# Seasonal Camping And Refrigerator



## jeepers128 (Jun 30, 2013)

So we decided that we would get a seasonal spot this year at a local campground. We have to pay for the power; as it is metered and billed to us. I am wondering what it will cost to keep the fridge running? We plan on using it a little during the week and a lot on the weekends. Any suggestions on how to cool the fridge down faster when we arrive for the weekend? I am thinking about bringing with us a frozen gallon of water and using it to cool down the air in the fridge.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

If the $$ is the driving issue...do it one month on electric then the next on propane/battery. Then determine which is more cost effective....electric or propane.

Personally, I'd run it on electric and leave the site with the propane on and the frig set to "auto". Then the frig would still be working if the power were to ever go out at your seasonal site.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Don't forget the converter will run continuously.


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## sonomaguy (Jun 17, 2012)

The converter changes the 120 to 12 volt power. It keeps the battery charged while you are plugged in. If you have your hot water tank on power and not gas it will keep your tank hot too. There is more than just the fridge involved here. It would be best to do as Oregon camper says and leave it on power with the gas on. Just in case of power failure. You could turn off the hot water tank when you leave, it will just take a little while to heat up when you get back.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

robertized said:


> Don't forget the converter will run continuously.


Buddy could you explain what you mean when you say the converter will run continuously. The reason I ask is the only time our trailer is not on shore power is when it is on the road. Thanks in advance and Good Luck. 
[/quote]

The converter runs to maintain 13.2 vdc on the system at all times, even with the battery fully charged. Irrespective of the load the converter is always consuming energy.

If you looked at the parasitic loads on the power systems you would see that we waste a lot of power for things to just idle along. Individually they may seem low but they add up. One of those parasitic loads is all the different control boards on the trailer. The fridge, the water heater the thermostat for the furnace. Also the converter itself have some fairly big internal parasitic loads.


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

jeepers128 said:


> So we decided that we would get a seasonal spot this year at a local campground. We have to pay for the power; as it is metered and billed to us. I am wondering what it will cost to keep the fridge running? We plan on using it a little during the week and a lot on the weekends. Any suggestions on how to cool the fridge down faster when we arrive for the weekend? I am thinking about bringing with us a frozen gallon of water and using it to cool down the air in the fridge.


If we want to cool down our fridge quickly, we take it out of Auto just let it run on propane. It cools it down a lot quicker than electric.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The WFCO is only a little worse on the standing current draw, just wanted to point out that there were other loads. I still have the installed WFCO from 2008 and will test the draw once I dewinterize the trailer.


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