'Absorber fridges'

Post by **shepster** » 07 Mar 2006, 14:29

Anyone know what they are and are they as good as conventional 3 way one's, i've seen a 3 way one for £187 brand new.

Post by **Horza** » 07 Mar 2006, 16:20

There are two basic types of fridge, Compression and Absorbtion. Compression is what you tend to get in your kitchen, it has a compressor in it which you can to a greater or lesser extent hear running. Absorbtion fridges are what you get in campers and caravans; they don't use motors but instead use a little heat to get the refridgerant working. The heat is generated by gas or electric (12v dc or 240v ac) hence Two way or Three way fridge.

In otherwords you already got one

Post by **Dan Wood** » 07 Mar 2006, 17:17

Just don't ask how they work.

I can understand how compression fridges work, but I only have a basic grasp of absorption ones. Lots on the 'net about it, but I gave up at Dalton's Law...

Post by **shepster** » 08 Mar 2006, 10:40

Cheers,
The reason i'm asking is that all i have at the moment is a 12v cooler box which is ok but i wanted a proper fridge and the ones from the likes of JK or O'briens retail at around £300 but i've seen one in 'Compass' which is a sailing/boating accessory mag and it's only £187 so i was trying to establish the main difference.

Post by **Horza** » 08 Mar 2006, 12:10

I had a 12v cool box which I replaced with an Electrolux 3 way cool box for about £50 using ebay and nice folk on here.

Other alternatives would be 3 way fridges from caravans, boats or other campers. If you are going to fit a fridge the you need to bear in mind it will need a Flue, somewhere for combustion gases to escape; ventilation, somewhere for the air to get to the flame; Circulation, room for air to flow round the element to allow cooling and some thought on what happens to unburnt gas in case of failure, holes in the floor and a bund to stop gas spreading into the rest of the camper are common.

Post by **shepster** » 08 Mar 2006, 12:44

This is what i'm thinking, how does your 3 way coolbox differ from a fridge regarding flues etc ? what i'm trying to establish is a 'absorber' fridge the same as a 'normal' fridge in respect of cooling, flues etc and if so why do they appear so much cheaper than say an electrulux or is it just that they are better.

Post by **Horza** » 08 Mar 2006, 13:24

I only run the coolbox on gas outside in the awning, or to be strict in the space between the awning and the van, plenty of air and such available and no sleeping bodies to worry about.

Point us to this aborber fridge, link, etc. There is another type of refridgeration unit that I believe uses an evaporation trick to cool. It's not a real fridge at all but doesn't use any gas or electric and does keep your milk and beer cool.

The ones on this page though give a good idea of 3 way portable cooling prices.

Mobilecoolbox.co.uk

The ones near the top are 3 way fridge boxes, the ones at the bottom are 3 way freezers.

Built in units are more expensive new than portable ones, they seem to start at £200 for no name ones and climb.

Post by **stuckin88** » 08 Mar 2006, 21:20

You mean an absorbtion fridge---it is a 3 way fridge of the type normally installed in vw campers----you can buy a free standing 3 way(absorbtion)fridge from your local caravan shop for around £130--it has no flue so not advisable to run it on gas overnight in your van with doors shut-most folks keep 'em in the awning----the other type is a compressor fridge-works better-but disadvantage is it wont run on gas--so if you are camping on site for several days you need to be plugged into the electric--

Post by **stuckin88** » 08 Mar 2006, 21:24

to further clarify---an absorbsion fridge--IS a 3 way fridge---for some reason the Eletrolux ones that you permanently install in your van-with flue etc cost about £300 whereas the freestanding 3 ways cost only £130--but dont confuse either of these with electric coolboxes that cost only-£30--£50--