Thread: Portable Fridges

Originally posted by George130
I have an old 3 way I am cleaning up. Can't tell what brand but it does work on mains power. I still need to reconnect the gas as the nut who I got it from was running it and the stove in an old campervan with engine hoses and gaffa tape making up the gass supplies. 8O :roll:
It and the stove were also very ferral. Never cleaned? While I'm on it does any one know the best way to deal with a striped thread on a gas stove? If I can fix it then I will have a camping stove with 2 burners, grill and the kitchen sink!

How about you solder on an extension to the stripped end, the solder will seal the stripped thread end and the new end can go on the tank.


Cheers

Smion.

Smion thats along the lines of what I was thinking. I was going to ask a mate to welp a new pipe on the end with the new thread but I wasn't sure of the rules for doing this sort of thing correctly.

Originally posted by George130
Smion thats along the lines of what I was thinking. I was going to ask a mate to welp a new pipe on the end with the new thread but I wasn't sure of the rules for doing this sort of thing correctly.

Sounds an easy job, but I'd feel better having a gas fitter to do it for me for peace of mind, has to be one in ACT somewhere. Only takes a tiny leak to spell disaster ops:

Actually theres at least six in Yass try Grant Brewer I know his family in Marulan.

Cheers
Bryce

Originally posted by George130
Smion thats along the lines of what I was thinking. I was going to ask a mate to welp a new pipe on the end with the new thread but I wasn't sure of the rules for doing this sort of thing correctly.

Hey Edd

That'd be the sensible man's way of doing things adn I wish I had your sense.

If you don't already have the bits adn bobs it would probably cost the same to get the local plumber/gasfitter to do it.

Either way, cheap if that's all it costs you to get the fridge.

I picked up an electrolux ammonia fridge for nothing recently.
I couldn't get it to run on 12v and it draws about 650w, so too much for my 300w inverter, so no go at the moment.

cheers

Simon

<span style="color:blue">whats an ammonia fridge....?</span>

[quote=DEFENDERZOOK]<span style="color:blue">whats an ammonia fridge....?</span>

Ammonia fridge uses ammonia vapour as coolant rather than that stuff that all the other fridges use. Difference is that you use a heater to vapourise the ammonia rather than compressor.

Much more robust, much quieter.

Or something like that. For a better explanation see here.
http://www.nh3tech.org/absorption.html

Cheers
Simon

Thanks guys for the advice. Engel certainly seams to have the popular backing but it is stilll hard to beat the price of Waeco. I had thought about 3 way fridges but they don't seem to come in a big size. Any way still looking at the 110lt waeco that want fit in the boot but thought i would buy a battery for it to put in the trailer with it. Not sure which is the better option for this though, waeco have there own or go with a deep cycle one.

don't use an absorbtion frig in an off roader. They aren't as efficient as a vapour compression type (compressor), are much more sensitive to higher ambients, extremely sensitive to levels (or lack of) and take a lot longer to pull down when first turned on.
Also, you don't want to be near one if it ever springs a leak. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img]

When left for long periods unused, the ammonia, bromine and water stratifies necessitating them to be re-mixed. You find this out when you turn it on and eight hours later it is still warm inside. :x
There is a specific procedure for an Electrolux, but in a nutshel, you tip it upside down and shake the bejesus out of it !
I've had to do this to a number over the years, always prefaced with a call to my old man (who was an Electrolux agent when I was a kid) on how to do it ops:
I've had a couple of customers tell me they needed a new absorbtion unit, according to a nearby gas frig specialist, yet the things have worked fine after a proper shakeup, with one travelling all over Oz for a number of years after.

FWIW, friends and relly's swear by their Engels.
Never had a camping frig, so can't really comment, and each style has their pros and cons, eg eutectic vs static evaporator, etc, but a personal bias after designing and servicing refrigeration systems on and off over quite a number of years is go for the one with the thickest, highest density insulation. This should correspond to the lowest current draw/24 hours