Bushman replacement for Dometic 90L 3-way
Submitted: Thursday, Apr 27, 2023 at 16:18
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145583
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2110
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Keir & Marg
Hi everyone,
Just thought you might like a review on replacing the Dometic. After years of struggling to keep food fresh and drinks cold (despite internal and external fan kits), the last straw was in January in
Griffith, NSW on a 39C day. The fridge reached 16C internally!!
We bought a Bushman 12V compressor fridge which fits into the same space and gives us 130L of usable space. The freezer is marginally smaller than the Dometic, but the fridge is enormous; on a recent trip we had 6 bottles of wine plus containers of milk, plus all the usual important stuff like dog food, salad stuff, cold meats, sauces and mayonnaise plus a dozen eggs.
The fridge compressor is almost silent, the door always locks when you shut it, and no more changing from 240V to 12V to gas whenever we stop for lunch for a couple of hours then move on again; no more ensuring the van is exactly level either.
We are just very pleased we finally bit the bullet and forked out the total of $2.1k for the fridge including fitting. The local van man only charged $350 to fit and could get the fridge at a trade price substantially lower than I could, so it wasn't worth my time and effort to do the job myself.
Happy to answer any questions about Dometic removal, and what the job involved.
Keir
Reply By: Member - Mark C - Thursday, Apr 27, 2023 at 21:26
Thursday, Apr 27, 2023 at 21:26
I swapped out my old 3 way after it gave up the ghost.
They just don't work as
well as a compressor fridge.
I was using a 8kg bottle every 8 days in the top end and it had to be rub on the highest setting
I've been using the bushman for 8 mths full time and it's great.
Remember to keep the fridge and freezer sections full at all times for the most efficient operation.
I used water bottles to fill up the empty spaces.
Removed tho old one and fitted the new one by myself. I filled the gaps with expanding foam
AnswerID:
643441
Reply By: Member - Jim S1 - Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 06:43
Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 06:43
So what panels and batteries and controllers are needed as
well as the fridge?
Our 3 way is still working
well for most of our travels, and I just don’t want to make things complicated and dependent on huge supply of
solar power.
Cheers
Jim
| "Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." A fisherman.
"No road is long with good company." TraditionalLifetime Member
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AnswerID:
643444
Follow Up By: Member - McLaren3030 - Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 07:31
Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 07:31
Hi Jim,
What is your definition of “huge”?
I have a 190 Ltr. Compressor fridge, 200 AmpHr LiFePo4 battery capacity with 480 watts of solar capacity.
Macca.
FollowupID:
923073
Follow Up By: cruiser 3 - Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 09:27
Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 09:27
I use 220 ah battery and 720 watts of solar. This has been more than enough during summer but I’m yet to see if it is enough during cloudy winter. My van is permanently parked so no other charging such as from an alternator.
FollowupID:
923077
Follow Up By: Member - Jim S1 - Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 09:48
Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 09:48
Mmmmm . ……. those numbers sound “huge” to me !!! :)
Cheers
Jim
| "Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits." A fisherman.
"No road is long with good company." TraditionalLifetime Member
My Profile My Position Send Message |
FollowupID:
923078
Follow Up By: Keir & Marg - Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 13:53
Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 13:53
Hi Jim,
We replaced our Fullriver 105Ah AGM with an iTechworld 100Ah lithium battery as part of the fridge swap. We only have 100 watts of portable solar panel when
free camping. When I got the van
home from getting the new fridge fitted, I started the Bushman from warm and ran it for 3 days on the #3 setting with not much in the fridge (which is inefficient) and the battery still showed 13.2V after 3 days (yes, I know the lithium SOC vs voltage profile is very flat so who knows how much charge was left?); no solar panel connected. Our normal free-camping profile is to stop for one night and move on so the battery gets charged from the tug. We have a CPAP running for the night (I estimate 40Ah max) so I only anticipate using the solar panels if we stop for two nights or more without power. Everything else is LED so power usage is 5/8th. The system will probably struggle if we don't get 8 hours of good sun, so I might chuck the heavy old solar panels and go for a lightweight 200W solar blanket.
Keir
FollowupID:
923086
Follow Up By: Nomadic Navara - Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 14:02
Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 14:02
Quote "and dependent on huge supply of
solar power."
To me, anything over one 100 Ah battery and one panel is a huge supply. I get away with one battery and an 80 W panel quite
well.
FollowupID:
923087
Reply By: Briste - Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 08:16
Friday, Apr 28, 2023 at 08:16
I've got the Bushman 130L in my KK. I wouldn't call it "huge", but you can fit a surprising amount in it. Seems like a good unit, but having it at floor level is a pain at times.
Some owners of Bushman fridges find that the temp varies a fair bit across the interior and that icing up of the freezer can be an issue. There is a FB Bushman Fridge Hacks group that discusses variations of a mod whereby a PC fan is installed inside to better circulate the air to solve these issues. The fridge also seems to be able to be run on a lower setting, suggesting that it makes the fridge more efficient. I am still considering whether to do this mod.
The biggest problem I have found so far is that if I arrive at
camp on a warm afternoon, it's hard not to have the door open for a while in the course of preparing dinner, and the fridge temp climbs a lot and takes a while to come down. You also want to be careful how you pack it. As per the instructions, you don't want anything that might ice up too close to the freezer unit.
AnswerID:
643445
Follow Up By: Member - Andrew W14 - Saturday, May 06, 2023 at 23:19
Saturday, May 06, 2023 at 23:19
I have the Bushmans 190 l in my van. I had some issues getting uneven temps top to bottom. I fitted a bearingless (Try Maglev from Jaycar) fan up against the condenser plates. Held with wire ties to shelf, wired with speaker wire down through drain to power supply. Not only solved temp variation it now uses less power, lower setting and best of all it is silent. Has been running now 24X7 for 3.5 yrs.
A brilliant fridge made even better. Only wish I could get freezer to -18.
FollowupID:
923138
Reply By: Member - DOZER - Saturday, Apr 29, 2023 at 08:04
Saturday, Apr 29, 2023 at 08:04
Some years ago i bought an engel 90 for my van, it only stayed there for 1 trip, as my wife is a light sleeper, and the cycling drove her (me) nuts. Im glad to hear the bushman is silent.
AnswerID:
643457