Refrigerator

[77chev]

Our new 5th wheel has a regular household refrigerator 120 volt only with inverter. We like to do a lot of dry camping wondering if anyone knows how long we can expect the battery to last?

[chuckster57]

What battery is installed?

[77chev]

All I know is it has 2 Dragonfly Lithium batteries the spec sheet doesn’t tell me much more. It does have solar flex 400i panel on the roof. We got this RV late last summer only used in for two nights then brought it back to dealer for a bunch of repairs. So I haven’t had much time to explore it more until winter stops.
Thanks

[NH_Bulldog]

The SolarFlex 400i (now 440i) is only a casual off-grid setup, even with a 12v DC fridge. Most experience a few days (4-5) of off-grid power depending on the sun exposure and/or access to a generator. Ironically, the 400i/440i system paired with a gas/electric refigerator would almost run forever with your only real limitations being gas and water supply and holding tank capacity.

If you have a residential refrigerator, that tells me that your RV was intended more for glamping than camping, and I would expect only a day or two max (if even that long) running off batteries. Inverting DC power to AC power is inefficient at best since the inverter itself consumes power during operation. If you want to keep your residential fridge and want to camp off-grid, you have to have a generator unless money was no object, in which case spend the $19,000 for the biggest solar package Keystone offers (which even then will not be a perfect solution).

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

The SolarFlex 400i (now 440i) is only a casual off-grid setup, even with a 12v DC fridge. ...

If you want to keep your residential fridge and want to camp off-grid, you have to have a generator unless money was no object, in which case spend the $19,000 for the biggest solar package Keystone offers.

And even with that kind of investment, successful "long term off grid camping" depends as much on where you're parked and how much sunshine hits the solar panels "at the right angle to provide maximum energy production"...

Just a couple days of "gloomy weather" can send even the best SolarFlex system to failure without alternative power sources (like that trusty generator)..

Parking in Arizona in the desert with "hot glaring sun" is significantly different than parking in northern Michigan in the winter when the sun's angle barely provides a couple hours of "solar panel activity" if you can keep the snow from covering the panels. Then there's those "pesky trees" in most boondocking sites that provide "cooling shade at the expense of direct sunlight"...

My take on it (FWIW):

SolarFlex 200/220 (OEM equipment) - Nah, might keep the smoke detector running in storage.
SolarFlex 400/440 ($1830 no batteries provided)- Might run the furnace a couple hours a night in cool temps.
SolarFlex 600/660 ($11430 with 270 A/H capacity) - Use the microwave for popcorn, but sparingly if you need the furnace.
SolarFlex 1200/1320 ($18930 with 540 A/H capacity) - Use the microwave for popcorn, maybe perk a pot of coffee and watch TV in the evening, but hope for bright, sunny days EVERY DAY or "budget your battery use carefully. Forget the Air Conditioner for more than an hour a day, otherwise, you'll be "in the dark come 11PM.

With any of the above systems, if you have a "residential 120 VAC refrigerator" you're going to have to be "vigilant about ALL electrical use" if you want to have "frozen ice cream"... And, running the ice maker when on "solar power" is a "HUGE consumer of battery power that could be better used for lights or furnace"

The SolarFlex systems offer "some glimpse into the future" but none of them are "right for off grid camping for sustained trips if there's any interruption in the sunlight on an "every day basis"....

[77chev]

Thanks for the input I guess I will plan on having to run the gen a lot