Fridge

[POH]

Hi , does anyone travel with the fridge on battery or gas, was at dealers today over water tank issue , I put the fridge on to battery before I set off, when I arrived the service manager told me that I shouldn't put the fridge on battery as it will screw the leisure battery up but on gas when I stop ,but wouldn't that mean that the freezer would defrost when on the move , I thought that if you have one of those travel gas regulator it was safe to do so or am I wrong . It is a dometic fridge

 

[glenn2926]

Why not just leave it on auto? It can then pick the best fuel source itself. When travelling it will automatically pick battery. No the freezer will not defrost, unless of course you forget to choose electric or gas for a few days once parked up.

 

[POH]

Do leave on auto but is it safe to leave the gas turned on so it can pick the best way but what happens if you want fuel if on motorway you would have to turn it off before filling up ?

 

[Eggs]

Surely if it's an auto select fridge it would change to 12v when the engine is running?

 

[rosalan]

There should be a built in delay in your system I believe, so that there is a period between using battery when driving and the gas system kicking in to allow for fuel stops.

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[autorouter]

Ideally, you would switch the fridge to battery when the engine is running, and switch to gas when the engine stops. The engine alternator will supply enough power to run the fridge, and charge up the batteries if they need it.

With a manually switched system the problem is remembering to do the switching. It's so easy to forget. The fridge will flatten an average leisure battery in a few hours.

Some fridges have what is called 'Automatic Energy Selection' (AES), which automatically switches to battery (12V) when the engine is running. It switches back to gas when the engine stops (with a safety delay of about 20 min in case you've stopped for fuel). If you plug in an electric mains hookup it automatically switches from gas to mains 240V power.

So the answer to your question is, yes, most fridges run from 12V (the alternator/battery) when on the move.

If you have a crash-protected gas regulator you can run a fridge from gas while on the move. But you have to be careful that you switch off the gas when you intend to get fuel.

 

[glenn2926]

Do leave on auto but is it safe to leave the gas turned on so it can pick the best way but what happens if you want fuel if on motorway you would have to turn it off before filling up ?

As far as I’m aware there’s a 15 minute delay after engine off before gas kicks in.

 

[POH]

Thats what I thought but service manager says that you should not leave on battery but turn it on to gas when stopped .

 

[two]

I think I'd get my van serviced elsewhere.

 

[POH]

Ideally, you would switch the fridge to battery when the engine is running, and switch to gas when the engine stops. The engine alternator will supply enough power to run the fridge, and charge up the batteries if they need it.

With a manually switched system the problem is remembering to do the switching. It's so easy to forget. The fridge will flatten an average leisure battery in a few hours.

Some fridges have what is called 'Automatic Energy Selection' (AES), which automatically switches to battery (12V) when the engine is running. It switches back to gas when the engine stops (with a safety delay of about 20 min in case you've stopped for fuel). If you plug in an electric mains hookup it automatically switches from gas to mains 240V power.

So the answer to your question is, yes, most fridges run from 12V (the alternator/battery) when on the move.

If you have a crash-protected gas regulator you can run a fridge from gas while on the move. But you have to be careful that you switch off the gas when you intend to get fuel.

Cheers autoroute, but would it make a big difference if left on battery while stopped for a brew /toilet break other wise you would be in and out to the gas locker.

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[autorouter]

Thats what I thought but service manager says that you should not leave on battery but turn it on to gas when stopped .

Many fridges will only run on 12V when the engine is running. Others (my Hymer for example) allow you to run the fridge from the leisure battery when the engine is stopped. That's usually not a good idea, especially with a memory as bad as mine. It will flatten the battery in a few hours, as your dealer rightly says. I always leave the fridge on auto. The only exceptions are on the Channel Tunnel or ferry (gas turned off at the cylinder tap) and when in storage.

 

[Potty]

Cheers autoroute, but would it make a big difference if left on battery while stopped for a brew /toilet break other wise you would be in and out to the gas locker.

When switched to 12v and the engine is running, the fridge is powered via a relay directly from the alternator. Once the engine is turned off, the fridge is no longer powered by 12v, except for the light and controls which are powered from the leisure battery. The fridge won’t cool down significantly (or the freezer defrost) if left unpowered for the time it takes to make and drink a brew. Ours beeps when turned to 12v if the engine isn’t running, so we either turn it off or switch over to gas. The gas has to be turned on to make the brew anyway!

Edit, thanks Tombola! That should won’t warm up significantly not won’t cool down!

 

[Tombola]

The fridge won’t cool down significantly

I should think not Potty

 

[Potty]

I should think not Potty

Thanks, Senior moment! Edited to correct.

 

[BillyKontiki]

Put on auto and the fridge / ecu will select battery when the engine is running.
And I always switch bottles off when travelling.

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[TheBig1]

on much older vans the advice might have had a basis in truth. You had to manually change the heat source before you set off and when you stopped. If, as was a fairly common thing, the 12v relay for the fridge stuck in the closed position, the battery would rapidly drain

these days with electronic automatic heat source selection, it is much less of an issue

 

[TDub49]

Gas off whenever on the move. Fridge on auto. 5000+ miles without there being any problem with the leisure battery (or the fridge). Not sure what your dealer in on about.