Opinions on Waeco Coolpro thermoelectrics

Happywanderer · The Master

Opinions on Waeco Coolpro thermoelectrics

gold dandelion · Senior Member

if it has an ambient temp of 30 and you have it in your car during summer it may be 45 in there, your fridge will be 15, well i think thats how it works.

jimricho · Guru

These are no substitute for a "proper" fridge. I have one that I used to use for storing fruit and veg when I was using my old (very basic) camper trailer. I only ran it when the car was travelling or when I had power available (I have a power supply for it). Since buying the Goldstream with its 3-way fridge I have not used it. (I also have a "Bushman" (compressor type) fridge in the car.)

They are not efficient enough to consider for extended use with an auxiliary battery as they draw about 4 amps continuously.

They are fine for picnics etc or for carrying perishables home from the supermarket, also for keeping a few cool drinks inside the car. I would not use it for storing meat as I'm not confident it would keep it at "foodsafe" temperature. Alternately they can be used to keep food warm as they work in reverse.

Happywanderer · The Master

Thanks guys. I need to look for a real fridge.

ozi2 · Guru

Hi HW, things appear to be coming along nicely with your setup; with your refridgeration needs do you want a fixed fridge or would a portable 240/12volt waeco etc fit your requirements? It can always be removed when at home as a fridge freezer if so desired. I purchased a waeco from their factory outlet in Qld at a very much reduced price and have been very pleased with its performance.
Their website address is www.fridgeshop.com.au
Good luck with your camper, always nice to read your posts,
ozi2

BobnBev · Senior Member

They will keep your soup hot ,but wont cool a thing if its just a little bit hot out side, in short junk, they should not use the word fridge when talking about that item.....

blaze · Guru

Dont know if any help but I have a fridgemate, 50 litre chest type I use in the back of the car. Has a reconised brand of compressor and ours has been faultless over 2 years. Got it on ebay from an aderlaide seller, frieght free to tassie. Paid $950
cheers
blaze

Sheba · Guru

Have you checked out the Engel that is in a lot of Campervans ? They're about the size of Motel fridges.

Mine is 240/12 V. I've run it for a week non-stop with no problems on 12V. so far. I have 1 Solar Panel, and 1 House battery.

Very small freezer section, 2 shelves, plus door storage. Don't know how much they cost.

Cheers,
Sheba.

-- Edited by Sheba on Friday 18th of February 2011 06:50:23 PM

Happywanderer · The Master

I'm running into a brick wall everywhere I turn at the moment. Things I need for the van are a lot dearer than I first thought. Because it is such a small van there isn't much room and I'm getting really frustrated by it all.

Wish I had stuck to my original plan and got a Toyota Hiace, Could kick myself now. Feeling pretty low at the moment. Nothing is going like I had hoped.

blaze · Guru

It will all come together, you are now experiencing the pain of the good time to come. Over the years I have built/ modified things like boats,caravans, camper trailers and the bloody house, there is always going to be times that you have doubbts but a little carful planning, being prepared to modifiy your thought process and comprimise on some things, it will be good in the end and it will be what you have achieved as a designer and builder (with help of course). My thoughts are look for a small 12/240 volt chest fridge/freezer (40 litre maybe) and have it slide under your bed from the rear door(thinking now of your design pics). I orignally purchased a 50l chines fridge off ebay and it did about 30000km of pretty serious 4x4ing before it died and may well have been a simple fix but I decided to replace it, cost was under $500.
Time to smile and think about the one good thing you achieved today and not the things getting in the way of your build.
cheers
blaze

ChiChi1 · Guru

HW There was a camper like yours for sale the other day. It looked pretty good. Amazing what you can fit in it. Hang in there. It will eventually fall into place.

Sheba · Guru

You'll get there mate. I don't know sizes,or costs, [haven't gone looking yet] but I saw a Campervan once that had a Fridge-freezer in a slide-out drawer.

I'm still making small changes here and there.

Cheers,
Sheba.

Sheba · Guru

This is the link for the Waeco seconds shop Marj. Check out the whole page, as types are mixed up.

http://www.fridgeshop.com.au/products.asp?catId=6

Cheers,
Sheba.

Happywanderer · The Master

Thanks for that link Sheba. The link took me straight to the fridge I was looking at today in the camping shop where it was 599.00. There in the seconds they had it for 479.00. May have to lok into that further. Thanks again.

Sheba · Guru

Here's another one for Engel Up-right Fridge-Freezers.

http://www.engelaustralia.com.au/cgi-bin/products.cgi?category=Upright Fridge / Freezers

Some of these prices don't seem too bad considering, but I didn't check out the whole page.

Cheers,
Sheba.

Jacko · Veteran Member

Sheba darling the Engel upright fridges are a poor choice for efficiency.

jimricho · Guru

Any chest type fridge or freezer will perform better than its upright equivalent as they tend to retain their cold air when opened, unlike an upright that looses much of its cold air when opened due to natural convection (cold air is heavier than warmer outside air). Compressor type fridges will recover from having the door opened more quickly than 3-ways.

All of this may now be academic to Happy Wanderer if the Hi-Ace deal falls into place!

-- Edited by jimricho on Sunday 20th of February 2011 07:15:03 AM

Sheba · Guru

Jacko wrote:

Sheba darling the Engel upright fridges are a poor choice for efficiency.

Hi Jacko,
That fact not withstanding, a lot of Campervans have them installed, which is why I put that link up as well. They're a good size for the space available.

Cheers,
Sheba.

Happywanderer · The Master

All going well I might not have to worry now, but good info for anyone looking for fridges. I had no idea they were so expensive.