Posted 2007-04-27 8:11 AM (#60053) Subject: new to LQ trailers... questions!help!
New User
Posts: 2
Location: mn
ok my featherlite trailer (used) did not come with a manuel. and I am not an electrician .. how do i work my fridge, it has ac/dc/gas (propane) i get the propane part.. but is ac for running off the truck battery or is that dc...
now i have a propane generator in the trailer.. there is a switch that says ac protector (off/on) when and how do i use this switch??
Posted 2007-04-27 8:40 AM (#60056 - in reply to #60053) Subject: RE: new to LQ trailers... questions!help!
Veteran
Posts: 247 Location: La Crosse, WI - God's Country
DC runs off of trailer batteries/trailer electrical. You'll find that the DC gobbles up the battery fairly quickly.
AC runs off of "shore power" - you get that when you're hooked up to 110/220/whatever
There's debate on whether or not you should run propane as you're driving down the road - do a search to find relevant dialogue. We typically run off the batteries or just leave it off as most of our trips are under two hours.
Google RV fridge to find out how they work - it's actually kind of interesting...
Posted 2007-04-27 9:25 AM (#60059 - in reply to #60053) Subject: RE: new to LQ trailers... questions!help!
Member
Posts: 29 Location: Charleston SC
GRAVITY vs RV REFRIGERATORS
Unlike your common household refrigerators that use a compressor motor to circulate the coolant (freon) through a cooling unit, an rv refrigerator has no motor or moving parts. An ammonia based rv refrigerator uses gravity to circulate the coolant (ammonia) through the cooling unit. The cooling unit on a rv refrigerator uses a heat source to boil the ammonia solution. The vapor then travels to the top of the cooling unit, where is condenses and changes back into it's liquid form. The cold liquid ammonia must then rely on gravity to trickle down through the evaporator tubes and back to the bottom of the cooling unit where the process starts over. For this reason, the cooling unit must be as close to perfectly level as possible. If not, the liquid ammonia will collect in the many bend and angles of the evaporator tubes. When this happens, the liquid level in boiler section of the cooling unit will begin to decrease, causing the temperature of the boiler to increase. This causes one of 2 things to happen.
1) The boiler will soon overheat and crack.
or
2) The sodium chromate in solution with the ammonia will begin to "cook" and solidify, plugging the small internal tubes of the cooling unit.
Either way, your cooling unit will no longer function properly, if at all.
For this reason, all ammonia based refrigerators (RV refrigerators) have to be level when stationary and turned on to any heat source. There are no exceptions to this. Not doing so will permanently damage the cooling unit. This condition can occur in a very short amount of time, often in a single camping trip.
All refrigerators need to be leveled by placing a small bubble level in the freezer section or, if necessary, on the floor of the refrigerator. We recommend that the refrigerator be leveled to within 3 to 5 degrees side to side and front to back.
Traveling with the refrigerator on is acceptable, as the liquids in the cooling unit are sloshing around and not collecting in unwanted areas of the cooling unit.
Running a cooling unit out of level will void the warranty.
new to LQ trailers... questions!help!
.. how do i work my fridge, it has ac/dc/gas (propane) i get the propane part.. but is ac for running off the truck battery or is that dc...
