Can You Run Your RV Fridge Off An Inverter?

Can You Run Your RV Fridge Off An Inverter

Boondocking or driving to your next location you may want to run your camper’s fridge on an inverter rather than 12v DC power or propane. It is certainly possible to run an RV fridge off an Inverter and batteries. The average RV fridge, 7 to 10 cubic feet, uses 4 amps and about 500 watts. So, a 1000-watt inverter and a single 12-volt, 50-amp hr battery would be sufficient to power the fridge with your truck’s or motorhome’s alternator. Alternately, a 200-watt solar panel could achieve the same results if you were boondocking. If your fridge in your camper is not within the average range, It may still be possible to run off an inverter, by increasing the size of your inverter and solar panels. A typical alternator in a ½ ton truck produces 60 to 120 amps so that should be sufficient no matter the size of your fridge.

inverter

How Many Watts Does An RV Fridge Require?

The range for watts that RV fridges require are anywhere from the low of 50 watts to a high 800 watts of AC power to run efficiently. While the average watts of a typical 7 cubic feet fridge would be about 300 to 500 watts, which is about 3 to 4 amps AC power. The watts are dependent on the size, age and type of your fridge in your camper. Smaller fridges tend to use less amps, while a larger use more. Absorption fridges use more watts than a DC compressor fridge.

RV batteries

What Size Of Inverter Do You Need To Run Your Fridge?

If your rv fridge is in the average range of 5 to 8 cubic feet, then a 1000 watt inverter would be sufficient to produce enough AC power to run your camper’s fridge. Assuming, your alternator or solar panels are providing enough DC amps to run the inverter. If you need to read more about solar panels you can read more about it here or if you wanted to know more about your RV’s batteries, you can read about it here.

How Many Batteries Are Needed To Power The Inverter For The RV Fridge?

The power that an inverter draws to convert DC power to AC power is dependent on the size of the inverter. Lets say you want to run a Fridge with a 1000 watt inverter. So, a 1000-watt inverter would require roughly 12 volts at 100 amp battery, that assuming you are using the full 1000 watts of AC power. A typical fridge uses about 300 to 500 watts on AC power so, the actual draw would be 30 to 50 amps of the battery power.

lithium RV battery

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