SOLVED: Residential Fridge problem

[Hunter11]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

It is the same inverter as far as I can tell with the electronics reworked for a larger surge. I flipped the breaker for the fridge and converter yesterday evening and switched the fridge over to the inverter and it did come on and stayed on. I left it on the inverter long enough for the compressor to come on and made sure it would hold then switched it all back. We live in our unit full time so the fridge is always cool. We do have a trip coming up towards the end of August which will give us a good test to see how it will hold the temps and battery power while on the road in 100* heat.

 

[BLHFUN]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Agreed. The inverter is the same inverter with a new programming. longer delays and longer surge time. I decided to take mine from 83 degrees all the way down to 6. It held fine and is working perfectly. Happy camper!

 

[Miketnsa1]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

I understand the re-worked inverters are simply being changed from Pure Sine Wave to Modified Sine Wave...I'm no electronics expert but I was a trucker for many years who used various inverters over the years. I have found that everything will "initially" run on a modified sine wave before destroying the electric motor...That residential frig was designed for homes and NOT RV's...Therefore I think within a year we are going to see problems with Frig's due to the modified sine wave and I guarantee the manufacturer or Heartland will NOT cover the frig repairs. Pure Sine Wave is the closest to what this frig was designed to run on...The answer, (though more expensive) is a LARGER 1800-2000watt PURE SINE WAVE....When your Frig works till your warranty expires? Remember this post

 

[Fonz46]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

I agree with Hunter11 that it looks identical to the original Magnum inverter. According to Art at HL customer service, the difference is the way it is programmed. The modified unit produces a square wave output (MSW) whereas the original produced a pure sine wave (PSW) output. The MSW is more able to handle the compressor start up current. Some have posted that the MSW could be harmful to the electronics in the refrigerator. I questioned Art at HL about this, who said they have talked to Frigidaire and asked if there were any issues with MSW and have been assured it will work fine. I did test mine with the refrigerator being hot. It was about 90 when I turned the inverter on and ran it for about 4 hours and the freezer temperature was about 30, and still falling, when I turned it off. Time will tell. Good luck with your problem and please let us know what they do to your rig and if the problem is resolved.

 

[porthole]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

I understand the re-worked inverters are simply being changed from Pure Sine Wave to Modified Sine Wave...I'm no electronics expert but I was a trucker for many years who used various inverters over the years. I have found that everything will "initially" run on a modified sine wave before destroying the electric motor...That residential frig was designed for homes and NOT RV's...Therefore I think within a year we are going to see problems with Frig's due to the modified sine wave and I guarantee the manufacturer or Heartland will NOT cover the frig repairs. Pure Sine Wave is the closest to what this frig was designed to run on...The answer, (though more expensive) is a LARGER 1800-2000watt PURE SINE WAVE....When your Frig works till your warranty expires? Remember this post

Magnum 2000 watt PSW's are what some of the competition is advertising for 2015 residential fridge installs.

 

[Hunter11]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

I understand the re-worked inverters are simply being changed from Pure Sine Wave to Modified Sine Wave...I'm no electronics expert but I was a trucker for many years who used various inverters over the years. I have found that everything will "initially" run on a modified sine wave before destroying the electric motor...That residential frig was designed for homes and NOT RV's...Therefore I think within a year we are going to see problems with Frig's due to the modified sine wave and I guarantee the manufacturer or Heartland will NOT cover the frig repairs. Pure Sine Wave is the closest to what this frig was designed to run on...The answer, (though more expensive) is a LARGER 1800-2000watt PURE SINE WAVE....When your Frig works till your warranty expires? Remember this post

Magnum 2000 watt PSW's are what some of the competition is advertising for 2015 residential fridge installs.

Great......

 

[Miketnsa1]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Residential Frigs are not new to RV's...It's only new to this price point, and if cheaper MSW inverters performed exactly like PSW inverters Liberty, Featherlite, Marathon, and others would have them...I've found that MSW inverters work fine for Televisions, electric blankets, and a few other items...But over time the mini frig I had failed, my hair clippers and electric razor failed, and my microwave eventually quit working as well...Again, everything worked for a while, but not unti I ponied up the bucks for a PSW did my electric motor problems go away.
I hope everyone's 1000w MSW continues to work great! But if after a year or so you start to see a lot of Frig failures? It's the MSW and as far as Frigidaire goes? Can you imagine the number of frig's being sold to Hartland? I can imagine Frigidaire saying HEY NO PROBLEM THE MSW! HOW MANY THOUSANDS MORE FRIG'S DO YOU NEED?

 

[aRAYwego]

I have a side note here people. My inverter probs are all fixed but......I got ice cream out of the freezer the other day and noticed it was pretty soft. I had the freezer set at 6° according to the control display. Thought I'd test it so I put thermometers in fridge and freezer. Set at 6° and 35°. Thermometers read 15° and 45° . I then set them at the lowest possible settings. 5° and 33° . Lowest temps I can get is 12° and 42°. I would also say the fridge is very easy to open so not sure how well the seal is being made on the door. I tried locking them while I was at work and only dropped temps a degree or two. Problem? Whatcha think? James

 

[porthole]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

You should have 0 to -10 for ice cream

 

[Hunter11]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

We have ours set at 5* and 37* and our ice cream stays frozen.

 

[jbeletti]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

We have ours set at 5* and 37* and our ice cream stays frozen.

Mine too (Frigidaire) is left on the defaults of 0* and 37*. Hard ice cream. Note that the shelf above he ice bucket is the ice cream shelf. Think I read that in the refer manual. That's where we keep ours.

I have never measure my refer temps - so I don't know what they really are.

 

[aRAYwego]

We have ours set at 5* and 37* and our ice cream stays frozen.

Mine too (Frigidaire) is left on the defaults of 5* and 37*. Hard ice cream. Note that the shelf above he ice bucket is the ice cream shelf. Think I read that in the refer manual. That's where we keep ours.

I have never measure my refer temps - so I don't know what they really are.

my ice cream stays frozen but not hard.

 

[Miketnsa1]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

My ice cream was a bit soft at 6 degrees, then I set to the lowest setting of -6 F for Freezer and 33 F for frig and ice cream is really too hard now...will try 0 on next trip

 

[jbeletti]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Jut looked over at my refer and have now edited my previous post. My refer is set for 0 and 37. Not sure where I came up with 5.

 

[aRAYwego]

Must be something different with our refers. Lowest mine can be set is 5 and 33.

 

[wdk450]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Here are the FDA's home refrigerator/freezer guidelines:
"

• Keep your appliances at the proper temperatures. Keep the refrigerator temperature at or below 40° F (4° C). The freezer temperature should be 0° F (-18° C). Check temperatures periodically. Appliance thermometers are the best way of knowing these temperatures and are generally inexpensive. "

From webpage: http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consumerupdates/ucm093704.htm

 

[Nabo]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Our refrig is set at 0* and 37* which we haven't changed from the factory setting.

Update on the new inverter. We had a 1500w inverter installed from the dealership last weekend. Didn't have any problems with the unit kicking off this time as we traveled (yea). Down fall, HL wouldn't ok the upgraded unit so the dealership was great to let us pay the difference between what HL pays the dealership and the cost of the new inverter. We feel much better having the little bit bigger unit than what HL is putting on the coaches.

 

[adam]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

I am scheduled to take delivery of a 2015 Landmark on Wednesday of this week. I stopped by the dealership to order some general parts in advance of delivery. While I was there I had a look at our Key Largo. I decided to start the fridge from room temperature using the inverter and 2 new batteries.
Low and behold the inverter failed within 60 seconds! I gave it time to reset and attempted a restart - it failed again.

Magnum makes a great inverter, the one that was chosen for the Landmark is obviously a discount version. Our coach was produced in May 2014. The good news is I just told the dealership to install a new 2000 Watt pure sine inverter before delivery. ( I still haven't paid for anything yet! LOL)

We have run a 2008 motorhome which we retrofitted with a Samsung residential fridge over 2 years ago, all running on a 2000 Watt MSW Magnum inverter. Not a single stitch of a problem. On four batteries the fridge ran for almost 18 hours without the AGS starting the generator. I'm not sure who started the "inverters only run fridges for 2 hour idea", thats just a joke.


On a unrelated note I still can't get my head wrapped around the fact that Heartland delivers a fifth wheel of this quality with a vent using a cheap plastic fan in the bathroom. Certainly not up to par for a coach of this calibre. I ordered a appropriate fan and will promptly install upon delivery.


I will update this thread with info on the inverter when it is installed.


Thanks
Adam

 

[Jim.Allison]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

What it the Volt reading of your batts?

When your inverter draws the batt below 12v (or a set voltage) it thinks the battery is dead so your inverter quits. Fully charge your battery to 13.4 v. Then see what happens.

I am scheduled to take delivery of a 2015 Landmark on Wednesday of this week. I stopped by the dealership to order some general parts in advance of delivery. While I was there I had a look at our Key Largo. I decided to start the fridge from room temperature using the inverter and 2 new batteries.
Low and behold the inverter failed within 60 seconds! I gave it time to reset and attempted a restart - it failed again.

Magnum makes a great inverter, the one that was chosen for the Landmark is obviously a discount version. Our coach was produced in May 2014. The good news is I just told the dealership to install a new 2000 Watt pure sine inverter before delivery. ( I still haven't paid for anything yet! LOL)

We have run a 2008 motorhome which we retrofitted with a Samsung residential fridge over 2 years ago, all running on a 2000 Watt MSW Magnum inverter. Not a single stitch of a problem. On four batteries the fridge ran for almost 18 hours without the AGS starting the generator. I'm not sure who started the "inverters only run fridges for 2 hour idea", thats just a joke.


On a unrelated note I still can't get my head wrapped around the fact that Heartland delivers a fifth wheel of this quality with a vent using a cheap plastic fan in the bathroom. Certainly not up to par for a coach of this calibre. I ordered a appropriate fan and will promptly install upon delivery.


I will update this thread with info on the inverter when it is installed.


Thanks
Adam

 

[adam]

Re: Inverter for fridge problem

Thanks Jim,

The batteries are deep cycle Trojan 12 volt batteries. New and just installed. The battery voltage was correct and sufficient to operate the inverter.

Plain and simple - this is a bad inverter on a new undelivered unit.