Newbie question about 3-way Fridge

spfrancis65

We just purchased a 2018 T@B 320s, and we are planning to take our first trip this Friday.  We super excited to start our retirement off in style with our T@B.  So we are just going to a place only 45 minutes away, to get comfortable with the different features.  This is our first RV, so we end up having so many questions.  We have the RV sitting in a storage lot, as our HOA doesn't allow RVs.  The one question is about how to properly start up the fridge, to be able to use it for a 2 night trip.  I can drive up the day before, and start the fridge, but we don't have shore power in the lot.  Does it make sense to go over the day before, and get the fridge started up on propane, and let it run for the night. Is it cool to leave it running like that overnight(unattended)? That way, it will be cool when we go to pick it up for the trip.  Or does it make sense to have the battery power up the fridge, to get it ready.  Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Sharon_is_SAM

Don’t pre cool on battery as it will draw down to a dead battery in short order.  And, best not tow using the battery to cool.  

Most users cool down on shore power.  You can cool down on propane and start with some pre cooled/frozen bottles of water to hasten the cool down.  

bergger

Yes I agree with @Sharon_is_SAM.  Absolutely do not use the battery to precool the fridge.  If shore power is not an option then I'd use the propane to do the job.  Check with your HOA about having your trailer parked in your driveway or on the street the night before you leave.  We used to live in an HOA and we were able to have an RV at the house, in our driveway, for up to 48 hours so we'd bring it to the house a day or two before our trip to pack it up.  Also if the streets in the HOA are public streets maintained by the city parking rules usually follow city parking rules.  Just something to look into.  

spfrancis65

so thanks for the feedback.  So I will just plug to shore power when we get to the site, and throw in some frozen bottles to help with the cool down.

Marceline

spfrancis65 said:

so thanks for the feedback.  So I will just plug to shore power when we get to the site, and throw in some frozen bottles to help with the cool down.

I’ve also used a chunk of dry ice to expedite cooling. 

pthomas745

There is nothing wrong with running the fridge on propane over night to cool it. 

The issue with running the propane fridges on battery power is: they use a tremendous amount of battery power to keep the fridge running.  (11 amps for my 2017 propane fridge).  The manuals for the Norcold 3163 simply say the only way to run on 12V is when connected to a "running engine".........which might have been ok years ago, but modern vehicles are not very good at at sending power to a trailer battery.

The good news is: the fridge is a pretty good cooler by itself.  When I have a chance to precool my fridge, a couple of freeze packs, etc, keep the contents pretty cold.

Here is a link to the Norcold Manuals here.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/6390/norcold-refrigerator-manual-guidelines-tips

Mickerly

Three-way (absorption refrigerators) work by using heat to generate a set of chemical reactions. Propane is great at efficiently creating heat. 110v AC power will do reasonable well. The 12v DC option is meant for towing only. It will eat a battery in a short period of time.

The tips guide provided by pthomas is very good.

spfrancis65

hey thanks everyone who weighed in on this.  I got a lot of good information.  I will do the freezer packs to get the fridge cooled off, when we arrive at the RV park.

DanManz

I agree with everything people have said on this thread.  We just had our dealer install three 100 amp Battleborn lithium batteries, in part so I could address this same issue of keeping the fridge cool while we are traveling without running out of battery power.  The trick my dealer suggested was to get the fridge cold using 120 v shore power or propane before travelling with the thermostat set to 4 bars.  Load all the food and cold stuff we want to carry.  When we start to tow the trailer, switch to battery and turn the thermostat down to two bars while driving so it will draw less power.  Once we get to camp, switch back to propane and adjust the thermostat back to 4 bars.  We haven't tried it yet but I'm thinking this sounds like a smart way to address this challenge.  The three way fridges seem to get a bum rap on this forum but we love ours.  Here in northern New England we boondock all the time.  We're on propane any time we camp and the fridge uses very little fuel.  It stays cold enough that we can always make ice and keep ice cream in the freezer.  

ScottG

I'm not certain about later models, but my understanding of the Norcold 3163 (which I have in my 2015) is that the temperature control does not operate when running in 12VDC mode. I.e., the fridge is either on or off. 

I also remain a fan of the oft-disparaged 3-way fridges because they run so efficiently on propane and allow extended dry camping with very little battery use. However, I rarely run it on 12VDC, as the "smart" alternator in my T/V can't quite keep up with it's power needs, and I am unwilling to sacrifice battery juice before I even get to my destination.

Fortunately, a bit jug of ice cubes usually keeps things cool enough enroute, with the added bonus that I arrive in camp with sufficient rocks for my happy hour libations!  ;-)

spfrancis65

so we took the trip, and the frdige worked like a champ.  I just turned on the fridge when we got to the site, and we put in a few frozen items to get the fridge started.  Thanks for all the people who weighed in.