Vitrifrigo dp2600 12 volt compressor fridge

Submitted: Sunday, Feb 19, 2012 at 21:24
ThreadID: 91968 Views:11597 Replies:4 FollowUps:3
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I posted a similar thread on 16 feb and was pleased to get a number of replies. However, I think I asked the question the wrong way. What I really wanted to know is if there are any owner /users of this particular fridge that are able to use it as it should be able to be used; ie no need to modify the insulation, no need to be careful how you pack your food, no need to add extra fans, no need to be extremely frugal in how many times you open the doors, no need to defrost the freezer every 2-3 weeks, no need to fiddle with drip trays etc. In other words, have the fridge installed as per manufacturers instructions and then expect that the fridge would operate as a top of the range fridge should operate by keeping the fridge section at an even temperature of no more than 3-4 deg C and maintain the freezer at less than -15 deg C so that bread and ice cream stay frozen.
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Reply By: Member - neville G (QLD) - Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 07:26

Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 07:26
Hi Ian, We have a Vitrifrigo (150lt.) installed in our Phoenix and have never had a problem. We remover a Dometic RM2553 and had the old Phoenix factory install this one. Runs almost exactly as you described ie. freezer abour -15 and the cabinet around 4 to 5 in most ambient temperatures. I like a cold beer and have no worries about having a beer out of this fridge. It does frost sometimes at the back of the cabinet but not heavilly and we never worry about it. We are about to take off and do a lap around the block and I feel confident that it will do the job. Having said that, there are more than one Phoenix owner that have not been happy with the b rand, I guess that we are lucky that ours works well.
Cheers, Nev.
AnswerID: 478181

Reply By: murrayman - Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 08:03

Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 08:03
Hi ian, ours is just fitted in the cavity with no extra insulation and it works like a normal fridge. i dont bother checking temps as its just like a fridge at home and i dont check it at home, i have got better things to do than monitor fridge temps. We holiday mainly in the hot weather and so far the fridge is a pearler. cheers mark
AnswerID: 478183

Reply By: Jeremyh - Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 11:08

Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 11:08
Hi Ian, While I cannot specifically answer your question, I would like to share my experience so far. We ordered a van last year and took delivery just in time for our xmas holidays. We to have the 240lt dp2600. I specified this fridge because my research told me this was one of the better fridges, and a 12v compressor fridge seemed to be the best way to keep our food and beer cold. I did consider a large 3 way with large vents, fan and insulation but could not be confident it would work in all conditions so paid the extra for 3 large panels, 3 large batteries etc to do it properly and be confident it would stay cold.

When first loading up the fridge I was a bit surprised that it took a while to reach the temperature, even though most items were cold when loaded. We then went away for a couple of weeks, and found on any day greater than 32 degrees the temp would go from about 1 or 2 degrees to 7, 8 or even 9 degrees which was a worry. We had a few days like this, on one of the days the fridge was not opened all day. The batteries were fully charged and I opened the vents, no change. Since then I have been monitoring it and any hot day it seems to struggle. Turning the thermostat from 4 to 5 or 6 definitely brought the temp down when it was not hot, to say -1 or 0, but it still struggled when hot so in my opinion the fridge is faulty.

I returned the van to the manufacturer and they run tests for 2 weeks. Unfortunately they did not see any issues as it never got hot, until the last day they saw evidence of creeping temperatures, 2 hours before I was due to pick it up to go away..... I now need to return the van on a hot week so they can investigate the problem further. I guess my concern is do I have a dud fridge or do I have unreasonable expectations? I guess I don’t monitor my own home fridge like I do the van fridge, but maybe I should.
AnswerID: 478194

Follow Up By: wakey58 - Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 11:43

Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 11:43
I replaced a 150 lt vitro with the 2600 model 18 months ago and i found it
performed exactly the same ,very poor in the hot weather and when turned
up to 6 or 7 would freeze everything when the weather cooled overnight.
It seemes it is designed to operate in more temperate weather and begins to
fail above 25 degrees . I have sorted it out with expensive modification and
hours of monitoring which i believe is not acceptable with a top of the range fridge.
I found the condenser needs an extra fan to force through more air above 25 degrees
The fridge cabinet needs a small 40mm to circulate air from the freezer to lower
cabinet
I replaced the analogue themostat with an electronic one and set the probe at the top of the freezer cabinet.
The compressor can also be operated at a faster speed however I found this
produces a lot of heat at the unit and from my experience does not achieve a lot.
I found that at temps between 35 and 40 degrees the bd 50 unit is flat out
and has no reserve capacity so if its loaded with warm contents or the door
opened to many times the freezer temp will drop
hope this helps
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FollowupID: 753690

Reply By: Member - Rick P (NT) - Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 19:29

Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 19:29
Hi Ian Not sure whether this is going to be of any help to you. We have had a Vitrifrigo for about 2 years now and on the road full time. We were never happy with the unit until the fan died and we had a new one fitted in Darwin, while it was there they increased the fan speed to 3,500 revs which can be done at the back of the unit by swaping terminals. Anyway the fridge works a treat now even in temps of 34c+ and that is at #3 setting. Only thing is we have to defrost the fridge every 4-6 weeks, but at least it's working as it should be now.
Cheers
Rick P
AnswerID: 478245

Follow Up By: Member - Ian G (NSW) - Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 11:17

Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 11:17
Thanks for the reply Rick. Is your fridge the dp2600 ?. Has the increase in fan speed increased the noise? Will it now keep ice cream frozen in the freezer?
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FollowupID: 753807

Follow Up By: Member - Rick P (NT) - Thursday, Feb 23, 2012 at 08:33

Thursday, Feb 23, 2012 at 08:33
Hi Ian yes ours is the dp2600 as well. Don't notice any extra noise but we haven't tried ice cream since the fan upgrade. The mob who fixed the fridge also recommended removing the plastic drip tray under the freezer which we have done.
Cheers
Rick P
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FollowupID: 753958

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