How do Furrion 12V fridges work?

[Hiking Girl]

Can someone explain to me how the Furrion 12V fridges work?

If you didn't see my earlier post, we are going to head out with a fridge that needs to be replaced, but is running for now. The dealer explained to me (or at least tried to) that these fridges like more power over less. I'm trying to understand how to best provide that.

The dealer talked about plugging in versus running off the battery and even throwing the battery disconnect switch while plugged in. I guess this ensures the fridge runs on the 110 and not the battery?

I can plug in at home before we leave and will do the same while camping.

Any insight would be helpful.

Thanks!
~ Kathy

 

[Second Chance]

The Furrion 12VDC refrigerators use compressor/condenser technology just like a residential refrigerator - the difference being that the compressor runs on 12VDC rather than 120VAC. This means that the refrigerator can run either off the batteries or from 12VDC supplied by your converter/charger (which converts 120VAC shore power to 12VDC). It will use the same amount of power whether running off the battery or off the converter/charger. The last thing you want to do is disconnect the battery while plugged into shore power as this will disconnect the battery from the charger.

Rob

 

[Hiking Girl]

The Furrion 12VDC refrigerators use compressor/condenser technology just like a residential refrigerator - the difference being that the compressor runs on 12VDC rather than 120VAC. This means that the refrigerator can run either off the batteries or from 12VDC supplied by your converter/charger (which converts 120VAC shore power to 12VDC). It will use the same amount of power whether running off the battery or off the converter/charger. The last thing you want to do is disconnect the battery while plugged into shore power as this will disconnect the battery from the charger.

Rob

Great explanation Rob!
Thank you so much!

 

[dryfly]

The Furrion 12VDC refrigerators use compressor/condenser technology just like a residential refrigerator - the difference being that the compressor runs on 12VDC rather than 120VAC. This means that the refrigerator can run either off the batteries or from 12VDC supplied by your converter/charger (which converts 120VAC shore power to 12VDC). It will use the same amount of power whether running off the battery or off the converter/charger. The last thing you want to do is disconnect the battery while plugged into shore power as this will disconnect the battery from the charger.


Rob

Rob,

I've not really looked into the new 12VDC fridges, but just curious as to how much current they draw. Will a single group 24 or 27 lead acid battery (commonly supplied with new trailers) power the fridge when running down the road for 8 hours?

Since most trailers receive 12VDC from the tow vehicle when hooked up, I assume this would help. Also, many new trailers have a small solar panel also helping, but still seems that an additional battery is going to be needed to ensure power for an all day long trip.

I hope they are more efficient in cooling than the current crop of 120VAC/propane refrigerators!

 

[jungleb0y]

Will a single group 24 or 27 lead acid battery (commonly supplied with new trailers) power the fridge when running down the road for 8 hours?

Group 24 batteries usually have around 70-85Ah, group 27 109Ah, divide that by what fusion says the amp draw is per hr and that’s your total run time if that’s the only thing running on the 12v system.

From furion website: (10cu.ft and 8cu.ft have the same specs)
Specifications
Input Voltage: 12V DC
Input Power Rating: =15A (11A @ 12V DC)
Energy Consumption: 1.08kWh per day


70/11=6.36hrs/50% (U NRG )=3.18hrs
109/11=9.91hrs/50% (U NRG)=4.955hrs

 

[FT4NOW]

Keep in mind for a lead acid battery, your usable AHs are really 50% of the rated capacity. If you frequently discharge a lead acid battery beyond 50% you can cause battery damage.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[jungleb0y]

Keep in mind for a lead acid battery, your usable AHs are really 50% of the rated capacity.

Good catch

 

[Second Chance]

Rob,

I've not really looked into the new 12VDC fridges, but just curious as to how much current they draw. Will a single group 24 or 27 lead acid battery (commonly supplied with new trailers) power the fridge when running down the road for 8 hours?

Since most trailers receive 12VDC from the tow vehicle when hooked up, I assume this would help. Also, many new trailers have a small solar panel also helping, but still seems that an additional battery is going to be needed to ensure power for an all day long trip.

I hope they are more efficient in cooling than the current crop of 120VAC/propane refrigerators!

[MENTION=21299]jungleb0y[/MENTION] said it better than I could have. And, yes, these are MUCH more efficient on electric than the RV absorption refrigerators. The RV fridges have resistive heating elements (think amperage draw) while the compressors use much less energey.

Rob

 

[PappaJohn]

It is not clear to me what the overall advantage is of the 12V compressor type refrigerators. Is it a safety thing where you can turn your propane off during travel?

They are somewhat more efficient when your rig is plugged into shore power. They draw about 180W of DC which probably equates to 225W from the 120VAC when you account for the efficiency of the converter. A similar absorption frig draws about 360W when on shore power. I don’t know the relative cooling capabilities of the two systems so one may run less time (lower duty cycle) to keep the frig cold which would affect the overall energy usage.

In my mind this little bit of increased efficiency when on shore power doesn’t make up for the extra cost and weight of having larger batteries to keep your food cold when traveling. Most RV parks don’t have power meters on each site from which they charge us so the extra power is really free.

I guess it is back to not having your propane on and the frig’s small heating flame on when traveling. Is there something else I am missing?

 

[rootusrootus]

Simplicity and cost are probably the biggest advantages.

The 12V fridge in my 261BH draws about 90W peak (it varies -- starts out about 78W, drops down to about 68W over the space of a couple minutes, then cranks up to about 90W for the rest of the cycle. Pretty reliably costs me 1% of my little 100Ah battery for each cycle. The frequency of the cycling is completely dependent on ambient temperature. We have mild temps in the PNW so I usually see about 25-30 minutes between cycles during the day, 45-50 minutes during the wee hours. About 25% of battery capacity used overnight, during the day if it's sunny I usually make it back to 100% SOC late morning. This of course is highly dependent on circumstances.

Downsides... compressor noise and need for more battery capacity. Mitigated by the solar panel.
Upsides... theoretically less to go wrong, no spiders to worry about, pilots, ignitors, etc, anything gas related.

I've had both and I could take it or leave it. The noise is probably the only real downside, I can deal with the battery usage.

Will a single group 24 or 27 lead acid battery (commonly supplied with new trailers) power the fridge when running down the road for 8 hours?

Yes, should be fine, assuming the battery started out charged.

Since most trailers receive 12VDC from the tow vehicle when hooked up, I assume this would help.

Can't speak for everyone else, but my F250 supplies about 100W through the connector, which is sufficient to power the fridge by itself.

Also, many new trailers have a small solar panel also helping, but still seems that an additional battery is going to be needed to ensure power for an all day long trip.

IMO a solar panel should be considered required equipment for anyone using a 12V fridge. And a bigger battery is a good idea, and basically required if you spend any time boondocking.

I hope they are more efficient in cooling than the current crop of 120VAC/propane refrigerators!

I don't know how to measure that, but ours does a fine job of keeping the fridge cold and the freezer frozen.

 

[21GFamily]

We have a 12V Furrion in our 21G and initially I was upset we didn’t have the electric/propane combo UNTIL we headed out. Have to say it’s pretty good. We have the solar package and I upgraded our batteries to 2x6V and it’s never been an issue. The fridge has a sleep mode and whenever we’re away/asleep I just turn it on that and we’ve always had lots of battery and cold beer upon return.


2020 GMC HD3500 Denali Duramax SRW
2021 Momentum 21G

 

[dryfly]

Simplicity and cost are probably the biggest advantages.

The 12V fridge in my 261BH draws about 90W peak (it varies -- starts out about 78W, drops down to about 68W over the space of a couple minutes, then cranks up to about 90W for the rest of the cycle. Pretty reliably costs me 1% of my little 100Ah battery for each cycle. The frequency of the cycling is completely dependent on ambient temperature. We have mild temps in the PNW so I usually see about 25-30 minutes between cycles during the day, 45-50 minutes during the wee hours. About 25% of battery capacity used overnight, during the day if it's sunny I usually make it back to 100% SOC late morning. This of course is highly dependent on circumstances.

Downsides... compressor noise and need for more battery capacity. Mitigated by the solar panel.
Upsides... theoretically less to go wrong, no spiders to worry about, pilots, ignitors, etc, anything gas related.

I've had both and I could take it or leave it. The noise is probably the only real downside, I can deal with the battery usage.

Yes, should be fine, assuming the battery started out charged.

Can't speak for everyone else, but my F250 supplies about 100W through the connector, which is sufficient to power the fridge by itself.

IMO a solar panel should be considered required equipment for anyone using a 12V fridge. And a bigger battery is a good idea, and basically required if you spend any time boondocking.

I don't know how to measure that, but ours does a fine job of keeping the fridge cold and the freezer frozen.

Thanks for the review/info. I like to keep up with new technology in the RV world.

I guess the jury is still out on the long term reliability of the 12vdc fridges. Initially, I'm impressed, and unlike the new tankless water heaters, I'd be pleased with a new trailer that had one installed.

It's especially interesting that they cool well. There has been numerous threads on adding intake/exhaust fans to the propane refrigerators in hopes of improving the cooling. I for one have done this, and it's still an issue to keep fridge temps below 40 degrees in hot humid weather.

 

[offtohavasu]

Some other advantages to the DC compressors:

Being level is less of an issue

They cool better in warmer temps. You can improve the absorption with more fans, but you'll have more battery draw and that's still hit and miss.

 

[goducks14]

The biggest advantage of 12V over a typical absorption fridge is the extra room inside. A typical 8 cu.ft RV fridge only has about 7.5 cu.ft. A plug n play 12V that fits in the same opening will have 10 cu.ft. so you gain about 2.5 more cu.ft.

12V fridges have been around for decades in the marine industry. You don't have propane or 120V on a boat so 12V is the only option.
They cost less so it make sense that some RV manufactures are installing them. Of course they don't drop the price of the RV, they just make more profit. Install is way way easier as well so labor costs are down. Kinda like the Solid Steps now. No cutouts in the RV sidewall and no welding up brackets for the fold out steps.