R 25SC Running Refrigerator While Away On Shore Power?

[Steadfast]

New to boating but trying to learn>>>>

So I'm off the boat for a week or two and am on shore power. Refrigerator is ON as I leave the boat but the last thing I do as I leave the boat is turn OFF all the batteries as suggested.

Return to the boat....and of course the refrigerator is OFF because is runs 12 volt DC and I had turned OFF all the batteries when I had left the boat earlier.

So.....finally the question???? Is it OK/Smart? to leave the batteries turned ON when I'm away and run the Refrigerator while I'm away?

Shore power would be ON. Does this cause long term wear and tear on the battery and refrigerator????

It would be nice to return to the boat when it's 90 outside and have cool drinks available! It also gives me the option of leaving perishables refrigerated.

Thanks so much in advance.

 

[Just Dreamin']

Hi Ann.
I am guessing you will receive a few pros and cons to leaving the refrigerator on. Our fridge never sees "off" until I put the tug away for the winter. We having been doing this for 6 years with no downside that I have discovered, yet. Always need to put a yet in. Here is how I looked at it with the three systems involved. Batteries, switched to AGMs the winter after we purchased Just Dreamin' so they are now working on 5 years - still strong and all voltage checks both load and no load are fine. Battery charger, original. Refrigerator still working fine. The only downside I see is if you loose shower power for more than several days.
Mike

 

[knotflying]

As long as you have shore power on and charger I see no reason to worry about keeping the refrigerator going.

 

[Jmangiameli]

I keep mine on for months at a time. No issues

 

[baz]

Apart from the cost of the electricity it makes sense to have the Refrigerator on #2 or #3 while on shore power. IT will also avoid mold build up inside.

 

[rpmerrill]

I have read on this site and/or seen it in a Ranger video that the solar panel is capable of maintaining a charge on the battery sufficient to run the refrigerator indefinitely while at mooring. This requires that you keep the house batteries on-line. I leave mine running with perishables all the time with shore power plugged in.

Only once did I forget to switch to shore power when I left the boat for several days. Batteries still fine and fridge was still cold.

 

[tugnnaweigh]

On my 2008 R25s shore power panel there's a breaker that supplys 110 volts to the refrigerator. I tend to power the refer through this and leave the charger on to keep the batteries topped off/conditioned.

My thinking is if shore power quit I wouldn't be returning to a boat with dead batteries just a warm fridge.

 

[doke01]

We leave ours on the whole summer. It runs off of 110 and 12V. We leave both on. If 110 is lost the 12 is the backup. There is one disadvantage. Condensation on the coils dripped down into the cooling fan causing the bearings to rust, which caused the compressor to overheat and the fridge had to be replaced. This took 8 years to happen though. Well over the normal lifetime of a modern refrigerator.