Energy Usage Troubleshooting For An Everchill RV Refrigerator

Updated 06/08/2021 | Published 06/06/2021

Question:

My experience with the Everchill 12v refrigerator. It’s in a Brand new RV with this exact fridge. 2 new Interstate 6v deep cycle batteries with 225ah x 2, with a 100 amp solar panel on roof. Our first trip was dry camping. All of the food was cold when put into the unit which i had ran for 12 hours empty to prep it. the outside temp was 80* so the sun was out to keep the solar happy.The fridge drew the batteries down to 5 volts overnight , the solar could not keep up with the fridge draw and trying to bring the batteries back to 12 volts. Were talking about 450 amp hours. I know these are the wave of the future, but is this kind of energy draw normal? Is there any recommendation/ formula for how much reserve amp hours you should have? Do I have to add more deep cycle batteries? More solar panels? Lastly, Should I instead, ditch the 12v model and get a norcold powermax LP instead?

asked by: Brian V

Expert Reply:

When you wire two 6v batteries in series you are combining the voltage to get 12v but the amp hours stay the same so you're only getting 225amp hours out of both batteries. I recommend using a 12v battery instead of two 6v batteries to start. Then depending on the what all is drawing power in your RV I would recommend multiple batteries.

Solar panels only reach max draw for about six hours a day and that's only if the conditions are perfect so you could add more panels to help charge the batteries during the day but at night they wouldn't help. I've linked some articles to help you determine the correct amount of power needed while boondocking based on what you think your energy consumption might be.

The Everchill RV Refrigerator w/ Freezer Drawer - 17 Cu Ft - 12V - Stainless Steel Item # WAY44FR was designed for boondocking so I recommend sticking with it and increasing your battery bank.

expert reply by: Kevin C