Compressor v absorption fridge - HELP!

[gibbo301]

My 15 year old 3way 50 Lt Chestcold must be freak of a fridge   been in 38 + temps for a week or more frozen meet still frozen i suppose their are differant quality 3 way fridges same as differant quality compressor fridges i have also got a 12 year old engel in the back of the troll (dedicated beer fridge   ) best of both worlds  

[JethroT]

It really does depend on what you want to do.

We used a Chescold at Fraser to keep our bait frozen for 2 weeks without any problem on gas.  Never used the 12 volt setting just froze everything on 240v before we left home.

We now keep a Waeco in the vehicle which is more convenient when travelling and have it running off the second battery, which stays charged because we are always going for a drive to do some fishing or sight seeing every couple of days.

Don't pay someone $300 to wire your batteries it's a simple job to do yourself with some instructions available from this site.

Regards
Geoff

[Captain]

I don't agree though that the voltage cut out is just for motor protection, Waeco sells it as other do as a battery protection option and as you can set it a H - M - L or 12.5 to 11.4 or close, none of these voltages are close the the Danfoss stall voltage.

Yes, they have used the feature they need (motor protection) and expanded it to battery protection too - a good idea. Didn't think I said they were only there for motor protection 

 

I thought the Engle was called a swing motor based on the design and it will certainly run to very low voltages.

While they call it a swing motor (marketing), its based on the solenoid principle. A magnet is switched on/off to pull the piston down, a very simply and neat idea. As there is only the one moving part, its why it has such legendary reliability.



I have 2 Engels and one Evakool fridge (Danfoss BD50 motor) and so far all have been very good - one of my Engels is 11 years old. From what I have read, both compressor typrs are very reliable and typically its the electronics around the temperature sensing that is the most common problem. Choosing one or the other is as much about price and other features (insulation, size, space to fit it etc...) as the compressore type - but must admit I reckon my Engels will go forever 

Cheers mate


Captain

[ferret]

I don't know where some of you get your info from but I've had a 3 way (Chescold) for 17 years here in Townsville & it is capable of freezing on gas in 35 degree weather
& would keep contents at fridge temp below 5 degrees in outside temps above 35, you just have to make sure it is level & the flame is not affected by wind.
Our fridge on freeze in these temps would use  4kg of gas in 12 - 14 days
As others have said these fridge/freezers on 12v are very inefficient

Cheers  

Frank

[JethroT]

Exactly Ferret, I don't know what fridges some people are talking about, but the Chescold is the coldest and most reliable old freezer I have used.

The Waeco compressor has been very efficient on 12v, but the electronics stopped once causing a few headaches, even though it was fixed on warranty.

I always make sure I have the Chescold as a reliable backup.

Regards
Geoff
 

[sol]

We used our 50ltr Chescold as a freezer on gas when we
did a week trip to Reedybrook last xmas.Temps were 40 plus
some days it kept bread and meat frozen without a problem.
Also have an Evakool 60 ltr in back of Rodeo.

[Hairs]

We've three absorption fridges.
1) 50lt Chescold, Great for extended stays, It is the beer fridge and freezer, on gas or 240V, gas it works better, but neither power supplies work well in high humidity.
2) Finch 33lt, Great for touring and day trips, sits in the back of the cruiser with drinks and lunches in it. Works a treat on 12V, although power hungry when stopped, just have to remember to unplug it and plug it back, monitor it's use. no big deal, if we were stopped for a long period of time, it would get hooked up to the 3kg gas bottle, which is with the two burner cook top. anyway.
3) RM360 90lt 3 way in the camper. Had a few dramas with it when we fist got it, but after a service and adding a 150Watt element for 12 volt, it works a treat. On our recent trip through the Flinders and Great Ocean Rd the RM360 we had trouble with it getting too cold. I put this down to the lower humidity and lower air temps over night.
I can see the need for a compressor fridge/freezer, but we will work with what we have at the moment.
Anyway that's my spin on it.

[maurerless]

"but it counters the argument that running on 12v while driving is not efficient"

Well I don't think it does. I don't think it's efficient to be using that much power to keep stuff cold but you do because the benefits are that you can use gas when camped. It's great your fridge can freeze on 12 volt, most can't. And again, they are fine up until it get hot and humid. When you get to 40, the fridge will be 12, that's the way they are. You make a great point. they travel well on tar but due to their design are crap off road as they rely on the separation of ammonia and water. When shaking the sh1t out of the fridge this is hard to do - well we found that the be the case anyway when we had the three way.

I guess though as many have said it depends on what your going to do. Dragging the camper up the CREB as we did would not suit the  three way while the angles almost cause the compressor to have palpitation.. Probably no wrong or right here but I know what didn't work for what we did and that was the three way under stress.

I guess I better clarify what I was trying to say about 12volt efficiency on my 3-way.

Prior to getting the Dometic, I was explicitly told that a 3-way running on 12 volt would "probably only just keep the status quo" and " would probably not work all that well" while travelling. That gave me pretty low expectations about what to expect. I decided if it was going to be that bad, I needed to do something to get it to work as well as I could. So I also looked at power consumption and saw that the 90 litre fridge would use just under 15 amp current while underway. I made sure I had an Anderson plug system fitted and heavy enough cable to do the job right. (Never mind that it was installed with a 10 amp fuse in line ) Yes, that's a lot of energy, but I'm not overly fussed while the donk is running. I only have the one battery in the camper so I just make sure I swap it over to gas quickly when we stop to make sure I don't drain it too much.

With all that in mind, when it worked better under way than while camped I was really surprised. It is probably due to smoother rides on the black top, but I'm guessing also due to airflow through the vents while moving. Like many, I'm doing a few other mods to improve things and these will include a fan system to improve rear airflow when running on gas or 240v. (pics will come in my "My camper" thread in the future).

I did read something about the movement helps prevent vapour locks in the ammonia cycle, but I can see that really rough stuff would probably disrupt the cycle altogether. I have the offroad camper, but I'm not going to do the really rough stuff so it suits me fine. 

I guess it's really about being as well informed as you can be before making a decision about what suits you best - really what the thread is about.

[maurerless]

"A good three way will probably do the trick in a fixed position (i.e. camp site) providing that they are set up properly."

Yes, and the words "providing that they are set up properly" really ring true. I muck about a bit to make sure it is level - I've had the vapour locks from being not quite level. They supplied the bubble level for a reason!

If I had the power available and/or more money to put into a solar supply or something similar for longer stays I would have considered a compressor system. Plus I already had a bit of experience with the 3-way so for me it was a bit of the (finance based) devil I already know.

Tony

[SteveandViv]

I guess I better clarify what I was trying to say about 12volt efficiency on my 3-way.

Prior to getting the Dometic, I was explicitly told that a 3-way running on 12 volt would "probably only just keep the status quo" and " would probably not work all that well" while travelling. That gave me pretty low expectations about what to expect. I decided if it was going to be that bad, I needed to do something to get it to work as well as I could. So I also looked at power consumption and saw that the 90 litre fridge would use just under 15 amp current while underway. I made sure I had an Anderson plug system fitted and heavy enough cable to do the job right. (Never mind that it was installed with a 10 amp fuse in line ) Yes, that's a lot of energy, but I'm not overly fussed while the donk is running. I only have the one battery in the camper so I just make sure I swap it over to gas quickly when we stop to make sure I don't drain it too much.

With all that in mind, when it worked better under way than while camped I was really surprised. It is probably due to smoother rides on the black top, but I'm guessing also due to airflow through the vents while moving. Like many, I'm doing a few other mods to improve things and these will include a fan system to improve rear airflow when running on gas or 240v. (pics will come in my "My camper" thread in the future).

I did read something about the movement helps prevent vapour locks in the ammonia cycle, but I can see that really rough stuff would probably disrupt the cycle altogether. I have the offroad camper, but I'm not going to do the really rough stuff so it suits me fine. 

I guess it's really about being as well informed as you can be before making a decision about what suits you best - really what the thread is about.

With all that in mind, when it worked better under way than while camped I was really surprised. It is probably due to smoother rides on the black top, but I'm guessing also due to airflow through the vents while moving. Like many, I'm doing a few other mods to improve things and these will include a fan system to improve rear airflow when running on gas or 240v. (pics will come in my "My camper" thread in the future).

No. It was due to the fact you had appropriate cable looms to supply enough power to heat the 12 v element and then as you had done that you were actually running the element at 14 odd volts which will increase the heat and give better performance. I think you've shown what you need to do to get the best out of 12 while moving.

It's a bit like pumping up tyres after a day at the beach. I don't know why people don't run their cars while doing that. You will get substantially better performance in time to re-inflate if you do... No it's not a race but it is annoying waiting when you don't have to.. Anyway, same applies to your 12 volt element

[maurerless]

No. It was due to the fact you had appropriate cable looms to supply enough power to heat the 12 v element and then as you had done that you were actually running the element at 14 odd volts which will increase the heat and give better performance. I think you've shown what you need to do to get the best out of 12 while moving.

It's a bit like pumping up tyres after a day at the beach. I don't know why people don't run their cars while doing that. You will get substantially better performance in time to re-inflate if you do... No it's not a race but it is annoying waiting when you don't have to.. Anyway, same applies to your 12 volt element

Oh yeah. Didn't think of that aspect of voltage getting that high - just the theoretical of 12volts and making sure I didn't burn out the 7 pin plug and/or wiring loom with the current.

Tony