Yep,, Fridges Again ??

[Tathradj]

Been a while since I have stuck my head in.
I have a Bushman fridge now and it is fantastic.
I ran it at Oallen for 3 days on two 60 ah AGM batteries and after
the second day they were down to 11.5 volts under load.
3 hours on the panels and they were back to 12.8 volts.
When I left the next morning it was stuck in the back of the Prado
for the trip home.
4 hours later I got home to find the cig plug lighter had come out.
Frozens were still frozen and my beer was still cold enough to drink.
I ran it in the 52 liter mode as I had left the flat lid in the store.
Fridge is now sitting in my dining room with beer and lolly water in it.
Sitting on -2.
Taking into consideration it was night time, I only heard it cycle a couple of times.
All in all, Very happy with it and I will let you know as time goes by.

 

[condor22]

Tath was the 12.8V with panels on or after you disconnected?

BTW 11.5V is about 90% depth of discharge and if 2x60AH are in parallel, that's about 108AH used. At 25% cycle you might get 2000 cycles at 90% you might be lucky to get 350 cycles. Yours is a good example of more solar more often is best......(or some other way of charging) Also that you used over 50AH a day.

 

[Tathradj]

After I disconnected under load with the fridge compressor running.

 

[Nightjar]

Old Yella both undressed & respectable.

 

[Tathradj]

I am not worried about the voltage discharge down to 10.5 volts as these batteries are designed for 10.5 volts total discharge.
They are used in heavy UPS situations and have a usable life of 10 years.
Bloody expensive at over $450.00 each if you have to buy them.
I get mine for nothing as one of my job descriptions is to replace them every 2 years at 4 at a time.
The equipment they are used in is for an essential radio system.

 

[GaryO]

How big are they Doug ?

 

[Tathradj]

52 Litres with the high lid plus adapter.
I stood a 1.25 litre coke and 2 litre of milk in it and every thing else in the baskets.
Here is the web site Cobber.
http://www.bushman.com.au/bushman-features
Please note, I am a happy camper with this fridge and the only reward I have is the pleasure
of having a decent adaptable fridge for my camping adventures.
Oh, And cold Beer.

 

[lewy]

most fridges will auto cut out at about 10.5 volts to avoid stuffing the battery,My old old engel dosn't have that feature and i stuffed a battery.I now have an bushman for the last three years.nnly problem i have had was my fault when i didn't allow amply breathing space in the boot on a 44deg day and the thermal cutout kept switching it off,That is not the fridges fault though.

 

[Tathradj]

Apart from the over sight Lewy, How do you find your fridge.?
I have only had mine for 2 weeks with one outing and I am already hooked on it.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Well done Tath that looks an Absolute ball tearer,

john

 

[Ridge Runner]

4 hours later I got home to find the cig plug lighter had come out.
Frozens were still frozen and my beer was still cold enough to drink.

That's another reason I went with the ARB because this Gadget and it can monitor 2 fridges at a time and has a few frequencies to choose from so if you are travelling in a convoy it will read your fridge and not the blokes behind you and has a range up to 30 meters.

http://www.mps-trading.co.uk/arb-fridge-remote-wireless-display~165

http://www.arb.com.au/products/fridges-camping-accessories/arb-fridge-freezers/

john

 

[Tathradj]

John,
That is the very next gadjet I am going to purchase.
A remote fridge monitor.
I am going to fit mine internally in the fridge so I do not have any wiring exposed.
And Anderson plugs every where. LOL

 

[Ridge Runner]

John,
That is the very next gadjet I am going to purchase.
A remote fridge monitor.
I am going to fit mine internally in the fridge so I do not have any wiring exposed.
And Anderson plugs every where. LOL

Yes mate a warm beer is not good after a 6 or 7 hour drive out in the bush, I went out west once and it was real hot even in the back of a cruiser and 60 mph it was still too hot,

Not a problem here coz I got winds between 60 to 106 mph at the moment, major airports are cancelling flights etc, I got Beer and Grub so Im set and Im not going out,

 

[Tathradj]

Another update.
I retrieved the flat lid from where I bought it and now have all
the fridge with me now.
It is a zone fridge and after talking to the owner of Bushman, I moved the sensor up a few inch's to increase the frozen zone in the bottom.
With the High dome lid on and full, It did not make a noticeable difference to the compressor run times and strewth it cools bloody fast.
With just the flat lid and no adapter, with 500 mils of water, It is down to 0 degree's within 15 minutes.
Water was frozen solid next day.
So far so good and with some use in the real world I will report as such.
The Tuena meetup is going to be a real test as it will be packed for a weeks use. I am going to do this as I need to know the fridge's capabilities for the on coming Summer next season.
There are a few fridges in the Tuena Hilton as a backup. LOL
Very Happy camper so far.

 

[condor22]

I'm out in the GT, guess what, day 10 my Engel has crapped itself. However, it is 23 yrs old.

So here's what I've found so far;

• I checked the power line fuses, all ok.[/*]
• I checked the 12 volt plug that fits to the Engel, yup I got 12V there.[/*]
• I then got the 240VAC cable out, plugged it to mains and the Engel works no problem, so the Sawafuji Swing motor is ok.[/*]

So conclusion, something inside the Engel, possibly a loose connection on the 12V side (I hope)
Possibly the control circuit of the inverter i.e a capacitor
or worst case the whole bloody inverter.

Most likely gonna have to wait till I get home.

If anyone out there has any ideas where to start looking, before I have no choice but a repairer, I would appreciate any info.

 

[condor22]

BTW does anyone know if a 29-30 lt 23 yr old Engel has an internal fuse?

and

Anyone got any links to any data online re Engel circuit schematics?

 

[Ridge Runner]

Sorry to hear that mate, stay safe, ok

john.

 

[Ridge Runner]

BTW does anyone know if a 29-30 lt 23 yr old Engel has an internal fuse?

and

Anyone got any links to any data online re Engel circuit schematics?

This is all I can find, Sorry,, john

 

[blisters]

Try measuring the 12v cable under load. It may read 12v but when the compressor kicks in it may drop to 0v due to a broken wire or bad connection back to the battery. Maybe the cable internal fuse holder is a bit gungy?
Jon

 

[condor22]

Thanks blisters will try that, the cables fuse holders are all fairly new, but will check.

and

Thanks for that John, will see if it is similar

Mike

Me thinks the job is for home with all my tools etc and a bench. Looks like a little dis assembly is needed and the bush aint no place for that...