Recently purchased used Pinecrest 305RLP and wondering if the refrigerator is AC current only as there is no power to it when disconnected from shore power. Does not seem to maintain temperatures when hooked to tow vehicle either. I am unable to find any information with regards to whether it is AC only or AC/DC. If dual power source then I obviously have electric al issue!
Do you know which refrigerator type you have, residential or RV? The RV style is easily identified if you see two access panels on the outside wall directly behind the fridge.
The residential fridges are 120VAC powered and Vanleigh usually included a small inverter to power the fridge when not connected to shore power. You’d need to check if the inverter is turned on for it supply power when disconnected from shore power. The inverter is usually mounted in the from pass through storage compartment.
The RV style typically runs on either 120VAC or propane. (They do require 12VDC to run the control board as well) There’s a switch on the front that allows for you to set it to AC or propane or auto. When set to use propane, you should hear the igniter attempting to light the pilot flame. A series of clicks and if successful you can hear the gas flame ignite and view it from the outside access panel if you remove the cover.
Could you share picture or two to determine the type you have?
It is not propane. There is an inverter, so do you turn on inverter and leave it on while using trailer or do you just turn it off and on when not on shore power? Frig is LG Linear Inverter Compressor.
Problem solved. Found inverter and googles operating manual. Thanks for your quick reply.
That makes things a bit easier. Before I upgraded our electrical system with lithium batteries, solar and a larger inverter, I would just switch the inverter on when not connected to shore power. Typically when boon docking or while traveling since this provided AC power to the fridge from the batteries. I added a remote switch for our inverter so I could easily turn it on/off. We have the Magnum CSW-1012 inverter which is a 1000W model.
Inverter Remote Switch
You could leave it turned on while connected to shore power too as that would allow the inverter to kick on if shore power went out. It’d act like a UPS for the fridge. Using the inverter you do have to keep an eye on the batteries (when not connected to shore power) as the inverter could drain them if you don’t have an alternate charging source like solar or generator. Especially if you have the standard lead acid style batteries, those might only last a few hours before requiring a re charge.
We have same frig and inverter setup. We leave it on and let it do its job. When hooked to shore power it will pass through the inverter. When disconnected or power outages it goes to inverter mode automatically. Keep an eye on your batteries when it is in inverter mode.
We have the same white inverter and leave it turned on also
Our residential refrigerator has an eco mode to use when traveling so the batteries last a little longer. I remember on the old vanleigh forum that this was discussed and the charging rate from the tow vehicle to the trailer batteries is not enough to keep the fridge cold if not using the eco mode. May want to see if your model frig has such a mode or some alternate method to lower the battery drain while traveling.