Post by avannoy on Jul 16, 2012 21:45:30 GMT -5
We're now looking at whether to put a 2-way or 3-way fridge in our Airflyte. Dometic and Norcold both make a 2.7 cu. ft. model and offer it in 2-way and 3-way power. The choice of 2-way vs. 3-way is not as simple as we had thought.
The 2-way model only runs on AC or LP gas. This means you can't run it while driving to the campground. We would need to run it overnight before the trip, and then count on the fridge to stay cold while driving (assuming we don't open the fridge door). Then when we arrive, we would start it up in gas mode. The big advantage is that it does not connect to the 12 volt system at all, and therefore would not put any draw on the RV battery.
Then there's the 3-way model. In addition to AC and gas mode, it will also run on 12V DC (pulling about 15 amps), which has the sole purpose of running the fridge while towing. The assumption is that the tow vehicle would supply enough current to run the fridge while towing, so you know your food's going to be cold when you arrive. But there's a huge down-side: the 3-way models draw 1.2 amps of power from your 12V system WHILE RUNNING IN LP GAS MODE. That's right - the 3-way fridge would drain a 100Ah battery in less than 2 days, even when running on gas. (Remember a 100Ah battery only has 50Ah of usable capacity.)
So the question is which is more important - being able to boondock on LP gas with no battery drain, or being able to run the fridge while towing. I still can't understand why they don't give you the option to run the 3-way models on gas with no 12V requirement.
What do you think? Which makes more sense? How important is it to run the fridge while towing? Any thoughts or feedback is appreciated.
Angel
The 2-way model only runs on AC or LP gas. This means you can't run it while driving to the campground. We would need to run it overnight before the trip, and then count on the fridge to stay cold while driving (assuming we don't open the fridge door). Then when we arrive, we would start it up in gas mode. The big advantage is that it does not connect to the 12 volt system at all, and therefore would not put any draw on the RV battery.
Then there's the 3-way model. In addition to AC and gas mode, it will also run on 12V DC (pulling about 15 amps), which has the sole purpose of running the fridge while towing. The assumption is that the tow vehicle would supply enough current to run the fridge while towing, so you know your food's going to be cold when you arrive. But there's a huge down-side: the 3-way models draw 1.2 amps of power from your 12V system WHILE RUNNING IN LP GAS MODE. That's right - the 3-way fridge would drain a 100Ah battery in less than 2 days, even when running on gas. (Remember a 100Ah battery only has 50Ah of usable capacity.)
So the question is which is more important - being able to boondock on LP gas with no battery drain, or being able to run the fridge while towing. I still can't understand why they don't give you the option to run the 3-way models on gas with no 12V requirement.
What do you think? Which makes more sense? How important is it to run the fridge while towing? Any thoughts or feedback is appreciated.
Angel