12v Refrigerator Battery Power Test

[Oregon_Camper]

** Ignore if you saw this on the Alliance Facebook groups...but some folks here don't use Facebook **

I wanted to figure out just how much power our Norcold 12 refrigerator uses in 24-36 hour period.

With our Alliance 340RL parked in our barn, so it is getting no solar power, I turned the Victron system off, so it was no longer charging the RV or creating AC power.

Of course refrigerators don’t run/cool 24hrs a day, so you will see times with just over 1.1 amps being drawn and other times with 6.9 amps being drawn. It was 85 degrees as a high in the barn and 55 degrees for the low overnight

I was a bit surprising to see the Norcold frig used over 113.4Ah in 25.5 hours…and then almost 163Ah after 36hrs. Test done on 810Ah of Lithium batteries from 4 year old Battle Born batteries

Of note...there are tiny vampire DC draws that I did not turn off…stuff like LED on radio, Co2 detector, etc

 

[Coacher]

For folks like me that travel off grid, moving an energy hog appliance from an energy source I have in abundance, propane, to one that requires an almost constant fueling, battery, doesn't make a lot of sense.

They do make a lot of sense for campgrounds with electric.

 

[waveshvac]

Thanks for sharing those detailed numbers—it’s really helpful to see real-world usage tracked over time. The Norcold pulling around 113Ah in just over a day and then 163Ah over a day and a half definitely gives a clearer picture of what to expect when running off batteries alone, especially without any solar input.


It also shows how much those temperature swings (85° high / 55° low) can impact cycling. Your note about the small “vampire” draws is a good reminder too—those little background pulls like CO₂ detectors and LEDs do add up over time.


With your 810Ah Battle Born setup, it’s good to know the fridge could realistically run for several days, but it also highlights how quickly power can drop if solar or shore power isn’t available.


Really appreciate you taking the time to test this—it’s valuable info for anyone trying to plan battery capacity vs. refregirator run time in similar conditions.

 

[WE3ZS]

For folks like me that travel off grid, moving an energy hog appliance from an energy source I have in abundance, propane, to one that requires an almost constant fueling, battery, doesn't make a lot of sense.

They do make a lot of sense for campgrounds with electric.

I understand your position here but once you add solar into the system (especially a larger solar array) the solar/battery power becomes fairly abundant.

 

[Chaseweston]

I understand your position here but once you add solar into the system (especially a larger solar array) the solar/battery power becomes fairly abundant.

And free, and does not require pulling the tanks and getting them filled.

 

[Coacher]

When one day of solar will power the refrigerator for months we will hit parity.

I've never stressed over propane, solar and batteries are a different story.

 

[WE3ZS]

Why does the solar need to produce that equivalent in one day?

 

[Oregon_Camper]

When one day of solar will power the refrigerator for months we will hit parity.

I've never stressed over propane, solar and batteries are a different story.

Well...when you are 100 miles out from anywhere, at a great small lake, boondocking for 2 weeks you most likely won't want to make a 200 mile round trip to get some propane.

 

[Lantley]

Well...when you are 100 miles out from anywhere, at a great small lake, boondocking for 2 weeks you most likely won't want to make a 200 mile round trip to get some propane.

I get your point but it's easy to ensure you have enough LP to last for 2 weeks. Its not so easy to guarantee you will have adequate sun for 2 weeks.

 

[Coacher]

Well...when you are 100 miles out from anywhere, at a great small lake, boondocking for 2 weeks you most likely won't want to make a 200 mile round trip to get some propane.

I'm usually traveling two months at a time and have never used two tanks, winter or summer. I'm summer one 30 pound tank is usually enough. Moving a power hunger appliance from an abundant source to one with lots of demands just doesn't work for me.

But they are cheaper to buy and install and that's the bottom line for RV manufacturers. If these cost more I doubt the industry would have switched over for the technical benefits.

 

[Lantley]

I'm usually traveling two months at a time and have never used two tanks, winter or summer. I'm summer one 30 pound tank is usually enough. Moving a power hunger appliance from an abundant source to one with lots of demands just doesn't work for me.

But they are cheaper to buy and install and that's the bottom line for RV manufacturers. If these cost more I doubt the industry would have switched over for the technical benefits.

This idea applies to tankless water heaters, uprising entry steps, 12 volt fridge's and rear ladders the new improved version provides a significant advantage to the manufactures, but provides limited to zero advantage to the consumer.

 

[Coacher]

I can see in the next decade or two all electric trailers becoming the norm. No gas anywhere. There are already a few models out there. And for the folks that are always on hookups it will be a really nice system.

For the smaller group that camps off grid it will be huge banks of lithium and roofs covered in panels. When it works correctly it will be a nice thing.

 

[Lantley]

I can see in the next decade or two all electric trailers becoming the norm. No gas anywhere. There are already a few models out there. And for the folks that are always on hookups it will be a really nice system.

For the smaller group that camps off grid it will be huge banks of lithium and roofs covered in panels. When it works correctly it will be a nice thing.

I agree in time all these systems will improve and actually be beneficial to the consumer.
However we are not there yet!
I understand progress has to start somewhere and getting it right takes 3 or 4 generations of improvements, which takes time.
Nevertheless I prefer not to be the Guinea pig. I prefer to let someone else be on the cutting edge and figure things out.
With that in mind give me an LP fridge, a tank water heater and a 110 volt AC system.