What is the best performing 12 volt refrigerator?

[Angel]

Thank you Charlie! ! I will print your post and take it with me to SMB.
What is a "battery" screw driver that I should carry?
Do you recommend also using tape over the plug-ins to help keep them in?

Angel

[49ers]

Ditto Charlie's recommendations! When we picked up our SMB, the frig appeared to be working all right, except that all three lights (red, yellow, green) were on continuously. Guess SMBW hasn't installed many Isotherms and called the Florida distributor who said it was fine. Didn't seem right to us, and it wasn't. The countertop above the frig was also a lot hotter than we thought it should be.

After getting home and pulling the frig out, it appears that the connections for the fan were loose, so the fan wasn't working, and the compressor was overheating. It's working great now. Lights function properly, countertop doesn't have a hot spot, and it's really quiet.

Great frig. You should really like it!!

49ers

[charlie56]

Angel, sorry I missed your question earlier. For the van, I carry a little Black and Decker battery operated screwdriver. Model number LI3000. I think it was $33 at Lowe's. They have cheaper and more expensive models, but this one works great, battery lasts a long time, plenty of power, and takes up little space.

As an update to my continuing saga of loose connections. I think I pulled the refrigerator out at least a half dozen times on my last 4-day trip. On Thursday I sent an email to Isotherm explaining the problem. Of course they have never heard of loose connections before and commented that having the refrigerator in a van must expose it to much more vibrations than on a boat. (Well, okay) They recommended I put a zip tie around the ASU to better hold it in place. They did not recommend soldering the connections as there are transistors on the board next to the terminals which I might damage.

So for now, I polished up the blade type terminals (they were a little corroded), crimped then down a little tighter, put a zip tie around the ASU, and will cross my fingers. Chances are it won't fail till the next time I am on a 4x4 trail. If it does, I will throw caution to the wind and solder the terminals. I spent today gluing dowels into the MDF cabinet to hold new screws that fasten the refrigerator to the casework.

Here is the screwdriver


Front view of the ASU


Rear view of the ASU


View of the ASU in place.

[BroncoHauler]

Charlie,

If you change out your wire terminations, take a look at these terminals, which are crimable, solderable, and the insulator is heat shrink material. If these terminals vibrate loose, something must be wrong.

http://www.delcity.net/delcity/servlet/ ... 894&page=1


Herb

[tskyhi]

Hi All,

As part of the frig discussion, these should be mentioned:

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-r ... or-fan.htm

Putting one of those in your frig makes a huge difference in efficiency. I had one of the unswitched ones in my old Westy for many years. There is another brand out there which looks a little nicer, but is junk. I bought two of those(I have two frig's) when I got my Sportsmobile and one broke within 6 months, the other within a year.

I recently picked up one of the switched ones(Deluxe!) and it is great. The switch is a nice addition, as opposed to having to pull the batteries every time you shut down the frig.

They run on two D batteries which will last a verrrrry long time even with continuous running.

If you don't have one, I highly recommend it.

[BroncoHauler]

Thanks for the firsthand info Tim. I've seen these advertised, and always wondered if they help.


Herb

[daveb]

I have used one of these with good success but look out for junk batteries as they leak and will stain the refer. Just take care! Might not be worth it if it causes damage. Even the copper tops will leak, so be advised.
DaveB

[Angel]

Charlie56, Yesterday, I gave Greg at SMBW a copy of your post and said that I wanted the ASU to be zip tied in. He Said, no problem. He would forward my request and your post of pictures I gave him, to the installers.

I said that I wanted to make sure that the inline switch would still be installed as per the diagram that I had given to him on 8/26/08. He said that he had given the installers that diagram and they were going to install an inline switch like he had told me on 8/26/08. He had said SMBW had inline switches that they could install. They are charging me for the labor and wiring of the refrig install.

He is on vacation from 9/25-9/30/2008

After I left yesterday he sent me the following e mail that I got tonight: "In line switch- this option is do-able, however we need that part from Isotherm. By chance can you send us the in-line switch they provide for their units? Speaking with both our engineer and systems department manager they do not feel that this is something you need since you have an on/off switch on the fridge and also a master cut-off switch already being installed."

They are charging me for a master cut-off switch I requested to be put near the fuse box. I said I did not want to have to pull out every fuse if I had to have the 12 volt system shut down in case of a problem. But, will that work for the fridge? He said that there is a master cut off switch already under the dinette on the drivers side when I asked about switch within 2 ft of the battery battery on the pos line so I could switch all power off from the house battery to the inverter. When I asked about a breaker he said "that is for 110 and there is a GFI plug that protected all the 110 plugs.

They did not read and Greg did not remembering me reading to him that "turning off the frige at the remote ASU control panel will not clear the error mode" Should I send him a cut off switch and if so which one did you buy?
I am afraid I am going to end up with an electrical mess.

Angel

[charlie56]

Angel

If the master cutoff switch shuts down all power to the cabin, it sounds like it would cut power to the refrigerator as well. That should work just fine. I have found that shutting off the power either by pulling the fuse, or tripping my new switch) for a few seconds clears the error. I just used a 30 amp (I think) rocker switch from Radio Shack. Looks and functions exactly like a typical rocker switch that SMB installs. I installed it on the hot leg of the power conductor coming from the fuse box. Cost was less than $5, and took 30 minutes for me to pull the refrigerator, drill a hole and install. You should reiterate to Gregg again, that in my rig, tripping the ASU remote switch does not clear the error. The ASU remote switch relay must come into the little orange box after the part that needs to be de-energized. If you like, I would be happy to give Greg or Peter a call to fully explain the problem I had and the resolution.

SMB did charge me a reasonable fee to install the refrigerator.

That master switch sounds like a great idea. Wish I had one. Can't tell you how many times I have blindly stuck my hand down around that fuse box knowing there are exposed connections down there. I assume it would cut out power from the battery before it gets to any device.

[Angel]

Charlie56, Yes, I would like for you to call Peter. I will e mail you.

Angel