12v caravan fridges

Gazzo · Newbie

12v caravan fridges

Ole Grizzly · Senior Member

Hello Gary..give the 3 way a go before spending anymore money. So long as it is ventilated and reasonably level, it should work extremely well on Gas and 240V, but 12V will only just hold the temperature whilst travelling.
Enjoy your travels and keep your drinks cold :)
Cheers

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

By 12 volt, I assume that you mean a COMPRESSOR fridge, and there is no doubt that they will out perform an absorbtion type in very hot conditions.

By the same token, as 'Ole Grizzly' above says, if a decent 3 way is properly installed and properly vented it will do a good job in all but the worst conditions.

That said, I would personally only ever use a compressor type. We have a 130 litre Vitrifrigo (Italian, and often carries other brand names). It has a 'remote' fan cooled condensor and compressor which has allowed us to add an extra 50mm of polyurethane foam insulation all around the cabinet to further reduce the power consumption.

The up side of compressor units is that
(1) They don't need to be level to work well.
(2) They will always peform well, no matter what the weather.
(3) You don't need to switch them from gas to 12V or 240V or back when travelling / stopping / refuling / etc.

The down side is that you MUST have an adequate source of 12V power all the time.

Dazza · Member

It is worth looking at the Dometic web site to check the model fridge you have. Their newer range of fridges (although generally the larger ones) are now 'T' rated which in effect means have been built to operate in tropical areas where the ambient temperatures can be quite high but you can still get a real cold beer.

Others I know have been able to wire in a small 12Volt fan at the rear of the fridge to extract the hot air and increase the actual ventilation which improved operating efficiency. It is the hot air build up the actually rediuces the operating efficient quite significantly.

Good luck aww

Gazzo · Newbie

A big thanks to all for the helpful info. I will stick with the new 3 way and put a fan in in the rear vent!
Great site !!
Gazzo