12 Volt Fridge freezer

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dcrbtt

dcrbtt

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Posts
174
Location
California
I need to replace my Norcold 1210 refrigerator/ freezer , Having problems finding a Residential a 12 volt may be the answer. Are 12 volt refrigerator/ freezer any good?
 
12V units can work every bit as well as a 120V unit. Some (danfoss compressor) units may be slightly more efficient, so weigh the cost of more power efficient vs dollar efficient and if a separate inverter will be needed. The elephant in the room is finding one that can fit your opening without a lot of cabinet surgery. I've seen users post using everything from basic GE residential models from box stores to spendy off-grid ones like sun frost. The other elephant in the room is how you're going to power it. If you're on shore power most of the time then check the box, but if you anticipate time running on batteries this will be something you need to specifically address.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
Agree with Mark and there are several excellent 12v compressor fridges available. There is also a 12v compressor conversion for your 1210, which may be the most cost effective solution. The big advantage of the conversion is that no cabinet remodeling is required. The downside is that you still have the subpar insulation, poor temperature control and lack of auto-defrost of the 1210. A new purpose-built compressor fridge, whether 12v or 120v, will eliminate all those disadvantages and also provide more usable interior space. I replaced my 12 cu ft Norcold 1201 with a 14 cu ft GE and had space left over for a slim pantry.

Mark is right about the elephant so you need to consider your camping style and battery bank capacity. If you only have two batteries, you will almost sure want to expand that.
 
Both Norcold and Domead at one time what I call "Danfoss" class RV Refrigerators.
These are very efficient Compressor (like residential but 1/3 or less power) units.
Fairly expensive they fit a standard RV's "hole" and run on 12 or 120 volts. about 30-45 watts worth
(Your house job is 100-300 watts) They also make smaller ones and chest type In fact I have one here in my house.
 
dcrbtt said:
Are 12 volt refrigerator/ freezer any good?
Click to expand...
If you don't mind drawing ten amps instead of less than one amp when boondocked, they are fine.

But I wouldn't want one. I hate to waste the juice when boondocked on what is unnecessary regardless of the KWHs I have available.

Perhaps just my hangup. But propane has always worked well for me for refrigeration. I usually would rather waste a little propane than the KWHs. Of course, the energy still has to come from somewhere.

-Don- Auburn, CA
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Agree with Mark and there are several excellent 12v compressor fridges available. There is also a 12v compressor conversion for your 1210, which may be the most cost effective solution. The big advantage of the conversion is that no cabinet remodeling is required. The downside is that you still have the subpar insulation, poor temperature control and lack of auto-defrost of the 1210. A new purpose-built compressor fridge, whether 12v or 120v, will eliminate all those disadvantages and also provide more usable interior space. I replaced my 12 cu ft Norcold 1201 with a 14 cu ft GE and had space left over for a slim pantry.

Mark is right about the elephant so you need to consider your camping style and battery bank capacity. If you only have two batteries, you will almost sure want to expand that.
Click to expand...
Do I need more batteries even If we only are attached to shore power or are running the generator between stops? I also just replaced my converter will I need a better converter?
 
dcrbtt said:
Do I need more batteries even If we only are attached to shore power or are running the generator between stops? I also just replaced my converter will I need a better converter?
Click to expand...
Nope. If you're at an electric hookup RV park or don't mind running the genny often when boondocked, then you're fine with your compressor type refrigerator.

Your converter should be fine also.

So in your case, you're all set.

But when boondocked in a place where you cannot run the genny often enough (or in a place with no electricity and quiet hours) could be a problem.

-Don- Auburn, CA
 
Last edited:
Kirk said:
Typo? Dometic.....

Dometic uses their own compressors. VMSO3 variable speed compressor which they developed.
Click to expand...
Yes a typo and I use "Danfoss" to represent all the high effiency compressor units no matter what compressor they use.. Why... Easiest one for me to remember.. I've had two of this class. wore one after over 15 years. They are expensive. but worth it for in the end they are less expensive (Power savings)
 
dcrbtt said:
Do I need more batteries even If we only are attached to shore power or are running the generator between stops?
Click to expand...
No. The tow vehicle will supply when driving and the converter when connected to shore power. The only time it uses the batteries is when you are stopped, engine not running and not plugged into outside 120V power.
dcrbtt said:
I also just replaced my converter will I need a better converter?
Click to expand...
No. Those little compressors only use significant power when actually running, which isn't much if the refrigerator door is not being opened. You probably have at least a 45A converter and it should be ample.
 
During the last power fail my small High Effiency Deep freezer drained one 20 AH battery and started on the 10 (They are LiFePO4) which is not surprising since it was 13 hours But I still had battery left. A high efficacy RV fridge by Dometic/Norcold would likely draw no more than 30 AH in a 12 hour period. If you are not opening the door every couple minutes.
 
operating a 120V fridge from battery power equates to-say, 1.3A 120V fridge draws 13A from the battery, conversion factor of 10. When the compressor is running.
Boondocking is where an LP absorption refrigerator shines. Otherwise one needs a lot of solar generating power.
 
Some 120 volt refrigerators are about as efficient as 12 volt units, even counting the overhead of running an inverter. Look at the refrigerator's Energy Star label for a residential refrigerator. It will give the estimated annual power consumption in kilowatt-hours. Multiply the kWh by 1000 to get watt-hours, then divide by 365 to get the estimated daily watt-hours. Divide the watt-hours by 12 to get the amp-hours used from a 12 volt battery.

For example, last year I bought a Magic Chef 10.1 cu ft 120 volt residential refrigerator for my trailer. It's Energy Star rated at 297 kWh per year, or 813 watt-hours a day. 813 watt-hours divided by 12 volts gives 67.75 amp-hours a day, which is pretty close to what I'm seeing. And at $350 for the fridge and $200 for a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter the price was about a third of what Furrion wants for their 10 cu ft 12 volt refrigerator.
 
dcrbtt said:
Do I need more batteries even If we only are attached to shore power or are running the generator between stops? I also just replaced my converter will I need a better converter?
Click to expand...
Nope. The 12v power draw isn't a lot of amps, but if you are without shore or generator for 24 hours the total amp-hours really adds up using the battery only.

As Lou described, modern 120v compressor fridges are quite efficient these days (usually Energy Star rated), so running one from an inverter is a reasonable thing. Especially if you are talking a modest size, says 10-15 cu ft. And if you near-always use shore or generator power, no problem at all.
 
Lou Schneider said:
Some 120 volt refrigerators are about as efficient as 12 volt units, even counting the overhead of running an inverter. Look at the refrigerator's Energy Star label for a residential refrigerator. It will give the estimated annual power consumption in kilowatt-hours. Multiply the kWh by 1000 to get watt-hours, then divide by 365 to get the estimated daily watt-hours. Divide the watt-hours by 12 to get the amp-hours used from a 12 volt battery.

For example, last year I bought a Magic Chef 10.1 cu ft 120 volt residential refrigerator for my trailer. It's Energy Star rated at 297 kWh per year, or 813 watt-hours a day. 813 watt-hours divided by 12 volts gives 67.75 amp-hours a day, which is pretty close to what I'm seeing. And at $350 for the fridge and $200 for a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter the price was about a third of what Furrion wants for their 10 cu ft 12 volt refrigerator.
Click to expand...
Are you positive about your calculations?
 
Last edited:
Mark_K5LXP said:
12V units can work every bit as well as a 120V unit. Some (danfoss compressor) units may be slightly more efficient, so weigh the cost of more power efficient vs dollar efficient and if a separate inverter will be needed. The elephant in the room is finding one that can fit your opening without a lot of cabinet surgery. I've seen users post using everything from basic GE residential models from box stores to spendy off-grid ones like sun frost. The other elephant in the room is how you're going to power it. If you're on shore power most of the time then check the box, but if you anticipate time running on batteries this will be something you need to specifically address.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
Click to expand...
so how many elephants will fit in an RV ?
 
DonTom said:
And neither are close to as efficient as using propane . . . . .

-Don- Reno, NV
Click to expand...
Actually compressor based refrigeration is significantly more efficient than absorption cycle refrigeration, using about 1/10th as much energy per BTU of cooling.
 
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