Fridges - what do you have?

^ thanks.

Fair enough re the compressor. I have a waeco which doesn't have that issue.
 
Gidday Folks

I just bought a 35L Gasmate three-way (12V/240V/LPG). I don't really need to keep a Barramundi frozen travelling from Darwin to Melbourne ... :lol: :rotfl:.

Running on 240V for the last 4 days in our front entry room ... Depending on where the thermostat is set, it will run between 2° and 8°C. The thermostat only works when running on 240V (NOT when on 12V or gas).

From what I have gathered, these absorption type fridges aren't exactly great running on 12V (read: "almost rubbish" ... ), but work well on both 240V and gas, and will keep reasonably cool on 12V. They also need to be kept reasonably level particularly when running on gas.

If they aren't working too well, according to the instructions one should turn it upside down for 3-4 hours!! Something to do with getting the refrigerant in the right places ...

No good if you just want to turn it on and freeze things, like one with a Danfoss compressor, but work far better than an Esky full of melted ice and dead stuff ... :iconwink: :lol:.

Seems that it will fit on the D/S rear seat of Roo2. Doesn't really fit well in the cargo area.

Mightn't be the flashest thing ever made, but it also only cost me $283 brand new, and should suit my needs fine ... :biggrin:.
 
Ratbag said:
Mightn't be the flashest thing ever made, but it also only cost me $283 brand new, and should suit my needs fine ... :biggrin:.
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Nothing wrong with that & isn't that the main purpose.... suiting ones needs :)

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
^ You're right.

It's the very crux of the matter - suiting one's own purposes, not someone else's.

It's amazing how many people lose sight of that simple fact when making all sorts of purchasing decisions!
 
Regarding the 35L Gasmate 3 way fridge.

With the ambient being about 18.5°C, and the fridge running on 240V with the thermostat set to about 3/4, the temperature in the bottom of the empty fridge is -2°C and on top of the cooling element, it's about -5°C (that's not a typo - it's in the minus range!).

Measured with an alcohol bulb thermometer.

I have been playing around with the thermostat settings, changing it every day or so to get an idea of what the fridge will actually achieve at what settings.

Can't say I'm unhappy with its performance, thusly far :biggrin:.

I know from lots of comments I have read that these fridges approach lousy performance on 12V, very good on 240V and even better when running on gas.

I haven't tried it on 12V or gas yet. Will update things when I have some experience with those power sources.
 
Makes sense they'd work well on gas and mains. They've been in caravans longer than I've walked the earth, the 12v always seemed a way of keeping things cool between camp sites until the gas is back on, or powered at a caravan park.
 
^ My thoughts too, Id.

And kerosene fridges well before that! They work on exactly the same principle.
 
And!! Remember the dinosaurs...but they are all dead now...things advanced...life became simpler and in my opinion, better. A solar panel, a battery and a fridge with a compressor...no fuss, no bother, more time to drink beer!!:lol: MY mate had a 3 way fridge. He was a bit careless and a tight arse. Flat batteries, running out of gas, filling it up every 3 days, the bloody thing cost more in gas than my fridge to buy. He lives out of his van and it was nothing but a pain in the a..e!! He is onto his second 'cheap' fridge in 3 years. I was thinking of buying him a pet Stegosaurus or a fountain pen or maybe a camera that has film in it but settled on just sitting around drinking one of my icy cold beers.:ebiggrin::ebiggrin::ebiggrin:
 
^ The dinosaurs ruled the Earth for around 180 million years ... :)

It wasn't their fault that they were in the road of a medium sized bit of rock doing about 56,000 mph ... :(

Seriously though, Silver, 3 way fridges do have their place, specially for people (like myself) who don't want to drop a mere couple of grand or so on inverters, batteries and solar panels; regulators and switches; then another grand (or so ... ) on a fridge or fridge/freezer ... 12/240V compressor fridges and fridge freezers also have their place in the scheme of things. I don't have a need to keep a Barramundi frozen from Darwin to Melbourne, via Perth ...

My Gasmate will hold the internal temperature at -2 to +2°C running on 240V with the thermostat set on a bit over half. That's better than the refrigerator part of our house fridge! Running on 12v, they will keep things cool, but it requires one to use it how it's intended - get it cold first on 240V or gas, then don't load it up with hot stuff! Running on gas, it appears that one has to turn them off for much of the day so as not to 1) waste gas, and 2) keep them from getting too cold and freezing everything.

Like everything else, it depends on the use and the user. I would prefer my Gasmate to be about 20-25L instead of 35L, but that's how they come. The flexibility of the 3 way fridges suits me quite well.
 
Ratbag said:
^ The dinosaurs ruled the Earth for around 180 million years ... :)
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And still they couldn't develop the technology to predict the event that killed them and protect against it...

The fact that the 3-way fridge suits some people doesn't go against the other fact that a compressor powered fridge/freezer is more flexible.

Same way that letter writing in pen/paper works fine, but emails and forums like this are faster, cheaper and more convenient.
 
^ But we have that ability, and look at the use/s to which we have put it - killing each other, instead of (potentially) saving all of us ... :( :puke:.

As for fridges, why not take the approach that different technologies/brands/etc suit different people? Isn't that a more reasonable approach?

It isn't any kind of competition, AFAIACS ... :iconwink: :biggrin: :cool:.
 
Get what you think suits you, it IS horses for courses. Personally I see no advantage whatsoever in a 3 way fridge. Possibly the cheaper initial cost but this is only an advantage if you use the fridge very spasmodically. The more you use it the more the cost advantage disappears. If I was travelling with kids I wouldn't touch one. I don't like gas operated appliances and kids together. My 50ltr Waeco cost me $750 NEW. I got it a trade show for $900 with a cover and a Waeco cool box which I sold for $150. Deals like this are available fairly regularly and Engel make a reasonably priced plastic style fridge also.
Solar panels, whilst probably a bit expensive to start with can have a variety of uses and pretty much last forever. A good AGM battery can be had for around $280/320 and will last for at least 5 years, more like 6 or 7, if looked after.
For a lot of campers these days a solar panel and a battery is just a normal part of the whole exercise. If not it's just an esky and ice and that is still my favourite place to keep a beer!! It's just too much trouble though.
Anyway, get what suits you, it's just my point of view after seeing them in operation and having what I have.
 
I've got a waeco cf50 and its bloody brilliant. When heading out on a camping trip I plug it in the 12v cig outlet in the back and when I'm at camp I plug it into a 12v AGM battery and keep it charged with cheap 120 watt folding solar panel off ebay. Best setup I've ever had.

My best tip (when in the tropics) is to buy a stand to keep the fridge off the ground. Saves your back when opening and closing. And definitely keep it under cover at night to stop morning dew soaking the cover.
 
Before solar panels and batteries became cheap, the 3-way fridge in our campervan was great. A 9 kg gas bottle would keep the fridge and freezer running for about 30 days which cost around $11 in 2005. Then you could switch it over to 12v while driving. With a draw of over 70 amps, you had to be careful not to switch off the engine before firstly switching it off 12v or else the aux battery would be sucked dry before you could say "Mousebat Follicle Goosecreature Ampersand Spong Wapcaplet Looseliver Vendetta and Prang."

Nowadays with our Waeco, 140w panel and 100ah battery we have infinite days of refrigeration.....even with a few consecutive cloudy days we still generate more power than we consume.
 
May be of interest: I had reason to visit a fridge service centre last week and asked them what is the best portable fridge on the market atm - the new Waeco CFX range was highly recommended. Engel also recommended but preference was Waeco especially because of after-sales service. While under warranty it seems that if a Waeco customer thinks there is a problem with their fridge but turns out to not be a problem after testing, Waeco still pays the service centre promptly for their work i.e. no charge to the customer. I think that's pretty good!

With that said, my Evakool fridges have not let me down and, fingers crossed, have never needed any servicing. My oldest Evakool is now 13 yo.
 
About the only thing I've read that would make any difference to the majority of fridges nowadays is how they work when on an angle. I know Engel used to have the edge in that regard, whether that's still the case, I don't know.

I have an Engel, just a cheapy though. Only had it three years or so, but hasn't missed a beat - doesn't get a huge amount of use though, a few weeks a year in total. I have been told that to ensure longevity, it's best to have them turned on when at home too. That's from people that have very old Engels.
 
Newbie here.

Looks like a forester is the next purchase. Did some research & it seems to be one of the best AWDs going round & now I found this incredible forum with plenty of info on what to do to them.

Regarding fridge/freezers here's some info I recently put on a comparison site where people were bagging the Waeco now a Dometic?? & flogging the Engel as the one and only. I think I pretty well got it right.



"My 40/50L is 7-8yrs old. Can't remember which size, where I bought it. It works well but it's not a home fridge/freezer on 240V & should be compared to one. No mobile fridge is perfect. Waeco’s are not as robust as Engels but are smaller, probably more efficient size wise, use less power, easier to carry around, softer rounder corners but still tough. Engels are better for more extreme conditions, larger, more permanent installations & for the more particular/fussy person, ugly (fridge, that is), easily dented sheet steel sides, more pointy corners. My unit gets carried from my Troopy (big ugly Landcruiser) to the Hyundai to the Audi. Will buy a Waeco CF21L for the Audi & a newly purchased tiny AWD (Diahatsu Terious) Engels aren’t suitable for placing on leather seats. (Yes, I know it should be tied down)

Put in frozen bottles of water, softies, meat etc. from the home freezer before a trip. Use the corners (the coldest/fastest cooling areas) & sides to freeze water bottles, quick chills beers (glass bottles), recent purchases esp. meat/seafood. Put less cold temp. fridge items like fruit, bananas, butter in the fridge section which doesn't always get too cool on super hot days. Always monitor your fridge/freeze esp. in differing outside temps & in a locked car on 40C days. Put colder fridge items cold meats, your thawing meats higher up in the middle where it’s cooler. Use corners to freeze water bottles & use them in a small soft cooler bag for day use, picnics, walks etc.

Set it at the lowest temperatures on hot days & when driving & turn to a warmer settings when parking to save your battery & overnight to avoid excessive freezing. Rotate your items, don't open the lid too often, supervise children & drunks scavenging it's depths for beer, both who don’t shut the lid properly. Latches can fail, so clamp it down or put something on top. Be nice to Waeco people, they gave me a new latch but I never put it on as the lid sits tight naturally."
 
everyone uses what it needs for area i think and how much ppl going on trip and whos going. i look those overlanding videos where ppl making like real food every evening and taking so much time for it just to have like real meal cooked for hr or more. so nto everybody needs that rly or enjoy i guess. and who dont have such remote areas dont need like real fridge at all. i use cooler i guess thats how they called , they just coolers that works from 12v. they cools food or drinks enough to keep them cold. and cost like 50-80euros new.
but solars get better and better is very cool thing. just those good batterys cost a lot still. i just use second car battery . i tried couple times and its enough for that cooler to run overnight at least.
real fridges are cool sure . and they are used for reason. reason that i dont have where i live. and it makes car heavier , some ppl even making boxes for them. even more weight in car.
i dont get ppl who live here where you can drive to other country in couple ours , and they build they cars as australians do for thousand km without water source or shops. some maybe think its cool as concept so everyone needs that. i like minimalistic approach and everything can be in bags so everything removable.
 
scalman said:
i dont get ppl who live here where you can drive to other country in couple ours , and they build they cars as australians do for thousand km without water source or shops.
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Where I am, you can drive for an hour or less and if you end up in the wrong spot at the wrong time, you could be stuck there for days if not weeks without seeing anyone.
I think it's more about population density rather than distance when it comes to taking provisions.
 
Nice place you live in sir . would be cool to experience that. I still allways have some water with me. So i wouldnt need to look for shop to buy some or petrol station. They cost there more too. Still ppl here or in europe mostly building their cars after some cool car they see in net . and i think many us or aus ppl overdoing stuff as well. Like just in case i will need food for army so i will take fridge full of meat in my car.
I could do camping for 2 weeks or so and cook some pasta with some smoked sausages then egs or some dry food. I rly dont care for that much. That all food could fit in one bag too.
 
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