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Old 09-20-2016, 05:17 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sproutroot View Post
I think I fixed the pictures.



I like that unit, but 2 cu ft is too small for me.

My theory is that you could make an insulated compartment at the bottom of your chest unit, which may get cold enough to act as a short-term freezer. I've never heard of it done before, but it's definitely something I'm going to try. My only immediate doubt is how the location of the stock thermostat might effect temps in the rest of the unit.
i was thinking the same way, you could seal off the upper 2/3 of a chest freezer and only allow enough cool to seep up to keep it above freezing. being off grid i dont use my freezer much but would still like to have one if possible. my 10 cf fridge has worked fine just plugged in during the day but will go the chest route in the bus.

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Old 09-20-2016, 08:58 AM   #22
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my friends with RVs more than a few years old say that the RV furnace and RV frig are the 2 most failure-prone items they have to deal with in their camper..

none of my friends have had fires.. but they are pretty anal about maintaining their rigs.. (I guess I wouls be too if I had the $$$ to buy prevost and entegra campers)


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Old 09-21-2016, 04:23 PM   #23
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What are some reasons to stay away from RV 2way or 3way units?

There's pretty much a endless supply of old RV parts on CL where I'm at. Retirement Capitol of the world
Like others have said.... fires, electrical draw and cost of maintenance.

Fires being the big turn off for me.

Chest freezers are dirt cheap, run forever, sip on electricity and they dont start fires.
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Old 09-21-2016, 05:03 PM   #24
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We've had a RV style fridge for years in our travel trailer. When I scrapped it (for parts for our skoolie) I looked into the fridge very closely and there was no problem with it other than a blown igniter. I did some mods to make it more efficient (strategically placed computer fans) and built new shelves using the old ones as patterns. I've never had issues with leveling as some have since I'm fussy to set up camp level anyhow. Running down the road keeps things mixed up a bit so there usually isn't much of a problem underway (if you can, leave the door closed and the unit off while traveling). We're using ours in our project mainly because of space. I looked long and hard into the whole chest freezer conversion and while I totally agree it's a better option from a purely efficiency standpoint, living around an appliance taking up floor space with no ability to practically use the top just didn't pan out for the way we live. There's lots of info concerning taking care and modding RV fridges. It seems Norcold is the name to avoid if you're afraid of having a fire. Another option (probably one I will use as well) is a small halon unit in the area where the coil is. The biggest problem is people simply don't maintain or monitor their equipment. These things typically don't just suddenly blow up with no indication whatsoever. Leaks are indicated by a yellowish powder developing under the coil.
The way 12VDC compressor driven stuff is developing, hopefully at some point in the future a RV compressor driven unit will emerge.
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Old 09-21-2016, 09:21 PM   #25
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Just a quick note: virtually all of the cheaper chest freezers are now using anhydrous propane as the refrigerant gas. That being said, its only something like 4 oz, so its not much of a risk, but it is unodorized, so leaks wont be detected with your nose.

I've got four of 'em in my bus, so you can tell how worried I am.
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Old 10-26-2016, 10:59 AM   #26
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Mostly because they are overpriced RV crap. They suck too much juice on electric...will freeze the coils up solid on propane if not perfectly level...and generally don't work worth a flip. Just my two cents. Anyone else?

I was hot to use propane until i read what you said about being level. Thanks.
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Old 10-26-2016, 11:08 AM   #27
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For a fun read...Google "rv fires caused by refrigerator".
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Old 10-26-2016, 01:06 PM   #28
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I just did a search of rv refrigerator fires. Yikes..

It did lead me to this neat gadget, though:

SS30-90-CAG 90 Degree Small-Format Automatic Release Fire Suppression


At $225 I'd rather put that money into upgrading my battery bank :S
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