Wow, what a fantastic group. Thank you for all your comments on the refer/propane issue. They have been very helpful. If I solve the problem of how to stop the flame from blowing out (without blowing myself up) I will post the results.
For us, the propane seems to provide the best refrigeration and seems better than AC or DC. At a drain of 11 amps per hour on DC power, an 80amp battery will only power the refer for about 6 hours when not connected to the car(which assumes the battery is full to start with and that you don't drop below 11.5 volts (20% left)...which apparently screws up the refer). So for us, not connected to the car, its propane or AC.
I haven't measured the constant output from the car alternator, but I suspect it isn't much more than 12 or 13 amps per hour (as I understand a car alternator is more suited to rapid recharge of typical car batteries and not deep cycle batteries). Thus the problem of very little recharge while driving if you have the DC refer on (12-11=1 amp per hour...which would be 80 hours of driving to charge a fully discharged battery while the refer is on). Probably my math is off alittle, but experience shows that it is best to leave the DC off for part of your drive if you need a charge on your battery. Now how that works in 105F weather in Arizona, I don't know. We resorted to a cooler and ice.
Cheers,
Glenn (Vancouver, BC)
--- In tabtrailers@yahoogroups.com, "hughb2do" <hughb2do@...> wrote:
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> From that article:
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> "Many RVers can see no danger in running the refrigerator on propane while on the road. They say they have traveled for years with no problems whatsoever. They point to the safety of propane powered vehicles and argue that we travel with tanks full of gasoline which is much more dangerous. Generally it is legal to travel while using propane, but keep in mind that it is illegal to have any open flames while near a service station fuel pump. And some tunnels and bridges may have restrictions too.
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> Other RVer's, claim that traveling with the propane on is a disaster waiting to happen. They argue that in an accident a broken propane line could increase the possibility of fire, even an explosion. For them the only safe way to travel is with the propane tank valves closed!."
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> Other considerations: Any Ferry ride they will ask you to turn off all your LP appliances and the tank valve.
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> LP tanks do have a tip over mechanism inside them so in case of accident the gas will not flow BUT my personal preference is to run with everything turned off except the 12V part of my 3 way fridge.
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> Hugh
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> --- In tabtrailers@yahoogroups.com, "Ella" <taberellatogo@> wrote:
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> > For the reasons you mentioned, we sometimes travel with the refrigerator powered by the propane, depending on the status of our battery charge. The first two RVs that we camped with for 30 years did not have another option for traveling, and we were used to the idea of traveling with the propane on. However, many people consider this an unnsafe towing practice. We sometimes turn the refrigerator off for the morning driving hours, and then turn it back on at noon, without much loss in temperature.
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> > Here is a good article on the controversy of driving with propane on:
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> > http://rvbasics.com/techtips/rv-refrigerator-on-while-traveling.html
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> > To answer your specific question: when we towed with a Ford Expedition the propane would frequently go out. Now that we tow with a extra-tall conversion van, the propane stays lit. We always attributed that to the high profile of the van.
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> > Ella
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> > --- In tabtrailers@yahoogroups.com, "ggreenfieldg" <ggreenfield@> wrote:
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> > > Anyone successfully pulled their Tab with the refer propane on? On my T-16 the wind blows down the front vent and puts the flame out. Really want to tow with the propane on since the DC power demand pretty much equals what you put back in to the battery from the car alternator, which means if you start with 70% battery power, after 5 hours of motoring you still pretty much have 70% battery power. Any ideas...maybe a wind protector over the front vent??
> > > Thanks,
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