Norcold N180.3X Working Terrible on 12V, Erratic on Propane

rharder · June 2019

Took our first trips on our new TAB 320S and having troubles with the Norcold N180.3X 3 way fridge. It works great on AC, marginal on propane and not well at all on 12V.

12V - After temperature settled at 38 degrees on AC we took a couple of 6 hour drives and the fridge rose to 50-55 degrees both times. 12V light was on and the battery had remained at 12.8V after the trip. So it seemed that it was getting enough power but would not hold temperature. Any thoughts?

Propane - It would only hold temperature at the highest setting. One night it dropped to 25 degrees on high (food froze) so I dropped the temperature to the medium flame and it rose to low 50's (too high). How can I get it to remain at a 37-45 degree temperature for a long stay boon docking?

lkc001 · June 2019

I travel with my fridge "off", so 24 hours before I cool the fridge on shore power, then add some frozen water bottles and/or 1/2 gallon frozen milk jugs, along with one of the little fridge fans. I also freeze my meats. This will keep your fridge plenty cool while traveling until you can plug back in again or start on propane. I can still have frozen water bottles after 4-5 days of camping with the fridge on and that also gets me home with any food still cool. It also helps the fridge stay cooler, not have to work so hard in hot weather. You may want to have someone look at your propane line to see if it's got carbon at the igniter end---that will keep it from getting consistent flame and/or make it hard to light. I had that problem once and after the service guy cleaned up the carbon, it has worked fine ever since. If I know the temperature is going to drop at night I will turn the temp on the fridge up so it won't freeze the food. I also arrange my food so the frozen stuff is on the side where the fins are--that gets the coldest. Mine works fine on propane.

lkc001 · June 2019

Also--I do not run my fridge on 12V--I don't want it pulling power off my TV or draining my TV battery, and it will run down your trailer battery really, really fast.

MuttonChops · June 2019

@rharder;

In Propane Mode you are the thermostat. You'll learn over time based on the outside temperature and the amount/type of food in the Fridge how to set & reset the Propane Flame to maintain a range very near 37-45F, but over/under temperatures will occur.

Front Panel Thermostat is only for 120VAC operational mode.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/00/dpo79qaemgo9.png

I've not decided what is the best approach for DC Operation . . . . . .

jkjenn · June 2019

Here are things that will help:

1. Prechill the fridge for 24 hours
2. Start with cold food
3. Start with a couple frozen water bottles. I use 32 oz. Nalgenes.
4. On DC, I alternate driving with fridge on/off

It will not keep up very well above 85 degrees, but venting the trailer heat helps.

Cbusguy · June 2019

I travel with the fridge on and running on DC. No issues food and beer have been cold on arrival

klenger · June 2019

I have a 100 AH Lithium battery setup and 200 watts of solar. The lithium battery tends to run about 1 volt higher (~13.4 VDC) than a lead acid battery. I do not have the charge wire connected from the tv to the T@B because the alternator doesn't put out enough voltage to even begin to charge the lithium battery. I usually travel with the fridge on DC after cooling down to the low 30s on AC. Depending on the solar conditions, the fridge running on DC will draw about 8 AH per hour of driving, so I could actually drive all day without depleting the lithium battery, but I have never traveled more than 6 hours. Bottom line is, with the higher voltage of the lithium battery plus the solar, the fridge will stay in the low 30s on DC pretty much all the time while traveling. I guess my point here is that the fridge running on DC is very sensitive to the DC voltage. At 13 VDC, it performs significantly better than it would at say 11.5 VDC. I saw a post somewhere in which a member replaced the wires from the fuse panel to the fridge with larger gauge wire (not sure what size, maybe #8) and saw an improvement in performance running on DC, again because of the higher DC voltage. I also have a remote reading thermometer that monitors outside temp, inside temp, and fridge temp. When towing, I will often put the remote display on the dash of my tv so that I can watch the fridge temp, which adds a lot of comfort in knowing what's happening. Sorry for the ramble.

Cbusguy · June 2019

@klenger I have purchased, not yet installed, the renogy dc to dc charger link. That is supposed to address that problem. Just completing my boondock platform tear off and tool box install now, waiting to scrape the cash together to buy a couple of LiFe myself.

RollingBnB · June 2019

I wired in a 200w inverter that I plug the fridge into for travel so it runs on ac. Much more efficient and the fridge has a thermostat that way.

Rollingztone · July 2019

How do you plug the refrigerator into the inverter? Did you pull the fridge out and wire an extension cord onto it? Do you have the inverter inside the fridge compartment? I'm interested in you setup, that sounds like a good solution.

Rollingztone · July 2019

@klenger Could you elaborate on the remote reading thermometer that monitors outside temp, inside temp, and fridge temp. That sounds like something worthwhile to have.

klenger · July 2019

@Rollingztone See it at https://www.acurite.com/multi-sensor-thermometer-with-2-indoor-sensors-and-1-outdoor-sensor.html

Rollingztone · July 2019

@klenger ...Thanks.

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Norcold N180.3X Working Terrible on 12V, Erratic on Propane

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