Residential refrigerator retrofit

[Jim & Mary]

I am considering replacing the Norcold 1210M in our 36RL and would like input on the following.

1. Which residential would you/have you chosen. Water and ice through the door would be nice but not essential.

2. Which model/size of inverter do you have. We don't do boondocking, so please take that into account. Is an inverter/charger better or just an inverter.

3. Have you attempted to resell the Norcold. Ours still works well, both on shore power and propane. Freezer just does not ever get cold enough for ice cream, plus interior is just not big enough. We spend at least 6 months in it over the winter, so that's important.

Thanks, Jim

[piper guy]

Jim, I'll be interested in your findings too. On another thread someone just replaced theirs with a RF18 Samsung and said it was a virtually no hassle replacement. Said he had to remove the lower drawer but all the woodwork that needed to come out was either staples or screws and didn't need a cabinet maker. You need to close off the vents in the back, but a trip to Home Depot for some hard insulation and black spray paint for the outside cures that.

I'm thinking when I do mine I will go with a 1500 watt inverter and run a wire from it to a switch box so that the inverter will only be "hot" when switched on and traveling without a 120volt feed. Have to talk to a friend who is much more electrically savvy than I am. Don't want to have to power that whole slide off the inverter all the time.

[GWHoll]

We bought our RW 2012 36FL a few months ago. It came with a residential refrigerator but no inverter. A friend of mine just upgraded to a pure sine wave Magnum Energy inverter in his MH and is willing to sell me his older ME-2012 for a great price, which includes help installing. The Refrigerator is a Maytag but the inside tag says Whirlpool Corp MBF1958XES3, it works great however have not gotten the ice maker to work yet (may have to replace). It keeps the Blue Bell ice cream solid. I'm a little leary of putting a modified sine wave inverter on but since the refrigerator is not high tech computerized, I don't think I will have a problem (would love to hear input on that). I plan to mount the inverter in the front compartment above and to the left of the batteries (which should be safe since the batteries are in a vented box). I will run 4 circuits off the existing circuit breaker to another 4 circuit breaker box, which will be installed near the inverter. I will also have to run 10/3 with ground from the existing breaker box to the inverter to operate the converter part of the inverter. The inverter has a built in converter and it's own switch that will change the power to shore power or inverter (battery) power automatically. I am a newbie to inverters, but learning alot from my friend. Would appreciate more input from the forum, especially thoughts on pure sine wave vs modified sine wave for refrigerators.

[brenkco]

I have 2 pure sine inverters in my rig. One is the 1000w Magnum that came with the residential package. it's purpose is to supply 110v to the refer and act as a back up converter. Wiring is 12, 2/w ground from the panel to the inverter, and to the refer. 00 wire goes from the battery bank (4-6volt golf cart) to the inverter.


The second inverter is a Xantrex 2000 Prowatt pure sine inverter. It's purpose is to power the rig while boondocking. It is wired using 0 wire, daisy chained off the magnum. A 20amp outlet from the inverter is wired with 12 2/w ground. I use my 30amp cord with a 20 amp adaptor to the ac input on the rig. Both converters are disabled (circuit brakers off) when using the inverter.


I opted for pure sine inverters simply to protect the electronics in the rig. Though somewhat more expensive, it was worth it to me. I had a modified sine inverter in my last 5er and had some issues with my router.

Hope that helps!

Ken

[GWHoll]

Originally Posted by brenkco

I have 2 pure sine inverters in my rig. One is the 1000w Magnum that came with the residential package. it's purpose is to supply 110v to the refer and act as a back up converter. Wiring is 12, 2/w ground from the panel to the inverter, and to the refer. 00 wire goes from the battery bank (4-6volt golf cart) to the inverter.


The second inverter is a Xantrex 2000 Prowatt pure sine inverter. It's purpose is to power the rig while boondocking. It is wired using 0 wire, daisy chained off the magnum. A 20amp outlet from the inverter is wired with 12 2/w ground. I use my 30amp cord with a 20 amp adaptor to the ac input on the rig. Both converters are disabled (circuit brakers off) when using the inverter.


I opted for pure sine inverters simply to protect the electronics in the rig. Though somewhat more expensive, it was worth it to me. I had a modified sine inverter in my last 5er and had some issues with my router.

Hope that helps!

Ken

My main purpose for the inverter is to power the refrigerator going down the road. Our trips are usually within a few hours of the house, but would like the capability of running it for longer trips in the future. We usually don't boondock but may have to on longer trips for just a night. I don't believe I would be running any major sensitive electronics when using the inverter. I have an Electrulux Refrigerator in my house (which I do not recommend at all - has been nothing but problems since new) that has more circuit boards than a computer - I would imagine if I had that type refrigerator in my RW, I would have to go with the pure sine wave. I believe my WFCO convertor is giving me problems (lights going brite then dimming), so I am thankful to get this ME-2012 Inverter/Charger for such a great deal.

[homeguy]

I used the Magnum MM612-U for our fridge. We do not boondock. I didn't want one with a charger because I still have the converter. I ran the cables from the converter to the inverter and ran the circuit for the fridge to the inverter. In hindsight, I would have liked a more powerful inverter. The receptacle by the stove and the one in the pantry are all on the same circuit. It will normally blow if I plug anything major into them so we have them taped off so we don't use them.

[GWHoll]

Originally Posted by homeguy

I used the Magnum MM612-U for our fridge. We do not boondock. I didn't want one with a charger because I still have the converter. I ran the cables from the converter to the inverter and ran the circuit for the fridge to the inverter. In hindsight, I would have liked a more powerful inverter. The receptacle by the stove and the one in the pantry are all on the same circuit. It will normally blow if I plug anything major into them so we have them taped off so we don't use them.

I think the Magnum MM612-U Inverter is a modified sine wave inverter. Do you have any trouble with it running your residential style refrigerator?

[mhs4771]

This is the model RW used in our '16 39MB: Whirlpool Gold Counter-Depth French Door Fridge - 20 cu. ft.
It's powered by a Magnum Pure Sine Wave 1000 Watt Inverter/Charger and has the Remote Readout on the wall just inside the door. I'm running 4 Groupe 29 Deep Cycle 12 Volt Batteries and they will run the Fridge for a few days with no other 12 Volt draw.

[homeguy]

Originally Posted by GWHoll

I think the Magnum MM612-U Inverter is a modified sine wave inverter. Do you have any trouble with it running your residential style refrigerator?

None at all. The TV is also on the same circuit and does just fine as well.