Who'd have thought

[griz066]

Currently at Caloundra for 2 weeks in the Jayco Freedom and the fridge was struggling on 240v for some reason, we are only using it for food so not opening it all the time, we have the beer & wine in an Engel in the annexe 
Even with it being hardly opened it would only get down to around 5*c. I thought I would try it on gas and if that didnt work I would go and buy another Engel.
I changed it over to gas and within 2 hours it's sitting on 0*c. Is this normal for a dometic fridge to work better on gas than 240v?
Glad I tried it first before forking out on another Engel

[Mace]

Our portable 3 way allways works best on Gas, will Freeze everything.

240 gets it down to about 4 degrees.

12V ok whilst travelling and getting full charge, marginal on stand alone.

Gas is the go for these IMO.

 

[Swannie]

Definitely mate. Gas always seems to be more effective.
Swannie

[Spada]

Ditto that.

Dometic works well on gas, barely copes on 240v, and forget 12v.

[POD]

Ditto that.

Dometic works well on gas, barely copes on 240v, and forget 12v.

Bullish!t.

Gas is good. No question.
240 volt works fine but will struggle if not pre-cooled before its stinking hot or if the wall your fridge is on is in full sunshine.
12 volt works great but, you need to upgrade the thickness of the wire directly from the battery to the back of the can. Have started with my fridge at 20 plus degrees, driven 2 hours and stopped, fridge was at 4 degrees and freezer at freezing temp.
If you shade the fridge when stopped it will drastically improve its efficiency and effectiveness on all 3 sources. Also adding fans to the output vent of the fridge will assist.
I get sick of people saying these fridges are cr@p on certain sources without investigating why and trying to help the fridge do its job..
European fridges. Not used to Australian conditions.
- must engage brain -

[SteveandViv]

Currently at Caloundra for 2 weeks in the Jayco Freedom and the fridge was struggling on 240v for some reason, we are only using it for food so not opening it all the time, we have the beer & wine in an Engel in the annexe 
Even with it being hardly opened it would only get down to around 5*c. I thought I would try it on gas and if that didnt work I would go and buy another Engel.
I changed it over to gas and within 2 hours it's sitting on 0*c. Is this normal for a dometic fridge to work better on gas than 240v?
Glad I tried it first before forking out on another Engel

Yes. The pilot light hits the bottom of the bulb perfectly but the elements are attached to the side of the units and don't create that perfect heat. If you look at it like this. With gas fridges it works by heating a mixture of ammonia and water and it all starts in a collector at the bottom of the fridge. The idea is to heat the mixture up, forcing it (The vapor)  up the collector to where it is then separated via a bunch of pipes etc and then collects at the bottom again to start another round.

A few things make a big difference to how well they work. One is that there are no vapor locks in the system. While it is a closed system sometimes the ammonia can collect in the pipes and stop the general flow. To fix this you can turn the fridge upside down for a few hours and then back the right way fore a few hours. The other is related to what every one will say on keeping it level. The pilot light hits the bottom of the collector (bulb) and if there is wind or the fridge is on an angle the effectiveness of that pilot lights heat is reduced. (Like a candle in wind) The level factor is that the hot vapor liquid has to make its way up the pipe and into the system, if it continually hits the side of the pipe it returns to a liquid to early and falls back to the collector with out having done a round of cooling. Elements are attached to the side of the collector and while the 240 one can heat up the mixture and create the vapor 12 volt seldom can.

So summing up. Give (if you can) your three way a upside down treat every year. Even just travelling along can create the vapor lock. Always try and shield the pilot light from the wind. Always try to keep it level. We used a cheap level and don;t block the vents on the back (even add a small fan to remove the heat, it helps a lot.

[griz066]

Well there you go, thanks for all the replies guys, I might rig up a shade for the fridge side as well

[Spada]

Bullish!t.

Gas is good. No question.
240 volt works fine but will struggle if not pre-cooled before its stinking hot or if the wall your fridge is on is in full sunshine.
12 volt works great but, you need to upgrade the thickness of the wire directly from the battery to the back of the can. Have started with my fridge at 20 plus degrees, driven 2 hours and stopped, fridge was at 4 degrees and freezer at freezing temp.
If you shade the fridge when stopped it will drastically improve its efficiency and effectiveness on all 3 sources. Also adding fans to the output vent of the fridge will assist.
I get sick of people saying these fridges are cr@p on certain sources without investigating why and trying to help the fridge do its job..
European fridges. Not used to Australian conditions.
- must engage brain -

My apologies for not engaging my brain.

I clearly expected too much from a product that was installed by a camper trailer manufacturer, as per the fridge manufacter's instructions.

Perhaps I missed the page in the Dometic owners manual that explained all the modifications I was required to perform to enable their product to work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!