Insulation is the answer to the question.

The best solution for us is a compressor fridge and separate compressor freezer (with remote compressors) and extra insulation.

Lower power consumption and no problem in high ambient temperatures.

Cheers,

Peter

Pedro_The_Swift wrote:

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Other than they come with the van,, can anyone explain to me why you have 3 way fridges?
It cant be its simple usage,,
or its ability to run continuously,,
Please? anyone?

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 Hi Pedro 

It is simply a question of "horses for courses"

The purchaser can decide which best suits HIS purposes

3way  Advantages:

General reliability , unlikely to have an instant & total failure[little to go wrong when on gas]

That can be important if some distance from service people

Gas supplies can be catered for if one knows how long they may/will be camped away from 240V power[a bottle will usually last at least a month if used for the fridge only

Electrical power consumption is somewhat irrelevant  as they are not intended for long term use on electrical power

In most such cases, when used on power, it would be in a CP where the power is a set figure irrespective of what is used 

Disadvantages:

Slow recovery rate 

Cannot tolerate as high an ambient temp as a compressor model

Needs to be level

Requires CORRECT installation

Compressor fridges:

Advantages"

Fast cooling

tolerate higher ambient temps [using more power but still have an upper limit]

can tolerate a greater out of level

Disadvantages:

Can fail completely  at anytime, .possibly well away from a sevice centre

Requires an assured power supply under all weather conditions[Mains, solar & batteries or generator with FUEL [plus a high capacity battery charger, do not use generator 12V source]

AS a looong time  bush camping  user of both

3ways from early 1950S , Engel from around 1967, I well understand the advantages & limitations of each& continue  use both ,

PeterQ

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Pedro_The_Swift wrote:

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Other than they come with the van,, can anyone explain to me why you have 3 way fridges?

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 I think the reason is historical. When vans were first equipped with fridges small compressor fridges were impractical. Vans were small and would not carry a large weight in batteries. There was not much in the way of deep cycle batteries available if we could carry them, most of the deep cycle batteries were the large glass case ones seen in telephone exchanges.

If we did carry batteries they were used for lights. The auto generators (note alternators were yet to come) did not have the capacity to charge more than a second starter battery in the van. Portable 240 V generators were the open frame type and were bulky, suitcase ones were a couple of decades in the future. Solar panels were also not developed until much later.

If you wanted a fridge to work out in the bush then gas or kero was the only way to go. In fact we did not have an an electric fridge in the house until late 1950, kero was all the go out in the bush. Car alternators did not arrive until the mid 60s. Back then they were too small to run three way fridges so we only had two way fridges. Our 73 Franklin fridge was two way. I'm not sure of the introduction of three way ones after the Franklin I was out of vanning until 1990.

Battery systems did not come into vans until well into the 90s. My 97 Spaceland was one of the first that they fitted with a battery. Solar panels were too expensive at the time for the great unwashed to fit to their vans. They came in early this century. This precluded the general use of compressor fridges in great numbers. Vitrifrigo fridges were around but they were pitched to the luxury motor boat owners where they could carry large battery banks and had their propulsion motors to supply the recharge power.

The result was that because of the slow development of our 12 V van systems the absorption fridges became well developed. The result is today there is a larger production of absorption models than compressor ones. Even today people are reluctant to purchase and carry large battery battery banks. I have not considered it, if I was going for something larger I would go for a 5th wheeler and would consider carrying the bulk.. A friend of mine has just changed his van, he has opted for absorption after the problems he had keeping batteries up to his previous van.