Couple questions if I may for future full-timing

[sunshine_eggo]

Ah good. I dug some more on the dimensions of my refrigerator and it's the recess that is 24", not the refrigerator itself.

View attachment 153590

I'm not sure where pulled that 250 lbs weight from. I found a weight of 124 lbs. Dang. I would have upgraded just for the weight savings.

Whew... weight-wise, they felt very similar.

The Magic Chef does have recessed handles, and the Dometics stick out a little past the mounting flange, so they should be very close. I had copper propane lines passing behind it to my stove/water heater, so I lose a little depth to that. The front feet are right at the edge but fully on it. Absorption cooling units have some space available for the AC plug and pass through lines where the magic chef has no tolerance.

 

[HRTKD]

How did you cap the propane line?

 

[sunshine_eggo]

How did you cap the propane line?

Initially, I used the valve from the fridge.

The two fridges have different sized fittings, so I got this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SM5SZM8

 

[HRTKD]

Good. I was hoping it would be that easy.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Good. I was hoping it would be that easy.

I hope it is, or I've screwed something up

 

[Rocketman]

As a full-timer - a residential fridge is way worth it. We changed out our NorCold 1200 fridge with a Fisher & Paykel counter depth residential- fridge - that was the single best upgrade we did. Had to get a couple of inches in height- but it was a little less wide (had to trim up a few inches). Way more space on the inside and even food temps!!!

I added an additional 400w of solar for that fridge and that was about right.

You have massive amounts of solar planned! We live on 1400w of solar (but water heater, stove, and heat are propane). We do have a generator that doesn’t get ran enough. You may want to consider a small “Honda” generator- when camping under trees. In the Pacific Northwest- not a lot of solar…

With your solar - I would go with 30a plug. The 50amp can bring in lots of power (2x50a lines), but you won’t need it.

If you pulled into a hot RV park - can you run your A/C and any cooking plus a slow recharge of the batteries on that 30a plug - I bet you can. 50a just costs more now, and some RV parks charge more for a 50a plug than a 30a plug.

As far as 24v vs 48v… are you running lights & pumps on 24v or where you going down to 12v? If going down to 12v - look at 48v for battery & inverter.

On your Victron equipment- for the distributor- look at the Victron PowerIn. There is a YouTube on how to add fuses to it so it becomes just like a distributor (except no led lights).

 

[Rocketman]

Also on your inverter- one Multiplus 3000 will be an issue for you. I have it - I can only run one big thing at a time - microwave, A/C, Elec space heater (or water heater if it was wired) - or two medium items - toaster, Instapot. Cannot run a large & medium together. Go with a Multiplus 5000 - you have the battery size (just make sure your bms can deliver the needed amps).

The Multiplus II’s have a lower current draw, smaller and are cheaper than Quattro’s, there is a new Multiplus 2 48/5000 that might be just right if you can go to 48v. Who knows they may fill the hole in their line with a Multiplus 2 24/5000 before you are ready to finalize everything Or maybe a Quattro 24/5000 is in your future….

Good Luck

 

[rustythorn]

Also on your inverter- one Multiplus 3000 will be an issue for you. I have it - I can only run one big thing at a time - microwave, A/C, Elec space heater (or water heater if it was wired) - or two medium items - toaster, Instapot. Cannot run a large & medium together. Go with a Multiplus 5000 - you have the battery size (just make sure your bms can deliver the needed amps).

The Multiplus II’s have a lower current draw, smaller and are cheaper than Quattro’s, there is a new Multiplus 2 48/5000 that might be just right if you can go to 48v. Who knows they may fill the hole in their line with a Multiplus 2 24/5000 before you are ready to finalize everything Or maybe a Quattro 24/5000 is in your future….

Good Luck

because of victron's PowerAssist tech you could carry a little solar generator to give you a little extra boost while boondocking. say you have a little unit that puts out 1800 watts for 1/2-1 hours [eg bluetti AC180], that would increase a victron 3kva from 2400 watts to 4200 watts for short periods. but of course while your are plugged into the grid you can triple your power using PowerAssist. add that 30amp 120VAC [3600 watts] to the victron 3kva for 6000 watts

 

[sunshine_eggo]

because of victron's PowerAssist tech you could carry a little solar generator to give you a little extra boost while boondocking. say you have a little unit that puts out 1800 watts for 1/2-1 hours [eg bluetti AC180], that would increase a victron 3kva from 2400 watts to 4200 watts for short periods. but of course while your are plugged into the grid you can triple your power using PowerAssist. add that 30amp 120VAC [3600 watts] to the victron 3kva for 6000 watts

IMHO, money spent on solar generators is usually better spent elsewhere.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

Whew... weight-wise, they felt very similar.

The Magic Chef does have recessed handles, and the Dometics stick out a little past the mounting flange, so they should be very close. I had copper propane lines passing behind it to my stove/water heater, so I lose a little depth to that. The front feet are right at the edge but fully on it. Absorption cooling units have some space available for the AC plug and pass through lines where the magic chef has no tolerance.

Not opening the fridge with only a small quantity of items (< 25% full) is keeping the load pretty low...

 

[justinm001]

Makes ZERO sense to go with 30amp instead of 50amp unless you're dead set on saving a few bucks on wire size. You can use 1 leg of 50amp and get 2400w more which means you can use 30amps and charge your batteries. When plugged in you don't need to worry about anything so if on genny it'll be a lot less time or on shore you're just good.

Quattro gives you 100amps on either in and on both outs MP3000 is 50amp in/out and 32 on out2. not sure the MP5000 though but i'm guessing same as 3000. Having over 50amps is nice if you have any reason to use it.

@HRTKD I used similar caps like that with the yellow gas line tape on my old coach when ripping out the absorption fridge. simple and worked, just needed to be careful as my line was brittle.

My absorption fridge was a LOT heavier than the residential one. Tons more space too since not a huge absorption equipment behind. I popped a Ruuvi temp sensor in my fridge to log with Victron and the absorption couldn't keep a stable temp so was huge temp swings and didn't want to risk bad food. Now its rock solid. We love being able to load up with cases of drinks and not worry about running out. Power consumption is extremely low my 18cuft energy guide is 340KW and seems about right. I don't see any power jumps with the fridge so its part of my 100w idle consumption.

 

[rustythorn]

IMHO, money spent on solar generators is usually better spent elsewhere.

i agree, however, there are a few instances where it will be valuable. i think just having a backup power source is enough to keep the little 20-30 lbs box lying around and as i pointed out if have victron, then the portable power can allow you to temporally increase your output while off grid. in my case that is vital. the plan for my van is a 4800 watt system, however, the tankless water heater may or may not need another 1000 watts for a few minutes or if i want to power multiple items, etc...

 

[JRH]

Whew... weight-wise, they felt very similar.

The Magic Chef does have recessed handles, and the Dometics stick out a little past the mounting flange, so they should be very close. I had copper propane lines passing behind it to my stove/water heater, so I lose a little depth to that. The front feet are right at the edge but fully on it. Absorption cooling units have some space available for the AC plug and pass through lines where the magic chef has no tolerance.

Following this as I want a 12volt refer… possibly a 120v… it’s in the slide…either way I can make it fit… I have a small chainsaw.. and some wood and gorilla glue.

 

[HRTKD]

Following this as I want a 12volt refer… possibly a 120v… it’s in the slide…either way I can make it fit… I have a small chainsaw.. and some wood and gorilla glue.

Don't forget the Duct Tape. Essential stuff right there.

 

[JRH]

Don't forget the Duct Tape. Essential stuff right there.

Haaaaa ….damn …I forgot the duct tape… I am embarrassed …
what kind of red neck hill boy am I… good call.