[adventurevan]

Hey All,

Just wanted to see what people are doing for a fridge/freezer in their promasters. I ended up buying one of these last week and the thing is killer! Highly recommended. I purchased the 50L which seems perfect for long weekends or well thought out week long trips. I thought 60L would take up too much space. Anyone else using something they love? What kind of price are you paying. I got mine for just over $800.

Thanks,


http://store.arbusa.com/ARB-Fridge-Freezer-50-Qt-10800472-P3626.aspx


Stephen

 

[Zyzzyx]

We'll be going with a built-in compressor fridge with freezer instead of a portable setup. Something around 5 cf in size. Layout to be determined yet. If we go vertical, looking at a Vitrifrigo. If we go with a short side-by-side, a NovaKool. Price will be significantly more than the ARB.


I do have two old Igloo solid state 12v absorption/peltier coolers. The plan is to use one or both of those as needed until the 'real' fridge is installed and functional. Though they do only get about 30F below ambient.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

I plan to go with a 3.0 (with internal freezer=85 liter) Norcold 12 volt Danfoss compressor NR 751. Last camper had 3.3 cu. ft. 3way and it proved more than adequate. Amazon has it but it can be bought for about $675 elsewhere.

 

[TravelDerby]

I had a Waeco/Dometic 12v unit in my last van, but I plan on using the one below in my Promaster. It's cheaper than my former Waeco unit, and gets great reviews. The real selling point is the available extended 3 year warranty from Home Depot. I plan on traveling full time on my Promaster and they offer dropoff at any Home Depot, so I won't be without it for long if there's an issue.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whynter-45-qt-Portable-Fridge-Freezer-FM-45G/202555696

 

[jostalli]

Www.truckfridge.com
Can't beat their prices and they are danfoss compressors. Westy Ventures carries them as well.

 

[MsNomer]

I'm going to bite the bullet and get a 45l Engel chest. I am influenced by the success I've had with Fisher-Paykel, another Australian product with unconventional design and few moving parts.

 

[lkruper]

I had a Waeco/Dometic 12v unit in my last van, but I plan on using the one below in my Promaster. It's cheaper than my former Waeco unit, and gets great reviews. The real selling point is the available extended 3 year warranty from Home Depot. I plan on traveling full time on my Promaster and they offer dropoff at any Home Depot, so I won't be without it for long if there's an issue.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Whynter-45-qt-Portable-Fridge-Freezer-FM-45G/202555696

I was looking at this as well. It appears to be readily available at big box stores which is a plus. When are you planning to get it? ... please review it here when you do.

 

[Rambler]

efficiency comparison?

Anyone researched which of the units mentioned has the lowest power consumption (amp-hour draw over a 24hr period)? Is there much variation between the different manufacturers/models?

 

[MsNomer]

I found this:

http://4xoverland.com/12v-fridge-freezer-buyer-guide/

 

[Rambler]

I found this:

http://4xoverland.com/12v-fridge-freezer-buyer-guide/

Great info here, sounds like the comparisons are from actual field testing. Be sure to readthe "Additional Ideas" at the bottom for more things to consider when deciding what is important for you.

 

[vanin]

I had planned on using an Engle to make ice every 3-4 days and put it in my Engle cooler.Thought it might extend the batteries life.

 

[uncubed]

I had planned on using an Engle to make ice every 3-4 days and put it in my Engle cooler.Thought it might extend the batteries life.

You are going to use a fridge to cool a cooler?
This would take more battery power then save.

 

[uncubed]

Cold air does not fall out on a top load fridge when you open the door. They use less battery power than
a front door fridge. Even with the same compressor.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

2nd Law of Thermodynamics "In every transfer of heat losses occur"

Simple Laws you must follow!
Zeroth: You must play the game.
First: You can't win.
Second: You can't break even.
Third: You can't quit the game
C.P. Snow

 

[uncubed]

I am going to charge my battery with a battery charger that is plugged in to my inverter that is connected to the battery.
Free power! sarc sarc. And that will power the fridge.

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

Cold air does not fall out on a top load fridge when you open the door. They use less battery power than
a front door fridge. Even with the same compressor.

BUT.... a good sized one say 2+ cu ft take up enormous floor space so a slide out rack is almost a requirement and a cabinet which is about 25+ inches deep to slide it into. I like the features of the Whynter 62 with two doors but check out the size!
http://www.whynter.com/productdetail/refrigeration/portable_freezers/349

Oh and to start a conversation.... The refrigerator door thing is mostly Myth as the cold is held in the contents of the fridge and very little is held in the cooled air. Not nothing but insignificant. Buy a vertical or horizontal fridge based on what fits.

 

[uncubed]

BUT.... a good sized one say 2+ cu ft take up enormous floor space so a slide out rack is almost a requirement and a cabinet which is about 25+ inches deep to slide it into. I like the features of the Whynter 62 with two doors but check out the size!
http://www.whynter.com/productdetail/refrigeration/portable_freezers/349

Oh and to start a conversation.... The refrigerator door thing is mostly Myth as the cold is held in the contents of the fridge and very little is held in the cooled air. Not nothing but insignificant. Buy a vertical or horizontal fridge based on what fits.

Uh? Cold air does not fall down? What about supermarket freezers that are opened up at the top and you reach in and grab your frozen burgers and such.

The more you open door the more that cold air has to be replaced?

 

[RDinNHandAZ]

uncubed,
Yes we agree, the cold air does flow out and has to be re-cooled, however the quantity of energy needed is very small in comparison to the total energy to cool the food, water etc in the refrigerator. That small loss is not significant. It is not the same as a supermarket freezer where a vertical door system will be opened much of the time if the store is busy, thus chest type refrigerators and freezers are common, which by the way, are probably not as efficient as a vertical door freezer if it is opened occasionally. Cold air is more dense than warm air but when you go to that section of the store you can feel the cold in the isle as much of the air flows out due to the currents of air created by shoppers, staff, carts etc. In all this discussion "significant" it the operative term. A poorly designed chest refrigerator may be less efficient than a good vertical one. For all of us I repeat "Buy a vertical or horizontal fridge based on what fits." Open either one only when you need to but don't obsess about it, the loss is small. (by not significant I mean cooling a liter of air takes .0012 as much energy as cooling a liter of beer!)

 

[GaryBIS]

Cold air does not fall out on a top load fridge when you open the door. They use less battery power than
a front door fridge. Even with the same compressor.

Hi,
Not to beat this to death, but a rough calc says that reheating the air for 10 openings of the fridge per days is only about a 1% increase in electricity use.


The calculation:
For my 3 cf Norcold fridge:

weight of air = (3 cf)(0.075 lb/cf) = 0.225 lbs

Cool the 3 cf of room temp air down from 80F to 40F = (0.225 lb)(80F - 40F)(0.22 BTU/lb-F) = 2 BTU, or 0.6 watt-hr.
0.22 is the specific heat of air (how many BTU it takes to cool 1 lb of air 1F).

My efficient fridge uses 24 watts average, so, if you opened the fridge 10 times a day, the hit would be (10)(0.6 watt-hr) /(24 watt)(24 hr) = 0.01 -- that is, it would cost 1% more to operate than if you never opened the door.
It might be a bit less as the fridge likely has a COP > 1, on the other hand if the door is open fro a while, the warm air might warm up the fridge contents some, and they would have to be cooled back down.


Gary

 

[lkruper]

You are going to use a fridge to cool a cooler?
This would take more battery power then save.

I had thought before that this might be a way to save power if one wanted both a fridge and a freezer. The freezer could be kept frozen with alternator/solar power and ice it made could be used in an efficient cooler which would be used as a refrigerator.


I think the poster intends to make ice every 3-4 days and not leave the freezer on the whole time. It might take a while to freeze enough ice to supply the cooler and granted the power used would be based on how long that took and how much the compressor cycled.


However, depending upon one's habits, if one was driving and charging the freezer from the alternator, battery power would not be depleted, and if one then camped somewhere without power the ice might last a day or two without using any battery power.