Compressor Fridge

Thinking of changing our absorbsham fridge in our Kingham to a compressor fridge. I would be interested to know of anyone with one of the 2024 van conversions are finding them. We have had several problems with the 3 way fridge in high temperatures add levelling the van, also the one we have is a wheel arch model with a big loss of space at the bottom. I would also be interested what the power consumption is like.

Tim

Hi Tim,

That is probably my next upgrade job, even though my three-way works fine at the moment!

My difficulty is identifying a time when I am happy to immobilise the van for a short period. I need to pull the fridge out to measure precisely what space is there and don’t really want to have to put it all back in whilst sourcing a fridge and finding the time to fit it. I’m using the van almost daily at the moment since my wife finds it easier than the car whilst her broken hip mends, and as soon as she is ready we want to resume our interrupted travel plans.

In my case I want to fit a mains fridge. We have the inverter to run it, and have stacks of charging capacity by solar and by engine. In my experience with boats a mains fridge uses effectively no more nor less power ultimately than a DC fridge and of course they are considerably cheaper, and possibly more efficient and space effective, although that will depend upon what model I can fit.

Even if you stick to a DC compressor model I think the benefits over three-way will more than outweigh the need to upgrade your DC capacity a bit, if you haven’t done that already.

If you do proceed soon I would be interested to hear what the ruling dimensions of your fridge cavity are. My measurements so far suggest that I may have to remove the retractable work surface to gain a bit of height for a standard under counter fridge, but equally it may be possible to remove the worktop and/or feet from the new fridge to gain a centimetre or so.

Tim
We have the compressor fridge in the new van. 1st use was impressed with fridge side but the freezer not great.
Rocky a member on here gave some advice on wot he’d had done, basically as it not a freezer box but just a drawer with door, I put some thin window insulation down sides and around door and jackpot next use freezer much better and beers proper cold.
This seems much better than our old 3 way and can see especially in summer, also obviously it runs fully while travelling not just 12v trying to keep what it started with as such.
As The Bargee has mentioned, when you look at your full system of DC, solar etc. I  would have a good think whether a proper 240v via inverter and possibly lower cost and more choices even if not got the inverter you could be gaining use from that depending on your needs and costs may still be less than a camper specific 12v unit. Some argue inefficiency via inverters but if it works and system works, it’s just small numbers that don’t matter if it works for your needs. Ours on the new van does have the fan that blows out direct to waist height, which I guess most camper units do (other half stopped complaining about freezer but now complains about the cold air )
The 240v type wouldn’t have this and your vents would probably sort ventilation and any sealing you did.
Power I’ll double check away again next week and shout back, my guesstimate was for 20amp a day when I was gathering all my power needs.
Cheers Sheppy

Having owned a van (a Celex) with compressor fridge for more than a decade now (and having had vans with absorbtion for as long again before that), I think it's important to stress that there are definitely pros and cons!

In general I've found the compressor fridge to be very good but... it does depend on how you use the van. Even if you have a reasonable area of solar panels, it can still catch you out. The example that I've had (several times now) is if for example you are staying on CLs with no EHU, and you happen to experience several days of dull weather and/or you find that for your daytime activities (e.g. walking) you can only park in woodland areas where your panels don't get good light. In those circumstances you can find that you have something of a power crisis after a few days!

That's where the ability to run on gas really does come into its own, despite the drawback of generally needing a more level site than a compressor fridge.

Tim,

As Sheppy has mentioned, I provided some earlier advice on making the freezer compartment better.  However, ours came with the Dometic version fitted by AS, and I hear that the Thetford version does not come with that problem, so I suggest you have a look at that - sizes will be the same.

Bar the fact that the freezer box is not brilliant (but adequate), we like it.  It does take getting used to because it is a little noisier, but after a while you don't hear it.  Also, the power consumption is good because it only comes on for short periods.

We have a 100ah hab battery, and 80w solar panel, but we can go off grid for days, so consumption nothing to worry about.  I was apprehensive about the 34 hour ferry to Bilbao with the fridge on and no solar, but I needn't have worried, battery hardly dropped at all.

The fridge may look the same size, but it is deeper be cause it doesn't have the absorption gubbins at the back.

We have now done 12500 miles with it in the 10 months since bought - all good. 

Hope this helps.  Let me know if you want to know anything else.

Peter Brown wrote:After yesterdays discussion that included metered electric supplies increasing on sites and having experienced the high mark up sites apply when charging for electricity, I am expecting to run heating and fridge more and more on gas at these sites as its considerably cheaper.  I've had no cause to complain about Dometic fridges in our previous van but the Thetford three way in the current van is excellent and wouldn't consider changing.

All fair comment Peter, but I have just been dealing with another explosion only days ago, which had life changing consequences, and it is not long since I was dealing with a CO incident, which sadly was totally life changing for the guy involved. Thus I am ever more happy to accept a few compromises if it cuts down these risks, in this case making more use of electricity and less of gas. I know that vans are less dangerous than the boats I deal with, but there are still real risks in storing and using gas in any scenario, including risks to others, for example when used on site close to other units.

To be more positive, and if you are in a position to lobby, perhaps the clubs should be more pro-active in actually encouraging members/guests NOT to use gas when parked close to others. Before you say it, I am well aware of the rules in place for minimum spacing, but in my opinion that spacing is not adequate under some atmospheric conditions.

The Bargee wrote:Hi Tim,

That is probably my next upgrade job, even though my three-way works fine at the moment!
....
In my case I want to fit a mains fridge. We have the inverter to run it, and have stacks of charging capacity by solar and by engine. In my experience with boats a mains fridge uses effectively no more nor less power ultimately than a DC fridge and of course they are considerably cheaper, and possibly more efficient and space effective, although that will depend upon what model I can fit.
.....

The instructions for mains compressor fridges say the fridge should be allowed to settle for an hour or so before turning it on.  I wonder if this limitation could be a problem in a motorhome?  Motion in a barge is more gentle than in a motorhome.

Caraman wrote:

The Bargee wrote:Hi Tim,

That is probably my next upgrade job, even though my three-way works fine at the moment!
....
In my case I want to fit a mains fridge. We have the inverter to run it, and have stacks of charging capacity by solar and by engine. In my experience with boats a mains fridge uses effectively no more nor less power ultimately than a DC fridge and of course they are considerably cheaper, and possibly more efficient and space effective, although that will depend upon what model I can fit.
.....

The instructions for mains compressor fridges say the fridge should be allowed to settle for an hour or so before turning it on.  I wonder if this limitation could be a problem in a motorhome?  Motion in a barge is more gentle than in a motorhome.

You might not have said that if you were aboard my ship on the Ijsellmeer last August in a near gale! Poor old girl rolled like a pig and slammed quite fiercely in the very short seas there. We have had compressor fridges on board for nigh on 40 years, multiple channel crossings etc. and never had a problem. They are standard issue in the better yachts. Waeco is a very popular brand, but pricey. I use what my wife chooses in Curry’s. The workings in a domestic fridge are no different to a DC compressor fridge apart from the operating voltage of the compressor unit.

I think the instruction to let a fridge settle reflects more the possibility that it may have been mishandled in transit, meaning tipped over etc.

Thank you all for your suggestions, next time I pass our local dealer I will have a look at the ones A/S are fitting. Another reason for changing is the lack of space at the bottom of the fridge as it is a wheel arch model, nowhere near the wheel arch on the Kingham. Not too sure about the freezer compartment on the Thetford, we normally have ours full with frozen food. I will have a look at the Waeco fridges. When it stops raining I will have a look at the measurements, I don't want to take out the slide out worktop above the fridge as we use it a lot.

Tim

Most compressor fridges still have a degree of "wheel arch" effect at the bottom because the compressor has to go somewhere. You can buy units with a separately mounted compressor but they tend to be specialist market.

I did take some measurements of my 2019 Kingham yesterday and concluded that the fridge cavity is H840 x W 525 x D 560.

The depth was taken from the inner edge of the fridge bulkheads to the van side lining. From this must be deducted the heating hose duct at the bottom (ca. 75mm). This can of course be removed if the gas fridge is removed since the cavity no longer needs to be perfectly sealed, but I would still want the space to run a larger heating duct so as to finally nail the cab heating issue. However, on my present Thetford N3097 unit the fridge door extends inboard of the bulkhead edge, and most fridge depth dimensions seem to be overall inc. door. I think at 485 net depth from pipe box to bulkhead edge the fridges listed will fit perfectly well

The height of 840mm presumes that the sliding worktop is left in place. If removed or modified (thinner board?) then the height could increase to up to 890mm. I too would prefer not to remove that occasional worktop although I can think of a use for the piece of board liberated! 

Of course your van may be different.

The limited height does reduce choice somewhat if looking at mains fridges. Looking at these the ones that stood out were:

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and the

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Also:

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Sorry about the long links: I'm never sure how much I can cut off!

The last two have a rather nice separate freezer compartment, but are a centimetre too high. However I am going to try and get a look at one to see if that height can be reduced by for example removing any adjustable feet.

Whilst preferring a mains fridge for various reasons (price, quietness, efficiency possibly) due diligence led me to look again at DC compressor fridges. The most appropriate Dometic seems to be the NRX90V but at ca. £1,000 it offends my principles too much.

Then I found this one:

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Also available as 83 litre freezer-in-fridge model.

It would seem to fit and at ca.£500 (less on ebay) the price is not quite so silly compared to £140.00 to £200 for the above mains fridges.

Two other persuasive factors might be:

1. The DC fridges have door catches. With a mains fridge I would have to devise something reasonably automatic.

2. The DC fridges probably have a ready means of securing in place. I guess that would not be a difficulty with a mains fridge given that the handy vent grills behind leave access to fit some simple brackets.

As I recall the Coolmate is also rated to operate at higher ambient temperatures, but I suspect that it is a bit noisier than most domestic models. Would need to do a bit more research. It does seem to have a possibly useful eco mode.

Has anybody heard of Coolmate?

I am not sure how valid the capacity figures (in litres) are. Certainly my Thetford does not look like the 97 litres it is claimed to be and does not seem to hold nearly as much as a similarly rated mains fridge that I have elsewhere! Perhaps it is all in the design of the shelving. As for certain other factors like height there is no substitute for taking a tape measure and a knowing eye to the units in the flesh, but that is getting harder these days.

I have this 115Litre Fridge/Freezer unit fitted and can thoroughly recommend it, the only downside was that it doesn't have a built in On/Off switch so I had to supply it via a separate switch, it was however a direct replacement size wise for the Thetford 3-way fridge which would only work if it was almost level.  I sold it for £350 (eight months old) on Gumtree.  I bought the replacement Feb 2021 when it was quite a bit cheaper.  I had to remove the bed and side panel to exchange them but that was relatively easy, it is supplied directly from the habitation battery so by passes the fragile EM40.

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Monty-Plym wrote:I have this 115Litre Fridge/Freezer unit fitted and can thoroughly recommend it, the only downside was that it doesn't have a built in On/Off switch so I had to supply it via a separate switch, it was however a direct replacement size wise for the Thetford 3-way fridge which would only work if it was almost level.  I sold it for £350 (eight months old) on Gumtree.  I bought the replacement Feb 2021 when it was quite a bit cheaper.  I had to remove the bed and side panel to exchange them but that was relatively easy, it is supplied directly from the habitation battery so by passes the fragile EM40.

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Thanks, it looks a good size and has some good features but I am afraid the price would rule it out for me. There was a time when caravan stuff was a bargain compared to marine “yachtie” prices, but there seems to be an equilibrium now.

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As fitted in mine in place of the original.

Yes we have 130w solar and 110Ah LB, switch it on day before trip, in my case switch it off 3 weeks later!

All perfect and nearly as much capacity of the original. Shown here loaded for testing. Freezer part removed we don't need or want it..

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That's a very small compressor fridge Ian - 42 litres compared to 97 litres for the Nuevo's 3-way fridge and its not being required to freeze anything.  I can see now how your 130w solar and 110Ah LB is able to cope, especially as its not also powering an EC700.  A little fridge like that would be no good for us.

It would be OK for me: no need to chill booze, just a few ready meals and some ice cream, but my lovely wife likes to store plenty of proper food to feed me well so she needs at least 80 litres ++ and who am I to object?

But like I said, I’m not convinced that the volume claims are necessarily that accurate a guide to how much stuff you can actually get in there in practice. If you like pizza, no chance!

It's probably down to how the van is used.  We don't drive off site so unless the site is on the edge of a town, we stock up with at least 4 days of food.  Last week in the Lakes we started with 7 days of food which included what we needed for lunch on the fells.  The fridge is never big enough and there's rarely room for booze.  My wife also favours fresh and we don't eat out that much.

I did make the point that the pictured load was just to see how quickly it reduced the temperature of that volume of liquid.

It is, indeed, up to individuals as to how they use their vans, we only eat in the van in the evening if we have not had lunch out somewhere.

We use the fridge mostly for milk and other liquids plus salads in the large salad drawer, some wine and occasionally 4 or 5 .33 cans of beer. Usually quite a lot of cheeses and meats we take home.

It worked perfectly on the recent 3 week trip, including on two 30 hr ferry crossings with the LB being still at more than 50% in total darkness in the ships.

Each, as always, to their own, in addition to this fridge we now have a large drawer above it and a shoe cupboard below it, all in the same volume used by the original 3 way as fitted by AS.

Timsurf2021
Tim, Just the follow up on the power consumption I said I’d feedback for you, it was actually less than my guesstimate of 20amps/day, although not fully ran standalone for that time, I noted battery usage from start up when picked up from storage and once cooled, and cycling on setting 3, it would be closer to 10-15amp per day if that or less once cooled, hope that helps
Cheers Sheppy

Hi Sheppy, 

Thanks for that, would be interesting what the consumption will be in the summer, that's if we get one!!!

Tim.

Peter Brown wrote:The 12v energy consumed by a compressor fridge supplied by the leisure battery comprises of three elements; the constant current drain to power the control panel, the current to operate the light when the door is open (if fitted) and the current to operate the compressor when its use is demanded.

The compressor will not be on all the time, the frequency and period that it is in operation will depend on the external ambient temperature and the contents of the fridge.

To measure the energy consumed it is necessary to measure the current when the compressor is operating and the total time that the compressor operates in an hour (eg 5A for 30 min = 2.5AH or 5A for 20 min = 1.7AH) then add the constant current to the control panel (I consider light operation negligible).

If you take a 100AH battery fully charged and discharge it safely to 50% you have 50 AH available so if the fridge consumption is (say) 3AH, you can operate the fridge for 16 hours before needing to top up the charge in the battery.

These figures are for illustration only as the caravan compressor fridge manufacturers that I've looked at do not seem to give data on current consumption and I don't think that the "real world" scenario is quite as bad.

Agreed if the sun is shining it's all fine with a compressor fridge(with the standard manufacturer's set up) but on an overcast weekend from my experience I was lucky to get 0.5 amps from the solar and I had the LB alarm go off into day 2. On the positive side even in the last few days I have a good 3 amps from the solar even with the low sun.
Interesting area is how much solar you get on a ferry? The lights on the vehicle decks appear to be fluorescent and not LED and for security I'm told are on all the time. Constant patrols. So next time you are on board I'd love to know what the read is!

What I don't quite get is why A-S are fitting compressor fridges to its camper vans but not its coachbuilts.  Is it because PVCs are expected to be driven much more than coachbuilts?  When off-grid and the solar is low, I would prefer the fridge to run on gas rather than having to drive around to keep it cool.

Caraman wrote:What I don't quite get is why A-S are fitting compressor fridges to its camper vans but not its coachbuilts.

Could it be related to the base vehicle's anti-corrosion warranty? I can recall, when speaking to another converter, being told that they no longer fitted 3-way fridges because cutting large vent holes in the side of the van was no longer permitted by the van's manufacturer. At the time I believed him, though in truth it doesn't seem unusual for salesmen to just make something up rather than saying "I don't know"!

I could believe that Sevel might be concerned about side impact resistance if unspecified large holes are cut in what is indeed very very thin steel.