Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

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Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

March 29, 2014, 04:18:35 pm

Here are the photos of our residential fridge, done by Brent in David Flanagan's shop at FOT. Not having Intellitec lighting under our OEM fridge and having the can pantry immediately to the right of the fridge allowed Brent to install it basically at floor level and both doors open fully without hitting anything (see photo of fridge open - veggie bins can be pulled out of the fridge.

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Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #1 – March 29, 2014, 04:22:56 pm

That sure looks nice. Enjoy your fresh ice and ice cream.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #2 – March 29, 2014, 05:05:55 pm

Love the ice cream! Oh and it looks awesome! Cant wait to see it in person.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #3 – March 29, 2014, 05:40:42 pm

That looks Beautiful Michelle. Thanks for the pictures.

Mark

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #4 – March 29, 2014, 06:50:59 pm

WOW, that sure looks nice. I can't let the wife see these photo's, otherwise it will be the first mod done to any coach we find.

Larry

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #5 – March 29, 2014, 07:02:48 pm

Oops! I showed these to Susan. Looks very nice. I like the idea of getting rid of the big LP tank and adding more batteries. A 10 lb tank should last a long time for us and easy to get filled. We use 1 lb tanks for the grill and we get several hours out of each refillable cylinder.

Thanks for the photos.

Roger

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #6 – March 29, 2014, 07:58:17 pm

Quote from: Dave M – March 29, 2014, 07:23:57 pm

Nice job, having on floor is great to open door, mine is elevated and the door hits the door track & alarm ( removed ). You surely will be happy with it, I sure am with mne.
The 36' seems to have less choices or maybe the raised platform could be lowered ? The door would open fully if not on the platform.

Dave,

Not sure if it was our floorplan or just that we asked Brent if he could install it as close to the floor as possible. He was able to work around the wiring and plumbing at the back of the fridge compartment, unbundling some wires and making a little rectangular "chase" for them. Little details like having the edge of the upper fill board routed to match our cabinet door profiles and putting a return/false bottom on that fill board going back make the fridge look like it was original to the coach.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #7 – March 29, 2014, 08:11:18 pm

Very nice! We are like Dave, ours is about 8 inches above the floor which restricts opening the refrigerator door doe to hitting the pocket door track. I'm sure we could have had it put in lower; nobody thought about it.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #8 – March 29, 2014, 08:13:25 pm

Beautiful job. Wow.

Only question is how many amp hours per 24 hours do you think it will consume?

Bob

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #9 – March 29, 2014, 09:25:47 pm

Quote from: Dave M – March 29, 2014, 08:43:26 pm

Have not seen an issue with the 3. 8d Gel batteries and turning off the auto defrost feature, now with the 4th 8D Gel, even less of a concern and have not turned off the defrost at night when on batteries. Also the LP Gas tank is long gone, have the 4th battery there and could put he 5th above if felt a need.
Was simple to weld up 1" angle iron for the bracket and adding a second level would be simple & nice.
Dave M

While I understand your comment about the fourth or fifth battery mounting location I have spent a lot off time equalizing the battery cabling lengths exactly to prevent the closer batteries from doing most of the work

I would scrounge another oem lower double battery mounting bracket and maybe move the cabling and fuses that are next to my single top battery to the other side of the divider wall and put two in a top rack. Maybe.

Weight is an issue on my non tag u320 as its at gvw with full tanks all around including the holding tanks.

Two hundred pounds more won't kill it I assume.

Running my dometic chest freezer on freezer for a few weeks dropped the batteries 60 amp hours a day roughly.

The 97's do not have a gen in a box so they are somewhat noisy in a quiet enviournment.

Refer, four 8g8d's, 1000 watts of solar, new 2812 inverter and installation would quickly eat up $10k or so.

That's why I asked the amp hours used. Need to factor the need versus the cost and consumption.

Basically a dry camper with a not quiet gen makes things more difficult and all the parameters need factoring.

My local new buddies have had to double their six group 31's to last more than overnight.

1200 amp hours of batteries with lots of pretty lights in their new coaches.

Lots a parasitic losses. Need hookups every night.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #10 – March 29, 2014, 09:42:18 pm

We have the same fridge in a 2003 U320. The right hand door won't open past 90 degrees, due to the pocket door, but it's not that big of a deal. We're so glad the Dometic quit, this is the best upgrade we've done. It sits at floor level. We don't dry camp much but no problem overnighting, could go 24 hours if conserving electricity. Flanigan did our install and it looks great. I bought the refrigerator at Lowes online and had them drop it at Foretravel.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #11 – March 29, 2014, 10:45:43 pm

Looks good. You will love it and Brent works wonders.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #12 – March 30, 2014, 03:29:05 am

That Installation looks GREAT Michelle!

I also went with a side by side counter depth, but a Bosch unit.
I had to lift it about 4" off the floor to clear plumbing drain pipes that ran behind the fridge.
I can open the freezer side door about 80% before it hits the bathroom pocket door. This does not represent any real problem.
If you keep the refrigerator fairly full the compressor does not cycle that often.We do not have any problems going for at least 12 hrs with out charging our house batteries (4 - 6v- T145).I do not turn off the defroster or seal heater or ice maker. I'm sure this would add time but have not found it necessary.
I did install a separate on/off switch so that I can turn the fridge on and off easily if I really think I need to "milk" all the time I can out of it.
The refrigerator energy guide indicates 5 amp consumption when the coolant system is actually running. I don't think this is a big energy drain, especially compared to the benefits it offers in safety and performance.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #13 – March 30, 2014, 10:27:09 am

Try removing the plastic grey foot/vent cover at the base. We did that and it really improves the lines. After Oregon Motorcoach saw the frig after we removed it, they now remove it on their installations.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #14 – March 30, 2014, 10:48:38 am

Your gonna love it and the ability to just shop for what you want with out thinking about where your gonna be able to but it!

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #15 – March 30, 2014, 06:12:37 pm

Oh, geez. I had really convinced myself that I did not ned one of the full sized fridges in my coach. (I can buy too much produce and let it rot in a smaller fridge just as easily as I can a large one.) But, NOW, I am coveting that gleaming appliance in my coach! Drat you, Michelle!!

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #16 – March 31, 2014, 12:16:48 pm

Michelle, sorry we could not wait around to see this real time. Thanks for the pictures, very nice, like others, though, I'm sorry that I let Ann see these, she's already thinking about another trip to Nacogdoches.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #17 – March 31, 2014, 05:54:24 pm

Michelle,

Looks like the doors stick out a bit more than the replaced refrigerator did. How much width did you lose between the refrig doors and the opposite pantry? Our 36' has about 22 1/2" between the face of the Dometic door and the face of the slide out pantry door.

Roger

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #18 – March 31, 2014, 05:57:58 pm

Roger it is because of ice and water in the door they are thicker. We found that too so did not get that and it was not as much intrusion. In fact on my 197 the handles are the only thing that stick out any further.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #19 – March 31, 2014, 06:20:56 pm

Good to know, John. We would most likely not get the ice and water in the door either. We keep water and ice tea in those square Simply Orange juice bottles in the fridge now. They hold about a half gallon and fit in the door nicely.

Our home fridge is nearing its end of life. Maybe we can get a deal on two. We really like the Samsungs that we have looked at.

Roger

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #20 – March 31, 2014, 07:22:04 pm

55 amp draw on 12 volts when the compressor is on from my limited understanding of electricity. separate from the 15 amp draw for the defrost

900 amp hours of batteries should be enough I would think.

Love to see if I could get 48 hours with such a setup and no gen and/or solar and not be below 50%?

Most here mentioned a hundred amp hours a day for a household refer? Seems low.

Beautiful looking install as I mentioned. Must be nice...haha.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #21 – March 31, 2014, 10:47:07 pm

There are many things that will dictate how much energy will be used as various conditions will dictate how often the compressor runs and how often the defrost cycle may run, temperatures you have chosen, how much stuff is in the fridge, how long you stand there with the door open looking at that package of fuzzy green meat wondering how long its been in there, etc.

You can use the energy star ratings to ball park an average usage as a starting place, for this fridge the number comes out to ~6AH per hour on 12 volt ... that does not include how much energy the inverter will consume in providing this.

That value is pretty similar to what others have measured and reported on various RV sites, where I've seen reported values from 4.5AH up to 8AH for residential fridges (various models / sizes). Those numbers are also not that far off from the ~100AH per day you mentioned.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #22 – April 02, 2014, 12:40:14 pm

Quote from: Steve – March 31, 2014, 10:47:07 pm

There are many things that will dictate how much energy will be used as various conditions will dictate how often the compressor runs and how often the defrost cycle may run, temperatures you have chosen, how much stuff is in the fridge, how long you stand there with the door open looking at that package of fuzzy green meat wondering how long its been in there, etc.

You can use the energy star ratings to ball park an average usage as a starting place, for this fridge the number comes out to ~6AH per hour on 12 volt ... that does not include how much energy the inverter will consume in providing this.

That value is pretty similar to what others have measured and reported on various RV sites, where I've seen reported values from 4.5AH up to 8AH for residential fridges (various models / sizes). Those numbers are also not that far off from the ~100AH per day you mentioned.

Apparently the 55 amp actual draw results in a 100amp hour use overnight as the compressor only runs a couple of hours actually on.

My guru said 5.1 amps of 110 is 50 amps of 12 volt . Am I incorrect?

Bob

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #23 – April 02, 2014, 01:10:18 pm

Bob,

Power (P) = Volts (E) times (X) Amps (I) P=EI

561 watts = 110 volts X 5.1 amps

561 watts = 12 volts X 46.75 amps plus inverter efficiency lose means about 50 amps at 12 volts

Hope this helps.

Re: Samsung 24 CF counter depth fridge in a 2003 U320

Reply #24 – April 02, 2014, 01:44:55 pm

Keep in mind that Energy Star ratings are for a typical household. This is more likely a howls full of hungry/thirsty kids than an RV with an energy frugal couple.

If the refrigerator is already well loaded and at temperature, well insulated, and the door kept shut, the compressor will find little need to cycle on. I believe an rving couple will find the same refrigerator using well under the Energy Star figure.

A few years ago we had a 12 day power outage at my home. I ran an extension cord from the coach to the home refrigerator to keep it cold. I connected a Kill-A-Watt meter and was pleased to see static current draw after compressor start-up was in the 2A range. This is a now 8 year old refrigerator that is probably very sillier to these Samsung units. Mine is a Sears Kenmore Elite model made by Samsung and about the same capacity. At the time I bought it, the salesman told be the only difference between this Kenmore and identical looking Samsung units was that Sears had theirs made with better insulation. Who knows, but I bought it because it was on sale for less than the identical Samsung unit.

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