3 way fridges

I hear there better on Gas compared to 12 or 240 volt.

But on a hot day you might be right! as the extra hot air behind the fridge is making it work harder.

I used to have a chescold 3 way and they definitely work really well on gas. I used to have to turn the dial right back down otherwise the stuff in the fridge side would freeze as well.

They are crap on 12v

Most efficient on Gas, but high ambient temps will stretch their capacity to cool. You can try adding fans to improve heat removal from around the cooling fins.

Works fine on 240 volt but same applies re the high temps.

12 Volt is really only good for trying to maintain temps while travelling. Aside from that they also draw too much current for use unless you have the vehicles motor running during use.

Hi there. I cann't speak about the Chescold free-standing chest type 3 way, but I can talk about the inbuilt Electrolux/Dometic 3 way caravan fridges. First, they are worst on 12v, and best on gas. But there are two levels of these fridges, ordinary and tropical, and many of the fridges around Oz are NOT tropical rated, and simply cannot maintain say 30 degrees below ambient, on whatever energy source you name. So if the inside of our caravan is around 40 degrees, then we cannot hope the fridge to stay much below 10 degrees, even with a shade over the external vents, though we haven't fitted a fan behind the fridge as many have done.
So, in hot weather, we use our Engel for real cooling and especially freezing, and just use the Electrolux to keep salads, butter and vegs sort of cool.
Welcome to Salmonella City!!

The newer ones seem to be more efficient than older ones.

I have a 3 way Dometic 184 litre two door fridge/freezer TR around 12 months old now. It works very well on gas so long as it is level so it is worth getting your vehicle set up level. I keep a fridge thermometer inside mine and like to keep it below 0 degrees in the fridge compartment.

The dial may have to be turned up a bit more in hot weather but mine usually stays around 3 or 4.

Heather

Hi Mashy

We have a 3 way dometic, we live in our van (coming up to 12mths now) we run on gas a fair bit and works better that 240V however we are currently in Kununurra WA most days are 39 - 40 deg and everything (including me!!) struggles in this kind of heat.

Cheers
Caz

They work best when they're as level as possible, kept out of the sun with lots of airflow around them, and opened as little as possible, obviously.

I believe they're a better option if you want a camp site fridge/freezer and you plan on staying in the one spot for at least 3 or 4 days or longer. If you're going to move every 2nd or 3rd day and Engel/Waeco frindge is a better option, IHMO.

Just my $0.02

matt

I have a 25 year old Finch & it works fine on gas. It does struggle a bit over
40 deg, but will freeze at sub 30 deg if adjusted too high. Also works well on
240v. 12v is a bit dusty now as element needs replacing. Biggest advantage is
on gas when camping without power. Nothing wrong with the Engel/Waeco
compressor jobs but you need to spend the cost of the fridge again on either
solar & batteries, or a generator to keep one going for a week in the bush.
To run either type on 12v you must have the correct size wire & plugs as
voltage drop is your enemy.....oldbaz.

Hello Mashy.

Specifically a inbuilt caravan type or a portable chest type?

Regards: Grant

Hi Mashy,

There are 2 types of 3 way fridges Tropical rated and normal. I'd give the normal a miss unless your using it in mild (less then 25-30'c) conditions.

My BIL has a tropical rated fridge and he loves it though it is heavy as on 12v. Far more economical on gas

Ive got an engel and would rather it as my normal travelling is on the move every day or so whilst the BIL tends to go to the river bank and sit for a week.

It a matter of horses for courses.

regards Wilko

You can get off of ebay solar powered 75 mm fans built specifically for installing behind the fridges to improve their performance which it does
here is an example

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/SOLAR-FRIDGE-FAN-FOR-CARAVANS-RVS_W0QQitemZ180417913356QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCaravan_Parts_Accessories?hash=item2a01bee20c

Hi,

We have a Dometic 3 way. (Blue one)We run it on 12v whilst travelling in the car and find it maintains it's cold quite well, never had anything defrost in the freezer whilst driving. If you do stop MAKE SURE you unplug it cause it doesn't take long to drain the battery, unless you run off dual system.
While camping we run it on gas. You need to make sure the fridge is level, we use a small spirit level and adjust height so even, it works best when on flat surface.We travelled for 3 weeks and run it on 12v/9L gas bottle and didn't have to refill gas so works quite efficiently on gas.
Hope that helps you alittle.

Mashy I have 2 fridges 1 compreeor and 1 primus gas the gas will go 30-33 below ambient i have tested it and at night it's around -9 and in the day outside is 30 and the primus in -1. The compressor fridge goes down to -19 on full day or night.


Geoff