Hi All, I want to fit a small fridge. Ideally I am looking for: 12V / 240V Low power consumption Quiet / silent around 60cm tall (not too big and heavy!) Able to keep things cool / fresh in a hot UK summer Oh, and reasonably priced too! Or do I opt for a 12V coolbox......? Any advice or experience would be gratefully received! Thanks, Ian
I think this is quite a popular model, not sure how long it would last on 12v though? http://www.caravanfridges.co.uk/waeco-fridge/cr-50.htm In the end we went for this giant cool box http://www.outdoorgear.co.uk/Coleman-50-Quart-Extreme-Wheeled-Cooler-sku53606101.asp It lasted well, we used it for about 2 weeks in Cornwall but the campsite did freeze coolblocks overnight. Ordinarily though it would happily last for a weekend away
Thanks Dubweiser and Pie, I looked at the Waeco but it is a bit more than I wanted to spend. I have been looking at absorption fridges, like this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Caravan-Mot...2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1360620922&sr=1-2-catcorr They are cheaper and absolutely silent. Anyone had experience of them?
I had a electrolux rm122 originally used gas and 12v but managed to get a rm123 (240v as well)off ebay for £100 ,well worth it as its chills amazingly and is completely silent ,had a coolbox as well before the upgrade but the fan was so noisy I had to turn it off at night but the contents were still really cool in the morning plus you could run it from 12v ,for value I'd go for a £40 coolbox as they come with an inverter so you can run from 240v. Long term get a 3 way rm123.
The Waeco is easy to fit, safer you won't have to cut a hole in the side of your van ,its bigger looks better, runs on a battery which you will probably have fitted anyway , just have to run one 12v wire to it, and the price difference is six bottles of camping gas.
i have a 3way fridge in the for sale section if it interests you. It just needs a clean. You can just link it to 12v and 240 hook up instead of worrying about a hole in the side of your van for gas. We ran our other same fridge for a whole month and it was great. Silent too. I thought it was broke cos it was silent so got another one, hence being stuck with this second one now for sale as i realised that the original was actually working but silent lol. Anyway its £40 if you are in the south east.
I went for one of these as they are a shallower design and so fitted in a narrrower unit. http://www.vitrifrigofridges.co.uk/
I have the 3-way RM123, though only have it connected for 12v/240v as didn't want to make the holes for the gas. Though 12v kills the battery quickly - so generally just use that while actually driving, to keep it cool. One thing to consider when deciding what to get is where you intend to use it. If you go for a coolbox, they normally state the will cool a certain amount of degrees below ambient temperature, so if you go abroad (or we are lucky enough to get good weather) you may find that it it doesn't get low enough to keep your milk fresh, or more importantly the beer cold. Whereas a fridge will always get the temperature down to what is required. However, there are obviously cost implications of a fridge. So its all a balancing act, of what is more important in your own situation.
There are 3 types of camping fridges, and 4 overall options you can go for. OPTION 1 Thermoelectric (peltier effect) cooler. Pros: space efficient as they only use plates and small fans for cooling, relatively cheap, lightweight, easily transportable. Cons: not very energy efficient, not very cooling efficient OPTION 2 3-way absorption fridge Pros: not too expensive, especialy for old models, cools well on gas and 110v (good when in a campsite with el. hookup) can make ice if you are patient enough. Cons: for use on gas you need vents cut out in the body, has to be level with the ground when on (can't use it while driving) cools poorly on 12v and draws a lot of power. OPTION 3 12V Compressor fridge Pros: light on power consumption, cools most efficiently and quickly, can be used while driving, most variety of shapes, sizes and types available. Cons: Higly priced OPTION 4 Small 110V compressor fridge on 12v inverter: Pros: Cheap, cools quickly Cons: draws a lot of power on compressor start-up, so needs a very good quality and powerful inverter & battery, not suitable for use while driving (the compressor tends to cut out when shaken) I recommend trying to find a used 12v compressor fridge, (Waeco and Indel B both use German made Danfoss compressors that have proven very durable. Everything else i find useless, and just takes up space, you are better off with just a cooler box stacked with ice for the weekend. (to be taken as my opinion only)
Great little write up Sven. Regards Option 2 (which is what I'm assuming my RM123 is). The bit that says you can't use it while driving, is that just while on gas, or while on 12v too. I have used mine on 12v while driving, just to keep it "topped up", but now wondering if I shouldn't have. You are right though, it does cool poorly on 12v. Hence me only using 12v to keep it cool once already cooled via 240 v lol.
only on gas, you can use it on 12 while driving, but it does just that, slows the temperature from rising. although it is best for an absorption fridge of any type to be as level as possible, it's only critical when operating on gas. it will use a bit of power too, as these fridges use heat to cool, and you know how much energy you need for electric heater elements. Something i forgot to mention in the cons, is some of that heat will be noticeable in a closed bus in the summer.
Hi boggie I fitted one of these micro coolers, needed to remove the back and remount the fan but it works a treat just linked into the water pump supply so you can just turn it on from the dash while your driving to keep stuff cool and can leave it running on the leisure battery if you hook it up right, you can fit bottles of wine and beer in there which is the main thing
I bought one of these too , excellent fridge, good quality, low power consumption,i dont think you could find a better one. the remote compressor is a really clever idea, bought mine from penguin leisure
I did this how to some time ago it might help http://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/fridge-types.11369/
