Emily Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 We have a 1995 cruise master and the fridge died! It's replacement a norcold nxa841 is about $1100-$1500! We are looking at replacing it with a household fridge by Magic Chef 9.9 cf. has anyone replaced their rv fridge with a household fridge and if so how was the installation? Did you connect it to a converter during driving? We have only been live full timing for 6 years in our class A so we're kinda new at this issue! Any info would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orvil Hazelton Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Welcome to the forum, Emily. A residential refrigerator will certainly work in your RV. You will very likely need increase your battery amp hours by adding an axillary battery or more two. You also must have an INVERTER rather than a converter. This INVERTER must be properly sized to your electrical demand. This installation may be accomplished by a do-it-yourself person, but you will probably need the counsel of a professional. Also, consider the type of compressor is installed in your new refrigerator : the older style reciprocating or "can" compressor will not hold up under the "rolling earthquake" conditions of RVing. Look for a modern "screw" compressor unit. Good luck! As always, oRV oRV 75065 Lifetime Member 2010 Phaeton 40 QTH 2014 Honda CR-V Toad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimalberta Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Scroll compressor not screw. Screw compressors are used in large industrial applications. both scroll and standard reciprocating compressors are in sealed housings thus the word "can". <p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well. IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remoandiris Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 If you drive less than 6 hrs between RV parks and if you always have shore power, you do NOT need an inverter. A fridge will stay cool enough for 6 hrs or less, without power. Boondocking is a different story. Just letting you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc2 Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 A very good source for inverters if you do decide to have one installed is here. http://www.donrowe.com/ A 1000w PSW would be more than enough and won't break the bank. Call them with any questions as I found that they are very helpful. 2010 Newmar Dutch Aire 4304-Spartan Chassis-Cummins ISL 425hp-2013 Chevrolet Equinox AWD Towed-SKP# 120487-FMCA #402879- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirk W Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Also, if your Cruise Master has an onboard generator set then you can always operate it to supply the 120v-ac power for the refrigerator when you are too long without shore power. With the improvement in batteries and inverters, the use of a household refrigerator in new RV's is becoming quite common. Good travelin !...............KirkFull-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dance Chick Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 I'll second what Remo & Kirk said. While we do have an inverter and travel with our residential fridge running off the inverter, we didn't have our old coach's resi fridge hooked to the inverter. So, we traveled anywhere from 3 to 6 hours with the fridge off. We would run the genny for about 30-45 minutes while stopped for lunch which would provide power, but there were times we didn't run the genny at all. Everything stayed cold. So, as they said, if you'll never be off shore power except for traveling a few hours, you'll be fine without either if you don't have them. I will caution you that not all manufacturers will honor their warranty once the fridge is installed in a RV. I'm sure this is in an aftermarket situation as lots of newer RVs are being manufactured with them. We installed a Frigidaire in our old coach and happened to get the one-in-a-million fridges that was defective. It didn't occur to us to plug it in before installing it to see if it was working. Guess what - Frigidaire will not honor their warranty once installed in a RV - heard it from the horse's mouth, so I'd caution you to check with Magic Chef. Or at the very least, plug the darned thing in before you put it in the RV. LOL Gene, Gayle, & Oliver-(the dog)2006 Holiday Rambler Endeavor 40 PDQ2012 Honda CRV toadBlue Ox tow bar & base plate/Air Force One braking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilishjim Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Situation is probably not to far down the road for me, Can someone give a weight difference in fridges ? Jim Spence 2000 Dodge 3500 1 ton QC 4x4 dually 5.9 diesel LB BD exhaust brake, 6 spd manual trans 34CKTS Cedar Creek 5er, Trail-Air hitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Greg Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 We replaced the stock 8cf Dometic with a 10.7cf Sears Kenmore (made by Whirlpool) almost 4 years ago when the Dometic died. It has been working flawlessly and we really like it. Besides considering the fridge size opening for the replacement it's very important where the new fridge vents. Some vent in the bottom rear, some the bottom front, and some require several inches clearance on the top and sides. Our fridge is not in a slide and vents in the bottom rear where there is a large open space extending to the roof. I did not close off the rooftop vent or the RV side fridge access panel. We do not boondock and our normal travel day (no AC power) is 4 to 6 hours. The longest travel day since we installed the Kenmore has been 9 hours. I did not install an inverter and the fridge and freezer have remained very cold, only increasing about 3 or 4 degrees. If you boondock you'll need to run a generator occasionally or get an inverter. Another consideration is if the new fridge will fit through your RV door (ours did) or if you have to remove a window to get it inside. Our new fridge was a tight fit in it's opening so I wasn't very concerned about it sliding around when we travel, I did add two screws in a bottom fridge plate into the floor to be sure it doesn't move. Greg Greg & Judy Bahnmiller Class of 2007 2014 F350 2007 HitchHiker Champagne Both sold 2/19, settled in Foley, AL after 12 years on the road http://bahnmilleradventure.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dollytrolley Posted September 15, 2017 Report Share Posted September 15, 2017 On 8/19/2017 at 5:25 PM, Emily said: We have a 1995 cruise master and the fridge died! It's replacement a norcold nxa841 is about $1100-$1500! We are looking at replacing it with a household fridge by Magic Chef 9.9 cf. has anyone replaced their rv fridge with a household fridge and if so how was the installation? Did you connect it to a converter during driving? We have only been live full timing for 6 years in our class A so we're kinda new at this issue! Any info would be appreciated. We converted to a Garage/patio rated fridge 3 years ago in our boondocks toyhauler. Very few fridges are rated and configured to operate in non-habited spaces and most residential fridges actually have power kill switches to shut down below 40f and above 90f. Our Garage / patio rated fridge has worked flawlessly at -5f (Lakeview OR) and +123f (Death Valley CA).... Frigidaire makes a Garage / Patio rated unit with a VFD compressor that is insanely power saving and we have boondocks for several days on only two group 31 bats since the compressor soft starts and then only turns at the min speed needed to cool the fridge then turns off for hours at a time. Do your homework and stay cool. Drive on......(Right fridge=no soft ice cream) . 97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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