Hi John,
Your van fridge should have a standard 240v 10 amp 3pin plug,
Uplug & connect standard extension lead to fridge/residence to precool the fridge.....

Daryl.

On this point about running 240V power leads to outlets in a house; a mate and myself once had to break into a house and extinguish a fire that had started when an extension lead was plugged into an outlet beside a bed. By the time we saw the smoke it looked like the fire had taken a good hold, but due to the house being located in a bushy area in Queensland in the middle of summer after a few years of drought, and the close proximity of our neighbouring houses, it was imperative that the fire be extinguished quickly. The fire wasn't actually as bad as we first thought, from the heat and smoke, and once we gained entry we were able to extinguish it with a bit of a bucket brigade (tank water so not enough pressure for hoses to be any use).

Once the fire was out it was plain to see that the fire had started at the plug/outlet where it had overheated, probably due to poor contact pressure. To make it worse there was a dooner pushed over it which kept the heat in and gave a fuel source for the resulting fire. As the owners were away for the day it could have been a lot worse had we not seen the smoke when we did.

One more thing, if you ever find yourself in this position, make sure you switch off the mains before throwing buckets of water over a live power point with a charred lead hanging out of it. At the time we had totally forgotten to do this and almost cr*apped ourselves when we realised.

In days gone by, we used a 15 amp lead with a 10 amp plug top or got a 15 amp point wired into the home for the van. Strange as it seems if the wiring to the old 10 amp gpo (powerpoint) is the right size (2,5mm square or better) and the breaker is 16 amp or better, the only thing that gets changed is the GPO. It is a good thing to chill the fridge before a trip as the 12V will only keep it cool, 12v not so good for chilling. Using gas has its merit and is probably more convenient for you, but gas is not cheap.

Not sure I agree with spida, the size of the active and neutral pins are the same for 10 and 15 amp connectors, the big deal is the earth and the wire diameter. OH by the way, get a real electrician to help you, electricity is far too dangerous to stuff around with. I do agree with safety first, if you feel you need to and have a spare $200 or so, go get the amphibian, we did survive without them, rather well in fact.

ALSO, never run an extension lead through anything other than fresh air.....

you are spot on there Bob

the common seems to be very uncommon these days

probably something to do with the amount of stupid mixed in with the uncommon sense.

frank

Yeah, ten out of ten there Bob...

PeterD wrote:

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What is common sense? I think Albert Einstein had a good of what it is:

Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down by the mind before you reach eighteen.

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There are alot around today that didn't even get that deposit I tell ya.

Basically.... if you want/need 240 volt power to the van and you are not in a van park, you need an amphibian.

Using 240 volt with a "normal" lead (whether its dodgied up to fit the bigger plug or fed through a door or window) is risky and foolhardy.

There are more brands than the amphibian which will do the job, but only the amphibian is waterproof- so be careful to only use other brands under cover.

Read the instructions that come with the unit, and do what they tell you !




If you don't want to charge your fridge on 240 volt, or camp in some one's yard, don't bother.