❄️Compressor Fridges ❄️

[wildebus]

I don’t notice my 12V one at night despite sleeping next to it. Not sure why someone would choose a 230V one but I am sure someone will enlighten me.

The reason is very easy if you just look at the prices of a 12V unit and a 240V unit.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

not sure why you think a 240V fridge has to be noisy?

My 12V Waeco was silent but because of how it was mounted in a cupboard that was attached to the bed, I used to feel the compressor kick in. slight vibration.
My first 240V Fridge was a 97L one and was totally silent. I couldn't tell if it was running or not as regards sound. This was one of the 'inventor' fridges sold on Amazon and I know a lot of people have bought the same unit after I posted about it and I don't think anyone has been disappointed.
My current 240V Fridge/Freezer is an LEC 160L unit and again is totally silent.

If anyone is interested I have one of the Inventor fridges for sale. Bought as a spare in case the one in the Camper failed (it was my first try at using a mains fridge so was cautious). Needles to say, it never went wrong therefore I never used the spare and so it is in effect Brand New and still in the packaging.

The original price was £170. Looking for just half that at £85. This is the model here - https://amzn.to/44c8Noz

Mainly because that is all I've ever had at home and every one has been noisy.

 

[wildebus]

My three way fridge is 23 years old, it has had a new 240v element and thermocouple fitted, obviously new jets but it has been running in this heatwave for the last week at 4-5c, the top vent is in the full sun from 2pm but I did fit 3 fans on the top vent quite a few years ago, I have had to use it for a few weeks because of a problem with one of the fridges in the house (we need two because my MIL needs totally different food stuff than we do)

Something that might be of interest ....
The extra power that an Absorption fridge uses on Electric compared to a Compressor fridge is at a level that means if you WERE to use the 3-way all year round on electric, it would actually be cheaper to buy a brand new Compressor Fridge every year and throw it away -and I am talking about standard domestic tariffs as well.
The Compressor Fridges are SEVEN times more efficient. the typical 3-Way uses around 3kWh a day. That adds up to an expensive fridge to run!

The freezer compartment is at -14 so ice cubes/ice cream is readily available, I might fit a compressor fridge when we start using the van again but I have never had a problem with mine

 

[wildebus]

Mainly because that is all I've ever had at home and every one has been noisy.

Our old 240V in the house was ok. Replaced with a new one a couple of years ago and THAT one can be VERY annoying. Did find relatively recently (last 6 months or so?) the noise was related to the temp setting and by turning the dial down just slightly (lower number so not running quite as cold) the noise has pretty well gone! out of interest, try doing that on your house fridge and see if it makes a difference?

Just typing this and I realised I can't remember the last time I noticed the fridge making a noise and it was seriously annoying until I moved the dial.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

We do tend to buy from the cheaper end in white goods.

 

[wildebus]

The 240V Fridge Freezer for the Motorhomer was maybe mid-range in price possibly at £280? It was the LEC T5039 model. There wasn't a massive amount of choice for the physical size I needed to fill in the hole left by the old 3-Way Thetford unit.

Now a couple of key points ...
1) The Thetford 12V Compressor Replacement would have cost approximately £1,150, so rather a jump compared to the 240V option I went for.
2) I sold the Thetford 3-Way for the same price as I paid for the new fridge give or take a tenner, so it didn't really cost me anything to swap over.


Also, and here it depends on the individual vans .... All I needed to have the new fridge working in the van was to plug it into the socket used for the old fridge. Yes, I had a Multiplus so I have inverter power 'on tap', but if I got a 12V fridge I would have had to run new dedicated cabling to it as the original 12V cabling was from the Starter Battery, not the Leisure Battery.

 

[Tezza33]

Something that might be of interest ....
The extra power that an Absorption fridge uses on Electric compared to a Compressor fridge is at a level that means if you WERE to use the 3-way all year round on electric, it would actually be cheaper to buy a brand new Compressor Fridge every year and throw it away -and I am talking about standard domestic tariffs as well.
The Compressor Fridges are SEVEN times more efficient. the typical 3-Way uses around 3kWh a day. That adds up to an expensive fridge to run!

Good point but I know it uses a lot more on 240v than a compressor fridge David, I watch my smart meter since I had to put it on,
It is all a personal choice, if I am in Europe for the winter I get some solar power but if I don't get free electric my fridge is perfect on gas.
So do I spend on more solar panels, lithium batteries and a compressor fridge, I might if my fridge packs up but no sign of that happening yet

 

[wildebus]

Good point but I know it uses a lot more on 240v than a compressor fridge David, I watch my smart meter since I had to put it on,
It is all a personal choice, if I am in Europe for the winter I get some solar power but if I don't get free electric my fridge is perfect on gas.
So do I spend on more solar panels, lithium batteries and a compressor fridge, I might if my fridge packs up but no sign of that happening yet

I didn't have specific plans to replace my 3-way in my current motorhome, but it started playing up a bit and wouldn't always restart on the gas. I got fed up messing with the burner (low patience threshold when it comes to things that are meant to work!) so I decided to just get shot and switch to something I knew would be 'fit and forget'.
Will have been in for 4 years next month and not had to do anything to it other than use it other than plug it in back in July 2021.

 

[mistericeman]

I didn't have specific plans to replace my 3-way in my current motorhome, but it started playing up a bit and wouldn't always restart on the gas. I got fed up messing with the burner (low patience threshold when it comes to things that are meant to work!) so I decided to just get shot and switch to something I knew would be 'fit and forget'.
Will have been in for 4 years next month and not had to do anything to it other than use it other than plug it in back in July 2021.

Exactly the same here.....

2021 was the end of moody fridges for us,.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Out of curiosity, what would you need minimum to run a 230v compressor fridge freezer?

 

[trevskoda]

Out of curiosity, what would you need minimum to run a 230v compressor fridge freezer?

Add up the wattage and double it for inverter, my tabletop burns a qtr amp but would say maybe one on startup, so in practice a 300w inverter should be ok, however i run a soft start 600w unit which is quite small, it also powers a plug in 400w heater in winter days before the van heater kicks in.

 

[bjh]

Bit late to the party on this one. After reading Wildebus on about 240v fridges I bought a 93l Cookology fridge. It has been brilliant. Better than the one at home. On initial start up it takes about 500watts for a very short time, but when running it only takes 45 to max 55 watts and is not on very long. It cools down much, much quicker than a 3 way fridge. At present outside temp is about 28/29 (car says 34!) and the fridge is holding at 4degC. The ice box keeps frozen stuff frozen, but not sure if it would be good enough to freeze unfrozen stuff? The door is tight and stays shut when driving. For our recent trip round Ireland and hearing about the state of some of the roads, I did make a very simple catch. (Pic attached). When running it is very quiet indeed. The only thing to be heard is the occassional clunk when it switches off. All in all a much better solution than the 3 ways we have had in the past and of course much cheaper to run. Thanks to Wildebus for his previous advice.

 

[barryd]

It sounds pretty convincing the argument for compressor fridges. I get it but those of you that have made the change are you pretty much chucking out working three ways absorption fridges? I suppose they have a second hand value. Ours in our new to us Swift looks like its hardly been used and is of course (currently) in perfect working order. Perhaps sometime down the line I might change it and complete a full transformation to lithium and more solar (look out Merl) but it seems daft to at the moment and whatever we get would have to be a like for like size and fit perfectly. Its pretty big.

 

[Robmac]

It sounds pretty convincing the argument for compressor fridges. I get it but those of you that have made the change are you pretty much chucking out working three ways absorption fridges? I suppose they have a second hand value. Ours in our new to us Swift looks like its hardly been used and is of course (currently) in perfect working order. Perhaps sometime down the line I might change it and complete a full transformation to lithium and more solar (look out Merl) but it seems daft to at the moment and whatever we get would have to be a like for like size and fit perfectly. Its pretty big.

I think you're right to do so Barry - if it ain't broke don't fix it. But in years to come when it's had it's day definitely go for the compressor and do the conversion to massive solar and Lithium like my 'Sizewell D'

 

[mark61]

If its working for your needs why bother changing.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

It sounds pretty convincing the argument for compressor fridges. I get it but those of you that have made the change are you pretty much chucking out working three ways absorption fridges? I suppose they have a second hand value. Ours in our new to us Swift looks like its hardly been used and is of course (currently) in perfect working order. Perhaps sometime down the line I might change it and complete a full transformation to lithium and more solar (look out Merl) but it seems daft to at the moment and whatever we get would have to be a like for like size and fit perfectly. Its pretty big.

Ah, I see, angling for another long, interminable thread on swapping a fridge now.

 

[barryd]

I think you're right to do so Barry - if it ain't broke don't fix it. But in years to come when it's had it's day definitely go for the compressor and do the conversion to massive solar and Lithium like my 'Sizewell D'

Yeah I think so. I wouldn't care if it wasn't for the puny Gaslow we have to have although to be fair so far this trip its doing alright as I've been on hookup for a week!

 

[exwindsurfer]

When I build my van nearly 13 years ago I had the good sense to put a compressor fridge in and it ran ever since no probs at all .

 

[exwindsurfer]

The orkney trip we where away nearly 2 weeks no hook up and the worse my batteries got down to was 72 % and that's running a 110ltr compressor fridge freezer + a 35ltr freezer at -16 and not a Lot of sun lolol

 

[Chasn]

I have just ordered an Alpicool compressor fridge (90L for £216) to replace my existing 3 way fridge. As we mainly wild camp I had already upgraded to 600Ah lithium and ran the 3 way on an inverter. The problem with that setup was that the fridge consumed 15A when running and the inverter used 1A even when the fridge was at temperature. Given that the running time was at least wide that of a compressor fridge you can see the motivation to change. The Alpicool runs on 12v at 80W (7A). If you wish to run it on 230v it comes with a stepdown power lead but that is pointless in a campervan. 230v only compressor fridges are OK but the inverter continuously uses power and needlessly adds an extra component that can fail.