12V Refrigerator Update For Imagine

[Retired LEO]

Hi, we are looking at a new Imagine XLS 17MKE or a 21BHE. Like about everything about them except for the 2-way fridges. Looking to replace possibly with a new 12V compressor fridge instead. Like the idea of extra storage inside, less chance of a fire from the fire breathing dinosaur 2-way, better efficiency. Has anybody made the switch and how do you like it?
Power will not be a problem as we will be doing mostly dry camping and boondocking. We will be adding 380 Watts of solar on the roof and a additional 200 W portable on the ground to chase the sun.We will have 4 Li's to store energy and a Victron 3000 Multiplus Inverter/Charger. For days when the sun isn't optimal I have a inverter/generator to make up any shortage.
ANOTHER QUESTION: With the 17MKE can you have the Murphy bed open with the slide closed?
Thanks for the help & thoughts!

 

[NB Canada]

Less chance of a fire?

2 and 3 way fridges have been in use for decades

Think they are quite safe

Can’t imagine a swap would be easy


2021 Imagine 2400 BH
2018 GMC Sierra 4x4 crew

 

[RV Sailor]

Not sure I share the “fire “ danger you speak of. Is your water heater fired by propane or grill? I kind of like the dual ability of our reefer and wish it were tri as I also have a integrated inverter / Charger with auto switch. (Victron 3000) and three Oasis Firefly carbon foam AGM which act similar to Li in that they enjoy being drawn down to 20%. We also have 600 watts of solar and a 4500 duel fuel Westinghouse generator. We dry camp a lot or are in state parks.

We have extensively used a 12 V refrigeration system on our 35 ft sailboat for over 30 years. They are efficient as they always run cold. They can be real energy hogs however if not really well insulated. The Danfross compressors the marine units use are bulletproof. Ours is 24 yers old. As and example our 6 cubic foot one on the sailboat uses between 46 and 60 ah per day after extensive insulation upgrades. It has water cooling also from the cooler water surrounding the boat ( I’m not including that in the ah above) . They key to is enough air exchange to keep the compressor cool.

If I ever had to replace refrigeration I would by a AC 110 residential one over a DC 12 volt one. Just a thought

 

[RobWNY]

As a subscriber to many youtube RV channels, 12V fridges are becoming more common while some dealers will not order RV's with residential fridges unless they already have a buyer for it. For me, I like the two way fridges and don't think they're any more of a fire risk than the hot water tank, the stove, the furnace or grill.

 

[Retired LEO]

The 110 would be a easy, inexpensive switch out but with the fridge sitting on the tail of the 1700MKE it's going to get a pretty good bouncing I'm afraid. They're designed to be sitting still in a kitchen....not bouncing up and down a highway.
As far as safety: there was a Class Action Lawsuit against Dometic by over 3000 litigants. Geico has listed them as being the cause of 75% of their RV fire claims. If you look at RV salvage yards on line the "burn-outs" are easy to spot origination in the galley section.
I've dealt with deceased by fire.......absolute horrible death. If just switching fridges helps to diminish that risk and offer other benefits....I'm in

 

[Second Chance]

The 110 would be a easy, inexpensive switch out but with the fridge sitting on the tail of the 1700MKE it's going to get a pretty good bouncing I'm afraid. They're designed to be sitting still in a kitchen....not bouncing up and down a highway.
As far as safety: there was a Class Action Lawsuit against Dometic by over 3000 litigants. Geico has listed them as being the cause of 75% of their RV fire claims. If you look at RV salvage yards on line the "burn-outs" are easy to spot origination in the galley section.
I've dealt with deceased by fire.......absolute horrible death. If just switching fridges helps to diminish that risk and offer other benefits....I'm in

I'll come to [MENTION=38050]Retired LEO[/MENTION]'s defense, here. He is correct about the risk of fires from absorption refrigerators. It's the reason that Norcold came up with and started installing the so-called "recall box" (an overheat sensor with shut-down function) on all of their absorption refrigerators. They are safer than they used to be, but RV refrigerator fires still occur.

OP - wave have a residential refrigerator in our Solitude - but it's a much heavier trailer than what you're looking at and the fridge sits amidships (with MORryde independent suspension underneath). No problems with it so far.

Rob

 

[Retired LEO]

I'll come to [MENTION=38050]Retired LEO[/MENTION]'s defense, here. He is correct about the risk of fires from absorption refrigerators. It's the reason that Norcold came up with and started installing the so-called "recall box" (an overheat sensor with shut-down function) on all of their absorption refrigerators. They are safer than they used to be, but RV refrigerator fires still occur.

OP - wave have a residential refrigerator in our Solitude - but it's a much heavier trailer than what you're looking at and the fridge sits amidships (with MORryde independent suspension underneath). No problems with it so far.

Rob

Hi Rob, w/out a doubt having your residential sitting over a way far superior suspension than most is a huge advantage, plus you probably have the Samsung fridge? That's a awesome set up!
I intend to add the Cree 3000 suspension with X Factor bars and hopefully be able to add shocks.
I know a lot of people have trouble adjusting to new ideas as they're use to the 2 way fridge and it's all they have ever used. A friend has a huge dealership in MI and he has pretty well stopped ordering new trailers with 2 ways and is going 12V as much as possible. He said over the last year the 12V's have been awesome,very few problems with them. Plus with being off grid as I'm planning the extra 2.7 CF doesn't hurt either
I have a feeling why G.D. hasn't jumped on the band wagon yet for 12 V's is supply and demand. G.D wasn't adding 12 V's in the past when other companies were, 12 V's might be in short supply also and the 12 V manufacturers are going to take care of the customers they already have.We're in a era where it's hard to get a new trailer from the factory,they're having material shortages. There's new trailers sitting in their hold area's waiting for toilets. Some builders have actually shipped with plastic toilets when they're normally porcelain then the owner gets a certificate for a new porcelain when they become available. Add in some natural disasters, a lot of building materials are in short supply.

 

[Skilletface]

Just stumbled on to this thread and rekindled something I’ve been pondering. Would it be possible to convert a two way frigid into a three way by adding a properly sized inverter near the battery bank and sending 110 power back to the fridge. Not trying to over simply, the fridge would still think it’s a two way. One could get creative on how to switch your power sources around, as always I’m in the KISS camp with mods and don’t mind popping that fridge vent off outside and moving the plug from one receptacle to another. Thoughts?

 

[Calbar]

Just stumbled on to this thread and rekindled something I’ve been pondering. Would it be possible to convert a two way frigid into a three way by adding a properly sized inverter near the battery bank and sending 110 power back to the fridge. Not trying to over simply, the fridge would still think it’s a two way. One could get creative on how to switch your power sources around, as always I’m in the KISS camp with mods and don’t mind popping that fridge vent off outside and moving the plug from one receptacle to another. Thoughts?

Yes you could do this. I have done this when I put an inverter in to run my outside mini fridge when travelling. The line for the mini fridge is the same line as the inside fridge so it will run off of battery when travelling. I manually switch to propane as I don't want to drain my batteries but it can be done.

Rob

 

[Second Chance]

Just stumbled on to this thread and rekindled something I’ve been pondering. Would it be possible to convert a two way frigid into a three way by adding a properly sized inverter near the battery bank and sending 110 power back to the fridge. Not trying to over simply, the fridge would still think it’s a two way. One could get creative on how to switch your power sources around, as always I’m in the KISS camp with mods and don’t mind popping that fridge vent off outside and moving the plug from one receptacle to another. Thoughts?

You could, but the electric/propane RV absorption refrigerators (heating element) draw three to four times more current on AC than 110VAC compressor refrigerators do. Add in the efficiency loss of converting 12VDC to 120VAC and it would really be a battery-eating setup. Why not just let it run on propane as it's designed to do?

Rob

 

[Skilletface]

Thanks, we used to run inverters in our trucks to power those small refrigerators and they worked pretty good for that and other small appliances before the APU became part of the rig. That’s what had my curiosity up.

 

[Second Chance]

Thanks, we used to run inverters in our trucks to power those small refrigerators and they worked pretty good for that and other small appliances before the APU became part of the rig. That’s what had my curiosity up.

You're welcome. Just a forum hint: you can use the "Reply With Quote" (to the right of "Reply") as I have done here. Everyone will know to whom you are responding and that person will also receive a notification.

BTW - I love your avatar (and have been a fan of that image since the late '60s...)

Rob