Lets talk Fridges (and new ideas)

Does anyone else have a beef with the current options available for refrigeration?

Drop slides suck right? Had one with a 40 litre National Luna fridge and I think the slide weighed in at over 40kg. They do solve the problem of being able to get into a fridge when it is in the back of a canopy or ute or mounted up high on top of a set of drawers or something but they are crazy heavy.

Upright Fridges suck too right? Insulation is normally sh.it, everything falls over or out (or needs packing in containers so it doesn't), the cold air disappears every time you open the fridge door, and the freezer bit at the top is a waste of space.

Drawer fridges that I've seen so far have also mostly been shite and I've refused to buy one. They are generally too small, not deep enough to fit the wife's bottle of wine, have poor quality insulation and wiring, and struggle to keep stuff cold.

What if there was something that had proper A-grade fibreglass insulation, where the contents of the fridge didn't fall out when you open it? Something that didn't need a fridge slide or drop slide, and could be used as a fridge or as a legitimate freezer, with an upper shelf for smaller items and could still fit in the wine? And what if we could make it here in Aus and every component was serviceable and replaceable and not throw-away?

Playing with ideas again at the moment...

Have you looked at vacuum insulation?

I have had a trailblazer fridge made by norcoast refrigeration in Qld for over 30yrs, it’s got 3” insulation but they are very bulky and won’t fit due to the drawers but it is 80ltr, I see they have a 65ltr work fridge now with a side opening door. Check the website for sizing and prices, I have been thinking of getting myself a drawer fridge to make it easier to get the cans out of, just a 20ltr as it will fit on my rear seat platform in the Side door.Attachment 85372

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Originally Posted by Cuppa

Have you looked at vacuum insulation?

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Fibreglass panel with refrigeration grade insulation in between at this stage mate. I might take a further look though.

@Stropp - yes, very familiar with the Trailblazer, and they are excellent products. Same problem though. Hard to access. Imagine that front opening, but on an internal slide, so the whole guts of the fridge came out to you like a Fridge Drawer. An Upright Fridge Drawer, that was able to still retain a good amount of the cold air in it and you could then access the contents right in front of you.

@Stropp - like this? This will freeze to -18C as it has a proper compressor and is one we have been testing for a while now. Made it stubby height actually (:-)), but we have also fitted a computer type fan and frozen down the fish fillets too.

Attachment 85373

A wacky little idea Ben Mate, imagine a range of tallish slimline Podder type fridge/freezers. (Sawafuji Bulletproof Motors of Course)
Instead of needing crazy weight mechanics to bring the entire F/F weight outside the truck, it could/should work the same bringing the contents/baskets out to swing drop down much much lighter.
Best nuffy tonight myself description I guess would be a heavy home dishwasher power plant and lower the front door to have baskets/tubs/whatever pendulum swung down by 90 degrees to users level maybe [emoji848]
Will find a pen and paper tomorrow somehow to sketch [emoji3578] this may affect public knowledge for your patent though Brother [emoji2958][emoji106][emoji106][emoji23]


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I too have thought about what I want in a fridge.

An upright, multi draw fridge with a door seal and latch for each draw. With or without a freezer draw as per customer request.
Each draw is in its own separate compartment except for a grill or holes to spread the chill. Each draw is retained on a runner and drops down at an angle when drawn out to full length same as MB suggested. Each draw has a small whiteboard or similar for contents.

Just send me 1% royalties when you market them.:)

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Originally Posted by FNQGU

@Stropp - like this? This will freeze to -18C as it has a proper compressor and is one we have been testing for a while now. Made it stubby height actually (:-)), but we have also fitted a computer type fan and frozen down the fish fillets too.

Attachment 85373

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Yes mate that’s what I’d be looking at, how much approximately

@mudnut and @MB - I get your thoughts.

Will find some pics of some others that we've been testing too. Unless we can achieve some sort of economy of scale, it might be priced out of the market yet. Everything you see in the above has been hand made, welded, routed, glued etc. too.

@Stropp - working on this still. In the meantime, have been testing the temperatures of the contents as well.

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Originally Posted by FNQGU

@mudnut and @MB - I get your thoughts.

Will find some pics of some others that we've been testing too. Unless we can achieve some sort of economy of scale, it might be priced out of the market yet. Everything you see in the above has been hand made, welded, routed, glued etc. too.

@Stropp - working on this still. In the meantime, have been testing the temperatures of the contents as well.

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Don't just test one or two, you'll have to go through a fair few to make sure of even temps right across the drawer.

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Originally Posted by FNQGU

@mudnut and @MB - I get your thoughts.

Will find some pics of some others that we've been testing too. Unless we can achieve some sort of economy of scale, it might be priced out of the market yet. Everything you see in the above has been hand made, welded, routed, glued etc. too.

@Stropp - working on this still. In the meantime, have been testing the temperatures of the contents as well.

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Yes as Winnie said you will need to test a few, send one to the west for dry heat testing 😜

……….and another to us here in the Mexican winter mountains, the efficiency data we can record for you Ben Mate will be dishonestly marketable gold like Kingies etc…..[emoji23][emoji106][emoji106]


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I mistakingly showed the wife a photo of a Y62 rear fitted out and it happened to have a Upright fridge in it.... She asked if that indeed was an Upright..... Damn It. I just bought an 80Lt Bushmans Upright. We have a drop down slide and she says its heavy and difficult to manage although the newer ones that MCS sell are pretty sweet but had want to be for $800

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Originally Posted by FNQGU

…………..Unless we can achieve some sort of economy of scale, it might be priced out of the market yet. Everything you see in the above has been hand made, welded, routed, glued etc. too…….
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Apologies for the snippet Ben Mate and 100% do agree from little experience.
Spent 6-12months back at the turn of the millennium building decent scale coolrooms/clean rooms with Bondor high density panels etc….
Told the Bloke I was contracting grubby subby to he was mad chucking away expensive thinnest 50mm HD panel scraps as we could build ultimate Esky’s with them after hours.
He gave me a challenge to count my hours Friday night knocking up a 60L without hinges, just a lid.
Needless to say well after midnight I finished and calculated the labour content to stubbornly agree.
Prototypes, YES, final production needs a competitive streamline materials/methodology to appease the Australian Bunnings $2.00 plastic bucket purchase mentality we all are guilty of [emoji2961][emoji106][emoji106]
Price point top dollar we’ll buy here, just worried for copy cats making your R&D cheaper and much lesser but similar [emoji22]


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https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/ip-fo...ure-agreements


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@MB thanks mate, yeah have considered the IP aspect but at the end of the day not sure there is really anything new in any of this. This is more just about being sick of the current fridge options and trying to build something better and fit for purpose. A bit like the box thing.

The glue-up time is literally like 25 mins. The work is in the fitting of the compressor, evaporator, thermostat, temp probe, and then making the drawer itself too. Still, it is rock solid and works a treat and with an aluminium case (and no carpet) it could easily just live in the back of a ute too.

It might end up being a 'premium' option that may not suit everyone's budget as pricing at the moment is about the equivalent of a fridge + a drop slide. Weight is roughly 20kgs.

This is the larger version with the top shelf. The industrial-grade fridge latch works a treat. You can see that in this setup the contents are super easy to access.

Attachment 85380

Here's the other one. The Interior of the fridge is the same as the one above, just played around with the fascia to make it all 'fit' with the camper. Handy having a mate who is a fabricator. This is his own vehicle and new camper design. Pretty sweet set up. The beer fridge is on the other side.

Attachment 85381