power usage of Compressor vs Absortion fridge

Fisherman said:
So you would have to move Trev, and possibly a fair distance.
We normally spend two nights out in winter in one location.
I bow to your vastly superior knowledge Trev.
I take it you use an inverter also Trev.
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A smart one for fridge,it starts when fridge wants juice,600w soft start.
I would have liked a 12v fridge but to expensive,cheapest i seen was £265 .
 
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2cv said:
As Fisherman says, it’s up to personal preference with neither being better for everyone. I have no room for more batteries or solar so really would struggle with a compressor fridge, particularly in Winter. Having had a compressor fridge on a boat (lots of batteries) I also prefer a 3 way in my van because of the noise issue. I look for quiet spots and they would be ruined by the noise of a compressor running.
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My compressor fridge is silent and total sealed unit,aa grade,think there £75/£100 new in shops though prices on ebay seem to have gone up but lots of used one.
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Fisherman said:
I have two compressor fridges and a freezer in my home, and I can hear them kicking in when the tv is off. What it would be like in a 6m van I dread to think. But possibly fridges designed for campers may be quieter I don’t know.
Also we were out in our last van two winters ago, and we are snowed in for three days, unable to move.
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Must be old fridges,there silent these days.
 
2cv said:
As has been said, it depends on your set up and how you use your van. Out and about I move most days, but 5 days at a meet in mid winter would be impossible for me with a compressor fridge. 110ah battery, 100w solar.
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For a start you want more batteries,any way im told you have lots of money so splash out for once. (y)
 
This is the inverter i did the bench tests with,24hrs on two 90ah batteries no bother ,its also very small as you can see beside my hand.
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trev, what are the numbers meaning?
soft start 600W, then 1500W
1500W is peak power, and normal continuous is 600W I am assuming?
 
wildebus said:
trev, what are the numbers meaning?
soft start 600W, then 1500W
1500W is peak power, and normal continuous is 600W I am assuming?
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Correct and it works 100%, think it was cheap to 35/45 comes to mind but i dont see any on ebay at moment,i did my tests along with you at the time,your posts were very helpful.
It sits in a sleep mode until the fridge wants power and then it lights up along with the fan.
 
I have just fitted an inverter and plan to run our three way Thetford fridge freezer on 240 V AC when the sun shines to save gas. Running on the inverter it draws approx 20 Amps DC which is about 2 Amps AC. I'm guessing that on its lowest setting it runs for about 12 minutes in every hour, but that's dependent on OAT and how long Mrs S has the door open for :mad:!

I'll be testing it next week in the field (literally) and hopefully have more accurate timing etc.
 
2cv said:
Without a compressor fridge being able to do 5 nights in the depths of a freezing winter without moving is all I need.
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Ah so its you staying to long and getting us a bad name,naughty boy do 100 lines,i must not wild camp for more than one night. 😂(y)
 
Horses for courses same as everything else to do with vans/mohos. I haven’t had a 3 way fridge since the late 90’s so can’t say I have experience of newer stuff. I can compare to the much more expensive 3way that was fitted to Charlie’s 2017 Hymer though as we spent a lot of time together.
The 3 way couldn’t store ice cream in the freezer compartment any time of year and couldn’t keep milk long in the fridge in summer, that was in th U.K. we mistakenly turned up the dial on my 110 litre Waeco and it turned the whole fridge into a freezer, milk was solid.
Charlie’s 3 way to me was noisier but saying that it was noisy it the vent rather than inside.
Power wise I used a lot more power, Charlie had I think 220ah agm and I had 270ah Powerframe lead acid, when no sun and not moving I needed to charge every 2 days, not having a genny resulted in me killing the Powerframe battery’s in around 12 months capacity wise.
If my motorhome had come with a 3 way I would probably get used to any drawbacks and be happy. I am however happy enough with the compressor fridge to invest a chunk of cash in having enough power for my needs. If I only used the van for odd holidays and weekends away then I wouldn’t have spent. I know quite a few folks who manage fine full time without a fridge at all 👍
 
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