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RE: Strange RV wiring.....
"and #4 copper will carry a lot of amperage. "
EXACTLY, and when it chaffs on the chassis what is going to give...the #4 wire? The battery? I want a fuse right at the battery......No other way!
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Rbertalotto
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09/05/23 01:54pm |
General RVing Issues
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Strange RV wiring.....
Here's one for you...While doing some solar work on my friends brand new $50,000 Winnebago trailer I found these three Auto Reset circuit breakers mounted on the side of the frame rail. Can't believe how bad this is. 24" of #4 wire with no protection at the battery. Two 30a CBs tied together with a piece of copper strap that feed through another 30a CB. One wire (Green) that is connected to CB2 input, but because CB2 gets its feed through CB1, it is protected by CB1...(I labeled "no protection", but it is protected by CB1).....I have no idea what any of the three wires connected to CB2 or CB3 are feeding. Spent hours trying to figure it out. There is no current flowing through them with a clamp amp meter no matter what we turn on in the camper. All these wires are only 12g.......Comments?
https://media.fotki.com/2v2ekNFCyxeRUw.jpg width=640
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Rbertalotto
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09/01/23 06:30am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Dometic VS Norcold dc refrigerators
I have the RFU 9000 from NovaKool. 9.1 cuff. I really like it as the freezer is on the bottom.
I saw a 10 cu ft 12v unit that had the freezer as a drawer in the bottom. Absolutely makes the most sense. When you open the door on a conventional freezer, all the cold "drops out" and it has to restart the compressor to get back to temperature. Not so with the freezer in a drawer....Cold Air Falls and stays in the drawer.....PERFECTO!
https://norcold.com/product/n2175/https://norcold.com/product/n2175/
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Rbertalotto
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08/07/23 11:12am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Help with Refrigerator Decision
OK, More research (and confusion).....It appears a major energy user with these 12V RV refrigerators is the "Defrost Cycle"....Heating up the freezer and then quickly cooling it back down uses a bunch of energy. And as far as I can tell, there is no way to shut it off. So today I went to Home Depot / Lowes / Best Buy and looked at small college dorm type refrigerators that do not offer any type of defrost cycle. But they are quite small. Since I always camp alone, and I never have a full 6 cu ft refrigerator, one of these 4 cu ft units might be the ticket for me. On the rear info card it says they draw 1.5 amps! And at around $250, heck, if it doesn't work out I can use it out in the shop....I have a call into Dometic to see if the defrost function of the 8 cu ft unit they offer can be deactivated.....stay tuned for more RefrigAdventures!
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Rbertalotto
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08/07/23 11:04am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Help with Refrigerator Decision
Thanks for all the great replies. I'm still totally undecided on Residential with inverter or a true RV 12V refrigerator. Because I near 100% boondock, and do a lot of traveling, I'm leaning toward the RV 12v solution. I got the price for a Dometic 8 cu ft down to exactly $1000 which seems reasonable considering I'm hoping to get at least 10-12 years out of it. And my absorption refrigerator is like new and works as a 2 way refrigerator is supposed to so I might be able to sell it for a few hundred dollars and offset the cost.
We shall see.....Tax Free Weekend so I can save $60.50 if I buy it on Saturday...
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Rbertalotto
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08/07/23 05:59am |
General RVing Issues
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Dometic VS Norcold dc refrigerators
I bet this has been asked a million times.....But looking for the latest opinions......The Norcold is currently about $400 more than a comparable Dometic...Both 12v DC / 8 CUFT....The Dometic with rebates, Camping world email sign up and a sale price is exactly $1000....The Norcold is around $1400 with promotions.....
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Rbertalotto
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08/06/23 07:55pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Help with Refrigerator Decision
Since I am stuck in one place with full hookup, I replaced my refrigerator with a Hotpoint 9.7 cu ft residential -- $400 from Lowes
That is the EXACT refrigerator I'm looking to use.....
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Rbertalotto
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08/06/23 06:56pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Help with Refrigerator Decision
we stored our class A with a Whirlpool resi fridge in the heat of summer
and cold of winter.
Thanks...You'd think they are warehousing these units and shipping them in standard trailer trucks with no temperature control......And trailer trucks bounce the s$%t out of stuff.....Maybe the whole caution is just a CYA on the part of the manufacturer?
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Rbertalotto
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08/06/23 05:51pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Help with Refrigerator Decision
I'm reading a bunch of Q and A on Home Depot and Lowes sites about using residential refrigerators in an RV.....Two issues jump out. The manufacturer says to not store, unused non operating, in freezing or over 100 degrees. This might be an issue when not using the trailer....Second issue is manufacturer says these residential refrigerators are not meant to be bounced down the road while operating....voids warrantee
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Rbertalotto
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08/06/23 05:41pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Help with Refrigerator Decision
First consideration is how you're gonna get it inside the camper.
My trailer is a Toy Hauler...No problem whatsoever getting old out and new in...
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Rbertalotto
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08/06/23 05:37pm |
General RVing Issues
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Help with Refrigerator Decision
I've totally HAD IT with my propane refrigerator. Camping at the beach last week where the temperatures at night got down to mid 50s and during the day into the high 80s, the propane refrigerator temperature in both the freezer and main unit was all over the place. Melted Ice Cream in the afternoon and frozen vegetables in the morning! I bought an internal fan system and a rheostat temperature control from JC Refrigeration and it didn't help at all.....Soooo...
I've decided to go with a compressor refrigerator.....8 cu ft
The choice is a $1500 12V DC unit or a 120v residential unit for $400 and an inverter.
My trailer has a 1000w Xantrex inverter, 520watts of solar and 200aH of Lithium
If the inverter and residential frig needs more battery bank, I can buy a bunch of battery Ah for the $1100 difference!
What say the board? Any experience with the residential/inverter situation?
The residential refrigerator I'm looking at has a rating of 6a @ 120v.
The DC refrigerator is 3a at night -9a during the day at 12V
Thanks in advance!
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Rbertalotto
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08/06/23 03:14pm |
General RVing Issues
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