When we purchased our van recently it had a Waeco 12v/240 fridge. It seemed to work great as we plugged into 240 at home 36hrs prior to get her cold then off we choof. Set up on a free camp. Admittedly not 100% sun all day but not bad. After a day the fridge started to warm up. We have arranged to get all the wiring checked, but, in the mean time I thought I would check and see what people think of these fridges. The seller actually gave us the 3 way that had been in it originally and it is working a treat (on 240) on our patio. Sometimes caravan builders try and be too smart, as with the new "European windows" They should have left them in Europe.
Perhaps you should also check out the state of your house battery to make sure it not only has sufficient power but also the oomph to kick over the compressor.
We had a 12/240v fridge in our previous MH. Worked well and no problems on 12v or 240.
However it did switch automatically to 240 when available and then to the battery supply as a default. But if the battery power was turned off then it did not work ! So check the power is actually getting to it from your batteries. There is a fuse in the line, or should be.
You need to check the battery capacity compared to the size of the fridge plus the charge it is receiving if you have solar, make sure there is enough to keep the battery/s charged.
If you say the size of the fridge, the battery size and the solar panels you have (if applicable) then the experts here may be able to give some advise.
Maybe post in the Tech support forum also.
Cheers
Jon
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Home is where we hang our hats - Home now in Yamba NSW
Have one in our motorhome , Waeco 175 ltr fridge /freezer not completely satisfied with it. We have run it on high since new (6mths old) to get it cold enough . When fridge is full it doesn't seem to work as good as half full of food/drink and doesn't really recover well from opening and closing fridge door during the day , overnight it picks back up. I am having a service next week and I have asked them to check it out. We have 3 x 120 amp batteries with 400w solar.
Cheers
Brand new fully charged Full river AGM 120ah. The instruments (for lack of a better word) said the solar was having no problem topping up the battery. The solar panels are 2x 120s.
We had those on our previous van with only a 100ah battery and it handled everything fine.
We have an Eva Kool 12V compressor. Even in hot weather it will freeze the items in the vegie bin if set greater than 30%. The compressor should run about 30-25% of the time and you should be able to hear it turn on. If the house battery is too flat to start the compressor, then that should be pretty obvious.
If you intend to travel in country with high temps, then you need a compressor fridge or an alternative to frozen food and cold drinks.
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BJC
"A year from now you'll wish you had started today."
One tip , make sure you have the correct wire size feeding the fridge , mine use to have trouble starting on near full batteries until I increased the cable size to 6b&s , remember it COULD take up to 15/20 amps to start and will have too much voltage drop across the cable length.
While you had the same set up in your previous van, what sort of fridge did that van have?
With a compressor fridge such as the Waeco you mention, I would have thought at least the battery capacity that Goldcoaster mentioned is necessary, and also an increase in solar.
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Regards Ian
Chaos, mayhem, confusion. Good my job here is done!
Too many variables unknown, is it installed correctly is there good rear ventilation, is the cable size adequate for minimal voltage drop ?
Definitely not enough battery power or solar for that matter ! we have a Waeco rpd175, just over 3 years full time use, and never skipped a beat so far.
We have 2 - 120A/H batteries and 560W solar, you can never have too much solar IMO, all good in fine weather, but when the rain or clouds start, well say no more.
I've got room for a 1kw system if needed but so far never have. Solar is currently cheap as.
We have a waeco 12/240 compressor fridge for over 3 years we have lived in van and it works a treat on either, we only have 1 battery 100 amp and 2 80 watt solar panels, we also have isolated battery in car which charges it whilst travelling..................so far no problems.
When we purchased our van recently it had a Waeco 12v/240 fridge. After a day the fridge started to warm up.-----------------------------------------------------The seller actually gave us the 3 way that had been in it originally and it is working a treat (on 240) on our patio.
