mklog
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 2
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Post by mklog on Aug 11, 2018 11:29:12 GMT -5
Hi, Our KZ Escape has a Norcold 2-door N611v refrigerator in it and we hope to use it with propane and the trailer battery (in a week). From what we have read, the propane usage is quite small, but we have found no information on the amount of current it will draw from the battery. Ideally, we would hope that we could run the refrigerator for 5 days on the battery, while using the battery very little for other purposes (only some LED lighting). Does anyone have any insight into the average DC current drain for this refrigerator (when running on propane), or have any experience with using it for 5 or more days, without charging the battery? Thanks! Mark
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Post by lynnmor on Aug 11, 2018 12:06:10 GMT -5
I don't have a definite answer on the current draw, I see it nowhere in the manual. I do know that it is very small and should be just fine running for a week on the typical battery.
Now the rest of the equation is the other usage, the type and condition of the batteries and possibility of adding any charge.
Many just go to a campsite with power and give no thought to battery usage. For you, consider installing two six volt golf car batteries and adding some solar power or a small generator. Keep in mind that discharging a battery to 50% or below will shorten its life. A battery switch should be installed to disconnect all loads on the battery in storage. Look for parasitic loads such as radio, thermostat and LP detector and ways to disconnect when not in use while maintaining power to the fridge. It is against code to have a switch on a LP/CO2 detector however.
You should have a way to monitor the SOC (state of charge) for your battery, the gauge installed is pretty much useless.
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mklog
Newbie RV’er
Posts: 2
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Post by mklog on Aug 11, 2018 16:23:27 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply - I was surprised that the manufacturer does not specify any information regarding either the propane usage or electrical demand - I sent them the same question a few days ago with no answer yet. We will be looking into solar in the future, as well as a small generator - unfortunately, most of the places that we camp (that have no power) are also heavily shaded... We graduated from a pop-up and are just learning the ropes for a self-contained trailer. Mark
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Post by nvguy on Aug 12, 2018 21:44:42 GMT -5
Propane consumption is pretty much impossible to estimate unless you know: 1:What ambient temps will be 2:How much the door will be open 3:Temp of food placed in the refrigerator. Far to many variables to make any sort of estimate. From my experience, the refrigerator uses a small amount of propane, hardly enough to really worry about.
If you want a rough estimate, there should be a specification tag in the food compartment, it should have BTU per hour. My 8 cu ft Norcold is 1,420 BTU per hour. One gallon of propane has 91,600 BTU, so a gallon of propane will run my refer continuously for 64.5 hours. Remember, the refrigerator only uses propane when the interior needs cooling.
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Post by ericshand on Aug 13, 2018 7:38:21 GMT -5
Hello,
I have the Norcold N611-v Refrig and it is 120v AC or Propane, not 12v DC (battery). When A/C is not available, it automatically switches to propane.
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Post by lynnmor on Aug 13, 2018 7:59:27 GMT -5
Hello, I have the Norcold N611-v Refrig and it is 120v AC or Propane, not 12v DC (battery). When A/C is not available, it automatically switches to propane. The 12 volt power is required to operate the controls, the question is how much does that consume. Yes, the 120 volt AC power or the propane does the actual cooling. |
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Post by ericshand on Aug 13, 2018 20:12:19 GMT -5
Ok, I see that now. Thanks.
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