12 volt 16 cu ft refrigerator brand

[goducks14]

Adding other 12V items to the equation is the crux in all this. I too have a 12V fridge but only 9.8 cuft and one compressor. and when empty sitting at my house set to the temp we want it will run 24/7 without draining my 4 6V GC batteries past 12.41. This is with cloudy or sunny days. I have 400W of solar on the roof.
The issue is when you start adding other12V items to the list. Just like RV weights, nobody tows an empty RV or just uses the 12V fridge.
It sounds like you already knew what you were getting into.

[xrated]

Adding other 12V items to the equation is the crux in all this. I too have a 12V fridge but only 9.8 cuft and one compressor. and when empty sitting at my house set to the temp we want it will run 24/7 without draining my 4 6V GC batteries past 12.41. This is with cloudy or sunny days. I have 400W of solar on the roof.
The issue is when you start adding other12V items to the list. Just like RV weights, nobody tows an empty RV or just uses the 12V fridge.
It sounds like you already knew what you were getting into.

Thank you, and yes, I absolutely knew what I was getting into. First thing I knew I needed was to upgrade my battery. So I bought LFP battery cells and built a 302AH LiFePO battery. After that, I had a choice of installing an Inverter and doing some rewiring and getting a residential fridge, or going with an already made new 12VDC fridge....or, having JC Refrigeration do the mod on my Norcold. Doing the mod was the least expensive option and the most value for the $$$ spent. Larger fridge than what is available to buy, less money for the conversion vs. buying new, and the savings of not having to buy/install an Inverter for a 120VAC refrigerator.

One other thing that really influenced me was that I did NOT want a residential fridge that was designed and built to work in a house.....in my trailer. Houses don't bounce around and move ....but a trailer certainly does both. I simply did not like the idea of a residential refrigerator bouncing around and being more prone to failure. The conversion unit on my Norcold is built extremely heavy duty and the compressor units are mounted on rubber feet. The builders KNOW that trailer fridges will spend their lives bouncing around....residential fridge manufacturers don't build them to bounce around, so a residential fridge was a no go for me. I know a lot of folks use them, and that is their choice, but it just didn't seem to be as good of a plan as having the mod done and having something that was purpose built for a bouncing/moving trailer.

[luisbeal]

We have the Furrion and so far it has been great, no problem getting and keeping cold. It is a bit of a power hog when camping off-grid, but if you have a robust battery system you should be fine.

Thanks for replying. We do have solar, inverter, and lithium batteries even tho we spend most of our time plugged in. Power is not my concern right now, although I appreciate all the coments about it.

So you have the 16 cu ft Furrion 12v and like it, that is great. Do you have to defrost the freezer ever?
And the freezer does a good job of freezing, and the fridge doesn't freeze?
Does your ice cream stay frozen? Mine turns into cream in a few hours.
Is it a side by side?
Can you fit a gallon jug on the door shelf?

Sorry about all the questions, I can't find these answers online anywhere.

Thanks,
Luis Beal

[LanerC]

Let me just give you some factual numbers about that topic. After we had the Norcold 2118 modded by JC Refrigeration, and turned it into a TWIN 12VDC compressor unit, we started the two day trip home from Shipshewana, IN to just south of Knoxville, TN. So the basics are this: Two 12VDC compressors...one of them services the fresh food compartment, and the other provides cooling to just the freezer. Two compressors, each with their own thermostat control so that they can run independently of each other. If BOTH compressors are running at the same time, the current draw in amps is 12.68 amps....total, and that includes the power that is used for the control circuits too. So on day two of travel, we started off the trip with a 100% SOC on our our 302 AH LFP battery. From the time we unplugged from shore power until we got it home to the driveway, we were travelling a little over 6 hours. The battery was receiving NO POWER from the truck for battery charging or running the fridge, as I have that wiring disconnected (another topic for a different day). In a little over six hours or travel, with almost nothing in the fridge to help keep it cooler, we went through just under 37 amp hours (AH for short) of the battery. So rounding those numbers off a bit....37 AHs divided by 6.?? hours is going to equal roughly 6.? Amps for every hour of usage of the fridge. If the fridge had been full or at least some food and drinks in it, that would have helped it to keep cool from the thermal mass of that stuff.....but, it was almost completely empty and we are talking about 18.? cu. ft. to keep cool and frozen. Given the fact that in just over 6 hours of travel and having used just under 37 AHs, I will project that on out for you.

A LFP battery can be discharged safely down to almost zero SOC, but even looking at doing it conservatively......say 15% SOC, that would be 302 available AH times 85% (15% remaining AHs) for a total of right at 257 available AHs. That 257 is then divided by the consumed AHs over a one hour period of time, and that comes out to 42 hours of run time for the fridge without recharging the battery...either from being plugged into shore power, solar, generator, or DC to DC charging from the tow vehicle.

So given those numbers, I'm not sure that a 12VDC fridge (and most of them will draw less than mine since they only have one compressor vs. two on mine) is is such a power hog at all. If you are a boondocker and know how to deal with not having shore power available, you will likely have solar, or a generator, or maybe both.

Of course one has to consider all the other things that run on 12VDC....lights, furnace blower motor if using it, control power 12VDC for the water heater and furnace or A/C units, radio/stereo/DVD player, etc.....but in my above explanation, I tried to show what JUST the 12VDC fridge would use and of course a smaller fridge and especially one with only ONE compressor vs. TWO compressors, would be even less usage.

Note: The above usage of the fridge was attained by readings from a Victron BMV 712 Smart Shunt that monitors every amp of DC power in and out of the battery.

Just curious, what was the outside temp on that trip.

[xrated]

Just curious, what was the outside temp on that trip.

Lower 80s. But here is something to consider. The initial setting on the fridge for the fresh food area was set at #4 (The fridge settings are 1 through 9, with 9 being the coldest setting) At setting number 4 the fresh food area got down to 31°.....so I turned it to setting #3 (making it warmer). At that setting, the fresh food area would stay around 34°, which is still pretty cold for the fresh food compartment. I left the freezer setting alone and it varied between about 1° and -5°

So if the outside ambient temperatures are in the 90s, AND there was food and stuff in the fridge, the setting might have to be adjust up to 4...maybe 5 out of 9. That's just a guess though, as I have not had it operating in 90+ temperatures yet.

[fmartinmn]

I heard GD is installing 12 volt refrigerators in some of the RVs.
My 2019 Reflection 367bhs has a 16 cu ft Dometic refrigerator that I do not like.

I am wondering:
which brand GD is installing in the 16 cu ft size,
and if they are any better than the Dometic (meaning the fridge doesn't freeze, and the freezer does freeze, and there is no ice buildup).

I am tired of having to wrap food in towels in the fridge, and the freezer taking 3 days to freeze food.
Thanks!

We had a Dometic fridge in our Imagine 2018 2670MK and in our 2020 2970RL. Our 2019 Solitude S-Class came with a Norcold fridge. Like your experience, none of those units performed anywhere near satisfactory. We did the JC Refrigeration conversion this past May to our Norcold and the difference is worth every dollar spent. 3-4 hrs to reach operating temp going down the road. 3 year warranty, less money than any performance matching alternative. And, if I ever have an issue, I am confident someone will answer the phone. Best wishes in your pursuit of hard ice cream.

[Soundsailor]

Thanks for replying. We do have solar, inverter, and lithium batteries even tho we spend most of our time plugged in. Power is not my concern right now, although I appreciate all the coments about it.

So you have the 16 cu ft Furrion 12v and like it, that is great. Do you have to defrost the freezer ever?
And the freezer does a good job of freezing, and the fridge doesn't freeze?
Does your ice cream stay frozen? Mine turns into cream in a few hours.
Is it a side by side?
Can you fit a gallon jug on the door shelf?

Sorry about all the questions, I can't find these answers online anywhere.

Thanks,
Luis Beal

Sorry, missed this before.

So far we haven't needed to defrost the refrigerator, no sign of any frost building up. Never had any problem with the freezer being cold (5 degrees) or the refrigerator freezing (stays at 43 degrees). Ice cream was hard in our test (until it hit our stomachs). Plenty of room in ours, we don't use gallon jugs so I can comment on that.

[xrated]

Sorry, missed this before.

So far we haven't needed to defrost the refrigerator, no sign of any frost building up. Never had any problem with the freezer being cold (5 degrees) or the refrigerator freezing (stays at 43 degrees). Ice cream was hard in our test (until it hit our stomachs). Plenty of room in ours, we don't use gallon jugs so I can comment on that.

43° in the fresh food section is a bit high, according to info that I've seen for refrigerator temperatures. The FDA recommends for them to be 40° or below to inhibit the growth of bacteria....some of it very dangerous stuff.

https://www.usnews.com/360-reviews/h...ne%20illnesses.

[Soundsailor]

43° in the fresh food section is a bit high, according to info that I've seen for refrigerator temperatures.

That is the standard setting built into the new Furrion 12-volt refrigerators when set to their "off-grid" profile. Their profiles for "plugged in" have lower temps. 43 still feels cold to me.

[xrated]

That is the standard setting built into the new Furrion 12-volt refrigerators when set to their "off-grid" profile. Their profiles for "plugged in" have lower temps. 43 still feels cold to me.

With all due respect.....43 is still too high for the fresh food area, regardless what Furrion or any other brand says is the "off grid profile" I realize it is for saving some energy, but the bottom line, in my opinion is food safety...vs.....battery longevity. Unfortunately, us humans cannot distinguish between what "feels cold to me" vs. what IS safe temperatures. And quite frankly, I'm a bit surprised that Furrion would totally disregard the established recommendation from the FDA for food temperature safety, which clearly states 40°F or lower. That seems totally irresponsible, dangerous, and probably borders on criminal to produce a product that influences people to use a "recommended" or "standard" setting that is inadequate for food safety. Corp. greed has no bounds I suppose, so their recommendation and resultant "energy savings" will likely influence more people to like/buy their product. Of course, all of this is my opinion, and what anyone chooses to do with their own equipment is totally up to them, and nothing personal in my comments.