Friday, August 12, 2011

Motorhome Addition

We added a small fridge to the overhead area of the motorhome. It is a 3.7 cu ft electric only unit that Zellers had on sale for $99 the other day. It uses only 90 watts of power and will run very nicely off the 400 watt inverter that powers the TV, StarChoice and computer while we are traveling and boondocking. When we are parked in a site with power it will get plugged into a regular wall outlet. My friend Rae finds her regular RV fridge to be plenty large enough for her but we are always trying to cram one more thing into ours and it is always my couple of cans of beer that get tossed out to make room. Now I will have cold water and pop within easy reach while I drive and cold beer when we park! It will also serve as a "beer fridge" when we are home. I had to get rid of our "junk basket" to make room for it but most of that stuff will find another home.

I just have to find a way to stop the door from opening when I turn a corner and get pummeled by the contents!

Edit:  I am having problems getting the fridge to run off the inverter. I get an alarm and error code when I plug it into the 400 watt inverter even with the truck engine running. I have ordered an 800 watt inverter that should be here in a week and will try again. I guess I am not as smart as I thought I was as I thought it would work. If the 800 watt won't work, I will put in a 1000! I want this to work.

Norma says, "Why did you post that photo? The place is a mess!"



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8 comments:

  1. JonnaAugust 12, 2011 at 10:42 AM

    Oh Lord! A beer cooler right over the driver's head!! You'd better make sure there is only water and soda in it while you are crossing the US. If it's in reach of the driver, it's illegal in Calif.

    I love the idea though, but really secure that thing. You don't want it landing on you.

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  2. CroftAugust 12, 2011 at 1:29 PM

    Thanks Jonna! I will remember that Californis thing. Probably here in Canada as well, we seem to have the most strict liquor laws. Yes, I will secure it well.

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  3. RaeAugust 12, 2011 at 3:21 PM

    The fridge might draw more than your 90 watts when it powers on?

    I figured out that the reason my fridge is big enough is that I don't store any liquids other than the odd six pack in there! Add soda, water, juice, milk, etc. and you're going to run out of real estate pretty quickly

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  4. CroftAugust 12, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    I think that is the problem Rae, the startup hit from the fridge is too much. We had a much smaller fridge in the old motorhome so maybe that is the problem.

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  5. living.boondockingmexicoAugust 12, 2011 at 8:05 PM

    If I am not mistaken, on the back of the fridge are the draw numbers on the compressor.

    I attempted to put a 5000btu a/c on an inverter. After it didn't work, I found the info on where to find the numbers.

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  6. CroftAugust 12, 2011 at 9:15 PM

    There is a sticker that says "90w" which I assumed meant 90 watts. I know it gives a big hit on startup but I cannot imagine 400 watts which is what the inverter is rated for.

    We shall see what happens when I hook up the 800 watt inverter next week.

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  7. MtnHamAugust 13, 2011 at 7:34 AM

    Check the voltage on the incoming 12v line to the inverter. The alarm could indicate low voltage (too small a wire.)

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  8. CroftAugust 13, 2011 at 3:10 PM

    I will watch for voltage drop while I plug the fridge in. Thanks. It is wired with #6 stranded over about a ten foot run. My chart shows this more than sufficient.

    ReplyDelete

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