refrigeration
Submitted: Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 13:24
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50694
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Selena
Hi all it's me again, :)
Does anyone have any experience in replacing a 2way caravan fridge (
mine is old & rusty though still working) with a domestic 240v Bar Fridge.
Should I? Could I? Would I?
My budget does not allow for me to purchase a caravan fridge.
Any suggestion would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Selena
Reply By: Member - Doug T (Qld) - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 14:20
Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 14:20
Selena
Not a problem with that idea, my 3 way packed it in at
Goomalling WA . next day I went down to
Northam and got a nice little Bar fridge 845mm X 544mm ,it has a freezer in the top part, I never used Gas or 12 v anyhow , I bolted it down to the floor . and threw the wine rack away
Bar Fridge
.
AnswerID:
267370
Reply By: Member - MrBitchi (QLD) - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 14:28
Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 14:28
Only problem is can't use it when on the move (unless you've got a bloody long extension cord ;-)
AnswerID:
267371
Follow Up By: traveller2 - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 15:13
Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 15:13
You can actually, saw a van recently with the gennie bolted on the drawbar, chugging away supplying 240v while the car and van were sitting in traffic on Pennant Hills rd. Took me few minutes to work out where the put put was coming from, thought there was a scooter in my blind spot.
You could hear the gennie cranking up as the load came and went, they must have had a freezer inside as
well.
The power cord was taped to the side of the van up to the socket!
FollowupID:
529741
Follow Up By: Mainey (WA) - Saturday, Oct 20, 2007 at 00:19
Saturday, Oct 20, 2007 at 00:19
an INVERTER will work even better than a genny.
No noise, no smell, no fuel, no problems....
FollowupID:
529867
Reply By: Member - Ron H (Int) - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 15:52
Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 15:52
Hi Thought of the same thing myself but we travel a lot of rough roads so thought the compressor in the back may not take to the vibrations and crack just like my three way did, a bar fridge wont draw much power so could be run off an inverter fed by a anderson plug/lead direct from the vehicle if you dont have a van battery, if you have a battery get an anderson plug fitted to recharge it while travelling,
regards
AnswerID:
267380
Reply By: Motherhen - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 17:23
Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 17:23
Selena, It may be false economy as bar fridges are not built to take the knocks and will most likely have a limited life on the road. The point has also been made it will be useless unless you spend all you time parked with mains power. When we bought a caravan with a three way fridge that didn't work, we purchased an Engel upright caravan fridge 12/240. It is around the 130 litre size, as that was what fitted into where the other one was. It is excellent and
well worth the money. At the time (4 yrs ago), for i recall around $2,000, we got the fridge, solar panel which we used portable when we stopped, digital voltage control unit, deep cycle battery and a couple of 12 v reading lights.
Motherhen
AnswerID:
267390
Reply By: Mike Harding - Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 17:47
Friday, Oct 19, 2007 at 17:47
Judging from your other posts it appears you intend to drive from
Melbourne to Qld and then stay put for a couple of months? Is that correct? If not a bar fridge will probably break on corrugations.
However if so, a bar fridge may
well be a good option. To make it work whilst you're travelling you'll need an inverter (converts 12V to 240V) I think (guess?) a 500 watt modified sine wave inverter would do the job (jaycar or e-bay about $150 - not certain of the price).
Having said that; if you're current fridge is working why do you need to upgrade it? It may be tatty but if it keeps things cold...?
Mike Harding
AnswerID:
267396
Follow Up By: Selena - Monday, Oct 22, 2007 at 12:26
Monday, Oct 22, 2007 at 12:26
Hi Mike,
You are correct -
Melbourne to Qld and then stay put for a couple of months whilst looking for a new home. May travel later but undecided at this stage.
Thanks for the info, was just trying to sus out my options for replacing the van fridge if necessary.
It was "running" when I purchased the van a couple of weeks ago but not sure if it is "working" and a van fridge is way out of my budget.
I'll definately look closer at inverter if needed. Glad to see they are not too expensive.
Thanks again for you response.
Selena
FollowupID:
530173