Monday, Jan 20, 2003 at 12:15
Absorption fridges like your Electrolux take 10 amps continuously on 12vDC as they are not part of the thermostat circuit. 1.5 to 2.5 hours would be the safety maximum if the battery is in good condition.
You can either put in a relay so the fridge is disconnected automatically once the engine is switched off, or you could for safety install a low voltage cut-out. This will automatically disconnect the fridge from the battery before the battery gets to flat to start your vehicle.
I do not agree with Greg that these fridges are useless in hot weather.
If Electrolux fridges are installed to the instructions in the Electrolux manual that is included with the fridge, and the fridge is kept level they perform very
well in hot conditions. I lived on Electrolux absorption refrigeration for 9 years and never had a problem. Those I did see with problems was because of poor installation and inadequate ventilation. Once they fixed the issues of poor installation and ventilation they had no further problems.
If you go and download the manuals for Electrolux fridges here:
http://www.dometic.com/node1525.asp
you will be able to see if your fridge is correctly installed.
If you have a look I think in all the manuals, you will see the top vent is above the top of the fridge to ensure correct and proper flow of air.. To date, I have seen a low percentage of absorption caravan fridges that have been installed according to the instructions.
Another problem is few ever do any maintenance on their absorption fridges like removing the dust and cobwebs from their systems. The dust build up on some fridges I have seen has been horrendous and of course acts as an insulator and then the fridge does not work correctly. This is not the fault of the fridge.
Some caravan manufacturers even pop rivet the access covers to the fridges on. Makes it a little difficult for owners to do annual or necessary maintenance.
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