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question on inverter use / 120 v refrig / other crazy ?

riven1950
Explorer
Explorer
I found a 1990 TT for my BIL to use for his hunting camp. It has been sitting in a yearly lot lease park for years hooked up to power / water, no battery so i am guessing the converter works or they would not have lights.

Where he is moving it there will be no power or water hookup. The original frig has been replaced with a small frig running off 120V ac. I looked but could find a plate on the frig that would show amps used but it is not big, fits in the original TT frig space.

He was asking me what he could run off his battery ( 12 volt deep cycle ) and 1000 watt HF inverter. He also has a small 1000 watt HF generator but doesn't want to run it much due to noise.

I have no answer for him as I have a 2019TT, no inverter, and use full hook ups.

He does not care about AC use, HWH, or furnace. Maybe microwave, but probably not. He would mainly use frig and lights. What will he need for that and best way to hook up?

Can he hook the inverter to his battery and plug that into the 30 amp cord with an adapter? I told him the battery would not last long, just no idea how long.

Thanks
17 REPLIES 17

Naio
Explorer
Explorer
If his inverter is like my Harbor Freight one, it has USB ports that work to charge a phone even when the inverter is turned off. So there's not much waste of electricity.
3/4 timing in a DIY van conversion. Backroads, mountains, boondocking, sometimes big cities for a change of pace.

DrewE
Explorer
Explorer
BFL13 wrote:
You are supposed to run the range hood fan to outside venting while using the propane stove top. There is also a 12v light in the range hood so you can see what you are doing. The stove top itself does not need 12v.


"Supposed to" is perhaps a bit strong; "probably would want to" seems about right to me. In terms of water vapor, combustion fumes, etc. it can be effective enough to use window vents and/or ceiling vents.

My RV's range hood doesn't even vent to the outside; the fan sucks air through the little metal grease filter in the middle of the hood and recirculates it out to the left and right, still under the hood. It's a great useless noisemaker. The light is nice, though.

wa8yxm
Explorer III
Explorer III
Will 1 KW inverter run the fridge? IT might, which implies might not

Fridge is good for 8 hours door closed without power in most cases. (Less if it's like 120 in the RV)
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
after a semi "nicked" it. Still have the radios
Kenwood TS-2000, ICOM ID-5100, ID-51A+2, ID-880 REF030C most times

BFL13
Explorer II
Explorer II
You are supposed to run the range hood fan to outside venting while using the propane stove top. There is also a 12v light in the range hood so you can see what you are doing. The stove top itself does not need 12v.
1. 1991 Oakland 28DB Class C
on Ford E350-460-7.5 Gas EFI
Photo in Profile
2. 1991 Bighorn 9.5ft Truck Camper on 2003 Chev 2500HD 6.0 Gas
See Profile for Electronic set-ups for 1. and 2.

DrewE
Explorer
Explorer
I've never come upon a propane RV stove that needed electricity (either 12V or 120V) to function. The furnace does need 12V power, as do the lights and usually the built-in propane and CO detectors.

More efficient than using the little inverter to charge phones, etc. would be to get a 12V phone charger. It may require installing a lighter socket or two in convenient places. Whether the efficiency difference matters any in practice to your brother in law is another matter entirely.

If his hunting camp is out in the woods, solar may not be the most practical solution to power.

riven1950
Explorer
Explorer
OP here. Thanks so much for all the info and advice. Based on the comments I suspect the fridge will be used for storage for now unless he gets a bigger genny / solar / bigger inverter.

Solar and more / better batteries make sense but I don't think he wants to spend those $$ right now.

He only uses it for a place to hang out during the day. Maybe an overnight or two on occasion. He has a small gas heater mr buddy or something like that he uses but not while sleeping. I did advise him to get new co and smoke detectors no matter what he does.

The cook top works and apparently the furnace. Would this old stove top require 12v power or would it depend on the model? The current owners just recently put two new propane tanks on board and they are full.

I was thinking that for now he could just hook the battery up to the 12v fuse panel ( or whatever it is called ) and then he could have 12v lights and juice for the furnace / stove top if needed. Would that make sense? This would bypass the converter and eliminate all a/c power.

Of course he would have to keep the battery charged occasionally with his little genny or take it home and charge it on ac. unless he goes solar. He could use his little inverter to charge phones etc.

Thanks

BFL13
Explorer II
Explorer II
Putting a fridge in an RV is no fun. I just replaced the OEM 6cuft with a newer fridge same size. The old fridge came out onto the floor ok with a struggle sliding it partly onto a table chair first. Son and I. You need help.

Then the issue was getting the fridge out the door--too narrow. Door and door frame removed (big job))leaving a hole about 1/16" wider than the fridge seemed like. Might have been 1/8" really ๐Ÿ™‚ What a battle! Getting it down the steps to ground level was another issue involving the chair and some wood.

Luckily or else they make them that way, the OEM gas line was able to go on the new fridge's line, but if not, you need to adapt the LP connection.

The big thing is the very exact measurements. Watch out for the front frame on the fridge that sticks out the sides and the top. With the 1/16" to play with through the door hole, you can't angle it to get one side out and then rotate it through and out (or in for the new one) Of course the door hole was just wide enough higher up, but not enough lower down, so we had to lift the fridge up and out/in as part of the struggle.

Some on this forum have reported they had to get their fridges in and out of a window where the door wouldn't work for them. Yipes. Anyway, it isn't all that simple as it might seem. ๐Ÿ˜ž
1. 1991 Oakland 28DB Class C
on Ford E350-460-7.5 Gas EFI
Photo in Profile
2. 1991 Bighorn 9.5ft Truck Camper on 2003 Chev 2500HD 6.0 Gas
See Profile for Electronic set-ups for 1. and 2.

Naio
Explorer
Explorer
In my experience, small 120v fridges have a start-up surge around 1200 or 1500 watts.

Once they get past that surge, their running wattage is about 75-150w.

He will need a bigger inverter and more batteries. Or a large block of ice.
3/4 timing in a DIY van conversion. Backroads, mountains, boondocking, sometimes big cities for a change of pace.

schlep1967
Explorer III
Explorer III
winniman wrote:
Tell him to find a used propane fridge, and change it back to original. Im not sure how old you have to go to get the old style fridges and furnaces that had the pilot lights. They didn't require any 12 volt power at all, but you had to manually light them. Residential fridges don't work for boondocking unless you have a substantial investment in batteries and solar panels.

+1 Go to the local scrap yard and ask them to keep an eye out for somebody scrapping a camper. Offer them $20-$50 if you can remove the fridge after hooking up a battery and gas bottle to make sure it works.
2021 Chevy Silverado LTZ 3500 Diesel
2022 Montana Legacy 3931FB
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jdc1
Explorer II
Explorer II
winniman wrote:
Tell him to find a used propane fridge, and change it back to original. Im not sure how old you have to go to get the old style fridges and furnaces that had the pilot lights. They didn't require any 12 volt power at all, but you had to manually light them. Residential fridges don't work for boondocking unless you have a substantial investment in batteries and solar panels.


This would be the best scenario......Or find a different trailer with everything he needs. Refrigerators are the most expensive things in an RV.

winniman
Explorer
Explorer
Tell him to find a used propane fridge, and change it back to original. Im not sure how old you have to go to get the old style fridges and furnaces that had the pilot lights. They didn't require any 12 volt power at all, but you had to manually light them. Residential fridges don't work for boondocking unless you have a substantial investment in batteries and solar panels.

ScottG
Nomad
Nomad
I would use an ice chest and a some solar to keep the battery charged for lights.

BFL13
Explorer II
Explorer II
The 1000w inverter will run the fridge, but needs more battery plus about 300w of solar to stay running a few days. Four batteries instead of one might do it, depending on how long.

The 1000w inverter will not run even a small "700w" microwave, which would need 1100w. A 1500w inverter would with the four batteries.

The issue is how to keep those batteries from running down while running the fridge. 300w of solar would do it if the sun shines every day he is out there. Or use the generator every day for a few hours. That generator will run a 35 amp charger, which isn't much for four batteries, so it will take a long time each day. Needs lots of fuel for the generator.

Expect some sunny days and some not with using the generator a lot.

He will need to be able to tell how the batteries are doing, so he can tell whether the generator has to be used. This is vital!!

All because of that fridge! It will go through batteries in no time even though it is small. BTDT.

So use the little fridge as an ice box, or else spend lots of money to get the TT set up for off-grid, or get one of those small fridges that can work off a propane bottle (not cheap either).
1. 1991 Oakland 28DB Class C
on Ford E350-460-7.5 Gas EFI
Photo in Profile
2. 1991 Bighorn 9.5ft Truck Camper on 2003 Chev 2500HD 6.0 Gas
See Profile for Electronic set-ups for 1. and 2.

2oldman
Explorer
Explorer
A hunting camp and he doesn't care about the furnace?
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman