12v fridge

[Robbiet]

Have a 2022 Reflection 341RDS with 12v fridge in kitchen. Would like to add a mini 12v fridge in outside storage compartment, Is it possible to add this to the solar system?

[howson]

Have a 2022 Reflection 341RDS with 12v fridge in kitchen. Would like to add a mini 12v fridge in outside storage compartment, Is it possible to add this to the solar system?

First--welcome to the forum. Check out the Welcome Letter to New Members: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/main-fo...to-new-members

To your question and let's start with an assumption that the trailer is not plugged in to shore power. If the trailer is plugged in to shore power, the converter in your trailer is the source of 12V power and the charging ability of solar is not a consideration.

Again, assuming an off-grid situation the premise of the question suggests (to me) that you think the Reflection's solar panel directly powers the OEM 12V refrigerator in the kitchen. It does not. The solar configuration in the Reflection trailer does not directly power anything. The purpose for the solar panel (and controller) is to charge the battery bank. The battery bank then powers the 12V systems in the camper.

The real questions (and answer) to your question is far beyond the ability of a single response. There are many, many variables to consider. The main factors are the battery bank capacity (how much power can be held in the fully charged batteries), how much solar charge is expected on a daily basis, and how much power will be consumed on a daily basis.

Think of it in terms of water consumption. If your trailer's water tank is filled from rain that may (or may not!) fall on the camper, how long the water you have in the tank will depend on 1) how big the tank is, 2) how much water is withdrawn on a daily basis, and 3) how much water is put back in from rainfall.

There are a multitude of excellent resources on the internet if you're interested to learn more--but it will take some time to absorb. This is not a simple subject topic.

For starters, check out my fellow moderator's Solar 101 presentation: https://gdrvowners.com/forum/gdrv-ra...r-presentation If you have specific questions TucsonJim is a very knowledgeable person to ask.

Howard

[TucsonJim]

Howard's water analogy is spot on.

If your battery bank is large enough, it will provide enough power for at least 24 hours before needing recharging. Without measuring how much current you're consuming each day, I'm going to make some assumptions about your usage.

Consumption:
Main 12V refrigerator. Will consume approximately 50-60 amps of stored current from your batteries per day.
A 12V mini refrigertor will consume approximately 30 amps of battery power per day.
Other uses such as lights, stereo, LP gas detector, etc. will use 25 amps of battery power per day.

Total consumption of battery power = 60+30+25 = 115 amps.

Now, let's look at how many batteries you need to run that amount of current. A typical lead acid battery will provide 45 amps of power in 24 hours. So you'd need three of them.
An AGM deep cycle battery would provide 55 amps of power, so three are needed.
And lithium iron phosphate batteries typically have 100 amps of power available, so you'd need two.

Now, getting to the solar. As Howard mentioned, the primary purpose of solar is to provide current to charge the batteries back up. Since you'd be consuming 115 amps from your batteries in 24 hours, you need to harvest at least that much solar power to top the batteries back up. But your trailer is equipped with only one 165 watt panel On a good day of direct sunshine, that panel will typically yield 50 amps of power to recharge batteries. Since you're consuming 115 amps, you'd need at least three panels to completely refill the deficeit.

So bottom line, the current panel you have will struggle to keep the batteries charged while just using your primary refrigerator. It is not sufficient to accommodate other uses.

Jim

[Country Campers]

So being as you have received the "Technical" aspect from the above 2 posts, which is superb information which I have also received when doing my modifications, I will just move to the basic part.

Yes you can add a 12 v dc mini fridge and wire it to the battery or the power distribution panel, 12 v dc side of course, with the proper size fuse for the fridge you should be good to go. I will caution you though you will need to heed the above information and watch your battery usage.

Now on to the mini 12 v dc fridge. I have looked for one to replace our outside fridge we have now which is 120 v ac, those little buggers are expensive , if you can find one that fits the space you have.

If you do find a fridge and get it installed please post here as it will help others, including me.

Brian

[ThePowells]

Robbiet Welcome to the family and the forum!