Fulltiming fridge options

[Coolasluck]

I am looking at my refrigeration options for my coach and need to have a bigger fridge than the one that i currently have for a start.
I am considering sticking with an electric fridge freezer and am wondering what peoples thoughts are on the subject.In my hymer i find that sometimes the fridge is colder than at other times with the absorption fridge.The more modern electric only fridges run on about 45 watts with a 12/24 volt setup.
My thinking is to dedicate a battery for this purpose,possibly a 110amp battery with a solar panel topping up its power.Would this solo battery be enough for power purposes?Should the battery be best independantly ran or be amongst a series of battery banks?
Just wanted to know what the more informed think?

 

[al n sal]

i have a 12v compressor, it is supposed to run at about 1amp per hour, It is I think 96ltr jobbie, not massive but almost same size as an under counter jobbie domestic. I have run this on one battery 110amp and a 80 amph solar and it ran without probs for abut a week, forgot and left it on, but the fridge cost about £400.00.
if only fridge running off battery, I would of guessed that it would be ok certainly in summer but dont know about winter
hope this helps, give some kind of idea

al

 

[Coolasluck]

i have a 12v compressor, it is supposed to run at about 1amp per hour, It is I think 96ltr jobbie, not massive but almost same size as an under counter jobbie domestic. I have run this on one battery 110amp and a 80 amph solar and it ran without probs for abut a week, forgot and left it on, but the fridge cost about £400.00.
if only fridge running off battery, I would of guessed that it would be ok certainly in summer but dont know about winter
hope this helps, give some kind of idea

al

Thanks for your reply al and sal.
We would need to have about a 100 litre fridge as you guys have.I currently have 1 120 watt solar panel which i could dedicate to the fridge and its battery,although i also plan to get another 2 or 3 batteries also for the rest of the electrics lol.
Do you need to fit a grill into the side of your vehicle or is that just for the gas ones?

 

[al n sal]

Thanks for your reply al and sal.
We would need to have about a 100 litre fridge as you guys have.I currently have 1 120 watt solar panel which i could dedicate to the fridge and its battery,although i also plan to get another 2 or 3 batteries also for the rest of the electrics lol.
Do you need to fit a grill into the side of your vehicle or is that just for the gas ones?

I am undecided on that one, they say you don't need a vent. but I have heard a lot of people say that since fitting one the fridge isn't switching on as much. ours does switch on and off as it should but to be honest i don't know if it is too much or not?????

I now run on two 110amp batteries and the 80 watt solar, this powers, lights, fridge, tv, fan for ebby. oh and the cab radio. we seldon use ehu, even though we do use sites, don't seem to need too.

hopefully someone else may have more experience, i am considering adding a vent, but only considering

al

 

[Firefox]

Probably solar panels produce about 1/3 of their rating for 8 hours a day in British conditions.

If you have 300 W of solar panels and 3 x 110A batteries you'll be able to store 100w x 8hours = 800 wh. That's enough to keep a 50w fridge running for 16 hours a day which is fair enough given a fridge is not working all the time, only when the thermostat kicks in.

I reckon 1 battery and 1 solar panel will not be enough and 2 will be pushing it. I've got an 80 Litre 3 way gas fridge and am very happy with it. It's economical provided you fill your own gas bottles.

 

[Coolasluck]

Yes i should also of mentioned that i dont use sites either.
Out of intrest is their anyone or place whom can be reccomended to fit a 3 way fridge if i went down that route?

 

[oldtech]

I am looking at my refrigeration options for my coach and need to have a bigger fridge than the one that i currently have for a start.
I am considering sticking with an electric fridge freezer and am wondering what peoples thoughts are on the subject.In my hymer i find that sometimes the fridge is colder than at other times with the absorption fridge.The more modern electric only fridges run on about 45 watts with a 12/24 volt setup.
My thinking is to dedicate a battery for this purpose,possibly a 110amp battery with a solar panel topping up its power.Would this solo battery be enough for power purposes?Should the battery be best independantly ran or be amongst a series of battery banks?
Just wanted to know what the more informed think?

Hi Coolasluck

this has been a regular topic on here for some time.
I started a thread called
[h=3]Most efficient fridge on the planet !![/h]
and various people have added their valuable experiences , in particular VWalan and Ivecotrucker.

It is a complex subject !
So many factors to consider ... eg how long do you think you will be "off-grid" ? , how much leisure battery
capacity do you have ? ..... how many solar panels do you have and how many hours of sunshine where you are ?
how much driving do you do between stops ( assuming your auxilliary batteries get charged from your alternator )
and perhaps the most important factor .... what is the ambient temperature where you are ?
Fridges running off gas become VERY inefficient in hot countries !

I think there is a new thread just posted today ,about about an Electrolux (gas) fridge which keeps defrosting .

Good luck

Oldtech

 

[Coolasluck]

thanks old tech wouldnt mind knowing where the links are lol
Yes going to go and have a chat with my old mate alan on 365 i think,he has been absent today,probably out enjoying himself somewhere hee hee

Sorry i should have clicked on your link oops!!

 

[vwalan]

i put my 240v compressor fridge where i had a 3way fridge before .for a while i left the vents . i later boarded the vents over inside the trailer . dont find ant problem with heat etc . but did think blocking the vents might stop the gas from the gas tanker putting me to sleep. ha ha .

 

[al n sal]

If I remember rightly the destructions for my compressor said that you should have a 10-15mm gap around the front of the fridge to allow airflow to dissipate the heat from the back. i didn't but I do have good airflow around the back of the fridge, although this does mean when it switches on there is a slight humming sound, sounds like a car pulling up in the distance, a bit distracting in the sticks when its pitch black and you can see nothing, but hear something:scared: (mad axe men etc coming to kills us in our beds) until you realise its the fridge. DOH!:lol-049: hence the reason I am contemplating fitting a closeable vent to outside to stop the humming.

al

 

[vwalan]

yes you just leave a gap around the fridge .like you do at home . cant tell if there is any heat .dont notice any .yes you do hear it click in and out .thats why i know it works about 20min in every hour on average .but its not annoying . i decided better to have a gap around it than have the vents open to the outside.
fortunately my trailer doesnt suffer with over heating even in the sahara . never needed air conditioning the high small windows create a chimney effect and soon get rid of any heat. built specially for that reason. but 240 v fridge definately suits my trips etc . makes lovely icecream and ice lollies when in the desert.

 

[al n sal]

does anyone know how 230v fridges compare to 12v compressors, assuming they are both new. wondering if the 12v is more susceptible to heat etc.

as alan says his 230v works a treat, but was wondering if a 12v would work just as good in the same hot conditions or not......anyone know. or have you tried a 12v alan

 

[vwalan]

i have 240v ./i worked out years ago for the cost of a 12v fridge i could buy 3 80wt panels and the inverter in morocco. already had the batteries .
i had an acount with ring automotive so bought tree 2kw inverters sold two to friends . at the time they were 117quid a piece .
a friend was chucking out her fridge so i thought i could try it for a while 7 years later it packed up. it was about 30 yr old .
these days fridges use alot less power .
i found in winter sometimes in darkest portugal the inverter screamed in the night .low batteries .i added another three panels a couplke of years ago now no probs .
last winter fron nov to end of feb i couldnt run the fridge in the house from the inverter . i was in uk .but since then only once as it stopped working . that was with a fullsize freezer in the house working and me vacuming the traler lockers etc with a karcher 1000wat vacum . my fault .
i also use a 240v washing machine when away .in fact just got given one of those plastic twintubs for this year .
cant beat solar .

 

[al n sal]

Good set up you have alan, but does anyone have or know of any comparison tests between 230v and 12v fridges.......
as you say a 230v fridge would be a fraction of the 400 quid I paid for my compressor, but i was worried about powering 230v off 2 x 110amp batteries and a 80watt solar as i spend all my spare time traveling at home here in the sunny uk. from what i've read on other forums compressors can work harder if heat acumilates behind the fridge, but mine seems to work fine so don't know how accurate this is.

 

[vwalan]

i used the 3 80wat panels and 600amp of batteries .here in summer no probs .normally end of sept till april i think it will struggle .as i say in portugal it had let me down sometimes . but now with the 6 panels not wintering here in uk have more than i need really .but as panels are so cheap new now i added the other 3. the first panels i bought were sec hand in maroc 120 quid apiece .now new ones here are less .the last ones i bought were bp panels from india . but bought here in cornwall . off ebay.

 

[vwalan]

david . loads of room bed over garage .takes 3 monkey bikes .big shower and toilet .full size sink full size cooker work area . then up the swan neck fridge on left .drawers on right then two 6 ft seats day beds .
heres a couple after and a couple before.careful planning the front seats and table make a huge bed that can sleep 4 if needed .
loadss of space and easy to live in .its 20ft by 7ft 6ins and 6ft10ins on the lower level for height.
these were taken on its first trip 3 way fridge now replaced with 240v .plus book cases etc added now to make it more lived in .

 

[vwalan]

yes i bought 72 readers digest condensed books for 2quid at the dump .makes a nice book case . plus always carry loads of paper back books .try 6 months away in some countries . i,m sure you have . its good to do swapping as well. also carry lots of autodata books or glasses books for truck maintanance . tools like a garage . cant be with out if in out of the way places . weld springs or what ever never know what emergancy .
puncture gear. tubes and repair patches for tyres.its possible running through the sand you can get 12-13 punctures a day . small desert thorns grow just under the surface. green slime in the tyres helps sometimes .

 

[vwalan]

here you are david .bit covered up with birthday cards .it was jan my partner at the time birthday. another bookcase about the same on other side . heehee .i dont fib.