Refrigerators are known for their ability to cool down your kitchen quickly and efficiently. If you’ve got an abundance of food, it’s common to find a refrigerator hooked up to an RV or boat power outlet; this is because an RV or boat has very limited electrical service. Many homes have refrigerators that can be plugged into regular home outlets, but what happens if you don’t? Many people assume that refrigerators cannot be plugged into regular household electrical outlets, but this is not the case.
Can You Plug a Refrigerator into a Regular outlet?
Yes, you can! You can use an outlet to power your refrigerator, just like any other appliance. Just make sure the outlet is polarized and that the wires are correctly connected.
What Happens If I Hook Up A Refrigerator To An Outside Wall Outlet?
- You would need a polarized outlet and extension cord. The extension cord must be rated at least 35 watts/100 feet.
- Your refrigerator will draw power from the outdoor outlet, which could cause your electrical system to overheat and trip the circuit breaker.
- If you are using a refrigerator for cooling only, you should not have any problems with this setup. However, if you are using it to cook food in the refrigerator, you should probably turn off the refrigerator or use an exterior fan to move some of the hot air outside of the home in order to prevent overheating your home’s electrical system.
What Can I Do With A Refrigerator As My Sole Source Of Electricity?
- If you have an outdoor outlet near your refrigerator, you can use the refrigerator to cook food that is stored in your refrigerator.
- You can also use this setup to power other appliances in your home such as a TV if the electricity is not being used for anything else.
- You could also use this setup to power a large fan if you do not have an outside outlet and do not want to run extension cords from your electrical panel inside of your home.
How Much Electricity Do I Need To Keep A Refrigerator Running?
- Keep in mind that the amount of electricity you use will depend on a lot of factors including how much you use your refrigerator, how often it is used, what you store in the refrigerator if it is constantly plugged in or turned off, and what other appliances are being used in your home.
- If you are using a regular outlet to power a refrigerator that is plugged into an extension cord with an outdoor outlet nearby, then you will need between 25 and 50 watts of electricity at all times. This can be measured by using an energy monitor or by turning off the lights in your home and checking the meter outside to see how much energy was used at that time.
- If you are using a regular outlet to power a refrigerator that is plugged into an extension cord with no outdoor outlet nearby, then you can either use an energy monitor or check your electrical meter every month to see how much energy was used throughout the month from this setup.
How Long Does It Take To Get Cold Using A Refrigerator?
- If your refrigerator is plugged into an extension cord and you are using a regular outlet, then it will take approximately four hours for food to cool down to 40 degrees.
- If you have an outdoor outlet near your refrigerator and are using a regular outlet, then it will take approximately four hours for food to cool down to 40 degrees.
- If you use an outdoor outlet near your refrigerator and are using a regular outlet that is not near the kitchen, then it will take approximately three hours for food to cool down to 40 degrees.
What Are the Cons Of Using An RV Or Boat Power Outlet?
- RV and Boat power outlets are not designed for use with refrigerators that have a large electrical load. If you plug your refrigerator into one of these outlets, you will be running your refrigerator off the small power source which could damage the electrical system in your home.
- These outlets are also not designed to have a lot of watts (power) available at any given time. Therefore, if you try to plug your appliance into one of these outlets and there is no available power, it will not work properly and might even shut down the entire electrical system in your home.
- If you use an outdoor outlet near your refrigerator and are using a regular outlet that is not near the kitchen, then it will take approximately three hours for food to cool down to 40 degrees.
How To Install An Extension Cord On Your Boat Or RV?
- First, you need to know the ratings of the extension cord you are going to use. The standard household extension cord is 15 amp and has a three-prong plug. You will need to have an adapter that is 15 amp for your extension cord. The average household power supply for an RV or trailer is 20 amp, so if you buy one that is 20 amp, it will work just fine.
- Next, find out which electrical outlet on your boat or RV you are going to use for the extension cord. The outlet should be near your refrigerator, stove, and microwave and should be close to where the power cord will come out of the wall plug on the back of your fridge/oven/stove/microwave.
- Now connect the end of your extension cord to one of these outlets with a three-prong adapter (15 amp). Next, connect one end of the power strip with its female receptacle into one of these outlets on your boat or RV (female receptacle).
- Now connect one end of your extension cord into another receptacle on this power strip (male receptacle) and connect this male receptacle to a third female receptacle on this power strip (third female receptacle)
- Finally, connect the other end of this lead wire from this male receptacle into another male receptacle in another part inside your boat or RV (third male receptacle) in order to complete this circuit from where you plugged it in originally to where it will go. Now you can plug in your electrical appliances and use the power strip to plug-in other items that are not in use.
- If you want to run an extension cord that is longer than 30 feet, you will need to get another adapter with a male receptacle (15 amp) and then connect this male receptacle to the female receptacle on the extension cord.
The Bottom Line
No matter what type of refrigerator you have, you can still connect it to an electrical outlet using an electrical extension cord. The only difference will be the shape of the plug and whether or not it’s a 3-prong plug. Refrigerators work by containing their contents and circulating the cold air from a heating element inside the refrigerator to another area of the house via an electrical outlet. You can also hook up a refrigerator to an outdoor electrical outlet using outdoor extension cords (also called 3-prong power cords).
