5 cf Fridge Amperage Draw

[MitchB]

A few weeks ago I installed a Victron BM-700 battery monitor so that I could really get a handle on my power draw while boondocking.  Today I fired up the fridge to see what the draw of the control panel actually is when on propane. My assumption until now, based on conventional wisdom, has been that the fridge control panel consumes .5 amps per hour. In fact the meter says it's only .1 amps per hour which is a huge difference over time. If that's truly the case then I'm going from the fridge using 12 amp hours per day to less than 3 which would be spectacular.  Is anyone else seeing the same results in their monitoring?

Mitch

[DavidM]

Yes, the fridge on our 16TBS draws about the same. It is probably just the controls and gas solenoiid. Mine and I suspect yours is a one door fridge and those don't have DC frost heaters on the freezer door facing which draws a lot more.

And don't even think about running it on DC only (no propane or 110V AC) if you have that capability. It draws a bunch, maybe as much as 10 amps and will quickly run your battery down.

David

[MitchB]

Yup, one door 5cf.  Well this is very good news really, changes the battery math significantly.

[DavidM]

FWIW, I installed a Drok battery monitor last year- a much cheaper version of your Victron monitor. I used about 10-12 AH in a 24 hour period. The fridge was running on propane, we used a couple of lights inside for an hour or so, lit the water heater for about an hour and used the water pump for dishes and showers.

I can last for about three days that way before running down my single Group 24 battery to 50%.

David

[MitchB]

I had a drok also.  I was concerned about its accuracy because it was always a couple tenths below 2 multimeters that agreed with each other.  As you know, 2 tenths is a lot when measuring a 12 volt battery. Thanks for your feedback.