But that power requirement is minimal, making the “propane” mode highly desirable for off-grid use. The heat needed can be provided by using either propane or electricity (120V AC or 12V DC).Įither way, the circuitry that controls the “brains” of an RV fridge always uses 12V DC. It uses heat to trigger an ammonia-based refrigerant to change phases from liquid to vapor and then back again, and it is that cycle that creates the cold. This is the best-known type of RV fridge, and what people are generally referring to when they use the term “RV fridge.” It’s also known as an “absorption fridge” because of the chemical process it uses to create the cold to keep your food fresh. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of absorption (two-way and three-way), 120V AC residential-style refrigerators, and the newest 12V DC compressor refrigerators. In addition to the type of power RV fridges use, choices vary based on size and other considerations. RVers who always camp at RV parks and campgrounds will have needs that differ significantly from those who boondock nearly exclusively, as we do. The best RV refrigerator is the fridge that works best for your family’s RVing lifestyle. So, with these four choices in mind, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each type to help you to determine what’s the best RV refrigerator for you. A 12V DC compressor refrigerator just runs directly off your battery power. There’s now no need to take 12V DC power from your battery bank and convert it to 120V AC power just to run your fridge. That eliminates an inefficiency in power conversion. It has many of the same benefits as a 120V AC refrigerator, without the need for 120V AC power. From our experience with our 120V AC refrigerator, that requires a LOT of power (ours consumes about 130-150 amp-hours of power from our battery bank in a 24 hour period).Īnd that’s where the latest addition to RV refrigerator options comes in: the 12V DC powered compressor refrigerator. And when off the grid, that means having to have your inverter powered on all the time in order to keep your fridge cooling.

This means you either need to be plugged into shore power, run your generator, or have sufficient battery power to run the fridge using your inverter. In recent years, they’ve been a popular option in RVs, but they have the drawback of requiring 120V AC power in order to run. For gas absorption refrigerators, you have your choice of a 2-way model (which runs off of propane or 120V AC electric) or a 3-way unit (which also runs off propane/12oV AC, but adds in the option of 12V DC).Ĭompressor refrigerators have, traditionally, been powered by 120V AC power and are what we all know as household, residential-style refrigerators. Within each of those classes, there are two choices. So what are the choices for refrigerators in RVs? Basically, there are two main classes of refrigerators available, separated by the process used to cool: The space is fantastic as is the cooling ability, but the power draw means you’ll have to make some adjustments if you’re boondockers like we are.īut the amount of power required to run a residential fridge is considerable, and we’ve gone to some length to be able to power ours when we’re off the grid for weeks at a time (which is frequently), without having to run our generator. All-electric residential refrigerators are one option for full-timers like us or for folks traveling with larger families.

12 volt compressor refrigerator rv