrigerator and have to get the 12v? What's with that? We love the residential; but we are able to keep it constantly on even when in 'storage' at our house.

I think @huntr70 confirmed that in another thread. Perhaps he'll chime in.

Rob

**xrated** · 01-15-2023, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by traveldawg

Never was a fan of on demand / constantly hot water heaters. But we don't take long showers and if hot water runs low can wait 10 or 15 minutes for it to heat up. Conventional water heaters seems to head and shoulders above others for dependability and flexibility.

Did I see that you can't get a residential refrigerator and have to get the 12v? What's with that? We love the residential; but we are able to keep it constantly on even when in 'storage' at our house.

You could keep a 12V fridge on at the house also. If you are plugged into shore power of some sort, as long as your converter/charger is powered up, it will output 12VDC and the fridge will run.....until you choose to shut it off.

**Hoopy Frood** · 01-15-2023, 12:18 PM

Seems to be pretty dumb to me that at the same time they're pushing all-electric trailers, what with solar, inverters, and lithium batteries, they then shove an on-demand water heater down the throats of buyers. That just seems to make very little sense.

**traveldawg** · 01-15-2023, 02:11 PM

Originally Posted by xrated

You could keep a 12V fridge on at the house also. If you are plugged into shore power of some sort, as long as your converter/charger is powered up, it will output 12VDC and the fridge will run.....until you choose to shut it off.

So are the 12v systems as good as the 120v residential refrigerators?

I suppose the next question is why? I suppose it is less expensive. And they no longer have to include an inverter - so even more less expensive.

I just checked the GD site and did a "build" on a 310GK-R. The 12v, 20CF refrigerator is mandatory and there is no longer a residential refrigerator (which the -R designation use to stand for). So pretty much no distillation between the "residential" model and non-"residential" from what I can see.

**xrated** · 01-15-2023, 02:56 PM

Originally Posted by traveldawg

So are the 12v systems as good as the 120v residential refrigerators?

I suppose the next question is why? I suppose it is less expensive. And they no longer have to include an inverter - so even more less expensive.

I just checked the GD site and did a "build" on a 310GK-R. The 12v, 20CF refrigerator is mandatory and there is no longer a residential refrigerator (which the -R designation use to stand for). So pretty much no distillation between the "residential" model and non-"residential" from what I can see.

It's not so much the voltage that matters, it's the type of refrigeration process that matters. Absorption type refrigerators just can't perform nearly as well as a compressor type fridge. As long a a refrigerator is a compressor style, then it's just a matter of what powers the compressor....either 120VAC (residential type) or 12VDC, like the newer ones. As far as performance goes, as long as the unit is built and sized properly to do the job at hand (cool the refrigerator and freezer), the 120V and the 12V should perform approx. the same.

When we went to JC refrigeration in May 2022 and had our Norcold 2118 converted over to the 12V compressor system, they had just finished up when we pulled back into the shop area around noon, and they had fired up the fridge and it was running. So the refrigerator went from ambient temperatures....in the 70s, down to -5°F in the freezer and about 31°F in the fresh food section in a little less than 4 hours of run time. And that was with the freezer and the fresh food compartment both being completely empty of any food or water. So yes, from a performance standpoint, about exactly the same. The difference may come from how well the 12V units are built. If a company tries to skimp on building a properly sized unit (maybe not enough compressor capacity, or not enough cooling fins etc), then it would likely struggle. No different than trying to use a truck to tow with that is just to small for the job at hand.

The JC conversion unit we had done, actually has two compressors....one for the freezer only, and one for the fresh food section only. Two totally independent of each other, including two different temperature controls...that way you can set the freezer where you want it without affecting the fresh food area....and vice versa.