In Support of a Household 120V Fridge in a Camper?

[wtwnnil]

Those are excellent points, everyone, thanks!

Jim, really helpful specifics on the mods we'll need to incorporate. I figured ventilation behind is necessary (as for any fridge), but I hadn't considered airspace around the edges instead of flush-mounting it -- I gather that the refrigerator also sheds heat along the edges and not just the rear.

That door latch is a great one, thanks Ramdough!

It is good to note that the choice of inverter matters. Jim, is your Victron a dedicated inverter just for the fridge?

And Ramdough, that household-style unit is exactly the type of fridge I'm thinking of. The $1000 price difference is important, considering my budget!

 

[JaSAn]

You best test your own refrigerator. Fire it up at home and see what surfaces get warm. On mine, the left side gets warmest. All the dorm fridges I have seen have no exposed heat exchanger, use skin cooling. I think designers expect kids to push the refrigerator back against the wall.

 

[iggi]

In my limited experience, some of the home fridges are not fans of rough roads. The compressor in mine banged around so much I thought I'd broken something substantial. Granted, it was only $150 and lasted a year. My $650 DC RV fridge lasted about a year before a failure and I've been waiting 3 months for a replacement part. Would have been simpler and cheaper to just get another bar fridge. Eventually I'd expect to find one that lived longer. That being said though, the DC fridge (a rebranded 65 litre truck fridge) is both more efficient and better at cooling/freezing than the cheap dorm fridge.

 

[mudfud]

If you look at the energy star site, one of the most efficient fridges is an LG 8 cu ft, available at Costco, I'm mounting it above the wheel well in my van build so I don't have to bend over to get stuff, should hold over 2 wks of food,

 

[86scotty]

If you look at the energy star site, one of the most efficient fridges is an LG 8 cu ft, available at Costco, I'm mounting it above the wheel well in my van build so I don't have to bend over to get stuff, should hold over 2 wks of food,

Sure that's 8cf? Looks a lot like the 5.8 that popped up when I Googled what you have.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-5-79-cu-ft-top-freezer-refrigerator-with-semi-auto-defrost-platinum-silver/6511554.p?skuId=6511554&utm_source=feed&ref=212&loc=19602590364&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwh4-wBhB3EiwAeJsppBmMQIdqjLnkpqGVb_-lkdIbVgDAPAWvVOJuHePurswV_b6PjslC_RoCzX8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[llamalander]

Says that one has a semi-auto defrost..., maybe don't drive through California!

 

[OldGreen]

Some truth...
I have been using my magic chef 4.4 cubic foot fridge in my home built trailer 100% of the time for almost 4 years. The inverter is always on. 12v DC system. Including the load from the inverter, it pulls 5.5 to 6.5 amps on the DC side while running. I added a child lock from Amazon to hold it shut. Electrically and mechanically, it is perfect. Downside is that you need to account for stuff rolling around inside and make sure the shelves are more firmly attached. It cost less than $200 at home depot. I will likely never buy a big DC fridge. That said, I do own 3 smaller DC fridges for various purposes including one in the trailer as a dedicated freezer. The small ones are cheap and efficient.

 

[Ozarker]

I've had an LG bar fridge on my boat (I had to laugh at the mention of "G Forces" riding in a vehicle) as it has worked fine for about 6 years, still works well. I'm sure your potholes don't break the pickle jar like slapping 3' swells on a pontoon boat!

In the Sundancer (50' Sea Ray) we had a residential LG stainless double door, bottom freezer drawer fridge, no idea how they got that aboard down below! Never had an issue with it. The Sundancer didn't slap on the water, it gently rocked.

I'll be putting another LG in the travel trailer for the beer!

Prop the door open if it's not in use to prevent mildew and fridge stink.