Ironman 65L dual compartment Fridge / Freezer

[rafa]

Well there's plenty out there to choose from, I'm sure some of the fellas on the forum would have some opinions on what brands are the best.
I was just impressed by the size and price.

Sounds like whatever you get it definitely needs to be hardcore & reliable.

Still not discounted the ironman. Kinda liking one unit drawing on battery instead if two.

[Cuppa]

I'll second the separate fridge & freezer idea. Far more flexible.

Issue may become having sufficient power to run them (as it would be if you went with a significantly larger single unit).

Possibly you can scrape by (power wise) with a 65 litre single unit, depending upon the temp you have it set at.

It is most unlikely that your single 145w panel would keep up with a fridge & a freezer, or a big fridge/freezer (80litre+) for a week+ at a time. (A few days yes, but if going longer the batteries would be losing some capacity each day & by the end of a week although the fridges might still be running you would be in battery 'premature death' territory. Buying a new battery every year may be an acceptable trade off against extra weight &/or cost of alternatives however. If it were me I'd prefer the system to be 'balanced' & not need to worry about flat batteries. A second panel would help enormously if you had enough roof 'real estate'.

Of course you may be able to plug into 240v when stopped in the communities too, in which case a 'smart' (multi stage) mains charger would be a worthwhile investment & might suffice without need for a second panel. If you could only plug in every second or third night just increasing battery capacity may be the go.

I can't recall if you are also charging your aux battery from the alternator? If so, then providing you drive for long enough each day you should be ok as is. If no dc to dc charger (i.e. just via a voltage sensitive relay) the solar will help to top up the battery beyond what the alternator can put in provided you reach your destination with sufficient hours of sunlight left in the day. A bit of a balancing act between driving for long enough to get the battery as full as the alternator will take it (around 70% full) & leaving long enough in the day for the solar to top it up enough for overnight use. A second panel would be beneficial, & could be a portable type.

Alterntively a small generator & 240v smart charger. Then you have to carry fuel for the gennie, & I expect that might mean needing a diesel one in some communities?

Cuppa

[oncedisturbed]

We are more than likely going to get say a 35/40L to use as a dedicated freezer as the power draw will be fairly small compared to the fridge as we won't be back and forth going into it all the time as opposed to the fridge

[Bob]

I have always had a three way Fridge which I have found to work very well however some people seem to have trouble with them.
I ran on 240V at home when Packing and then on 12V whilst travelling
On Gas at Campsite
Must be kept level to run efficiently


An Extract from an Article on BCF Site

3 Way Fridge / Freezers are often described as the ‘ultimate freedom’ when it comes to portable refrigeration as they can be powered by LPG (the same gas commonly used with camp stoves and BBQs). This allows you to arrive at our campsite, take the fridge / freezer out of the vehicle, hook it up to a 9kg gas bottle and you have about 3 weeks of run time. No concern about charging or flattening batteries, no need for a powered campsite and still capable of freezing.

This makes 3-Way fridge / freezers the perfect option for long duration stays in the one location, such as the annual two week camping holiday, just ‘set and forget’.

There are a couple of characteristics of 3-Way fridge / freezers that make them less ideal for travelling and stopping with the fridge running in the vehicle and more suited to long duration stays in the one location. Firstly 3-Way fridge / freezers need to be level to operate effectively, whereas a 2-Way fridge will operate at full efficiency on up to a 30° angle. Secondly a 2-Way fridge is extremely low draw, drawing somewhere between 2.5 and 4.5 amps per hour when running and like your fridge at home, once it reaches the desired temperature the compressor cuts out until it needs to work again. So with a 2-Way fridge / freezer the compressor is not running all the time drawing power, whereas a 3-Way fridge / freezer uses a absorption cooling system that runs continually and when on 12V it will draw a constant 10 amps an hour.

So what does this mean?

A 3-Way fridge will continually draw 10 amps an hour from your battery and needs to be level, so it is not ideal for those travelling and doing short stops, especially if they want to operate the fridge inside the vehicle without running the vehicle to keep the battery charged. However once stopped for any length of time it is a dream as you remove the fridge from the vehicle, level it, change over to gas and ‘set and forget’ for 3 weeks without thinking about a charging source.

2-Way fridges on the other hand are perfect for travelling and stopping for short periods because they can be left in a vehicle, even on an angle and will operate at full efficiency with minimal draw. Even better if you have a dual battery kit fitted, then the second (auxiliary) battery can be isolated, the fridge run from this second battery and even if it goes flat you are still able to start the vehicle from the main battery. When using 2-Way fridge / freezers for longer duration stays though, is that it runs on 12V and this means you need to run your vehicle to charge your batteries or connect a charging source such as solar panel or generator.

[Cuppa]

We are more than likely going to get say a 35/40L to use as a dedicated freezer as the power draw will be fairly small compared to the fridge as we won't be back and forth going into it all the time as opposed to the fridge

I have a 60 litre ARB I use as a fridge & a 35 litre ARB I use as a freezer. Both have the same compressor unit. My experience, in hot weather, has been that the freezer set at minus 12 uses more power than the fridge set at 1 degree.

Cuppa

[Cuppa]

I have always had a three way Fridge which I have found to work very well however some people seem to have trouble with them.
I ran on 240V at home when Packing and then on 12V whilst travelling
On Gas at Campsite
Must be kept level to run efficiently


An Extract from an Article on BCF Site

3 Way Fridge / Freezers are often described as the ‘ultimate freedom’ when it comes to portable refrigeration as they can be powered by LPG (the same gas commonly used with camp stoves and BBQs). This allows you to arrive at our campsite, take the fridge / freezer out of the vehicle, hook it up to a 9kg gas bottle and you have about 3 weeks of run time. No concern about charging or flattening batteries, no need for a powered campsite and still capable of freezing.

This makes 3-Way fridge / freezers the perfect option for long duration stays in the one location, such as the annual two week camping holiday, just ‘set and forget’.

There are a couple of characteristics of 3-Way fridge / freezers that make them less ideal for travelling and stopping with the fridge running in the vehicle and more suited to long duration stays in the one location. Firstly 3-Way fridge / freezers need to be level to operate effectively, whereas a 2-Way fridge will operate at full efficiency on up to a 30° angle. Secondly a 2-Way fridge is extremely low draw, drawing somewhere between 2.5 and 4.5 amps per hour when running and like your fridge at home, once it reaches the desired temperature the compressor cuts out until it needs to work again. So with a 2-Way fridge / freezer the compressor is not running all the time drawing power, whereas a 3-Way fridge / freezer uses a absorption cooling system that runs continually and when on 12V it will draw a constant 10 amps an hour.

So what does this mean?

A 3-Way fridge will continually draw 10 amps an hour from your battery and needs to be level, so it is not ideal for those travelling and doing short stops, especially if they want to operate the fridge inside the vehicle without running the vehicle to keep the battery charged. However once stopped for any length of time it is a dream as you remove the fridge from the vehicle, level it, change over to gas and ‘set and forget’ for 3 weeks without thinking about a charging source.

2-Way fridges on the other hand are perfect for travelling and stopping for short periods because they can be left in a vehicle, even on an angle and will operate at full efficiency with minimal draw. Even better if you have a dual battery kit fitted, then the second (auxiliary) battery can be isolated, the fridge run from this second battery and even if it goes flat you are still able to start the vehicle from the main battery. When using 2-Way fridge / freezers for longer duration stays though, is that it runs on 12V and this means you need to run your vehicle to charge your batteries or connect a charging source such as solar panel or generator.

Without wishing to start a 'Which type is best war' (common on some RV forums) .........

I assume the article when referring to 2 way fridges means 12v/240v compressor fridges. This is different to what I've always understood to be meant by 'Two way' - i.e. 240v/gas - an absorbtion type (I have one of those on our verandah, removed from our bus 'cos we were sick of it defrosting & leaking if we didn't get the vehicle dead level overnight & it struggling when travelling long distances over rough or hilly roads).
The problem with 3 way fridges if used up north is getting hold of one which will keep food at safe temperatures. To do this it must be 'T' rated (Tropical) & whilst such beasts do exist, they are not at all easy to find despite what some advertising would lead you to believe. This is because most are made for the European market & imported. Generally most are only rated to around 32 degrees ambient. (We did have ours stay cold for 10 days of 38 degrees+ up on the Murray once, with the aid of additional cooling fans, but MrsTea spat the dummy when we parked up overnight at a friends place in Melbourne on the way home, on a slight hill, & returned to the vehicle in the morning to find the freezer defrosted, & leaking all over the floor - I recall her words "I want a fridge that just works").

Certainly gas is a lot simpler, & cheaper to set up, & works well when used within the limitations, but there is no way known I'd wish to swap back. Hourses for courses ...... of course.

Cuppa

[Bob]

Without wishing to start a 'Which type is best war' (common on some RV forums) .........

I assume the article when referring to 2 way fridges means 12v/240v compressor fridges. This is different to what I've always understood to be meant by 'Two way' - i.e. 240v/gas - an absorbtion type (I have one of those on our verandah, removed from our bus 'cos we were sick of it defrosting & leaking if we didn't get the vehicle dead level overnight & it struggling when travelling long distances over rough or hilly roads).
The problem with 3 way fridges if used up north is getting hold of one which will keep food at safe temperatures. To do this it must be 'T' rated (Tropical) & whilst such beasts do exist, they are not at all easy to find despite what some advertising would lead you to believe. This is because most are made for the European market & imported. Generally most are only rated to around 32 degrees ambient. (We did have ours stay cold for 10 days of 38 degrees+ up on the Murray once, with the aid of additional cooling fans, but MrsTea spat the dummy when we parked up overnight at a friends place in Melbourne on the way home, on a slight hill, & returned to the vehicle in the morning to find the freezer defrosted, & leaking all over the floor - I recall her words "I want a fridge that just works").

Certainly gas is a lot simpler, & cheaper to set up, & works well when used within the limitations, but there is no way known I'd wish to swap back. Hourses for courses ...... of course.

Cuppa

Agree with your comments Cuppa and also your comment "Horses for Courses"
Good to explore all options though

[rafa]

Ok. Update. Today bought the 65L fridge freezer. Pretty impressed as I loaded it tonight.

In the freezer I got. 6 frozen meals ready for dick smith stove. 12 toasted sandwiches. 9 pies. Got to be happy with that and that's just the freezer.

Fridge has 2x 6 pack alc free stubbies. 10 diet coke. Butter apples etc. still room for more.

Will report in after a bit more use as to how the battery (120a/hr) and 145 solar go feeding it.

Marty

ImageUploadedByMotorculture1381148859.132470.jpg

[rafa]

Hmmm. Battery never got over 11.6v today and panel produced 42ahr.

[rafa]

Mind you I did use the stove for an hour ?