Fridge sucked up my batteries.

[johnsontwins]

Something just doesn't seem right to me.  When I bought my Fleetwood Westlake I opted for a second Marrine battery instead of a second Propane tank.  Before setting off to my first dry camping trip by myself (no kids) in the Borrego desert, I made sure my batteries were well charged.  It took me only about 90min to get to my campsite.  When I got there the batteries were already at 12.3V.  The only thing that was running on battery was the Fridge.  I would think that two deep cycle batteries wouldn't have run down so much especially since it is supposedly getting a charge from my TV.  Anybody else run into this phenomina?{sp}  Since the desert is only 90min I think next time I'll just shut the fridge down and place it on propane as soon as I get to my site.  On a side note.  Just added more fuel on why I need to get a solor pannel.

[mike4947]

Well did you charge the batteries before you left? Did you have the batteries connected to the camper for any period of time before you left?.

Batteries left connected will get drained by the propane detector and other continuous on electrical equipment. The draw is very small but since it draw 24/7 it adds up. A single battery can be draw flat in about 2-3 weeks.
If you haven't check the TV/trailer connection for adaquate voltage you could easily be drawing from the trailer batteries.
That's the reason I run a seperate line from the TV to the fridge and isolate the fridge from the trailer 12 volt system. Since it's only going to be used on 12 volt when it's under tow there's no need to be connected to the trailer system.

[Tim5055]

I think the key phrase you used is "supposedly getting a charge from my TV".  Have you tested the charge line to make sure it is working?

Figuring that a fully charged 12v battery should be around 12.73v DC and the 50% mark you want to try to stay above is 12.10v DC you lost about 50% of your usable voltage.  Yes, the refrigerator is a power hog and can suck the life out of batteries in no time.

Assuming you have a7 pin Bargman connector pin 4 (black wire) should have about 13.4v DC on it when your vehicle is running.

[AustinBoston]

Your experience really isn't that uncommon (but perhaps the scale of it is).  The charge line may be rated for 15-20 amp, but because of the length of the wires, it is not unusual for the practical current to be more like 8-10 amps.  Therefore, the fridge can draw all of the available current from the charge line and a little from the battery as well.

Loosing half or more from two batteries in 90 minutes is a bit much, however.  Perhaps you have a bad connection on the charge line?

Most people who dry camp never use the fridge on 12V.  For shorter trips, they just leave it off.  Using propane while driving is generally not a problem, but my own advice would be to turn it off before entering a filling station.

Austin

[oldmoose]

I agree with Austin Boston. Unless you're driving, never run your frig on batteries. My owners manual says to only use the battery for traveling and don't leave it on battery for more than an hour. The frig uses a lot of juice. When dry camping, I always use propane.

Moose

[Harhir]

These small fridges used in Popups have somewhere between 100W and 150W power consumption. Depending on size and temp setting.
This draws about as much or even more current as when you leave your head lights on. Try to do this for 12h without the engine running.
Even if you have two batteries the fridge will drain you batteries within hours.
Only run the fidge on 12V when you drive. For dry camping switch to propane.
Even with a solar panel you may run into problems since the batteries won't last a whole night if the fridge is running.

[dirtfisher]

The frig will sure pull the battery down.  I hooked up to the PU the night before leaving for the beach.  Checked the lights out and unthinkly hooked the battery up on the PU.  Went into the house confident that I was ready to roll the next morning.  When I went out the next morning, the auto lock button wouldn't unlock the door of TV.  Battery was completely dead.  :swear: Luckily a couple hour charge got it going and eight and half hours on the road got it fully charged.