The fridge needs power 24/7 either electricity or gas. If you have a compressor fridge then you must have the electric power to run it when free camped, as Bill B said. So more battery power will be needed as well as more means of charging them.
The three way can be put on gas when you are free camped so the total electrical load is considerably less. The gas lasts quite a while.
I will not comment on the relative coldness of the two types as I have not had them both in a full size. However my small old 3way unit gets cold any time of the year on all three inputs.
Jaahn
-- Edited by Jaahn on Monday 3rd of August 2015 03:31:26 PM
We bought a 2nd H van, checked everthing as you do.. assumed the fridge was the usual 3 way paid the man.. got home, Fridge is a Tundra 118 litre 12 volt compressor fridge... and its awesome. Van originally set up to feed direct off tug or via a 240 Transformer, either way fridge did really well, I added 2 old truck batteries for a house supply and a portable solar panel.. Fridge does all I want/need except when I let the batteries get down a bit, (TV, lights pump free camping) have found I need to upgrade the wiring to the fridge (voltage drop) and get a 12 v 12v charger to improve charge.... and SHE says put the batteries back in the truck (so I can drive it) and get "proper caravan batteries". Weight saving? We only run one gas bottle and 2 house batteries.
There was a recent review in one of the Magazines which compared the fridges, and reported Compressor fridges may be a little dearer but more efficient and a better option....
If I change vans (read SHE) then we will buy a compressor fridge.
if you order a compressor frig the one jayco supply should be the waeco rpd 175 which consumes 65watts of power per hour the frig cycles on/off so assume max draw 10 hours 650 watts per day divide by 12 volts = aprox 55 amp hours of battery or 110 amp hour battery per day
650 watts = 120 watt solar panel at 100% for 5.5 hrs per day
= 150 watt solar panel at 100% for 4.3 hrs per day
= 240 watt solar panel at 100% for 2.7 hrs per day
as solar is not 100% percent efficient and allow for overcast days you could probably double the hours per day required to recharge batteries
so a compressor frig more efficient( particularly up north in summer ) but needs power minimum would be 2 x 100 amp batteries and 240 watts solar if no other source of recharge
more battery or more solar even better as this doesn,t count any other power use lights tv pumps
When we ordered our van we specified a compressor fridge and it reduced the price by approx. $100 so they are a bit cheaper. Decided on a compressor model as I had read that three way fridges can struggle keeping things really cold in the tropics. We have 2x 100 amp batteries, 240w solar on the roof and a portable 120w solar panel. Haven't been in the tropics yet so fingers crossed.
We had a three way 106 litre fridge it sort of worked, fluctuated and small.
I have taken it out and replaced with a dedicated 12 volt compressor fridge, two door 175 litre. Everkool it's fantastic. cost is about $1500. I would not recommend an inverter type as they don't switch of just cycle down so they run all the time. Yes mine uses more power to start but woks out less power draw. Yes I will need an extra battery for power for a couple of days free camp but it works fine. Nice big freezer means icecream and ice for those special drinks.
Do you really want to know if a 3 way is better over a 12volt frig or the cost of a 12 volt.
Is a 3 way not as good as a 12 volt now I believe a 12 volt is the better some of the time.
Our 159 ltr 3 way is great, best ever after a couple of smaller ones (40, 90) this lastest is sensational.
We like the way we can select gas or power considering where we are mains, camp or on the move.
Not carting about excessive amounts of battery, solar, no generator to run a frig as a back up.
We rarely run our engel and the last trip just before leaving home for a 3 months trip in March I noticed the engel was having a problem and caused the utes second battery to fail, so left them both at home and said to myself if need be I will buy both down the road and after 3 months then a further 3 weeks trip still have not spent the money.
So here it is our 3 way is doing the job, white wine seriously cold, apple cider cold, wife happy, I am over the moon. We enjoy carrying enough food with out feeding army, always have enough food for a few nights and shop in smaller towns when need more. Ralph.
3 way seems to work well if fitted correctly with plenty ventilation . With vent on roof so draught works like a chimney ..
Some are fitted with computer like fan to assist airflow at rear of fridge in hot weather..
