Inverter

[JimnJulie]

I have seen lots of "inverter" topics, but cannot seem to find an answer. So, in hopes that I am not reinventing a question I will ask. If we replace our refrigerator with a residential model can we use an inverter to power it while driving down the road?

[K0LCB]

Yes, if you have enough storage battery, or a strong charging system

[DQDick]

The number of batteries and your charging system is what will make the difference. Many, if not most, folks who use an inverter have more than one battery.

[JimnJulie]

We have two 12 volt deep cycle marine/rv. Old ones gave up and I got these before hearing about 6 volt golf cart batteries.

[jlb27537]

Jim, To convert 12vdc to 120vac it takes a x10 factor. A 4x6vdc golf cart bank will have about 440 amp hours. You never want to discharge a bank below 50%. So you have 220 amp hours to use daily assuming you have the ability to recharge the bank to 100% daily.

Your frig uses 2 amps to run? It is on a 50% duty cycle. So in a 24 hour period it uses 2x12= 24 amps. Now convert that to 12vdc use that is 240 amp hours of battery use.

To run a residential frig, using 2 amps to run on a 50% duty cycle you will need at least 4x6vdc battery bank and have the ability to recharge the battery bank daily.

Your frig, may be different, but this is the basic math you need to use.

Jim

[TAKPAK]

It has a lot to do with how big the refrigerator you would get is. That aside, an inverter will work, however the amperage input to operate it is significant. You would have to evaluate your truck's charging system capabilities to be able to keep up with demand, as well as the amp hours of your batteries.

One thought, like some with propane do, is to shut it off while traveling. A cold refer should hold it's temps for several hours, if you don't open it.

And, just to clarify the battery thing, having two 6 volt golf cart batteries does NOT give you more amp hours. Your two 12 volt ones wired in parallel have more amp hours than two 6's would, wired in series for 12 volts. The advantage to the "golf cart" batteries are that they are much more able to take repeated deep discharge cycles than the 12 volt ones would, and have a longer life because of that.

[lunalonestar]

JIm: The answer to your question is, "Yes!" We do it while driving down the road all the time.
We have a resi refridge powered by a 1000W inverter.

[scattershot]

Just to satisfy my curiosity, when did manufacturers stop using propane or three-way refrigerators? A friend has a new SOB, and that's the first one I ever saw.

[Artemus Gordon]

I found this article interesting. Might help you?

http://rv-dreams.activeboard.com/t50...-refrigerator/

[scattershot]

Thanks for the link. It was informative, but I still prefer the RV fridge.