Thread: Caravan 3 way fridge

Originally Posted by loanrangie

Same here, picked up my van yesterday so still looking at everything. If the fridge dies i'll be going to 12V brass monkey from jaycar and upping the battery capacity.

I notice the BM fridge needs 100 mm clearance on the sides and 200 mm at the back. If that applies to the upright van fridges, it could make it difficult to fit in an existing space in a van.

Originally Posted by Bulletman

So those of you who have the 3 way fridge, do you choose a lower temp setting when driving and fridge on 12v to cut down on power consumption, or does your car alternator keep up with the demand

Cheers Bulletman

For whatever reason Crusader and Dometic have this symbiotic relationship, all their vans come with a 3 way fridge UNLESS you specify something else during the build, hence we've been running this 3-way dometic in Rosie for 8 months now and after all that ,, your answer is---

Just run it on gas 24/7 and forget it,

and Please dont argue about petrol stations, your wife is statistically in far worse danger getting out of the car and her dress causing a fire through static electricity..

The ultimate result would be buy a Bushmans compressor and enjoy the cold snacks...

We purchased a 95L Engal ( STR100F but the freezer model) about ten years ago and used it in our old Golf. Best thing we ever did. 3.6A at startup, and even better afterwoods.

There really is no other choice for van life than solar and a compressor fridge..

Originally Posted by vnx205

I notice the BM fridge needs 100 mm clearance on the sides and 200 mm at the back. If that applies to the upright van fridges, it could make it difficult to fit in an existing space in a van.

That all seems a bit excessive... must be really inefficient if it needs that much airgap...

I have had a few 3 way fridges over the years and they ALWAYS run better on gas, 240v is OK and I found that running on 12v they were pretty hopeless.
3 way fridges are pretty "Old school" these days (much like the old kerro fridges) and the 240/12v compressor types ar FAR more efficient and considering that 99% of vans and campers are now equiped with solar they make absolute sense.

I have no idea why they are still getting fitted to new vans these days instead of the compressor types, Maybe they need to get rid of the old stock.

I have no idea why they are still getting fitted to new vans these days instead of the compressor types, Maybe they need to get rid of the old stock.

Rainy weeks!

I will stick my oar in now.

I first used a 3 way in 1977 and have an Engel 40L that I bought in 2000.( first with R134A and a fan.)

I bought a caravan a year ago and have used the 3way fridge while on holidays usually in cool weather.

Yes they are better on gas and 240V. They must also be level . Mine holds 2-4 C at the bottom on a 25C day at about 1/3 thermostat setting. I have a small fan inside.

When on 12v you must be driving as they take at least 11amps.This perhaps is one reason they are not so good on 12v as on many roads they go up and down and sideways away from level.

I have replaced the small wiring which meandered around the caravan with 8B&S with as direct a run as possible from 4B&S to the rear corner of the car and a 200amp relay. It still measured 9C at the bottom after a couple of hours drive although the ice was still icy.

The installation is important. There is a Dometic installation PDF on the internet which sets out how it should be. Briefly the fins no more than an 20MM from the side wall and the top vent must be above the condenser fins. The fridge walls should be isolated from the rear heat, although how you do this in situ is a question. The top of mine had just rockwool so I sealed it with flashing tape.

Since I plan to go to Qld this winter I have fitted 4x100MM fans to the top vent controlled by a thermo switch. Funny I am doing it on the cheap as there are many pre made ones on Ebay but I found that their fans would not fit my condenser anyway as it is close to the outer wall. I will run the fans from my van battery as they in total take 0.8 amps when cycled. I ran a thin wire in conduit with the 8B&S.

Next step is to get some sail track and make up an awning for the fridge for hot climates. I am also looking at the viability of fitting a deck vent under the floor to scoop[ in air when the van is moving as I wonder if the fridges are deprived of air flow when moving

I hope this helps. There is still a place for 3ways as an installation to support a compressor fridge can cost well over $1000. My Engel in the car is run from a 130AH AGM battery and can be recharged via solar panel.
Regards PhilipA

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

That all seems a bit excessive... must be really inefficient if it needs that much airgap...

The condenser tubes are wrapped around the outside walls of the cabinet.Same as most compressor fridges these days.
The more room the better,but half that at the sides i would have thought would be OK.
A vent in the floor of the caravan, at the rear of the fridge cavity, always helps.
A look in the specs and it has the tropical ratings,so should be fine in ambients above 35 degrees,although some of the temperature ratings are done at 25 degrees,which is a bit low for Aus.

Well we've made it 1000ks thru mostly 40 degree heat, the fridge has run fine on 12v , getting charged from the D3 thru a traxide set up.
We have been plugged into 240v each night so far so havent tested the gas side but so far all is going ok.
Bulletman