Household refrigerator in Sprinter van?

Zundfolge said:

What makes you think I'd wanna do it the easy way? Plus with my method I can use the time and energy spent logging and opening the door to extract beer and drink it. Can that fancy little monitor do that? I think not!

Amazon reviews do not sparkle for that thing. Almost every review on front page says it burned up with currents below its rated max (1850W). I'm sure it's fine for a .8a fridge though...

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Hmm. I’ve had mine for about 6 years now, no problems. Maybe they don’t make them like they used to...

Too bad. Less work, more time for beer!


Cheers,
Greg

Has anyone considered the Novakool RFU6400. The NovaKool 6400 is the same size as the 6800 but the freezer is a smaller drawer style so the compressor can be on the bottom. This is a better design for tight spaces since the rear fan draws cool air from the front, across the compressor when it's running, and out the back. Just another option!

SSTraveler said:

Has anyone considered the Novakool RFU6400. The NovaKool 6400 is the same size as the 6800 but the freezer is a smaller drawer style so the compressor can be on the bottom. This is a better design for tight spaces since the rear fan draws cool air from the front, across the compressor when it's running, and out the back. Just another option!

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The Novakools look good, but the AC/DC units are $1,000 more than just DC. Is there a reasonable way to add an autoswitching ACDC converter to the line leading to a fridge, so that when the van is plugged in, it will run the fridge on AC, or is this pretty unnecessary by running the AC through a charger and run the fridge on DC only?

Jack

JIB said:

The Novakools look good, but the AC/DC units are $1,000 more than just DC. Is there a reasonable way to add an autoswitching ACDC converter to the line leading to a fridge, so that when the van is plugged in, it will run the fridge on AC, or is this pretty unnecessary by running the AC through a charger and run the fridge on DC only?

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If your van has an AC/DC converter/charger (which it does if you have batteries and shore power), there is no reason to run a Danfoss-based fridge on AC. The only possible exception might be if you are plugged into shore power during storage and want to leave the fridge ON but the converter/charger OFF.

A Danfoss fridge always runs internally on DC. The "AC" option is just a built in power brick.

JIB said:

Is there a reasonable way to add an autoswitching ACDC converter to the line leading to a fridge, so that when the van is plugged in, it will run the fridge on AC, or is this pretty unnecessary by running the AC through a charger and run the fridge on DC only?

Jack

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Yes, it is pretty unnecessary (to auto switch to AC when available); so run the AC through a charger (if AC is available) and operate the fridge on DC only all the time. Then you don't waste money on the AC/DC version of the fridge.

FYI - just watched a video of a YouTube couple (Trent & Allie) doing a review of thing they would change in their van. Biggest item was their "dorm" style fridge. Worked just fine for them until they got to the heat and humidity of Central America, where the fridge runs all day and still doesn't keep food. This was such a problem that they actually had a new fridge shipped to them in Panama.

I'm running my second Dometic 110L Fridge / Freezer, the first I purchased back in 2012. This one I purchased in early 2019. Low draw and works all the time on DC only.

Just picked up my van today that was sitting for 6 days on a parking lot in NW Arkansas. Temps in the 70s at night and high 90s during the day. Windows up tight the hole time, no vents. There was a bag of ice in the bottom of the chest, it's still a bag of ice ready for the next drink. I'm sold!