Caravan Fridge Types

iana · Guru

Caravan Fridge Types

exa41 · Guru

Hi IANA , I have a 12volt waeco and a freezer both running of batteries and solar. With the problems good people on this forum are having with 3 way fridges , well do your homework before you commit. Any more than 1 1/2 on the dial and the Waeco will freeze anything.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Just a quickie. I think it comes down to personal choice really. For what it's worth though I have a Thetford 185lt Fridge Freezer 3 way.

Now, I am having trouble when on gas as when the wind comes from the fridge side the flame goes out and is very annoying. A friend has got the same make van with the very same fridge and has NO problems at all and I might add MOST people I speak with DO NOT have the same problem as me. The Thetford Agent tells me it is heard of but not common, it is being sorted though so all should be good soon.

I chose the 3way during the van build as I know how it works and was happy with my previous one. The new one is rated T so should perform ok in the heat.

banjo · Senior Member

Without wanting to sound too flippant, I've had both types, 3-ways and compressor.

IMO a compressor type just works as one expects a fridge to, no pandering, pre cooling, fans or smoke and mirrors, it just performs as a fridge/freezer should.

You do need ample solar and a couple of batteries for them to do this reliably, we have 560W and two 120 A/H, but the upside is a 9kg gas cylinder now lasts us anywhere up to 6 months !

We have been full time on the road now for 3 years and never ran out of power so far ! I do carry a small Yamaha "just in case" but it's never been run apart from the occasional five minutes or so to keep the lube up into the internals.

I wouldn't buy another 3-way with your money let alone mine !

3-ways are old technology, expensive to run on gas, and when plugged into power heavy on electricity usage, some have almost 300W elements running 24/7 ! Ok it's not your power bill, unless you are plugged in at home, but in todays age of modern efficient gear, 3-ways are way down the list.

As you've probably gathered I hate 3-ways.

iana · Guru

Thanks guys, am after your opinions for or against its all OK.

New Wanderers · Veteran Member

iana

We've a Waeco 175 ltr compressor in our caravan, we went through possibly the same dilemma as you when selecting a fridge for our new caravan, we had a 3 way in our previous caravan which we found didn't maintain a constant temperature, this resulted in some food been ruined, in the warmer weather we found that we have to change the fridge setting. With the Waeco compressor fridge it is like our fridge at home, set the temperature and leave it.

wendyv · Guru

Had a 12v compressor Vitrifrigo in the van, Not a big one - about 120L I think - with freezebox inside fridge part. It was ventilated by holes behind it, in the walls to the cupboards each side - not a very big hole, was never an issue. Also had a vent at back, in the bench top. Was a brilliant fridge. Needed a couple of new thermostats, and a couple of re-gasses - over nearly 9 years of actual use. It survived rough roads, dust etc. At one stage we were working in Pilbara and dytime temps were well over 40. Everything stayed cold/frozen. One hassle was the need to manually defrost, but I got into a routine for that. We had about 280w of solar panels and 2x120ah batteries. The van lights etc ran off 12v too. Were a couple of places where solar couldn't maintain the battery charge - after several days of grey skies and rain.

Now have a similar fridge in bus, but different brand - Waeco? Dometic? But it can also run from 240v, if available. There is an automatic switching gadget installed near fridge .

There is absolutely no way I would ever have a non-compressor fridge.

in transit · Senior Member

We had a compressor fridge in our previous campervan. There was a small Engel compressor in the present one when we bought it. It wasn't big enough for food and drinls and we were getting hungry so installed a larger compressor fridge. Until we worked out the best thermostat setting we did have a problem with frozen vegetables but we did get cold drinks. To improve ventilation I have fitted a PC fan in the panelling behind the fridge.

I have been told that a 3way with the suffix "T" will cool to 30deg below ambient. No "T" and the drop is 25deg. With afternoon sun shining on van wall, these conditions are easily exceeded.

iana · Guru

Thanks guys, I'm convinced, a compressor type fridge it is. So far my equipment list is :- no TV aerial will go for a dish and the vast system, maybe no radio/cd, as there is a cd in the TV. Compressor type fridge, cook top and grill (no oven) gas and one electric hot plate. All LED lighting. Not convinced about fixed solar panels though.

valiant81 · Senior Member

Hi iana;

Great news with the sorting out of your 5th wheeler caravan. I agree with a compresor fridge over a 3 way. Once you get your head around solar and extra batterys.

One thing that i have found out about modern panel televisions are the poor sound quality and also because of the very small speakers that these set all have the down fall is that when the volume is turned up even a little bit above a quiet wisper, the sets run out of volume, and sound bloody awfull. It's better to use a external amplifier and speakers for better sound quality and level.

As for useing the dvd player in the television, dont wast your time. it's better to have a seperate dvd player and when it plays up or dies, throw it over your shoulder and get a nother one from the super market ( the cheaper the better iv'e seen dvd players for about $50.00 and even blue ray players starting from about $100.00 ) this way if you have a combo unit and the dvd player fails, you have lost your tv as well as the dvd and can take a bit of time to have the dvd player replaced / fixed.

Also parts can be a problem in some areas, not that the parts are hard to, but the distance from were you are from the importers. It's better to have a cheap and nasty dvd player that is seperate from the television than one that is inbuilt.

Herb · Veteran Member

Hi iana,
We have a3 way fridge and apart from very hot weather have had no issues. We carry a separate Waeco fridge that we use as a freezer in very hot weather and it runs off the truck. This means it is not sitting in the hot van and stays cooler.
As for the other things
No tv aerial - sometimes it is good jut to stop late at night and watch TV. It is easier to just wind up aerial than set up Dish. Unless you get one already connected to roof of Van ( these ones I have heard are not flash when parked under trees)
No radio CD - we had a two in one TV (Teac), lasted 1 month, got another on replacement lasted 2 months. Both times it was the DVD player that packed up. We were advised that they were not suitable for travelling as the units dont like rough roads. (Strange seem thats market that normally buys them). We now have a separate unit BUT most of the time use a laptop. For a separate radio I would suggest you look at the newer ones made for cars as there are all sorts of new things in them that come in very useful, like bluetooth phone etc. and you can get amplifier as well so have far better quality of sound. For our TV we have a surround sound system (designed for computers) that has great sound and is portable so if take TV outside can still use and if want to have music away from caravan easy to move around.
No Oven - we would never do without our oven. life on road without Roasts, baking etc is compromise we would rather not have. Yes you can do some things on BBQ that oven can do however the results are not same and time to set up etc make this a hassle.
Electric hotplate - why? gas is faster and more efficient. If have electric hotplate it is waste of space if not on mains power.
Fixed solar - we have fixed solar never had issue. One thing to keep in mind is that if you park under trees you risk having branches drop on vehicle like the backpackers the other day. We choose spots where the sun will be off van for part of day and in full sun rest of day ( shaded by trees but not under them). Where possible always park with fridge away from sun, this can be worked out with a compass.

We are permanent travelers so our aim is to make everything as simple as possible. We can find spot to camp and be setup in less than 5 mins, disconnected and legs down all that's required. We do carry some gear that takes time to set up like coffee maker, annex, BBQ etc however 90% of time it stays packed down.

Sorry bout long reply, wish you luck and hope you happy with outcome.

iana · Guru

Thanks Valiant81, to give you a reply. Re the TV aerial, that is listed in the standard inclusions for the van, but I figure we will save about $400 by not getting it. The last parks I stayed at I could not get a reception from the "Happy Wander" aerial, but the next park had cable TV to each site. I thought I would channel the money onto a vast & tripod dish, if it takes longer to set up, well I will have all the time in the world.
Re the DVD player in the Teac TV which is what I have, I feel that perhaps a packing piece needs to be inserted into the player before travel to prevent damage. Remember these units have been sent all the way from China, then transported within Australia. So we must be doing something wrong for them to fail.
Again while the radio is included in the package, I figure another $500 saving. I'd be putting that money into a Bose sound system for the TV. The clock radio alarm at the bedside will do the rest.
Besides I'm as deaf as a post and can't hear it anyway!
No oven, stipulated by the missus, wants to do all that cooking outside in the Webber baby "Q". No cooking fumes allowed inside.
Electric hot plate, to be used when we are at powered sites. Again she who must be obeyed.
What has me worried most on this change of life style is "What am I going to do!" having things to set up and potter around with may just keep me happier.

Herb
Yes still working on the solar system, and sorry guys not convinced yet. Will set up a load evaluation spread sheet on excel and see approx. where I'm at.
Covered TV sound.
Covered DVD problems.
Trouble is I have already brought the TV.
But thanks guys I have taken it on board.

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

Apologies for going off topic ... but this may help iana.

I was provided with this spreadsheet a long while from the member of another forum. I found it helpful when figuring out my solar set up.

Cheers - John

iana · Guru

Now that's saved me a bit of work, thanks rockylizard.

SnowT · Guru

John that little table is a good indicator..

At a brief test even if my Solar is still only hitting 50% I still have 134AH of excess charge going in...

Re the Fridge.. if you have suffiecent Solar a domestic 240v fridge[Modern inverter ] fridge far out beats any other fridge on the market.. for Power consummation..

Juergen