Chescold wiring

Gidday,I have a Chescold RC1180 fridge and am very happy with it.On a trip across the Simpson everything worked very well even on 12v also.Back to the wiring you can connect the wiring either way pos or neg as the system is different to compressor type fridges.This is stated in your manual if you have one.
Seeya Locallaw

Gidday,What model Chescold do you have.
Seeya Locallaw

yep sure does sucks like a Zyrtec, i have rewired a 12v lead direct from the chescold and leave it plugged in when we are driving, it kills the battery in about 5 hrs as its a resistive load to create the heat to move the refrigeratn around or the eutectic fluid, (WHERE IS NUDENUT WHEN U NEED HIM???)

Bonz, chescold 40lt draws 10amp continuous on 12vdc .

yer I just monitored with the Jaycar unit till it beeped and turned the fridge off

unless i forgot and then I just recharged it next day driving, next time I wil bring the bloody gas lead

I do not know what the model is, the chescold came with the old Jayco I just bought. (hence no manual) It is about 40ltrs capacity small chest type. Work s very well.

I am not sure of the positive benefits of the fan

The unit works by using heat to drive the heat exchange process, and additional air moving around would detract from the process. I know it gets warm above the element, but that is part of the process. I have built a rack that sits around the fridge in the car allowing air to move around it and it doubles as a fridge table in camp, I would be mucking with the airflow.

>I am not sure of the positive benefits of the fan

Well worthwhile. I've had a Finch fridge (same 3 way type as Chescold) for about three years and found it to be pretty much useless when travelling, ie. maybe working at 30% efficiency - I recently fitted a 12V computer PSU fan and I've only done one trip since but would guess the efficiency has improved to, maybe, 75%?.

I'm also going to fit a socket and diode to the fan so that when the fridge is on gas on hot days (35+) I can plug a battery in to run the fan and give the gas a helping hand.

Mike Harding

Mike, Check that your wiring to the fridge is sufficiently heavy. I also have a Finch and it works very well from the socket in the back of the Prado. (Frozen beer after one day from William Creek to Roxby Downs) I think running the air con on hot days is a far better aid to it than a computer fan. I always use the fresh air setting so that there is a flow through past the fridge. I know many people say they don't work well on 12 volts, including the previous owners of my fridge, but my experience has been the opposite and I put it down to the power supply being up to the task and the air con.

Thanks for the nudge Mick. I checked the wiring today and noticed (although I've always known it's been there - just ignored it! :) some bright spark had used about 2 feet of table lamp flex for the final 12V connection to the fridge (I bought it secondhand). This flex was dropping about 0V5 - which is quite a lot on a 12V system. I replaced it and now have a 0V8 drop from the battery terminals to the heater connection on the fridge - which I can live with. With the engine running that gives me around 13V at the fridge. I also took the opportunity to put a socket and diode on the fan I fitted previously so I can now run the fan when the fridge is on gas - as the fan only draws 150mA it could easily run for a couple of days from the vehicle battery without problems. I shall be interested to see how much the fan improves performance when the fridge is on gas on hot days. It has certainly helped under 12V conditions when the fridge is at the rear of my vehicle with (I suspect) very poor airflow.

I always thought the reason absorption fridges didn't work well on 12V ie. when they are in a moving vehicle, was because they must be kept level for efficient operation and on most 4WD expeditions they are anything but level - is that correct?

Mike Harding

mike_harding@fastmail.fm

wheres the right spot?

Bonz, mount fan to DRAW hot air away from condenser tubes, far as possible away from flame tube, works for me and lots of others, somtimes so called experts let theory get inthe way of actual systems that work,,next thing someone will say is why chescold dont incorperate same into production ? because it means using both gas and a tiny amount of 12vdc at the same time ,means people would have to think more to use their now 6way,, 12v only, 12v+fan , 240only ,240+fan , gas only, gas+fan.

Unertaker you don't need the hassle of fitting a 12 volt fan under any circumstances if the fridge is correctly set up. Proper ventilation, a good 12 volt power supply when travelling and a good gas plame is all you need. I've used mine in many and varied conditions, including FNQ in summer and have never had any problems. Just get the basics right and you don't need "bandaids"

Mick ,its no hassle to fit a fan , set up the fan converts a FRIDGE to the performance of a FREEZER , there are lots of misconceptions about 3ways ,check the archives, one fool even thinks that the themostat works on gas,no no no ,only works on 240v.

The 3 way fridges are great and Id never buy and Engel Waeco or any other compressor fridge for that matter. Why invest in all the other equipment needed to run them. Put a fan under the fins to conduct the heat away ( the twelve volt shop in Perth sells a u beaut setup a mug can do) get your car correctly wired from the battery for 12v operation. A cigarette lighter socket is not designed to run any appliance like a fridge. Keep the heat conducting pipes at the back free of dust. Keep it level when on gas and 240v. An old sleeping bag makes an excellent cover and assists insulation of the box. Finally people only whinge about these fridges because they simply dont know how to use them properly. Like anything if you dont set it up right how on earth do you expect it to work.

Tuco,

Thanks mate, sounds like you know what you are talking about. I have a mate camped with me at the moment from the bush. He is a bit handy with wiring (electrician) I will get him to have a look at it. I tried wiring up a bloody wireless to my car as a young buck (a hundred years ago) and nearly burned the lot to the ground so I swore off wiring vehicles then.

Thanks heaps.

It seems the thing does nothing on 12v but the wiring might be the problem from what you say. In reality I plug the Barsard in to 240V the night before I leave home to get him cold and then run gas on site. I was just wanting to keep a chill on things. Reports indicate anything from -5 on 12v to nothing?

How long does this thing stay cold before needing a charge. A few have suggested 4-5 hours in neutral, any more stop for a counter lunch and fire up the gas. The problem is the bloody fridge is in the camper and to fire up the gas it has to come out.

Daryl

Daryl

What you are presently doing - cooling overnight on 240 V then running gas at your campsite is fine - as long as the campsite isn't too far away!

We don't use absorbsion type fridges any more - but did have 2 of them at one stage years ago. We had a 60 Litre Chescold fridge/freezer and also a little 15 Litre Finch.

Both worked well on 240 or gas but were not up to the job on 12 V. Thats when I started serious investigation and upgraded the 12 V wiring. Once they were converted and had a good 12 V supply (at the 12 V coil) then there was not much difference in performance compared with 240 V or gas. In fact the fridge on 12 V would get too cold - because it doesn't have any temperature regulation.

We did Cape York 3 week trips and also a 5 week Kimberley/Tanami/Simpson desert trip. On all these trips we ran 12 V when travelling and gas once camped. We often had ice cream in the freezer. Ice cream at -10C is too soft - it needs to be below -15C at least.

I know that the insulation on the 60 L Chescold will maintain reasonable temperatures - but I think that 5 hours would be pushing it a bit. One of those cheap internal/external digital thermometers will tell you the situation without opening the lid.

If you are intending running your Chescold in the camper on 12 V - then do a seroiusly large cable run from the vehicle battery to the drawbar, a 50 Amp Anderson plug at the towbar, then more of the LARGE cable from the coupling to the fridge. Any compromise in wire size will be reflected as poor voltage at the 12 V heating coil.

It can be made to work efficiently, but remember these type of fridges are savage on the battery. So if you were to lock your vehicle and head off bushwalking or a long shopping trip - you may come back to flat batteries. Either fit an isolator or remember to unplug the Anderson connector - so you don't flatten your start battery as well.

We now use an Evakool ED 70 12V fridge and find that it runs rings around the Chescold for fridge performance. No need to precool - and it will run down to -24C. Also only uses 3.3 Amp compared with about 15 Amp for the Chescold. We use a Kyocera 120 watt solar panel and dual batteries in the vehicle. Never had to run the motor yet to charge batteries.

Have fun ...