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31

General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« Last post by Ron Dittmer on August 28, 2025, 08:45:05 am »

My Black & Decker charger pictured, has these 5 modes.... 4, 10, 20, 40 amp, and Start.

During trips, to shorten generator run times, I set my B&D charger to 20 amps.  I worry that 40 amps is too hard on the pair of batteries.  I am comfortable with 10 amps per battery.  The 40 amp setting is handy for emergency use.

Decades ago now, my original Ford chassis battery was showing signs of weakness when we headed out for a wedding about 350 miles from home.  On the way back home, the battery completely died in a rest area.  To get the V10 chassis engine started, it took the Onan generator running, jumper cables from the house batteries, and my battery charger at the 40 amp setting, to start the V10 engine.  So there was just that one time where 40 amps was extremely handy.

I could not get the charger's Start Mode to work.  Maybe I wasn't working it right.  Maybe the unrecoverable battery prevented it from contributing.

Sorry for drifting off topic.  At least you started this thread and the drifting from it. 

32

General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« Last post by Joseph on August 27, 2025, 10:57:55 am »

Ron, the Bilsteins is what I changed out to. On my jeep as well.  I couldn’t tell any differing ride from the Koni.  Just my 2 cents.


So when you charge with gen running, what amp charge are you using? I’m looking at 15 amp assuming anything less won’t accomplish much during gen runs.

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General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« Last post by Ron Dittmer on August 27, 2025, 09:13:26 am »

In regards to the power draw another question comes to mind.  Being running the generator doesn’t bring your batteries to 100% could a person connect a charger to the batteries while the generator is running to top them off?  I’m thinking of a small 15 amp for deep cycle batteries just for this purpose?

You think like me.

17 years ago, I resorted to an external charger to shorten generator run times.  Because, on trips, the house is in full operation during such charging, the current draw prevents the charger from stating "FULL."  It took me some time to understand that.  There is a huge difference in charging when the house is in full operation, than when the house is shut down.

I took this picture back in 2009.  I practice it to this day during trips.  I also maintain the batteries at home every 3 to 4 months, using the same charger, but at the low 4 amp setting.

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General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« Last post by Ron Dittmer on August 27, 2025, 08:55:56 am »

Ron, I tried the Koni shocks.  They lasted 40,000 miles.  The only difference in ride was my wallet was much lighter.  I wasn’t impressed and noticed absolutely no improvement in ride… sadly.

Oh my, that is a very poor review on the Koni FSD shocks.

I wanted to buy the Koni-FSDs back in 2018 but couldn't justify the expense and NO lifetime warranty either.  I decided to go with heavy duty Bilstein RV shocks for the price and lifetime warranty.  Admittedly I am a bit surprised how happy I am with them.  I was concerned that the HD Bilsteins would jar our rig more, but apparently there is enough mass and weight that there was no noticable worsening.

Another change I made two years later in 2020, was replacing the front coil springs to a pair of the next rating lesser because our PC front suspension had too much weight capability that created unnecessary thrashing up front.  Our PC still has margin, but not so extreme.  The ride up front is more comfortable, and the house likes it too.

I also adjusted front tire pressure to 55 PSI which could be afforded due to our lighter front end.  Between all the changes I made since 2018, the house thrashes a lot less.  I wished I made the changes when the rig was new, but I was shy in making such changes back then.

35

General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« Last post by Joseph on August 26, 2025, 11:26:35 pm »

In regards to the power draw another question comes to mind.  Being running the generator doesn’t bring your batteries to 100% could a person connect a charger to the batteries while the generator is running to top them off?  I’m thinking of a small 15 amp for deep cycle batteries just for this purpose?

36

General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« Last post by Joseph on August 26, 2025, 11:23:05 pm »

Larry.   My fridge is in the slide.   The added insulation is a great idea, Thank you.   I will say up to my ammonia leak over the last few years once my fridge got cold I could set it at 2-3 and any higher would start to freeze items in the fridge.  It always took 6-7 days to get to that point however. My reason for considering the 12 volt compressor kits is supposedly it’s a much faster cool down and hopefully the last time I need to do this.

37

General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« Last post by Joseph on August 26, 2025, 11:19:04 pm »

Ron, I tried the koni  shocks.  They lasted 40,000 miles.  The only difference in ride was my wallet was much lighter.  I wasn’t impressed and noticed absolutely no improvement in ride… sadly.

38

General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« Last post by CalCruiser on August 26, 2025, 09:30:50 pm »

60 watts is really efficient if a single 12v compressor kit really only uses 5A.
After seeing pictures of 2350 with the refrigerator removed I would agree that the insulation has room for improvement, especially on the top.

39

General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« Last post by Ron Dittmer on August 26, 2025, 04:20:21 pm »

Ron, how many miles do you have on your rig? Reason I ask is I don’t think just owning a rig for a long time has anything to do with it.  I’m at 90,000 miles of rough riding roads. My first unit went out was on recall, this one of course is not. The beating everything takes bouncing down the highways I’m guess is the main culprit. Well that and everything being made to crap out so you’ll spend on new.

We are getting close to 50,000 miles.

You are absolutely correct.  Motorhomes in-general take a serious beating as the miles pile up.  The thrashing from being driven is much harder on the house than age, assuming the rig is well preserved during non-use.

It is for this reason why it is very important to do all you can to reduce thrashing where possible.  As I understand, a very quick-fix is changing to those very expensive Koni-FSD shocks.  It also goes without saying that proper tire pressure, not over-inflating your tires, is of great influence.

40

General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« Last post by LRUCH on August 26, 2025, 02:45:45 pm »

Joseph,
I can't contribute any insight on a compressor style refrigerator, and it's an integrating topic that I hope you let know what evolves.  But I can offer some advice on insulation tips that you should do while you have the old refrigerator out and before you put in the new one. I have a lengthy write-up from my refrigerator work here
https://forum.phoenixusarv.com/index.php?topic=4820.msg43312#msg43312

In summary, the l top of the refrigerator cabinet really needs to be insulated with large blocks of foamboard. This blocks the heat of the sun beating on the roof, blocks the fridge heat accumulating there and keeps any insects from building nests up there.

The outside wall shouldn't need insulation, but might require different baffles for the new compressor coils. It's much easier to get to that wall while the fridge is out.

The most important places to Insulate are the floor of the back section (between the fridge and outside wall) and the left and right side wall of the back section.  They REALLY need to be insulated. Those boards are very thin.... possibly 1/4 inch thick if they are like mine. Your interior cabin is not very far from the outside air and also not far from the heat generated by the refrigerator. So insulating that left, right, and lower floor in the rear keeps all the refrigerator heat out of the interior of your coach and likewise in the winter it blocks the cold winter air that's back there from entering your coach.   My shower shares a wall with the fridge. It used to get very hot (like a car hood in August!) before I insulated that wall. I also got rid of the cold draft that came out from under the fridge each winter.

One other thing to consider is insulating the back side of the new fridge before it gets installed... I added a half inch to the back side of my norcold. This weekend is was 102F and my freezer stayed at 4 or 5F and the fridge was 34 or 35F... and I had it set only on #4 electric.

Larry