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Post Info TOPIC: THETFORD 105 ltr compressor fridge.
DaveR


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THETFORD 105 ltr compressor fridge.
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Good afternoon all.

I am wondering if anyone has had any dealings with the THETFORD 105 ltr compressor fridge.

I would like to know how much power draw there is on a 12 volt battery. Our 3 way fridge has given up the ghost and THETFORD have discontinued the 93ltr range of 3 ways.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Dave



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TimTim


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Energy consumption listed in specifications and dependent on temperature.

https://www.thetford.com.au/shop/de105-compressor-refrigerator-105l/

0.7kWh at 32C

What type and size of batteries do you have and how much solar.

Tim

 



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kgarnett


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As stated by Tim above, the fridge would use 0.7kWh / 24 hrs at 32C.
If we assume a battery voltage of 13V (eg Li baattery) then the fridge would use 700Wh/13V = ~54Ah / 24hrs.

Ken

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valiant81


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Hi all; Running a compressor fridge of 12 volts will work providing you have around 200+ watts of solar, a couple of agm or lithium batteries in your caravan. You would also need a new battery charger if your lithium batteries when you are staying at a powered site and a dc to dc charger to also recharge your batteries ( again with a lithium profile ) while you are driveing and moving on to your next stop.

Not a cheap exersize and would cost a bob ot two.

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Peter_n_Margaret


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valiant81 wrote:

Hi all; Running a compressor fridge of 12 volts will work providing you have around 200+ watts of solar, a couple of agm or lithium batteries in your caravan. You would also need a new battery charger if your lithium batteries when you are staying at a powered site and a dc to dc charger to also recharge your batteries ( again with a lithium profile ) while you are driveing and moving on to your next stop.

Not a cheap exersize and would cost a bob ot two.

 If the 200W of solar is enough for when you are camped, it is enough for when you drive too.

Cheers,

Peter



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OKA196 DIY, self contained 4WD MH, 1160W PV, 326Ah of CALB LiFePO4 batteries, 1.3kW inv, 310L water, 350-450L diesel.
Big Mal


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When my 3 way died the other year (12 yrs old) I looked into replacing it with a compressor fridge but I would have really need to add 120ah (AGM) storage to keep it happy and not impose on the normal camping draw down, an expense I didn't want so replaced with a 3 way which was really about the same price size wise, bought direct from the Dometic warehouse in Brissie ................. Measure the size of the cabinet area you have available to the fit a new fridge, Dometic/Thetford basically the same set ups and the same mob anyway................... I think I prefer 3 way as when properly insulated and fitted they perform really well and I don't have a panic as my mate does when the clouds roll in for days, he has reported that if he hadn't added the extra storage he would have been stuffed on a few occassions even though the salesman said he would be good for a week, lol,lol ..... of course if you are a park camper it doesn't really matter either way.

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valiant81


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Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
valiant81 wrote:

Hi all; Running a compressor fridge of 12 volts will work providing you have around 200+ watts of solar, a couple of agm or lithium batteries in your caravan. You would also need a new battery charger if your lithium batteries when you are staying at a powered site and a dc to dc charger to also recharge your batteries ( again with a lithium profile ) while you are driveing and moving on to your next stop.

Not a cheap exersize and would cost a bob ot two.

 If the 200W of solar is enough for when you are camped, it is enough for when you drive too.

Cheers,

Peter

 Hi Peter N Margaret; Of course your solar would charge your batteries if needed while driving. Sun light is sunlight and i wouls think it would not matter if you are traveling, every little bit would help. One thing that i have been told is to install a dc to dc battery charger as close as possible to you caravan batteries. This will take care of the voltage drop from your alternator to your battteries in the caravan. I was recommended to install one for my own set up since i changed over to a Lithium battery. My problem isi would have to upgrade the alternator to a larger AH to have a dc to dc charger as well in my caravan ( more money !!! ), I also run two engle fridges and comunication radios along with the rest of the demands from my 4x4 like drivinhg lights, sound system etc. My lithium is just one 12 volt 300 Ah battery and so far , so good. 



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Peter_n_Margaret


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In fact, the solar will perform better when you are driving because you would rarely be in shade and because the panels are better cooled.
A DC-DC charger may be a useful back-up.
What size is your current alternator? I can not imagine why you should need a larger one and changing to lithium would have no influence on needing another charge source for the van battery.
Cheers,
Peter

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OKA196 DIY, self contained 4WD MH, 1160W PV, 326Ah of CALB LiFePO4 batteries, 1.3kW inv, 310L water, 350-450L diesel.
Big Mal


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For near 10 years now my only charge source is the sun, no charging from tug at all, I looked at things that " If I needed to charge from tug when driving how are things going to go when camped beside a river for a few weeks ", so far solar does the lot with ease, we even plug stuff in to charge , camera, drill, laptop as we run down the road .....



-- Edited by Big Mal on Sunday 20th of October 2024 07:05:12 AM

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DaveR


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Thanks all who took the time to comment. Sorry for the late reply but we have been out of service from when we left Tibooburra till yesterday and had a big day travelling. The Dometic fridge wouldn't fit under the cupboard, checked the specs and iut of luck. E.P Temperature Control at Port Lincoln looked over our little fridge replaced a mother board, still no luck, but they got onto Thetford and somehow managed to get one of the last ones in the country. Ad it didn't arrive on time when it gets shipped to qld, we should be right as rain.

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DaveR


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Big Mal, how often did you take your set up up dirt roads? I'm wondering if that had killed mine so fast, just under 3 y/o but still under warrenty.

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