Yep,, Fridges Again ??

[Goldchaser1]

. Oh yours is still goin strong Tuna,only seen it once thought u had the 70,ya not making a fashion statement if ya buy a frigemate but what a fridge!!!
Agree RR arb gear is solid but there prices are scary sometimes,put some arb springs on my old 60 series years ago,never really happy with them,theyve slowly fanned out a bit and for quite a few yrs have been rubbing on the chassis mounts a bit but we were goin through the aurora ranges over here cuppla weeks back and a deep sharp washout was in front of me before i knew it,cruza hit it hard,wife hit her head on the roof,2 ton of loaded trailer on the back,id braked enough so the trailer didnt go threw at speed but got out and to check the car,i was expecting a broken front spring but they were ok,got to camp later then realised the haymen reese hitch was at a terrible angle,also bent kaymar rear bar a bit where the hitch goes threw,cant beleive the old arb springs handled it.
Fridge sounds awsome what are they askin $$ for them?

Had a look online,dave nt that looks like good buyin for $800 odd,prob same internals as the premium ones,i think part of the secret with the fridgemate is the thick plastic case,really well insulated....

 

[Ridge Runner]

Depending on the size I have seen them from $800 up to around $1450 for the largest one,

J.

 

[condor22]

Bringing this back again. :Y:
After a bit over 12 Months with my Bushman Fridge,
All I can say is it is fantastic.
I run it at -1 Degree's.
In all conditions off grid I have ran it with a battery box with 4 x 14 Ah battery's and never had a problem.
The Battery's are Deep Cycle Long Life types used in UPS situations and are not your standard AGM's.
I will admit the last trip for 4 days was a bit of a worry but I have worked out that I did not charge
the battery's properly before going away.
They went full charge after a day with the panels running. ( 160w Rich Folding )............
Doug

A total of 52AH is not a lot to run any 12V fridge. Running and charging from solar at the same time is ok during the day and from the battery only overnight also.

Where you may have an issue is on a hot day, the day running will work with solar, but if the overnight ambient is high, your fridge may totally flatten the batteries. Do that a few times and the batteries will die a quick death.

My Engel can use upwards of 80AH in 24 hours on a 40C day/night. Your panel may keep the battery bank close to fully charged during the day, but overnight use can be more AH than you have.

The other thing to consider is that on the next day, not only do you need enough solar to run the fridge, you also need enough to charge what was used the previous night. Simply put, solar needs to produce enough charge in approx. 8 hours to replace 24 hours of battery use.

Personally I would not run any 12 V fridge on anything less than a 100AH.

 

[Tathradj]

I usually use 4 x 60ah Batteries.

 

[Ridge Runner]

A total of 52AH is not a lot to run any 12V fridge. Running and charging from solar at the same time is ok during the day and from the battery only overnight also.

Where you may have an issue is on a hot day, the day running will work with solar, but if the overnight ambient is high, your fridge may totally flatten the batteries. Do that a few times and the batteries will die a quick death.

My Engel can use upwards of 80AH in 24 hours on a 40C day/night. Your panel may keep the battery bank close to fully charged during the day, but overnight use can be more AH than you have.

The other thing to consider is that on the next day, not only do you need enough solar to run the fridge, you also need enough to charge what was used the previous night. Simply put, solar needs to produce enough charge in approx. 8 hours to replace 24 hours of battery use.

Personally I would not run any 12 V fridge on anything less than a 100AH.

80AH, that seems like an awful lot of power for 24 hours use, even my house hold fridge freezer does not use that much power and it is nothing special ?

thanks Condor, Good Post.

John.

 

[Goldchaser1]

I think it all depends on your length of time out their,the majority really only might be out for the weekend,maybe three days on the odd long weekend,i think a set of fold outs and a 100 or 120agm during winter will do the job for 2-3 days with say a 40 ltr fridge,if using the car to check a few spots during the day and recharging batteries etc well ya gonna do it easy.
All depends on circumstances,for us we have the opportunity every second week to do 5-6 days straight then the odd bigger trip every year,so prefer to have a bit power on tap,horses for courses i think.....

 

[Davent]

Fridges.....hmmmmm

Well, My Primus polar,60lt, has served me well. However, its had 2 problems.
1St problem was it wouldnt run on AC current. Was fixed under warrenty, no problem.
2nd problem, similar to the 1st. It would cycle down to the set temp , then when it got there, wouldnt cycle again, or would keep going well into the minus,s ...-17.
Just got it back, rectifyer kaput.....replacment part now not available, as the polar model has been replaced by the mammoth.
So, i now have a waco rectifier, so have to use the DC lead into the rectifier, into the house power, no problem really, but makes me wonder if the 12v will go as well, leaving me with no fridge out bush....so will upgrade next season.

It will be either an Engel or a waco, with engel being the 1st choice.

Guess thats the problem with other brands, although, when working, the primus has been very good, its replacment parts for my model, are now difficult to source, and im sure i could find the right part somewhere, but its not easy. Waco and engel are easy to find parts for.

Completely stuffed now, guess it was 6-7/years old, not a whole lot of use really.
Dissapointed it can't be repaired as parts are no longer available now. Cost me about $1100 from memory......I wouldn't risk another primus or companion again, it would be either Engel or Waco or nuffin!!

 

[RM Outback]

Fridges.....hmmmmm

Well, My Primus polar,60lt, has served me well. However, its had 2 problems.
1St problem was it wouldnt run on AC current. Was fixed under warrenty, no problem.
2nd problem, similar to the 1st. It would cycle down to the set temp , then when it got there, wouldnt cycle again, or would keep going well into the minus,s ...-17.
Just got it back, rectifyer kaput.....replacment part now not available, as the polar model has been replaced by the mammoth.
So, i now have a waco rectifier, so have to use the DC lead into the rectifier, into the house power, no problem really, but makes me wonder if the 12v will go as well, leaving me with no fridge out bush....so will upgrade next season.

It will be either an Engel or a waco, with engel being the 1st choice.

Guess thats the problem with other brands, although, when working, the primus has been very good, its replacment parts for my model, are now difficult to source, and im sure i could find the right part somewhere, but its not easy. Waco and engel are easy to find parts for.

Completely stuffed now, guess it was 6-7/years old, not a whole lot of use really.
Dissapointed it can't be repaired as parts are no longer available now. Cost me about $1100 from memory......I wouldn't risk another primus or companion again, it would be either Engel or Waco or nuffin!!

Davent don't discount Trailblaza fridge's made by Northcoast Refrigeration Co. Caloundra QLD. Aussie owned and operated they have a dealer in the NT . I have an 80 litre chest top thats 30 years old and doesn't miss a beat.

Check'em out you'll be surprised they are top quality and have been around for 35 years.

 

[RM Outback]

Oops double post :N:.

 

[Davent]

Thanks, they look good, bit xxsy though.
For that money, I'd get an Engel, just because of the ease of getting it fixed in hurry, if it needed it.
Waco cfx 50 looks a good buy, also easy for parts.
My Primus was great when it was working....

 

[RM Outback]

Yeah they do cost but imo worth every cent. Anyway just thought I'd throw it out there. Here's the one I've got, still unpacking from the Vic GT meet up.

 

[RM Outback]

Somethings not right I keep double posting .

 

[condor22]

Thanks, they look good, bit xxsy though.
For that money, I'd get an Engel, just because of the ease of getting it fixed in hurry, if it needed it.
Waco cfx 50 looks a good buy, also easy for parts.
My Primus was great when it was working....

Davent, as I've said previously, my Engel is 25 yrs old, no probs. So, "getting it fixed in a hurry" has never been an issue for me

 

[Davent]

Yeah, but they're made in Thailand now.

 

[madtuna]

Evacool :Y:

 

[Davent]

My 1st fridge was a mobicool, which I gave to my neighbor when I got the primus, its still going!
I think the mobicool was the same as the early Waco.
I got it as bargain to! K mart, no price tag, so the check out scanned. The barcode printed on the box, think it cost me just over $100!

I have a 40lt Engel (plastic one) it runs well, but temp setting is by guesstimation, and its pretty loud. I'll run that one as a freezer, and what ever I get next as a fridge. Leaning towards a CFX 50 Waco, or a 2nd hand metal Engel.

 

[RM Outback]

Thanks, they look good, bit xxsy though.
For that money, I'd get an Engel, just because of the ease of getting it fixed in hurry, if it needed it.
Waco cfx 50 looks a good buy, also easy for parts.
My Primus was great when it was working....

Davent, as I've said previously, my Engel is 25 yrs old, no probs. So, "getting it fixed in a hurry" has never been an issue for me

Mines never had to be fixed :Y: worth every cent.

 

[junkdog]

LOOK up " KICK ASS" frigs 5yr warrenty. magic for the money .....

 

[Nightjar]

Have probably told this story many times before, still have my 39L "old yella" 1980's, we use as a freezer on trips, spent $110.00 fitting a new capacitor a few years back.
As Uncle Graham says at Midland Engel, "NEVER run your Engel on 240V when using a generator, surges in power (running out of fuel the most common) will eventually kill it.

 

[Trash]

Ive got a Wacko ( Waeco) 45 LTR its about 8 years old .

Its had a rough life still going strong , have only ever replaced the tiny fuse that is part of the 12V

Anyone got one of these .....?

https://www.4wdsupacentre.com.au/ad...xqRu2i-nYI3laBKSd-ieD0a2Bmtl2TNBoC2mYQAvD_BwE