Advice on 3 way fridges

Hi Boo, have you given a thought to using the chescold for the frozen items which you can keep in the back of the truck and a good quality cooler for the every day items which you could keep in the CT.
I havent done the Simpson (yet) so I dont know about replenishing your ice supplies. We used that method for two weeks in July and it worked OK.
One method we used for the ice was to use a couple of bladders out of wine casks washed them out then filled them with water and placed them in a square container to freeze them so they had a shape that was easy to pack in the cooler. And when they thawed we could use the water.
Just a thought,
Will

Boo

We've had a 40l Chescold for a while, but fridge only ... not freezer model.
More recently bought a 60l Waeco.

My advice, for what it's worth ... and some on here may say very little .... ;o)

I think you'll be disapointed with the Chescold as a freezer on 12V. Excellent on gas, but on 12V it just won't cut the mustard.

So ... I'd suggest the Chescold as your everyday fridge and perhaps purchase a Waeco/Engel of a capacity that fits both your wallet and the back of the truck.

Use this jobby as your freezer. If it's not too hot you could leave the Chescold in the back, disconected over night as an esky, or else whip it out ... grunt, grunt .. struggle, struggle .. and hook up to gas. On 12V as you say, it'll kill your batt double quick.

From my experience of having ... been there done that .. that is my suggestion.

Cheers

Hi Kerrie,
I went to Fraser about 2 1/2 years ago and spent about 8 months planning the trip and frisge/freezers was something that I spent alot of time on as I only had an esky although a good one at that (EverKool). From what I could gather the Chescold was very efficient running on gas but not nearly as effecient running on 12volt. We ended up buying a 40 litre Engels and used that as a freezer and the EverKool Esky as our "fridge". We used Coleman ice sheets and 4 1 litre milk containers. Each night I rotated 2 milk containers and 2 Coleman ice sheets between the fridge and freezer and made ice using Glad plastic containers. We had our meat kryovaced and froze that as well. Thatway when we took it out of the freezer and put it into the fridge it kept things cool while it defrosted at the same time (does that make sense?). We were away for 3 weeks and in that time I did not buy one bag of ice, had cold drinks every night and the system worked great for me.

I hope this hellps a little

Brad

Hi All,

Looks like our best solution is going to be using the chescold that we already have as the main fridge, its probably a bit bigger than we need for everyday things but I'm sure that with the extra room we'll find something to fill it with. Then we will have to buy another one to act as the freezer, I'm thinking probably one about 50lt capacity would be suitable.

Does anyone have any recommendations on specific brands or models that we should be looking at, obviously it will need to freeze well on 12v.

Thanks again.

Kerrie

My 40 L Fridge/Freezer 3 way chestcold runs on gas when we stop and 12V while mobile - I leave it in the car full time - just provide a little ventilation while it runs on gas in situ - works fine for us - I just sit the cylinder outside the car on the ground - if raining we do have a snag - I usually rig a tarp.

Three of us lived out of a Chescold for 3 months in the back of a Pajero, While driving we ran it on 12 volts and when stopped on Gas.

I installed a Computer Fan near the Fridge which forced air out of the car rear ventilation outlets - easy in a Gen II Pajero. The fan uses 1 AmpHour per night. Worked even if the car was totally locked up - make the air is ste to fesh air (S) not recirculate (C).

With a Chescold on gas you must clean the burner jet once a week or it won't light.

Mike DiD

Gidday,
I have recently been across the Simpson and used a Chescold RC1180 and it worked perfectly on 12V and gas.At night I would run it on gas and on 12V during the day.It was kept in the 80 Series all the time with only the rear window down to allow circulation.A lot of knockers claim they dont work if they are not level.I have found that it worked perfectly in all situations ie-up and down sand dunes.There was my wife and myself in the cruiser and food and beer in the fridge.Have fun the Simpson is a great place see.
Seeya Locallaw

Hi Cocka,

In answer to your questions:

There would be four living from the fridge - 2 adults/2 kids (9 & 11)
Currently no draws, however we are planning on constructing some in the near future, so fridge & freezer would sit on top.
The reason we have decided we would like the freezer is so that we can take more frozen food with us for extended trips rather than having to worry about where we can get replacements.

Yours thoughts would be welcome.

Kerrie

Hi Kerrie,
we travelled the Kimberley last year for three months towing a camper trailer. Had two Chescolds, the combo (separate fridge and freezer compartments) and the F400 fridge/freezer. We set up a shelf across the wheel arches in the GU Patrol (use the bolts left behind after removing the rear seats - ST model). We actually removed them each time we stopped but have now found that that is quite unnecessary. We found that the insulation on the fridges was quite good and only needed to run the combo on 12v as we travelled along. The other kept veges and drink quite cold between stops. I have to add at this time that we have never had any problems with keeping our chescolds cold on 12v - oh well there is one problem, we have to watch that they don't freeze up as there is no thermastat when opperating on 12v. We now have a caravan and have kept the F400 as our back-up for drinks and veges and we leave it in the Patrol at all times. As one of the other replies said it doesn't present a problem if you keep the gas bottle outside the vehicle and just make sure you don't carry any volatile liquids in the vehicle. We have often considered getting a compressor driven car fridge but have always come back to the senario we have. For the 12v you just need to ensure that the wirning is up to the job.
Happy camping,
Mike and Jan.

Brief comments.

The Chescold will work well in ambients up to 32 degrees or so, but not that effective thereon (it's not designed to).

Poor performance on 12 volts is almost invariably due to massively too thin cable and/or crook connectors (and sometimes in-line fuses making poor contact) .

The Chescold draws an exceptionally high 10 or so amps and really needs 8 sq.mm cable.

The current draw is too high to run on solar or battery energy, for more than an hour or two unless the engine is running. Fine for lunch stops - but not overnight etc.

Overall, excellent units if used in temperate climates but possibly not ideal up north.

If anyone wishes to know more there's a very comprehensive artivcle on fridges and fridge installation on my website. Click on 'Articles' and you'll see it listed (two parts).
Trust this may help
Collyn Rivers

My website is www.I

Tildo
Sorry that got fouled up!

My website is www.caravanandmotorhome books.com

Click on 'Enter', then 'Articles' - you'll then find article on Fridge Energy Draw and a two part article on Fridges generally.

May I suggest that you ask yourself this: Do I need a freezer or do I simply want a freezer. It's surprising how much simpler life becomes if you switch to vacuum packing!

We thought we needed a freezer until 1996 - but sold it - and have not once missed it since. But's it's a personal choice.

I only suggest one asks the question.
Collyn Rivers