Thetford Fridge

[wildebus]

Possibly getting a van with compressor fridge . 100w solar , 100ah leisure battery. All of that , long term , may change.
Always had 3 way fridge . Never had any problems. Flexibility sells it to me .
Given all of the above any advice on probable , new fridge ?
p.s. 400ah lithium not happening soon

one other comment ...

you ask "new fridge?" . I may be wrong but from the earlier sentence and that question, you are considering if you should bin the Compressor Fridge and get a 3-way fridge like you are used to instead? Ignoring and put aside the fact that I much prefer Compressor over 3-ways, I think the cost of installing a 3-way fridge would likely be more than the cost of enlarging your battery bank and/or solar to allow you to run your compressor fridge for longer off-grid. Have to tap into the gas, add a manifold and run pipework to the fridge; also need to fit external venting at the back of the fridge. And if you needed to get that done by an installer, it will not be cheap.

 

[alcam]

one other comment ...

you ask "new fridge?" . I may be wrong but from the earlier sentence and that question, you are considering if you should bin the Compressor Fridge and get a 3-way fridge like you are used to instead? Ignoring and put aside the fact that I much prefer Compressor over 3-ways, I think the cost of installing a 3-way fridge would likely be more than the cost of enlarging your battery bank and/or solar to allow you to run your compressor fridge for longer off-grid. Have to tap into the gas, add a manifold and run pipework to the fridge; also need to fit external venting at the back of the fridge. And if you needed to get that done by an installer, it will not be cheap.

No the new fridge being the compressor one .
Never had one always been used to a 3 way .
Just working out if the battery set up needs to be upgraded. It would appear it most definitely does

 

[Robmac]

No the new fridge being the compressor one .
Never had one always been used to a 3 way .
Just working out if the battery set up needs to be upgraded. It would appear it most definitely does

I would agree and would suggest at least double the battery power and solar.

I have a Vitrifrigo 60 litre compressor fridge (probably a rebadged Waeco?) and it is brilliant and in 8 years it has never skipped a beat or needed any kind of maintenance. I could never go back to a 3 way fridge now.

 

[alcam]

I would agree and would suggest at least double the battery power and solar.

I have a Vitrifrigo 60 litre compressor fridge (probably a rebadged Waeco?) and it is brilliant and in 8 years it has never skipped a beat or needed any kind of maintenance. I could never go back to a 3 way fridge now.

Everyone says the same Rob. So it must be true !
Just having to get my head round not having the convenience of different power sources .

 

[Robmac]

Everyone says the same Rob. So it must be true !
Just having to get my head round not having the convenience of different power sources .

I know what you mean, I'm apprehensively in the process of converting my van to all electric and doing away with the gas completely - but I will still carry a camping stove and gas cartridges for emergencies.

 

[molly 2]

I bought,a bluetti 180p and a 200w folding solar panel using fridge on gass and no heating hoping to run most things on electric including including micro wave going to,be a learning curve but don't expect it work in winter

 

[wildebus]

I bought,a bluetti 180p and a 200w folding solar panel using fridge on gass and no heating hoping to run most things on electric including including micro wave going to,be a learning curve but don't expect it work in winter

I think if you have a largish battery installation (nowadays, I would say 400Ah+ Lithium), then you can be Gas-free and off-grid in summer. In wintertime, it is matter of how often/far you move between stops (in terms of alternator charging of leisure batteries) to if camping then is feasible.
I still have a gas hob, grill & oven, but in reality the Combo MW/Grill & Air Fryer has replaced the Gas Oven and the Induction Hob has replaced the Gas Hob.
The Truma Water Heater I can run off Electricity if I want (but still use gas mainly)
Room Heating will always be tricky with battery power though. For anyone going "gas-free", they will end up with a diesel heater for space heating and probably water heating.

If you don't want to move every 1-2 days, it might be you need to stay on-site with hookup?

I know what you mean, I'm apprehensively in the process of converting my van to all electric and doing away with the gas completely - but I will still carry a camping stove and gas cartridges for emergencies.

I carry a gas stove as well, but not used it for ages. It is handy to have as you can take it outside to cook.
Even though I am very electric-centric as per words above, I have no intention of removing the gas even if I did away with the cooker. gas heating of water and room is too convenient as the kit is there, fitted and working.

 

[molly 2]

Mt van is 5.7 m not enough roof space for an adequate solar set and has Sargent 328 system, so not simple lirhum upgrade. The cost of converting would be considerable..

 

[wildebus]

Mt van is 5.7 m not enough roof space for an adequate solar set and has Sargent 328 system, so not simple lirhum upgrade. The cost of converting would be considerable..

Mine is 6.7M but had a massive front dome that stops it being used for anything up top. despite that, I have 450W of Solar as well as 3 roof vents and a satellite System

Monty-Roof by David, on Flickr

I also have a Sargent 328 System, but still have 300Ah of Lithium and 300Ah of Lead.

It's surprising what you can do even with older Motorhomes

 

[trevskoda]

I bought,a bluetti 180p and a 200w folding solar panel using fridge on gass and no heating hoping to run most things on electric including including micro wave going to,be a learning curve but don't expect it work in winter

Panel needs to be on the roof, a small folding one is ok as a backup to point to the sun.

 

[alcam]

I know what you mean, I'm apprehensively in the process of converting my van to all electric and doing away with the gas completely - but I will still carry a camping stove and gas cartridges for emergencies.

As I said simple , short term , solution would be just to double up leisure battery.
Have messaged various companies for estimate on complete new installation. Solar , lithium and all associated equipment.
One back so far , £1800 . From what I've read on here doesn't seem too bad .
Will get under mattress and see what is left !

 

[wildebus]

As I said simple , short term , solution would be just to double up leisure battery.
Have messaged various companies for estimate on complete new installation. Solar , lithium and all associated equipment.
One back so far , £1800 . From what I've read on here doesn't seem too bad .
Will get under mattress and see what is left

All depends what they are offering to if £1800 is a good deal or not. It is a bit like saying "I've been offered a car for £20,000" .... could be a magic deal or a total rip-off.

 

[trevskoda]

I work out 6 to 7 hundred bucks for parts, 2 batts £300 b2b think about £60, solar panels 100w £60 each, bigger solar regulator for liths £150/180, then same for labour, think id talk to wildbus before handing over dosh for god knows what.

 

[wildebus]

I thought I would both take a newer photo of my roof (as noticed the one earlier is missing something) and take a note of the measurements ...

The 'flat space' available on my roof (ignoring any existing fittings) was 3.5M long by 2M wide.
Within that space were two 400x400 roof light vents and a large skylight; also fitted was a vent outlet for the Truma Fire and a Status Aerial.
I added 9 solar panels - 3 x 90W + 6 x 30W - to give 450W of Solar, plus a Snipe Self-seeking Sat Dish (and leaving the TV Aerial in place and functional) and a 5G Avtex WiFi Antenna.

Monty Autotrail Roof by David, on Flickr
My Roof will be wider than a PVC Campervan of course, but probably near enough the same as most coachbuilts or A-Classes. The Roof space available however I bet is not any longer than most vans notably shorter due to the front dome (and most vans with a front 'lump' have them actually flat side to side as well so they could be used to mount panels on, which I can't do with mine). So I think it shows what is actually possible using the right options

Another example of packing in the solar is this Malibu I did ....

Malibu - Front by David, on Flickr
(photo taken before cables fully tidied up).
Left the original 120W Truma Panel in place and added another 600W of semi-flexible EFTE Panels, sizes selected to fit the available spaces, even with that humongous Satellite Dish on the roof.

 

[Nabsim]

Everyone says the same Rob. So it must be true !
Just having to get my head round not having the convenience of different power sources .

I have different power sources for my compressor fridge, B2B for engine charging when moving, Solar if its harvesting, generator if its Winter and not moving and finally if I need to a camp site with EHU.

 

[Nabsim]

Panel needs to be on the roof, a small folding one is ok as a backup to point to the sun.

This time of year it would do better hanging vertically on the side of the van

 

[alcam]

I have different power sources for my compressor fridge, B2B for engine charging when moving, Solar if its harvesting, generator if its Winter and not moving and finally if I need to a camp site with EHU.

All electric of course.
No doubt, in my head , that gas gives more flexibility. All academic now .
Still debating over , short term (cheap) , extra battery or full electrical upgrade

 

[wildebus]

All electric of course.
No doubt, in my head , that gas gives more flexibility. All academic now .
Still debating over , short term (cheap) , extra battery or full electrical upgrade

Yes, two different power sources, but not really more flexible.
Say you run out of Gas or the gas reg fails ... You will have no real alternative but to go to a campsite and use EHU as a 3-way fridge is so power-hungry on electricity, you won't be able to run off batteries OR from solar for any significant period of time unless you did a significant upgrade of both - or you ran the van engine virtually constantly (which is not practical). So where is your true flexibility? Gas or EHU
If you run out of battery power or the battery fails, then ignore the fact the fridge has no power - you won't be off-grid anymore as you will have no lights, no water pump, no nothing. So again here you are Battery (which you need regardless) or EHU.
Same difference really.... If you are out of the primary fridge energy source (Battery OR Gas), you need electricity.

But .... the difference between a 3-way fridge or a Compressor Fridge ... if the gas was out or the battery was low, by starting the engine to use the split charge to get power to the fridge, if you had say a 30A B2B, over half of that power will go to running a 3-Way Fridge, whereas less than a tenth of that power is needed to run a compressor fridge and the rest will go to recharge the leisure battery. Now THAT is flexibility.
To put it another way ....If in my motorhome, the batteries were too low to run the fridge-freezer, I could start the engine and I would have put enough power back in the batteries within 40 minutes for the fridge to then run for another full 24 hours.

Now IF there was a truely efficient dual-fuel Fridge that could use Gas and was as good on electricity consumption as a compressor fridge, that THAT is flexibility. but it doesn't exist.

 

[alcam]

Yes, two different power sources, but not really more flexible.
Say you run out of Gas or the gas reg fails ... You will have no real alternative but to go to a campsite and use EHU as a 3-way fridge is so power-hungry on electricity, you won't be able to run off batteries OR from solar for any significant period of time unless you did a significant upgrade of both - or you ran the van engine virtually constantly (which is not practical). So where is your true flexibility? Gas or EHU
If you run out of battery power or the battery fails, then ignore the fact the fridge has no power - you won't be off-grid anymore as you will have no lights, no water pump, no nothing. So again here you are Battery (which you need regardless) or EHU.
Same difference really.... If you are out of the primary fridge energy source (Battery OR Gas), you need electricity.

But .... the difference between a 3-way fridge or a Compressor Fridge ... if the gas was out or the battery was low, by starting the engine to use the split charge to get power to the fridge, if you had say a 30A B2B, over half of that power will go to running a 3-Way Fridge, whereas less than a tenth of that power is needed to run a compressor fridge and the rest will go to recharge the leisure battery. Now THAT is flexibility.
To put it another way ....If in my motorhome, the batteries were too low to run the fridge-freezer, I could start the engine and I would have put enough power back in the batteries within 40 minutes for the fridge to then run for another full 24 hours.

Now IF there was a truely efficient dual-fuel Fridge that could use Gas and was as good on electricity consumption as a compressor fridge, that THAT is flexibility. but it doesn't exist.

Yea fair enough , heard all the technical arguments which I'm sure are correct.
After 13 years of never having a problem with a 3 way hardly surprising I instinctively sway towards them
Your scenario has never happened to me so a wee bit hypothetical
As I've already said now dealing with the change .

 

[wildebus]

Yea fair enough , heard all the technical arguments which I'm sure are correct.
After 13 years of never having a problem with a 3 way hardly surprising I instinctively sway towards them
Your scenario has never happened to me so a wee bit hypothetical
As I've already said now dealing with the change .

My experience is going the other way .... after a compressor coolbox and 2 compressor fridges in my 3 self-builds, when I bought a "proper" Motorhome, it came with a very nice Thetford 3-Way Fridge/Freezer.
It was nice not using any battery power (the MH had a pair of knackered batteries when I bought it) but not so long afterwards, it wouldn't light reliabily or cool as well as I wanted. Messed around with the burner and the thermocouple and got it working again for a while, but then started playing up again. Had enough and just took it out and fitted a Compressor Fridge.
the BRAND NEW Compressor Fridge-Freezer cost the same as I got for the 14 year-old Thetford 3-way fridge on eBay. With a 3-way fridge, you have burners to clean, flues to clear, vents to close off in winter and open in summer,etc. With a compressor fridge, servicing is plugging it in when you fit it and .... that's it!
I can't recall anyone who switched to a compressor fridge and used it for more than a year and then wished they had a 3-way instead.