Fitted fridge V Portable fridge

[Jim San]

I'm interested in the pro's and con's of each please.

Bit of background: current situ is we have a portable 3-way dometic (about 30ltr) which is fab on gas and 240v.
Downside is it's pants on 12v, which means we cant leave it running in the van overnight (i.e. whilst in a French Aire).
Also, I'm sick of heaving it from the house to the van and from the van into the awning when full!!

"The fitted fridge"
I was 100% convinced I wanted a Waeco CR50 fitted in to the van - but having used the van for a few weekends without one fitted, the big hole where the fridge would be is extremely useful storage space - where would that stuff go if the fridge was fitted I ask myself ?????????

"The portable fridge"
To keep the extra cupboard free for storage, I'm now thinking of perhaps getting a new compressor type portable fridge so it works well on 12v (my current one isn't compressor) - Waeco seems to be a trusted make - something along the lines of a CDF11 or CDF25 for the smaller type or maybe even a CFX65 if I think we need such capacity.

There are only two of us, i think we could manage with about 20ltr
The smaller one could sit between the front seats, the larger one could go behind psg seat but then may hinder swivel seat (which we havn't got yet).

So ladies and gents, thoughts please, ' fitted ' or ' portable '? experiences of either greatly appreciated

(i'm also thinking about being able to leave it at the tent for when we go off road -but then where do I get my 12v supply from - a removable leisure battery!).


cheers

[Oldiebut goodie]

A 3 way fridge yet you talk of running it on 12v overnight? That's what the gas is for! 12v is for running off the alternator whilst the engine is running.

[Jim San]

A 3 way fridge yet you talk of running it on 12v overnight? That's what the gas is for! 12v is for running off the alternator whilst the engine is running.

I have a 3 way now, it's portable, but it's rubbish on 12v so to keep it running over night it would have to run on gas (we dont have gas fitted to the van). It means we can't really stay in aires or on the side of the road unless we are prepared to leave the fridge outside.

I don't want a 3 way fitted to the van (as we don't have gas fitted), I want a compressor fridge as they run on 12v very efficiently.

[printmonkey]

It bought a CF40 this summer Jim San and it's been great. We removed our westy fridge that was damaged and the waeco being portable makes more sense to me as it doubled as a beer fridge over Christmas! Try to see the different sizes if you can. I wanted to buy a CF35 but seeing it next to the CF40 it was too small.

[Jim San]

It bought a CF40 this summer Jim San and it's been great. We removed our westy fridge that was damaged and the waeco being portable makes more sense to me as it doubled as a beer fridge over Christmas! Try to see the different sizes if you can. I wanted to buy a CF35 but seeing it next to the CF40 it was too small.

Cheers - the CF40 is probably way bigger than I need, i know i'd end up filling it and finding a big heavy lump to shift about like our current one!
We currently put more in ours than we need - i'm attempting to minimise
The CF-25 is looking like it will be big enough (a few beers, cheese, yogurt, bacon, milk, wine etc), as long as its tall enough to hold a bottle of wine

[lloydy]

I have the 18l waeco cool box (compressor type) it's really good, and if your clever with packing it you can get a fair amount in it

[Ralf85]

It runs off gas or electric hook up when you're camping and you switch it over to 12V so the alternator keeps it running while you're driving along. When you stop again you switch it back to gas or hook up. So you want to replace a perfectly functioning 3 way fridge. I don't understand. Why?

[lloydy]

Portable 3 way fridges don't have a flue, so you don't want it running overnight when your shut in your van

[Jim San]

It runs off gas or electric hook up when you're camping and you switch it over to 12V so the alternator keeps it running while you're driving along. When you stop again you switch it back to gas or hook up. So you want to replace a perfectly functioning 3 way fridge. I don't understand. Why?

My van doesn't have fitted gas, its not a fitted 3 way fridge i want to replace, it's a portable.
If I do decide on a fitted fridge it will be a 12v compressor type as I don't want gas fitting in the van.

I have the 18l waeco cool box (compressor type) it's really good, and if your clever with packing it you can get a fair amount in it

Is it this one Lloyd?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Waeco-CoolFre ... 4631a950c4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks ideal. I'm currently swaying to portable.

[lloydy]

yep, thats the one. fits nicely here when parked up

[url=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-
hopefully that gives you an idea on size

[lloydy]

oh, and i got mine for a lot cheaper than that so do shop around

[Jim San]

yep, thats the one. fits nicely here when parked up

hopefully that gives you an idea on size

That's a good idea
Externally looks a lot bigger than I was expecting compared to the interior shots.
Can a wine bottle standup inside? Also, the grid on the floor inside? doesn't stuff fall in it!

[lloydy]

Yep, a wine bottle can stand up. There is no grid inside? There is a seperator that's keeps crashing he smaller end seperate from the bigger side. Maybe you mean that?

[CovKid]

I can't see the point of having a permanent fridge if (when you think about it), 95% of the year its going to be sat there unused and adding dead weight. I like cool boxes though. Some will do five days ok and if it comes to it, you can replenish with ice from the local supermarket. It also doubles up as an extra seat. They're totally silent too

Mind you I'm not really much of a beer drinker and I found a powdered milk that is palatable in tea.

[printmonkey]

I got a pretty good deal on my CF40 on eBay from a guy in Nuneaton. They have the 18l, not sure if the price is that good though. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281533752953" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;