Club 80-90 Forums

Hi,

I've just pulled out the dire 2 way 'cool box' excuse for a fridge that the previous owner had put in the place of the original electrolux unit in my devon (he'd used expanding foam to seal it in - horrendous job!).

I'm just wondering whether there is a certain type of 3 way fridge that can be used in the van (i.e. do I have to get one with the vent in a certain position?) and if so what make/model is best to get?

Any suggestions much appreciated!

Just Kampers list them on their website bit expensive or you could go for a second hand unit by looking up camper & Caravan spares on Google theres a company out west that break old caravans etc
However that will require a couple of large vents cut out of the side of your camper and gas work carried out by a suitablly qualified person
You say that the old 2 way fridge was pants Ihave a converted two way that is now 3 way (addition of 240v heating element) and it works very well on the gas and 12v infact too well if you leave it up on max gas it will freeze the milk the secret is to make sure the vents are clear for a full flow of air that is a must whether you have an external venting one or internal
The best recomendation I can give is to have your fridge Installed properly and have it serviced annually by someone who knows what they are doing
Hope that helps
Doc

The most frequently fitted leisure vehicle fridges are the Electrolux range (owned by Dometec) there are others however. During the '80's the popular one fitted was the RM series available as gas/12V or 3 way with the additional mains 240v option. The RM212 and RM184 are available second hand and come up from time to time but how they perform is questionable. There are a quite a few to choose from if a newer model is your preferred choice and some folks have replaced their early 212's without too much hassle. As long as you already have the two (possibly 3) ventilation vents that allow fumes to escape and air to circulate behind trhe fridge you hould be able to fit a newer model as long as the dimensions are simiar to the RM212. You may need to change the length of the flexible flue pipe but this is fairly straightforward. Some of the later models have higher 12V/240v power rated elements and all have better tilt tolerance. The only other alternative is the Waeco compressor type fridge which, apart from not having a gas option, knocks the socks off any 3 way absorption type and these are available as 240/12v and consume around 4 amps at 12V which means your leisure battery will need a charge every 2 days or so if wild camping. They don't give a monkeys tail about being used on an incline or rot the floor/sills of your van.

Cheers for the responses they were really helpful.

The cool box in the van was 12v and 240v but the problem was it killed the leisure battery in a few hours (I think it must have been fitted following an lpg conversion as the cooker now draws gas from the fuel system).

The Waeco fridges seem just the job for what I'm after (can't really afford having someone sort out the gas supply at the mo) but they seem quite expensive. Are they the only manufactures of the energy efficient compression fridges or does someone else manufacture them a bit cheaper?

Poddington wrote:it killed the leisure battery in a few hours

That's because it's not supposed to be connected directly to it. A fridge will consume 8-10 amps on 12v and will effectively assassinate a leisure battery in next to no time. It's only meant to be running off 12v if the van engine is running and the alternator supplies the power. There should be a relay that disconnects the fridge from any 12v supply the moment the ignition is turned off.

The 12v compressor type fridges aren't bad though. I hired a camper in New Zealand that had one and although you can hear them 'cut in', they're very quiet and you won't really notice them running even when you're in bed.

We have had the Waeco for ten years and hardly ever used an absorption since (it's in the garage in case I sell the van) but there are other compressor fridges available. Might be worth doing a search - we paid £200, might also be worth looking on Ebay, etc. The Waeco are worth every penny IMO and extremely reliable. Ours is the smaller chest type and you can plonk it anywhere -in the van, the awning, boot of the car, etc.

I just purchased one off ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0347374608" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

same as Electrolux but £150 cheaper

I've spotted a few possibles on Ebay so hopefully I'll be sorted for the summer.

Thanks for the info and pointers been a massive help.