Campervan Fridge - Gas/Electric or Just Electric?

Hi Simon in Australia

Get a compressor type fridge (Engel Waeco or whatever). Personally, i will NEVER light a gas fridge in a camper or caravan (big bang paranoia). Compressor fridges are more efficient in hotter areas anyway.

Back in the tent days, the Engel ran from the cig plug when driving, and we gave it a run in the evening when the generator was running. This was adequate.

When we bought a small camper van, we threw out the defunct 3 way and bought an upright Engel caravan fridge (about 130 litre) - an excellent fridge. With a portable solar panel to put out to face the setting sun when we stopped to charge a deep cycle battery, we had adequate power.

We recently went camping in our F250, with the same old solar panel mounted on the canopy roof, and it kept the battery well charged all the time, running a 40 litre Engel and 12 v fluoro lights, even on a couple of dull days.

Go solar and forget the gas - that's my opinion anyway.

Motherhen

Good morning both of you, special wave to motherhen, trust Bridgetown is as lovely as ever.

Simon the advice given to you by motherhen, is most valid and I believe very important.

When we purchased our last van, we allowed ourselves to be talked out of a 12 volt fridge, and I now regret it.

Running a 12 volt fridge on the go, can be achieved by using a switching device, which will allow the battery in the van to be charged whilst you are travelling. When stopped you can use a solar panel.

The problem with running a three way fridge, is the high current draw, I doubt if a solar panel will keep up with the 10 amp requirement.

In any case a 12 volt fridge/freezer will overcome the other problem of three way fridges, which is lack of space particularly in the freezer.

You will quickly pay for the extra cost of a better fridge, because you will be able to shop less, particularly where local shops can be a tad expensive.

I would buy the biggest combination, that can be realistickly fitted into your unit.

Simon you are buying a good van, do not hold it back with second rate equipment, your wife will love you more for it.

Regards

Col

Wonder what type of fridge they use in 5th wheelers, Winnebago's and various other large Motor-homes etc ??

Hi Simon,
For your application a 12 volt chest type fridge, eg Engel / Waeco. is the most compact energy efficient way to go. An upright fridge will take up much more space and lose most of it's cold air each time you open the door. It will therefore rely on the accuumlated cold of the fridge contents to give the appearance of staying cool.
A Three way gas fridge is definitely not suitable inside a vehicle and must never be run on gas whilst on the move. These types of fridges are best in a Caravan or Jayco style camper trailer where they run happily on 12 volt whilst driving and most efficiently on gas when stopped overnight.
Finally your wiring from the battery will neeed to be sufficiently thick to carry the current to any compressor fridge. The wiring to the cigarette lighter socket will work for a time but will become hot and may fail. Worse case scenario the wiring will catch alight.
Regards

Ralph