3-way fridge modification

[howsono]

Not truly a motorhome question but same technology so I figure this is the best place

Anyone “extended” an old 3-way fridge?

I’ve got a mobile coffee car. We sell coffee. Coffee needs milk. At the moment I have a steel lined cupboard and chuck a bag of ice in it. I was wondering about refitting this over the winter with the gubbins from an old 3-way. I already have propane for the coffee machine. Could cool on mains at home in advance, 12v on way to site then gas when running. Can’t really carry enough battery to run on 12v all day. A standard 3-way isn’t really big enough would like to get 10x 4-pints of milk in and preferably squirty cream and maybe chocolate bars as well.

What do we think? Feasible?

 

[n brown]

thought about this years ago , wanting to make a fridge to fit a narrow tall gap . never did it . but never saw any reason not to . why not make a mock-up with 5omm insuation?

 

[Fazerloz]

When you say going to site is this a regular pitch. We had a mobile coffee unit for nearly 15 years working markets, car boots and shows until retiring. A Fracino in a Suzuki Carry Van.

 

[Robmac]

I know it's not what you asked but personally I would buy a small domestic fridge and an Ecoflow powerbank or similar which will easily run it all day.

 

[guerdeval]

I know it's not what you asked but personally I would buy a small domestic fridge and an Ecoflow powerbank or similar which will easily run it all day.

Or even a big ‘mobicool’ freezer box which runs on mains and 12 volt and freezes on mains, funnily enough I have one for sale on the other sale forum and it’s bloody huge.

 

[guerdeval]

Or even a big ‘mobicool’ freezer box which runs on mains and 12 volt and freezes on mains, funnily enough I have one for sale on the other sale forum and it’s bloody huge.

It’s all cleaned out except for a dead cat ,or does it ?

 

[mariesnowgoose]

Guessing the size of your steel cupboard dictates what size fridge/coolant unit out there "off-the-shelf" would fit without costing a fortune... and without having to puzzle out re-jigging the workings of a 3-way fridge?

Robmac's suggestion of a powerbank sounds pretty sensible, as does guerdaval's cool box. As for where to put the power bank, there are small enough powerbanks (physical size, that is) now available that are powerful enough to do what you need for under £500?

 

[merl]

I cant see any reason why it cant be done relatively easily especially if all you needed to do was increase the depth, to keep things simple you'd have to retain the door and it's frame so increasing the width would be more complicated/clumsy/Heath Robinson. Whatever you used to form the new sides would have to be lined with smooth plastic for hygiene reasons and so it could be wiped down. I dont think you'd want to increase the overall internal size by more than say 20% otherwise the existing cooling plate wouldn't be up to the job. Ultimately a larger conventional fridge and a power bank would be neater but more expensive. A cheaper option to the power bank would be a separate lifepo4 battery (less than £200 including a charger) an inverter (£80-120) with the charger left at home and the inverter built into the van, all you need to do is then move the battery back and forth to charge it, you could always fit the mains charger in the van too and run an extension lead to the van for charging.

 

[1 Cup]

4 or 8 computer fans and ally heat sink. That's all a cool box is
, you mite not need the heat sink as the box is metal

 

[merl]

4 or 8 computer fans and ally heat sink. That's all a cool box is
, you mite not need the heat sink as the box is metal

Don't think so Jeff, can't see how you can get below ambient that way mate

 

[Bigshug]

I can remember a few years ago, on the self build forum, that a member built a fridge by using a refrigeration unit in a well insulated cabinet

 

[mistericeman]

Don't think so Jeff, can't see how you can get below ambient that way mate

He's probably thinking of a peltier unit ...

Bit more than a ally heat sink and fans (but not much)

Deff not power efficient though .

 

[r4dent]

10 x 4pts is about 25 litres,

Most domestic under the counter fridges are .100 + litre

A typical under the counter 230v fridge will use under 1 kwh per 24 hours with a max draw of under 2 amps.

A Jackery 1000 will store 1 kw and delivery 230v / 2 amps without any problem
(other power stations are available).

So charge the power station and chill the fridge overnight at home; drive to site ; plug fridge into power station and run for 8 hours ; drive home with 60%+ charge remaining in power station.

No need for gas or 12v.

 

[1 Cup]

Try this maybe ?...

or use discount?

but don't use M5 Exeter north bound. Tonight.

 

[Fazerloz]

He says he is running a coffee car so he more than likely will not have the space for fridges, cool boxes or extra batteries or power packs . His space will be at a absolute premium.

 

[mariesnowgoose]

He says he is running a coffee car so he more than likely will not have the space for fridges, cool boxes or extra batteries or power packs . His space will be at a absolute premium.

A power pack could be placed outside the vehicle once on site?

Just trying to think of the simplest way to skin a rabbit…

 

[howsono]

none of my quotes worked.

The sites vary and realistically I need to be able to run for ~48 hours with the potential to cool *without* being plugged in first. Today I even forgot to fill up with water and dont always have time/space to recharge the 12v. It’s got a decent 12v leisure battery and a 2kw (I think) inverter already but the 12v just runs the pumps on the coffee machine so lasts ages. Hence the desire for propane which I already carry with me.

The space is critical - not just the actual literage but the access is through the back right door of the car - and even then not got full width as the coffee machine pushes back a bit. Alternative is I could work on my trailer and fit something to that - which has more flexibility but then I’d really want it to take the cans as well (6x24 can slabs) and again would need to run on propane…

Also - cost is an issue. £500 is a *lot* of coffees to sell and the setup still owes me a lot of initial outlay so can’t go making huge payments until I’ve got that under control.

 

[howsono]

A power pack could be placed outside the vehicle once on site?

Just trying to think of the simplest way to skin a rabbit…

It’s got to be inside the vehicle when travelling though. Space is a significant premium in this thing!

 

[mariesnowgoose]

It’s got to be inside the vehicle when travelling though. Space is a significant premium in this thing!

Obviously space is at a premium, but as I’ve not seen this vehicle, or how it’s actually fitted out, how can I know exactly what specific space is or isn’t available (outside of the mention of the metal box you want to convert to a fridge for milk)?

https://store.dji.com/uk/product/dji-power-500?vid=156171

… and I didn’t see your post #17 before I posted this

 

[howsono]

Obviously space is at a premium, but as I’ve not seen this vehicle, or how it’s actually fitted out, how can I know exactly what specific space is or isn’t available (outside of the mention of the metal box you want to convert to a fridge for milk)?

https://store.dji.com/uk/product/dji-power-500?vid=156171

… and I didn’t see your post #17 before I posted this

It’s not too big but has all the above problems of charging, longevity, what to power and more importantly cost.