Fitting convential fridge to caravan

tonyob · Veteran Member

Fitting convential fridge to caravan

fwdoz · Guru

We changed ours to a Samsung years ago. It has been one of the best upgrades we ever did. Will see if I can find a link to the discussion which will show more info.

Muskat55 · Veteran Member

We are running an LG linear inverter fridge 279l on a victron 375VA (300 W) inverter with 300Ah AGMs and 560w of solar. It works extremely well. The secrets to buy a fridge with digital inverter compressor that can be run on low power inverter. Cost of the fridge 500 bucks and the inverter was about 120. Even if you have to put a bitmore solar on a decent inverter fridge is a lot less expensive than the 12v stuff and works a lot better with auto defrost etc.

fwdoz · Guru

https://www.caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=1208231#p1208231

This one shows a lot more, click on the 231 comments

https://www.facebook.com/groups/triptracks/permalink/1798529033731971

dorian · Guru

Take care. LG's linear inverter compressors were the subject of a recent US law suit:

blog.bellinghamelectric.com/blog/lg-linear-compressor-refrigerators-what-makes-them-different

tonyob · Veteran Member

Thanks for the quick replies. you guys are cool.

DeBe · Guru

I have a 310L LG Linear Inverter fridge & so far quite happy with it. It will happily run of a 300W pure sine wave inverter when theres a power outage. It draws betwean 12W to 50W when running & 145W on defrost cycle. The compressor is the same principal as an Engel fridge compressor. They also use R600A an LPG based refrigerant as does justabout every fridge these days. After reading the link on LG fridges i guess time will tell for me as it was purchased 25-5-18. If it dies after the 5Yr free compressor replacement warranty, i will think about weather i replace the compressor myself. It would be interesting to know what is supposed to be failing, i would suspect valves. F4. spec.JPG F7. comp.JPG F9.comp unit.JPG

-- Edited by DeBe on Wednesday 18th of November 2020 04:20:49 PM

tonyob · Veteran Member

After reading the forum links above and some of the facebook page, it seems many are saying it has to be an inverter fridge.

Yet the Hisense fridge I've found uses only 307kw/year (less than the commonly mentioned Samsung) and the rated current is only 0.8 amp (compared to 1.2 amp above). All I can find out about it's compressor is that it's a fixed speed compressor.

https://hisense.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Hisense-HR6TFF223-Specifications_FINAL.pdf

My thinking is this should be all right. Convince me otherwise.

DeBe · Guru

I would be wary of a fixed speed compressor & its actual start up & run current. The whole idea of inverter fridges is soft start & variable speed compressors, for reduced power consumption. The rated current on the LG is only when its in defrost mode. Actual run cycles vary from 12W to 50W. It is also is

4.5 Star rating & 282KWh/Yr.

-- Edited by DeBe on Wednesday 18th of November 2020 03:53:22 PM

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

tonyob wrote:
After reading the forum links above and some of the facebook page, it seems many are saying it has to be an inverter fridge.

Yet the Hisense fridge I've found uses only 307kw/year (less than the commonly mentioned Samsung) and the rated current is only 0.8 amp (compared to 1.2 amp above). All I can find out about it's compressor is that it's a fixed speed compressor.

https://hisense.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Hisense-HR6TFF223-Specifications_FINAL.pdf

My thinking is this should be all right. Convince me otherwise.

https://www.samsung.com/nz/refrigerators/top-mount-freezer/235l-snow-white-rt22faracww-sa/

The Samsung is larger (gross 255L, nett 235L) and has a 269kWh pa rating making it 3.5 stars.

One of the benefits of the inverter motor is to reduce the start up power surge.

One factor not specified in the Samsung specs is noise level. The Hisense quotes 41dbA, which is VERY loud.

Cheers,

Peter

tonyob · Veteran Member

Thanks Peter, I tried to find the sound specs on the Samsung.

hufnpuf · Senior Member

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
The Hisense quotes 41dbA, which is VERY loud.
Cheers,
Peter

I was going to suggest finding out the noise level. Also, how it runs. Noisy and/or clunking on and off could drive you up the wall in a van. If the "reduced start up power surge" is also done more quietly, I'd be going for that type, not a "normal" fridge

Mike Harding · Guru

I recently looked at exactly this issue in some depth, see here:

Three way to conventional fridge

Whenarewethere · Guru

I have replaced the fan in my Waeco esky with a quieter & more efficient fan, also used acoustic insulation around the compressor compartment which has helped reduce noise levels.

tonyob · Veteran Member

Thanks Mike, very helpful

tonyob · Veteran Member

Found an LG 332 litre with linear inverter that will just fit in the opening available if I lower the current floor (it's a false floor for the old fridge, not the caravan floor). It's the GT332sdc and is rated at 279 kwh/year. So it's lower in overall power usage than the smaller Hisense. Can't find the sound specs for it.

-- Edited by tonyob on Friday 20th of November 2020 09:52:10 AM

DeBe · Guru

They are that quiet that its hard to tell if its actualy running. All the fans in the fridge are variable speed as well, & mostly are not running very fast at all.

tonyob · Veteran Member

Thanks Debe. It's only just barely able to fit in the van, I've got 10mm spare in height and 5mm spare in width. Will probably try to fit it next week.

Bobdown · Guru

tonyob wrote:
Found an LG 332 litre with linear inverter that will just fit in the opening available if I lower the current floor (it's a false floor for the old fridge, not the caravan floor). It's the GT332sdc and is rated at 279 kwh/year. So it's lower in overall power usage than the smaller Hisense. Can't find the sound specs for it.

-- Edited by tonyob on Friday 20th of November 2020 09:52:10 AM

Hi Tony,

332 lt is a huge fridge for a van, we have a 190 lt Dometic compressor fridge and there is plenty of room in both fridge and freezer for two

We have 240 amp/h agm batt and 300 w solar on roof and the fridge uses about 5 amp per hour I think, never had a power problem.

Cheers Bob

tonyob · Veteran Member

Which model is your Dometic? I'm no fan of the Dometic brand after the trouble I've had with my 3 way Dometic. How expensive was your Dometic?

I agree that the fridge is large, it's still quite energy efficient which is what attracts me to it and similar in size to the other linear compressor fridges I found

-- Edited by tonyob on Friday 20th of November 2020 08:57:50 PM

hufnpuf · Senior Member

tonyob wrote:
I agree that the fridge is large, it's still quite energy efficient which is what attracts me to it and similar in size to the other linear compressor fridges I found

-- Edited by tonyob on Friday 20th of November 2020 08:57:50 PM

How about the weight of it? Will it add to your weight?

tonyob · Veteran Member

The weight of it is 7.5 kg less than the current Dometic 3 way.

Whenarewethere · Guru

For home our old fridge did actually die Christmas Day last year. We bought a new one & tested it on a single phase sub meter for a few weeks to see how truthful the annual kw rating was.

It was spot on, so probably in winter it may use a bit less.

hufnpuf · Senior Member

tonyob wrote:
The weight of it is 7.5 kg less than the current Dometic 3 way.

That's good.

jade46 · Senior Member

There is a post on Facebook on a site called Jayco conquest and Optimum Group where a guy has just done this with a Haier 220lt fridge. He has 2 100 amp batteries 1000 watt inverter and 240watts solar and he couldn't be happier. Claims no problems with power

-- Edited by jade46 on Saturday 21st of November 2020 07:33:57 AM

-- Edited by jade46 on Saturday 21st of November 2020 07:34:59 AM

Tony LEE · Guru

One thing to watch with at least some inverter fridges is the instructions are clear about not moving the fridge while it is running. I have a large LG unit in the Hino and turn it off when travelling. Getting rid of a three way and installing a domestic fridge changes your electrical system from a nice-to-have service to critical infrastructure and if you are dedicated boondockers you will need significantly more than 600 watts of solar to ride out a few days of inclement weather, or off-season use.

tonyob · Veteran Member

Hi Bobdown, your comment about the fridge being huge has made me think more about it. I'm not sure what the problem is? The cavity is big enough to handle it and it's lighter than the current fridge. Thus it also is able to have more space around all the items (unless we pack it full full full). The current fridge has a 200 mm gap above it which is unused and I blocked it off from the rear using coreflute after reading Dometic advice that said the gap above the fridge can cause air to vent poorly.

My comment isn't meant as a critique about your comment, I do appreciate it. I'm trying to find a downside to it's size that makes me rethink. I would like a smaller (slightly) unit but my searching at Good Guys and Harvey Norman only found similar sized fridges that have linear compressors. The smaller fridges all have conventional compressors.

If I compare this LG fridge with the Hisense, the LG is more economical with it's power usage and quieter. The advantages to the Hisense are lower weight, easier to fit in the cavity I have and quite a bit cheaper to purchase. Budget isn't a big consideration so the cheaper bit doesn't factor in that much.

We also spend a fair bit of time living off the grid in our caravan when we aren't on the big lap, so at those moments having the bigger fridge I see as an advantage.

Hey Jade46 - Nice plane! I flew RC planes for many years, when we started caravanning, I took to flying FPV drones. Such fun.

Bobdown · Guru

tonyob wrote:
Which model is your Dometic? I'm no fan of the Dometic brand after the trouble I've had with my 3 way Dometic. How expensive was your Dometic?

I agree that the fridge is large, it's still quite energy efficient which is what attracts me to it and similar in size to the other linear compressor fridges I found

Hi Tony,

My fridge came with the new van, I actually said I wanted a 3 way and they told me it would cost an extra $700, why? because they had to run a gas line to the fridge cavity.

I think the Dometic ( Waeco ) 190 is about $2500, don't quote me on that, and there is a bigger one.... 220 lt, I think.

Sorry to scare you but some house fridges are around 400 litres and our double door one is about 650 litres, bloody huge.

Cheers Bob

Copied from Dometic website.

GENERAL

SKU number 9105306093
Model RPD190
Model on label RPD190
Scope of delivery 1 refrigerator, 1 manual
Product Description Compressor refrigerator, 190 l
Refrigeration technology Compressor

DIMENSIONS

Dimensions product depth 580 mm
Dimensions product height 1451 mm
Dimensions product width 633 mm
Net weight 46 kg
Gross volume 190.00 l
Storage volume - total 187.50 l
Fridge storage volume 143.50 l
Freezer storage volume 44.00 l

ELECTRICAL

Input voltage (AC) 100-240 V
Input voltage (DC) 12/24 V
Rated input current (AC) 1.2 A
Rated input current (DC) 9.6 A
Rated input power (AC) 65 W
Input frequency 50/60 Hz

tonyob · Veteran Member

I've done it. Fitted an LG 279bwl yesterday. It was a big job for this lazy retired guy, everything is working well and we have cold beer again. Had to fit a new false floor and a few other minor adjustments. Was able to use existing screws at bottom of cabinet (front) to affix brackets to hold it in place. The fridge at the back has no feet, just sheet metal on the floor, drilled 3 holes and put wood screws into the false floor. If I wiggle the fridge it still moves at the top a little more than I like, so will look at bracing it at the top.

Got a couple of kiddie appliance locks at bunnings, they work a treat to lock the doors in place. Today's job is to move the inverter and tidy up other wiring in the van. Nice to have cold beer again!