Thread: Fridges in Vans

Hi Pete,

I'd listen to Baz on this, he seams to know what he is talking about re this topic.

Having said that the other forum you just joined would be perfect for this.

Its a good idea to always turn off your gas bottles when driving, sure you might be able to drive with the W/H on gas but if a leak started in that vicinity and it built up to reach the pilot light then you may find things getting a little interesting as most of the vans tries to overtake you in a ball of flame.

cheers,
Terry

Originally Posted by weeds

the main reason why you should not use gas while driving is that there is a chance that when the cylinders are full a change in temperture and or you go over a big bumb that liquid LPG could make it to the fridge in which case liquid expands at to 10? times it volume when it becomes a gas.........which means a good size fire

also.......

if you forget you are running the fridge on gas and drive into a petrol station you could also cause problems

in saying this you don't hear of too many caravan exploding....i'm sure plenty of you old farts drive while running the fridge on gas, short old farts do it more often i hear......................short old farts with beards, i wont go there

pretty sure it is also against the law.....but than again i don't always do things by the book..

having completed a gas installer course which included caravan installations i would never drive while running the fridge on gas

oh and yes, if the pilot flame goes out the gas solinoid will close and therefore stoppping your caravan from filling up with gas

expansion rate of LPG should be 270 times

Hi We dont use the 12V I just turn the fridge up as high as it goes the night before we leave. it will still be cold 4-5 hours later. Any longer than that I take the Waeco for the frozen stuff and put a frozen wine cask bladder (full of water) in the 3 way fridge.

Frozen stuff ok in the Waeco and the beer is still cold in the 3 way. Waeco runs all day on the van battery and the bladder can be re-frozen in the waco for the trip home.

Its a good idea to leave the bladder in the freezer on low at home for as long as possible prior to the trip and get it really cold this works for bags of ice too, they last a lot longer if you bring them home and drop them in the freezer for a few days before you need them. They ice people usually only freeze ice to the minimum to save on costs.

Originally Posted by Redback

A very wise man once told me to connect a 300watt inverter to a 12v anderson plug coming from your car and then run your 3 way fridge on 240v while your travelling

Baz.

That is a dangerous no no. Rescue people have been electrocuted (thankfully not killed) attending accidents where inverters were still alive sending 240v through the wreck. An inverter should never be used in a moving vehicle.

There is enough excess capacity in modern charging systems to power the car and provide power to 3 way in the van.

So....

Why can I buy an ADR compliant Prado with 240v in the cargo area?

Just saying

Originally Posted by Redback

A very wise man once told me to connect a 300watt inverter to a 12v anderson plug coming from your car and then run your 3 way fridge on 240v while your travelling

Baz.

Hi baz and sorry mate, the man was not wise, just very dangerous.

I’m in complete agreement with Garry, the use of 240vac while on the most is a disaster waiting to happen. Even though it is a very remote chance that someone could be electrocuted, it could happen and as there are far safer alternatives, there is absolutely no reason for it.

I carried out tests of different types of fridge/house battery wiring and even going to 3B&S twin, there were still problems with trying to charge low house batteries.

The optimum way to run a 3 way fridge and charge house batteries is to run two separate power supply cables.

Pos and neg 8B&S for the fridge.

Pos and neg 6B&S for the house batteries.

BTW, if you check your Dometic handbook, they too recommend two separate power supplies.

I’m working with another company right at this moment and we are experimenting using an 80 amp alternator to battery charger, but as a Battery to Battery Charger ( BBC ).

We are running 32mm2 twin cable from the cranking battery to the BBC, then the BBC charges the house batteries via one of the BBC’s outputs and runs the fridge off the other output.

I have only today had a discussion with one of Dometic’s technicians to make sure our set up will work with their 3 way fridges.

I should have more info on the set up early next year.

Originally Posted by feral

So....

Why can I buy an ADR compliant Prado with 240v in the cargo area?

Just saying

Hi Feral and there are a number of vehicles, including a few VWs that have factory fitted AC. It’s not illegal, but it’s bloody dangerous.

Originally Posted by TerryO

Its a good idea to always turn off your gas bottles when driving

It is a legal requirement that van gas bottles must be turned-off whilst moving.

Also, the gas bottle(s) must be mounted between the towing and the towed vehicle (ie at the front of the van/trailer) yet I've seen camper trailers with their gas bottle mounted on the driver's side behind the wheels near the back of the trailer.