Isotherm Refrigerator not working off of shore power

[RustyMD]

Hello. I just picked up our LEII 12/1/22.  Hull #1304. Very nice. Wet cell batteries no solar, no inverter. The Isotherm  refrigerator works like a champ on shore power; it doesn’t seem to work at all when traveling  off of shore power. My understanding was that it would switch to D/C 12 volt when shore power was disconnected. Does anybody know anything about this? Is there a switch to flip?

[RustyMD]

Hey everybody. Probable false alarm. I’m so sorry. I think I turned the refrigerator off this morning when I turned the thermostat dial to zero. I forgot I did that. I’m waiting a couple of days to see if it stays cold. I even have the sensors. To all of you, I am so sorry. This refrigerator is new to me. My apologies.

[GAP]

In had never heard of an isotherm fridge.  I am starting to have concerns with my Norcold 3 way absorption fridge as it seems to struggle a bit in hot weather and the whole leveling thing has caused us a couple of shut downs on surprisingly level surfaces when we forgot to shut down such as being in town in a parking lot with seemingly normal run-off grade.  Can anyone speak to differences between 3 way absorption, vs 2 way compressor or 2 way isotherm style?  My simplistic understanding is that the absorption has trouble in hot weather, is super inneficient in 12v mode and hates being off angle but, has more usable storage space for the same size.  Compressor and isotherm have no problem being off angle and both are super efficient in DC and Ac modes.  Also supposedly both keep constant internal temps no matter what exterior conditions are.

Gerry

[SeaDawg]

5 hours ago, GAP said:

In had never heard of an isotherm fridge.  I am starting to have concerns with my Norcold 3 way absorption fridge as it seems to struggle a bit in hot weather and the whole leveling thing has caused us a couple of shut downs on surprisingly level surfaces when we forgot to shut down such as being in town in a parking lot with seemingly normal run-off grade.  Can anyone speak to differences between 3 way absorption, vs 2 way compressor or 2 way isotherm style?  My simplistic understanding is that the absorption has trouble in hot weather, is super inneficient in 12v mode and hates being off angle but, has more usable storage space for the same size.  Compressor and isotherm have no problem being off angle and both are super efficient in DC and Ac modes.  Also supposedly both keep constant internal temps no matter what exterior conditions are.

Gerry

2 way dc compressor is isotherm 2 way style. Very efficient in dc. But, still uses (in our truckfrudge, also made by indel) 60 to 70 ah per day.

I don't know about high heat issues with our indel but truckfridge (almost identical to the isotherm, but less insulation,  and not coast guard approved), as we avoid temps above the 90s. 

DC danfoss/secop compressor fridges have been used for decades in the marine environment.  No propane, no worries about leveling (impossible underway in our sailboat). Widely used in rvs and caravans in Europe, Australia,  and New Zealand.  Very reliable, and consistent at altitude.

The isotherm Oliver is installing is tried and true, around the world. Three weak points, imo. 60 to 70 ah, daily. The freezer door hinges are just plastic pins, and can break if you allow too much frost / ice buildup in the tiny freezer.  I broke ours, and it was almost $100 to replace, if I remember correctly,  with shipping. (Isotherm door, direct replacement.  I did it myself, easy peasy.) Third weak point is the door handle. Not a huge deal, as it stays closed underway quite well, but it operates on just a little triangular spring bit that has popped out on me a few times. Easy to put it back in, but disconcerting the first time.

I've had norcold and dometic 3 ways, and I have to say, the dc compressor fridge is one of my very favorite fridges, and one of my favorite upgrades to our 15 year old Oliver. Cools down very quickly. Slightly more capacity than the norcold or dometic. Quiet. Reliable. No lights on a panel during the night. Oh, and an led light inside.

Con: we have limited battery capacity in our little Elite ( 2 x 105 ah agms), and we boondock most of the time, no ac hookup. So, it does require attention to solar. Way worth it to me, but not something I  had to worry about with the 3ways on gas. Those  had other issues to worry about, as you mentioned above, plus altitude with propane (though we rarely camp too high, so not a big deal for us. )

We did the swap ourselves, several years ago. The hardest part was getting the very awkward and bigger 3way out. Most technical, capping the gas line. If you're not qualified, getting help.

 

[Steve Morris]

19 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

Three weak points, imo. 60 to 70 ah, daily.

I wish more RVs offered chest style compression fridge/freezers. Our 90 Liter National Luna, tested independently in extreme conditions (12 hours at 70°F, 7 hours at 90°F, and five hours at 110°F) uses 27Ah in fridge/fridge mode (both compartments set to 39°F) and 41Ah in fridge/freezer mode (39°F and 14°F). I can run it 48+ hours on the Bluetti EB70S (716 Whr) in the back of my black Land Cruiser in bright sun with no problem.

I think the new compressor fridge in the 2023 Oliver is 130 liter? I'd rather have a chest type either built into a countertop or under a dinette seat. That way, not all the cold air falls out every time the door is open. The same reason we have a chest freezer at home.

[Steph and Dud B]

We've always had absorption fridges in our campers. The Norcold in our Ollie has been the best so far, but I wish we had the option to order the isotherm with our large Platinum lithium package. But, so far, the Norcold has been fine.

[SeaDawg]

3 hours ago, Steve and Deb said:

the new compressor fridge in the 2023 Oliver is 130 liter? I'd rather have a chest type either built into a countertop or under a dinette seat. That way, not all the cold air falls out every time the door is open. The same reason we have a chest freezer at home.

Like our tf130, I think the new isotherm is the same capacity. 

The National Lunas have some users and fans here. Big size for true interior capacity,  probably due to extra insulation. If I  turned my 130 liter truckfridge on its back, it would be about the same size as a 90 liter nl, I think. Maybe, mine would even be a bit smaller.

If I had the retro to do over, and a thicker wallet at the time, we might have chosen drawers. Like the nl chests, but easier to use. 

Overall, I  have no complaints.  The danfoss/secop compressors are very efficient,  in all these units.

 

[RustyMD]

By the way, I turned on the fridge and it didn’t work off of shore power. Reconnected shore power and it worked great. Disconnected shore power and it didn’t work. Called Oliver and they said look at the back of the 12 volt fuse panel under the dinette seat. As they predicted the top wire barrel connector was not hooked-up. Reconnected it and voilà, it’s working great off of shore power