A Delma! Diesel heater or 175L Compressor Fridge ?

[mikeg]

Ah, the great fridge debate , I wondered when it would arise again.

I know there are quite a lot of technical minded forum members that go to immense trouble to test and evaluate different types of fridges and their performance and quite a lot of these have differing opinions on what is best. I cannot comment on their views my only valid comment can be on my own personal experience.

When I was fitting Gypsy out back in 2000 and not being particularly technical minded I asked around to find the most highly recommended fridgo to talk to. At that time I had no preconceived ideas on the type of fridge other than I wanted the largest possible as we were intending to be full time.

A few people I spoke to recommended a bloke at Botany, in Sydney, to talk to. He was very experienced in 12v refrigeration and said he could convert a suitable domestic fridge for us and suggested a Kelvinator Opal 365 litre as the best cabinet at that time and the biggest that the Danfoss compressor he wanted to use could handle.

We went ahead and orded one for $2055 which we thought was very reasonable compared to the commercially available 12 v fridges.

It was installed with a 50mm gap all round and is not vented externally, heavy guage wire was used to connect and it has been in continuous use since Nov 2000 in all types of conditions and has never missed a beat, we love it.

I do not know whether Leon, who converted it for us, is still doing them but he would be sure worth a call. I can't recall his trade name but the phone number I still have for him (from back in 2000) is 02 93169539.

Mike

[BruceS]

That's what we're after. Personal experience and real life testing!
Thanks Mike!

[ucdailoi]

Spend $600 and buy a Fisher & Paykel E249T and you will have a bigger fridge and a bigger freezer that was designed, built and tested to meet Aust Standards testing in 42degC heat soak conditions. My unit a few weeks back worked perfectly with the 2way termometer reading 46degc sitting on top of the fridge, actually ontop of the gap between the 2 fridges, the freezer temp was minus 18degC and the fridge cabinet was 1.5 degC, all running off solar, batteries and a 1000w PSW inverter. The bonus is auto cyclic defrost and frast free freezer. Quite a few of us using 240vac household fridges as motorhome fridges.
T1 Terry[/quote]

What is your battery/solar capacity and how much space do you have for the fridge Terry?

[aussichef]

Please remember I'm in a caravan not a motorhome.
And with my 2 form of arthritis. There is no way I can do the work my self.
Plus on the pension, doesn't lend it self to a large bank balance, at the end of each fortnight lol
Warren

[T1 Terry]

The 240vac house fridge and inverter losses equals the same as the Ah useage for a Danfross comproessor in an equal size fridge, it just works better and a heap cheaper.
The dimensions of the Fisher & Paykel E249T and C250T are the same as the Waeco 221 from memory, the Ah are the same for both, until the hot weather, then the Waeco uses lots more and can't handle much over 36 deg, it's at a 100% cycle rate by then. Apparently upgrading the compessor to a DB50 gets them working as desired up to the mid 40's, but the Ah are higher.
a few who have had household fridges converted to low voltage operation say they have problems with the evaporator in the fridge section icing up and then it doesn't maintain a stable cabinet temp. The cyclic defrost does a clean cycle after every compressor run so it never has this problem.
How much solar and how much battery to just run the fridge? 100Ah useable and 350w of solar, double the battery capacity is you want 2 days in reserve, 200Ah of lithium ferrous or 400Ah of AGM or flooded cell.

[homeless]

My bus was/is all 240v when I bought it. and to replace the 260ltr fridge to 12v cost more than my new batteries and still left money for the inverter.

I have only been using it this way continuously for 20 months but the fridge would have to be at least 7 or 8 years old.

Worked in the big heat a while ago and the bus was nearly 50degrees one day when I cam back inside and the beer was still cold and the stuff in the freezer was still frozen.

Regards
Brian

[John M]

We have a Waeco 190 l compressor fridge, and it has been in use for five years, it does the job well, irrespective of the temperature, when the temperature is in the mid to high forties, in the bus, the fridge works just as well as far as internal temperature is concerned, However the hotter the temp, the longer more frequent the running time, therefore the greater the power use. with the 190 (and I believe 150 l) Waeco merely purchased a case from Westinghouse and fitted a Danfos compressor and controller. I don't know how they go now that Westinghouse no longer manufacture the small fridges.
If I was contemplating fitting a new fridge I would definitely go the household 240v version, powered from a dedicated, pure sine wave inverter.
As for your conundrum, a fridge or a heater, My choice would always be the fridge, if it is too cold you are probably too far south anyway, but keeping your food (and Beer) cold is not an option.
However, as was stated the option of a compressor fridge is still limited by your capacity to power it, I will probably be howled down on this, but I believe (and from my experience) the requirement for full time off line use,of a normal set up with compressor fridge gas stove, hotwater etc., is a minimum of 400 ah of batteries and 400 w of solar panels.

[BobnBev]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PLANAR-WEBAS ... 4d092b63ef

The price of a diesel heater has come down, now that the russians have entered the market, ( if they work there they would warm anything) I fitted one the same as this and its fine, $680 posted from e---bay..They are so easy to fit......
The fridge bit .....? I have a 12 volt 240 volt auto switch over 190 lt, but revamped it a little and its fine.....

Hope this helps a little.. Bob n Bev....

[BruceS]

Bob n Bev,
I think this has been asked before but ....
Are you available for doing fridge repairs & updates?
Are you 'in business' or just a hobbyist?
Do you have "mates rates"?
Do you do air conditioners as well?

[Wilbor]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PLANAR-WEBAS ... 4d092b63ef

The price of a diesel heater has come down, now that the russians have entered the market, ( if they work there they would warm anything) I fitted one the same as this and its fine, $680 posted from e---bay..They are so easy to fit......
The fridge bit .....? I have a 12 volt 240 volt auto switch over 190 lt, but revamped it a little and its fine.....

Hope this helps a little.. Bob n Bev....

Be a bit wary of this ebay supplier, I have bought a number of things off him and all were delivered just fine and promptly but when I had a problem with an inverter he was no help at all, promised the world but delivered SFA