Compressor fridge

Hi

from the 2 people i know personally that own 3 way fridges my compressor fridge would have to be very very loud before it would sway my decision to buy another when it eventually gives up 12yrs and waiting.

Mattie

Depends on your requirements. A compressor fridge will perform "as a fridge" more efficiently than a 3 way _BUT_ trying to power a compressor fridge when you have a static camp in the bush for two weeks puts a whole different perspective on the situation. You’ll need batteries, generator/solar panels, maybe a sun tracking system (try a couple of weeks in Vic at the moment – July), a charge controller etc at some _considerable_ cost. Me? I just need a 4kg gas bottle - $8. Horses for courses.

Mike Harding

We have both, a Chescold 50 litre 3 way and a Waeco CF. Which one we take depends on a number of factors. A long stop in one location will mean we take the 3 way. Travelling around we take the Waeco. They get about the same use.

The 3 way has let us down only once. We were camped in a caravan park and the daytime temp soared to over 45º for three days. The 3 way still kept things cold, but would not keep them frozen during the day. We bought it when we were in Darwin and it was fine up in the tropics.

Our power options for the Waeco are a bank of 4x35AH batteries with a Solarex 40W panel to keep them going. That is only enough for a 4 day long weekend in summer. We do have a small gennie, nut you can't run them everywhere and we generally will not run it at all if there are other campers around.

If we only keep one, we would keep the 3 way. It has served us well over 16 years.

Pete

Hi,

I think it depends on your own situation.

We generally go to places like Fraser and Moreton Islands for extended periods and I got sick of battery charging hassles to run our Waeco fridge.

We now have two 35 litre three way fridges and these work great for us when we stay in one place for a while. I get around a week running the two fridges off one 4.5kg gas bottle.

If we are on the move constantly then we take the Waeco, and it is great in this situation.

One common theme with the 12volt fridges is that you need to be well set up to cater for its power needs. Solar, generators, charging from your car via an Andersen plug all come to mind. I went for the Andersen plug and also a generator to support the deep cycle batteries in our camper trailer and I am not greatly interested in solar at this time.

Horses for courses I think.

"It has Danfoss 2 speed compressor" oh no it doesnt GT

it is a 12v (or 24v) compressor. It is variable speed compressor depending upon refrigeration duty required.

if the fridge has provision the unit can operate if connected to 240v supply.....the compressor is still 12vdc though