SOLVED: Residential Fridge problem

[boatto5er]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

I purchased a 2015 Bighorn and my fridge will not run off the inverter for more than 20 seconds... I am out of luck unless you can wait months for Camping World to look at it and several more months to order parts if necessary... we just don't use our fridge off battery and share our experiences with anyone interested...

Have you contacted Heartland Customer Service directly and relayed your experience to them. They are working with Magnum to get a solution and the more info they have the better. Remember also when talking with them, you catch more flies with Honey than with you know what.


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[Hunter11]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Richard, call Heartland customer service and let them know you have this issue. They are working on a solution and you should get yours fixed when they come up with a fix. Once they do they can send replacement parts to CW for them to install under the warranty.

 

[jdamude]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

We talked to Heartland this morning along with Magnum. It appears that the inverter is not sufficient enough to run the fridge. The main problem is the amperage the ice maker draws. Engineers from both companies are working on a solution. Stay tuned as we give them some time to work out a solution.

Thanks
Jeff

Heartland has decided to use a new brand of inverter in all new production (Xantrez XM1000), this inverter has a much larger surge wattage. It has been tested and is working fine at the plant. They have shipped one out to use and should receive it Friday. I will report back on the results.

Thank
Jeff

 

[Hunter11]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Jeff, I was just told they will be sending me one of the new ones as well. I probably won't get ours until next week. Please report back with your results and I will do the same.

 

[jdamude]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Heartland has decided to use a new brand of inverter in all new production (Xantrez XM1000), this inverter has a much larger surge wattage. It has been tested and is working fine at the plant. They have shipped one out to use and should receive it Friday. I will report back on the results.

Thank
Jeff

Ok folks, I promised an update so here it is. I received the Xantrez XM1000 from Heartland yesterday. Today we installed it in place of the original converter. I had to move some wiring and the existing transfer switch to accommodate the new inverter. After getting everything in place the moment of true was near, will it work? Hooked the power up and turned it on and nothing happened.

After further diagnosis, I come to the conclusion that the inverter was defective. I then made a trip to our local Camping World and purchased a 2000 watt inverter installed it and everything works fine now.

I will have to return the defective inverter to Heartland and work with then on a reimbursement for the replacement.

Heartland was great in getting the new inverter out to us. It's unfortunate that we received a defective unit.

i attached a couple of pictures of both units installed.

 

[rod_s]

Re: starting amps?

I am sorry the new inverter did not work out for you. I know there are several of us trying to be patient about getting this issue resolved. I am a little concerned that Heartland decided to move forward with a modified sine wave inverter as they can have compatibility issues with certain electronics and the the control circuit in the refrigerators may fall into that catagory. Any inverter gurus out there who can talk about this.

 

[jdamude]

Re: starting amps?

I am sorry the new inverter did not work out for you. I know there are several of us trying to be patient about getting this issue resolved. I am a little concerned that Heartland decided to move forward with a modified sine wave inverter as they can have compatibility issues with certain electronics and the the control circuit in the refrigerators may fall into that catagory. Any inverter gurus out there who can talk about this.

I questioned Heartland about the modified sign wave. This is not the answer in my opinion. Modified sign wave has a square wave forum. This means that the power cycles on and off through the wave pattern. Electronics and electric motors do not like this type of electricity.

I can can see units using these inverters having fridge issues down the road. I believe that this is truly a cost issue on the side of a Heartland. I personally talked to an engineer at Magnum and he strongly advised not to use modified sign wave inverters.

The pure sign wave inverter that I purchased was more money but now I have a piece of mind. I can't imagine what would be involved in getting the fridge out of the slide for repairs. I hope Heartland will come good for the costs incurred.

 

[Hunter11]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Well the fact that we have a non-functioning inverter for our Fridge cost us right at $300 yesterday. We had some strong storms come through the area Thursday evening right after we had bought groceries and we lost power about 9:30. We did not get power back until 6:30 yesterday evening so we lost the entire contents of the fridge due to the fact I could not get it to switch over to the inverter. If I had been able to I could have kept the batteries charged from my truck and saved the fridge contents. Now it looks like the third inverter they have sent will not work according to Jeff's experience with the same inverter I have coming. This issue has become very frustrating especially now after losing all our food because the inverter does not work. We are becoming very disheartened with this trailer......

 

[porthole]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Heartland has decided to use a new brand of inverter in all new production (Xantrez XM1000), this inverter has a much larger surge wattage. It has been tested and is working fine at the plant. They have shipped one out to use and should receive it Friday. I will report back on the results.

xantrex - saw that on a new trailer this week at Urbanna. That's a step backwards.
xantrex customer service flat out stinks.

Have worked with several versions on boats and most of them have problems with incorrect voltage readings, including the one in my trailer. It consistently reads .6 to .8 volts lower then actual battery voltage. That issue frequently will cause a low battery shut down fault when there is sufficient battery voltage.

The Magnum is a superior product, just need to get the correct size.

 

[Hunter11]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

As an update, I had not received the new Xantrex XM1000 inverter I was told Heartland was sending me so I emailed this morning and was told those were put on hold. Supposedly they are getting in a new shipment of Magnum inverters next week and I will be sent one of those to try. Will it be a larger capacity, I have no clue. We just need this issue resolved along with our other issues so we can get ready for some big trips we have planned in the coming months. I will report back once I get the new Magnum inverter as to weather or not it resolves the issue.

 

[scottyb]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

MH's have been using residential fridges for several years now. Most of them have at least one if not two 2000W+ inverters and up to 8 6V batteries. Many of them have a 2000W inverter dedicated solely to the fridge. They ALL have generators and most have AGS's to prevent what happened to Hunter11. By using such a small amount of Ah for storage, it only compounds the problem with low voltage. Unless you are parked and connected to shore power all the time, I think these residential refrigerators need a minimum of 4 6V batteries, a generator, and AGS.

 

[kseagle]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Here's an update on our fridge problem. Our Key Largo is at the dealers now and they said they put it on 12v and it ran for 2 hours before tripping the fault in the inverter. This was after doing all of the checking of wiring, etc. that HL asked them to do. So the Heartland rep called us yesterday and said that the inverters are only designed to run the fridge for 2 hours on 12v. What??? It sounds like what is happening--at least with our unit--is that starting with a cold refrigerator (one that has been or shore power for some time) you can switch to 12v and the inverter will run the lights, display, thermostat but when it comes time for the compressor to start it trips the inverter overload. Does anyone else here think that this in unacceptable? BTW we have 2 6v 500 amp hour batteries in the RV and they showed full power when checked after the fault. So far HL has not offered another, larger inverter. Also, does anyone know if a larger inverter will require running larger wire to the fridge? Maybe that is why HL is trying to solve this another way.

 

[Hunter11]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

So the Heartland rep called us yesterday and said that the inverters are only designed to run the fridge for 2 hours on 12v.

I do not know about the rest of you having this issue with your residential fridge/inverter but this is not acceptable to us! The 2014 models seem to work fine and I expect ours to also do so. The two owners I know of that have installed larger inverters and theirs are working fine now did not get them from Heartland. One was dealer installed and the other owner installed I believe. I would hope they are not still sending these units out the door with the inverters not working but I would bet they are. I just can't believe they would actually say that the fridge should only run 2 hours on the inverter.....

 

[scottyb]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

A larger inverter could require larger wire from the batteries to the inverter but not from the inverter to the fridge.

 

[Hunter11]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

I believe both of the owners that installed 2000 watt inverters used the existing wiring and both are working fine. Hopefully they will chime in at some point and let us know. This may be the route I take if Heartland does not come up with a fix soon.

 

[bdb2047]

Re: starting amps?

For what it worth, I installed a residential fridge in our Landmark. I use 2 12v deep cycle batteries,these are only batteries in camper, 1500w MSW inverter it has run up to 14hrs without shore power still had 12v at batteries. I have not used ice maker in fridge don't know how much that would affect it. Very satisfied with it more important wife is happy with it.

 

[alethaj]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

I hate to join this group...those who have a bad inverter and no fridge while driving down lifes highway!!!..took our unit out for a first time try out...not only did the inverter not kick in we had a massive leak under the fridge (we think) ...that flooded the outside under the kitchen slide...got so bad we turned the water off unless we were showering or doing dishes...when we closed the slides to come home once again the inverter was on for a few minutes then went off...also by the time we got 45 miles down the road and stopped to check out the fridge we found that water had leaked all over the kitchen floor...to say the least we were a bit upset!!
The unit is in the shop and they said they were waiting for Heartlnd to contact them about the inverter..duh!...I am not a happy camper...

 

[jdamude]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

I believe both of the owners that installed 2000 watt inverters used the existing wiring and both are working fine. Hopefully they will chime in at some point and let us know. This may be the route I take if Heartland does not come up with a fix soon.

It has been a week since installing the 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter. We are on the road at the Ontario Rally and the fridge worked perfect during our travels.

 

[Hunter11]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Jeff, I am going to give Heartland another week or so to get this issue resolved and then I am going to go to CW and buy the same 2000 watt inverter you have and fix it myself. We have some trips coming up and need the fridge to work while on the road so I can't keep waiting around for them to come up with a fix. If I have to buy a new inverter I will see if they will pay for all or some of it. I do not want to have what they feel is the minimum to get by with.

 

[scottyb]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Thought I would pass this along. This guy JackDanMayer.com is calculating the usage for solar but gives a pretty good break down in his spreadsheet you can download for Residential Refridgerators. He also has a ton of other good information on his site.