Author Topic: What size fridge? (Read 7803 times)

grmas1 · « **on:** October 24, 2018, 05:20:48 PM »

Hi All

About to bite the bullet and get a fridge. What size is good for a family of 3. We currently have a 55L Ice box as our cooler. What would be the right size to supplement this?

Anaconda has some good deals on Dometic CFX fridge/freezers at the moment for club members.

GBC · « **Reply #1 on:** October 24, 2018, 05:35:16 PM »

Piece of string question mate. 40 used to do, then 60. Depends on your culinary requirements and liquid refreshments. Buy what fits the space you will carry it in best then argue about beer v wine ratios later. We are up to 175 litres combined now and still easily fill it. Up until recently a 65 litre fridge freezer has done our family of 4 for years.

edz · « **Reply #2 on:** October 24, 2018, 05:36:38 PM »

Family of three [ miss 10 yro ], two week trips Waeco 50 seems to do us ok [ had it more than 10 years ] .. A 60 ltr would be a bit better ..
Also have a second 21 ltr Engels now to use as a dedicated freezer if needed for longer ventures [ one day ] .

Bird · « **Reply #3 on:** October 24, 2018, 06:32:52 PM »

there was another thread like this while ago, where some needed 2x 110ltr fridges, and others 1x 40ltr.

I'll kick back with some popcorn here.

speewa158 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 24, 2018, 06:44:04 PM »

Get 2 ,,,, 1 for food stuffs & then the important stuff

.
You can put your bacon & eggs & salad & meat in 1 but tinnies require solitude

& strong hinges

JusyApples · « **Reply #5 on:** October 24, 2018, 06:52:18 PM »

I have a 65 CFX does us (3) comfortably

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Craig Tomkinson · « **Reply #6 on:** October 24, 2018, 06:54:30 PM »

Hi grmas1, We are a family of 5 adults none beer drinkers and one 10 year old and a 55lt ice box is what we use when on trips, I would love to get a 50 to 60lt upright engal fridge and try that, Craig

KeithB · « **Reply #7 on:** October 24, 2018, 07:11:16 PM »

Grant, I think a fair bit depends on what you have to power it if you are off the grid.

A fridge or any size can chew through a battery fairly quickly if you don't have any solar to keep it charged. Your fridge capacity will often determine what food you can take with you. Salads and fresh fruit can take up a lot of space. Our fridge is usually stacked with that stuff plus wine, half a dozen cheeses, pates and dips for my wife's mandatory afternoon drinks, which are a big (perhaps too big) part of our camping trips.

I would be inclined to buy the biggest fridge that (a) you can afford and (b) you can comfortably carry and then do whatever electrical stuff you have to to supply it. We have a small 70 amp deep cycle under the bonnet and a 200 watt ebay panel on the roof with a cheap Jaycar MPPT controller which runs our 95 litre Evakool okay, as long as the sun is shining. A day trip here and there always seems to top it up. The big fridge also comes in handy for extra cold storage at home at Christmas and times like that.

Evakool often have demos and seconds on special that might be worth a look.
https://www.evakool.com/factory-seconds/fridge-freezer/

In our experience, whatever size fridge you have, it will always be filled to the brim.

Hookie · « **Reply #8 on:** October 25, 2018, 05:14:20 AM »

Quote from: KeithB on October 24, 2018, 07:11:16 PM

In our experience, whatever size fridge you have, it will always be filled to the brim.

Ain't that the truth. We have a CFX95DZ and the 95L swan fridge for a family of 4, and no matter how hard I try I can't leave the house without both of them crammed full.

I will say, having had the dual zone for a few years now, the only way I would replace it with a single zone is if I was replacing it with 2 of them. It's thirsty with one side set to freezer, so we don't always do it, but I wouldn't give up the option. Often we just freeze everything in there at home, then when we get to the site, bump up the temp and let it all slowly defrost over a few days, especially if we're in a spot where we're not getting solid solar all day. With my 200Ah on board and 195W solar panels and full sunshine I can run forever with one side on -10 and the other on 2, but a couple of cloudy days or a shady campsite can put an end to it real quick.

Alan Loy · « **Reply #9 on:** October 25, 2018, 06:48:41 AM »

After using an icebox you will be surprised how much more you can fit in a fridge as you don't need ice. So a 55 lt fridge will hold a lot more than your ice box.

As mentioned you need to make enough power to keep it going so you need to factor that in when buying a fridge. The cost is much more than just the cost of the fridge.

Around 50lt seems to be a bit of a sweet spot for fridges in terms of capacity and power usage.

tryagain · « **Reply #10 on:** October 25, 2018, 07:17:04 AM »

Length of trips and how close you stay to shops where you can restock also plays a part, Going as big as you can fit and keep the power up to also allows you to venture further from civilisation and for longer. With Anaconda, from memory they price beat by 10% so you should always be able to get one for a decent price, possibly better after the sale ends, ie Tentworld currently have the cfx65W for the same price ($1,199), IF they stay at the same price when Anaconda's sale ends, they should beat the cheaper price be a further 10% ($1079)

If you are in a hurry though, maybe consider Tentworld as it's the same price and they support the forum.

You can Also check Tentworlds price history for the fridge here https://pricehipster.com/product/TCc49Dy8pAmh-FhmFFH88Q~HkqX3T6p~au

edit, looks like Anaconda are also including a cover at the moment

chester ver2.0 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 25, 2018, 07:45:01 AM »

we find bigger is better it is just the 2 of us but we love out 76 litre double door when camping as it is big enough to freeze a weeks worth of meals and still have plenty of room in the fridge side for salad stuff and the all important beer. We like this as we dont then have to run into town for extra supplies mid trip as with a small fridge you dont have enough room to keep everything cold that needs to be

We also find it more uselful for not just camping when we BBQ with friends out the back at home we then run it as a big fridge so you are not running in and out of the house all day for a drink

Bird · « **Reply #12 on:** October 25, 2018, 08:57:40 AM »

I think as said more info is needed.

Is the current 55ltr sufficient in capacity?

What sort of camping? van parks, free camping, what battery capacity and solar you got? Genny?

Remote camping (so you cant restock easily)

Overnight, Long weekends, weeks, months?

Family of 3 - adults, baby? all take different amounts of food.... more kids planned?

What sort of food do you take? Some people take a roast for each night and chickens, others take Cryovac'ed meals ...

How much space do you have (this was a killer for me - I cant go taller)?

Going in the car or trailer on fridge slide or fixed location (they are ****in heavy to move once full - first few times I filled ours in the house then broke my spine carrying it downstairs to the car!)

So far you have anything frmo 40ltr, to 2 x 95ltrs.

dogbox · « **Reply #13 on:** October 25, 2018, 09:13:29 AM »

Quote from: GBC on October 24, 2018, 05:35:16 PM

Piece of string question mate. 40 used to do, then 60. Depends on your culinary requirements and liquid refreshments. Buy what fits the space you will carry it in best then argue about beer v wine ratios later. We are up to 175 litres combined now and still easily fill it. Up until recently a 65 litre fridge freezer has done our family of 4 for years.

when I ordered my camper I asked the sales guy what size fridge would fit in the fridge area he said up to 95 litre so I waited till they came on sale an bought a 65 litre(without checking measurements) when I picked the camper up an got it home the 65 litre was to tall an wouldn't fit had to go buy a 95 litre that was longer an not so tall

so check what fits

loanrangie · « **Reply #14 on:** October 25, 2018, 12:28:40 PM »

Family of 4 and we have a 50ltr Waeco, if i was buying now i would get a 65ltr as it inst much bigger.

Muckinhell · « **Reply #15 on:** October 25, 2018, 05:13:23 PM »

I started out with a 60lt trailblazer for 2 off us, then 2 more came along and it wasnt enough. sold it bought 2 x 40ltrs. 1 for food other for drinks etc. was great cause as both depleted i could consolidate into one and turn the other off and save power. these were 2 evakools, they also have a normal and economy switch so run bit more lean on economy.

bought a camper recently that came with 110lt evakool, so sold 1 40ltr. now there is more than enoupgh space for beers, wine, nibblies food etc for 4 of us in the camper in the one fridge for a wknd away. we did the cape in june and filled the 110 and the 40ltr for 4 weeks.was ample in that configuration.

as stated plan for the future, if your thinking of expanding to 4 people then 65l plus or good 50lt and 2nd hand 30-40ltr maybe. whats type of trips are you planning or may do one day as well? lots of variables.

ibrew09 · « **Reply #16 on:** October 25, 2018, 06:09:15 PM »

Quote from: dogbox on October 25, 2018, 09:13:29 AM

when I ordered my camper I asked the sales guy what size fridge would fit in the fridge area he said up to 95 litre so I waited till they came on sale an bought a 65 litre(without checking measurements) when I picked the camper up an got it home the 65 litre was to tall an wouldn't fit had to go buy a 95 litre that was longer an not so tall

so check what fits

Same same, my complete campsite will fit a 60l engel on the fridge slide but not a 40l -height difference.

I had the 40 already so it sits in the back of the cruiser for beer or as a freezer and we started with a 60l evacool fibreglass esky in the camper.

Got sick of ice so bought a 60l engel to put in the camper. When looking comparisons in size from esky to fridge dont forget you no longer need to factor in ice space and keeping things off the water

grmas1 · « **Reply #17 on:** October 25, 2018, 08:36:52 PM »

Ok a request for more info was required.

we are a family of 3 with 2 adults and a 16yo daughter.

We are camping more and more outside the standard caravan parks and using more off the grid type places.

I have a 160 solar panel and a 11a battery with not much other than lights running off it at this stage.

The 55L ice box does the trick for the 2-3 day weekend trips and i was thinking if something that could supplement this on the bigger week long trips

The fridge wont fit in our Mars Surveyor so will be carried in our FJ cruiser and i have no learned that this will also limit our size chosen.

tryagain · « **Reply #18 on:** October 25, 2018, 10:42:18 PM »

Quote from: grmas1 on October 25, 2018, 08:36:52 PM

11a battery

If that's not a typo, your going to need a bigger battery!

grmas1 · « **Reply #19 on:** October 26, 2018, 05:49:04 AM »

Quote from: tryagain on October 25, 2018, 10:42:18 PM

If that's not a typo, your going to need a bigger battery!

oops 110Ah

Alan Loy · « **Reply #20 on:** October 26, 2018, 06:48:35 AM »

Seems to me that something around the 50lt mark, that fits into your FJ will work with the solar setup you have and keep you fed and watered for the long term.

We (2 people) have just done 6 months 1/2 lap with a similar setup. This worked even when ice wasn't always available.

weeds · « **Reply #21 on:** October 26, 2018, 07:14:43 AM »

If you’re anything like me....when I switched from early to fridge it was a whole new world. No more buying ice every other day, food floating around in water.

I brought my first fridge early 90’s...32L Engel mostly ditched the esky except for beach/fishing weekends. Second start battery with marine isolator did us back than.

About eight years ago I brought a 40L Engel for a family of five camping. 40L in the car, 32L in the camper.

Now it’s just the two off us we now have a 60L EvaKOOL permanently in the car....40 and 32 sitting in the garage.

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boobook · « **Reply #22 on:** October 28, 2018, 07:14:39 AM »

Here is my take FWIW

1)Carefully measure everything in the vehicle. Even make up a cardboard box the size of the fridges ( and slides) you shortlist.
2)Look at the insulation thickness if you intend to use it up north or in summer a lot.
3)Look at the average power consumption
4)Check service availability. Any Engel, Waeco or Danfoss based fridge will be ok. You should double check brands with other compressors. Especially the $600 specials.
5)Get the next size up from what you decide - and run that through the above checklist. FWIW I think 60l seems like it is a good size generally, especially if you drink beer or white wine. 50l is probably enough if you don't.

This is a personal opinion, and I know I will cop a lot of flack. But here goes. Avoid an engel if you want to use it in hot areas, have a HF radio, listen to AM radio at night, or sleep near the fridge. They are reliable as hell, but their insulation isn't great, and the food temperature fluctuates by quite a few degrees in warm temperatures. Also, they are noisier than Danfoss fridges. Electrical interference noise, and sound type noise.

I'm a big fan of National Luna. It ticks every box except two. Price, and they are not widely sold. Service is not a problem though.

moeite · « **Reply #23 on:** October 28, 2018, 10:20:30 AM »

Quote from: boobook on October 28, 2018, 07:14:39 AM

Here is my take FWIW

<deletia>

This is a personal opinion, and I know I will cop a lot of flack. But here goes. Avoid an engel if you want to use it in hot areas, have a HF radio, listen to AM radio at night, or sleep near the fridge. They are reliable as hell, but their insulation isn't great, and the food temperature fluctuates by quite a few degrees in warm temperatures. Also, they are noisier than Danfoss fridges. Electrical interference noise, and sound type noise.

I'm a big fan of National Luna. It ticks every box except two. Price, and they are not widely sold. Service is not a problem though.

This isn't flak but rather a contrary experience.

We use two Engel's. One is truly ancient (early '80's) and is used as a freezer and the other about 3 years old. Both are 40l. Never had a problem in hot weather. Two years ago we were around Oodnadatta for a couple of weeks and the day time temp was in the mid 40's every day and had no problems keeping things frozen and / or cold.
Acoustic noise isn't a problem. They're both directly under the bed in our forward fold camper and we don't hear them at all.
Electrical noise isn't a problem either. My hobby is Amateur Radio and I set up my station every night and I only get a single click when one or other fridge turns on. I have paid careful attention to grounding though. Everything is properly bonded to battery -ve. What I DO have problems with are a brand name MPPT solar regulator and a switch mode brand name battery charger which is very rarely used.

boobook · « **Reply #24 on:** October 28, 2018, 06:27:48 PM »

Quote from: moeite on October 28, 2018, 10:20:30 AM

This isn't flak but rather a contrary experience.

Interesting user mileage varies I guess.
I definitely agree with the MPPT regulator though.

Lying in bed listening to AM in the camper, as morning approaches and the signal starts to fade, then not long after the sun rises. BANG, the MPPT regulator starts singing in the radio. That and a need for a pee mean it's time to get up.

:-)

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Author Topic: What size fridge? (Read 7803 times)