Stock Res Fridge Batteries - How long to recharge from onboard Onan?

[love2rv]

I'm hoping to purchase a Cyclone and I've noticed most units come stock with the Residential Fridge option.

I was hoping to hear some "real-world" stories about how long it takes to recharge the stock batteries with the onboard Onan. If I recharged the fridge batteries daily for 2-3 hours, could I live off-grid for a week? I realize there are other power draws with off-grid living, but I think the fridge power setup is separate from the house power setup, right?

If the stock batteries are intended just to get you to the next power pedestal (which I'm thinking may be the case) -- has anyone replaced these w/ 2 100 amp Litho batteries...and if so...could I achieve what I'm hoping for with that kind of setup?

Basically, I'm trying to figure out how much extra $ will be required to use a residential fridge off grid for at least 3-4 days at a time...maybe up to a week.

If I replaced the 2 stock batteries with 2 100 amp Litho batteries (with faster recharge time and longer run time), could I achieve this, or would I need to upgrade anything else? Would I need more than 2 100 amp batteries?

I think the "house" power is a separate issue, so I'm thinking I would need at least 2 100 amp Litho batteries to run items on the house circuit, and I'm assuming a new charger and inverter....but I'm not trying to turn this into an alternative power thread. : )

I'm really trying to focus on just the fridge now....and whether a simple battery upgrade could give me extended stays off-grid and how much time I'll need to recharge the setup each day. Example....if it might take 6 hrs to recharge...this probably isn't the right option for me. However, if I could recharge by running the generator for an hour or two, and that would power the fridge the remainder of the day, I could see the benefit of a residential fridge. Is that wishful thinking?

Thanks, Tom

 

[esscobra]

the batteries power everything- no seperate batteries for the fridge- the onboard charger will charge at same rate as when you are plugged in - not any faster or slower- your best bet wil be to add the batteries and also solar - you need to look up model of fridge and determine energy usage and then get enough batteries to last for amount of time ( which wouls be alot ) and ading solar would help to replenish batteries without running generator as much- after next trip i am going to install 2 170ah lipo batteries and 6 100w solar panels

 

[LBR]

If the factory is still using the PD series of converters, your first purchase should be the Charge Wizard for ~$20 (unless the factory is installing them now). This plug and play "dongle" override will cut down battery charge time, thereby cutting your generator runtime dramatically.

We purchased a 2017 CY with the residential refrigerator, full time, and boondock 90+% off-grid. I had been working on our infrastructure for 3 years and finished everything last summer, so the generators are used only for special instances.

Dealer supplied batteries are not up to the task...your 200AH of Lithium thought is a fantastic start, but leave room for more batteries in the future as your wants and needs demand MORE POWER..😄😄

 

[ILH]

Hi Tom - I'm in the process of working out what you're trying to do - but for different reasons. I have a 2020 Landmark that is stored in a facility without power between trips. We'd like to run the residential fridge 24 hours BEFORE our trip to get it cooled down for groceries. Calculations for power consumption are all over the board - but figure on 4 to 6 amps for Heartland's current fridge models under warm conditions. When not working hard, they go as low as 3.5 (per info from forum postings). The inverter will also draw power.

Unfortunately there are no proficient solar expert installers in my area - otherwise I'd just take it to them and have a roof mounted set up put in and be done with it. With Covid and border closures, it will be another summer before I can consider having it done elsewhere.

 

[Oregon_Camper]

....... We'd like to run the residential fridge 24 hours BEFORE our trip to get it cooled down for groceries. Calculations for power consumption are all over the board - but figure on 4 to 6 amps for Heartland's current fridge models under warm conditions. When not working hard, they go as low as 3.5 (per info from forum postings). The inverter will also draw power.

Are your 4-6 amps numbers off the frig? If so, note those are AC amps, so multiply that by 12 to convert what will be pulled off your battery bank via the inverter (plus a bit more for inverter consumption as you noted). So, if your frig pulls ~5amps on shore power, you are really pulling 60 amps via inverter/battery per hour. Finally, if you're not using Lithium battery(s) you only get to use 50% SOC on your battery(s) before the inverter will most likely shut down, due to battery voltage dropping below 50% SOC.

 

[LBR]

Here is my real-world eye opener with our residential refrigerator.

Our 2017 CY Hisense resi frig compressor pulls 11 AC amps @119V. This was measured by my Progressive Industries digital readout when plugged into shore power. ALL 120V breakers were shut off except the doubled-main to feed just the refrigerator breaker for testing.

I hope everyone can read the tag specs....2.8 amps@115VAC is what I assumed the draw was prior to installing my PI system and readouts.

This is the importance to perform your unique-to-you energy audits prior to sizing the infrastructures. We boondocked with generators for a year while calculating ours.....then installed the entire 12V system, then the complete solar system from top to bottom. It was fun and challenging for myself and the DW (filtering out colorfull words😂), so hopefully more campers will think about installing their own.

Sizing everything up is a must to help battle Nov, Dec, Jan low sun angles, cloudy days, and full-day usage of kitchen appliances/TVs/etc. In hotter southern states, the refrigerator runs A LOT!!