3 way v compressor fridge

[ronidog1]

Hello

I am trying to get my head round the advantages and disadvantages of a 3 way fridge over a compressor. When I bought my current campervan a few years ago 3 way fridges seemed to be great but tempermental, not like slopes and need lots of care and attention. I have found that that the compressor fridge is ok except in very hot weather when the battery is not charging. Also they are really expensive to replace!

Anybody got a view from their experience?

ronidog

 

[UK Pete]

Having had both , i sway towards the compressor it suits my needs perfectly, and if you are solar powered like myself, it runs off the sun, you can hear a small thump when the fridge turns on and off but other than that its quite and efficient , a bit more expensive i know, but the less gas appliances i have the better
pete

 

[2657]

If you think 12v compressor fridges are expensive to replace then compare them with the price of dometic 3 way equivalents. To replace our largish fridge/freezer in a Hymer caravan would have been about £1400. As we are always on hookup it was replaced with a domestic 240v model for around £170.

 

[scotjimland]

I am trying to get my head round the advantages and disadvantages of a 3 way fridge over a compressor.

you won't be the first .. or the last.. I've also wrestled with this conundrum..

Much depends on your style of camping.. if you are moving every other day, park wild, use sites etc etc

For obvious reasons, the absorption 3 way fridge has the most flexible fuel source, ie 3 ways.. but on the downside, less rugged, the newer models seem to have a lot more electronics so less reliable and costly to repair..and, if you are traveling outside the EU comfort zone.. possibly hard to get repaired.

For these reasons I think most expedition campers prefer a compressor fridge.. more reliable, less to go wrong, and works in all climates.

Summing up..
You travel most days, don't use sites much, travel outside the EU, are prepared to fit solar panels, an extra battery, and perhaps a B2B charger.. go Compressor.
or
You tend to stay on sites with EHU, travel mostly in the EU , don't want the expense and or the added payload of solar and a bigger battery bank.. go with the 3 way absorption fridge.

On balance.. the 3 way is probably the most suitable for most peoples needs..

 

[Ranger]

Other advantages of the compressor fridge are, no running costs, no ugly holes in the side of the van and no draughts. Its a winner for us.

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[scotjimland]

Other advantages of the compressor fridge are, no running costs, no ugly holes in the side of the van and no draughts. Its a winner for us.

Good points.. 1 & 2

however, if it's been installed correctly there should be absolutely no draughts with a 3 way .. draughts mean it's a dodgy installation.. or a bodge. and may allow CO gas into the hab area.

 

[1_man_and_his_dob(lo)]

Summing up..
You travel most days, don't use sites much, travel outside the EU, are prepared to fit solar panels, an extra battery, and perhaps a B2B charger.. go Compressor.
or
You tend to stay on sites with EHU, travel mostly in the EU , don't want the expense and or the added payload of solar and a bigger battery bank.. go with the 3 way absorption fridge

Just to confuse things a bit, I would argue that if you're staying on sites with EHU a lot then a compressor is fine because you don't have to worry about battery drain.

I don't bother adding the 2nd battery to my (limited storage space) van when I'm heading off on a trip where I know there's EHU powering my Waeco/Dometic compressor.

 

[Bertie Bassett]

What Scotjim said in #4 plus we have a compressor Fridge in our current PVC, we also have 2 hab batteries and can only say we will be sad to get our new van with a 3 way. The compressor works great as long as you run it overnight before you start off on a trip and all the stuff you put in it is already chilled. If it isn't pre-chilled the fridge takes a bit of time to bring it to where it needs to be. Compressor 9/10 3 way 7/10 ( in our experience).

 

[Reallyretired]

I don't know but just looking at Amazon there are A+ rated fridge/freezers that are only rated at 50watts and cost less than £200. Would it be feasible to run one of these from an inverter (which are now pretty cheap) rather than forking out loads for a 12v model.
Anyone know ?

 

[Minxy]

I don't know but just looking at Amazon there are A+ rated fridge/freezers that are only rated at 50watts and cost less than £200. Would it be feasible to run one of these from an inverter (which are now pretty cheap) rather than forking out loads for a 12v model.
Anyone know ?

Can't answer the elctrical question, however a domestic (ie household) type fridge/freezer isn't meant to be constantly 'bumped' around in a vehicle so that may have a bearing.

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[scotjimland]

I don't know but just looking at Amazon there are A+ rated fridge/freezers that are only rated at 50watts and cost less than £200. Would it be feasible to run one of these from an inverter (which are now pretty cheap) rather than forking out loads for a 12v model.
Anyone know ?

Quite feasible and no electrical reason why not .. but.. as Minxy says, domestic units are not built to stand up to the rigours of traveling in a van, so that may shorten the life..

however .. a certain Funster @vwalan with a mini artic runs a domestic fridge/freezer in his trailer. ... and I think also on solar power..

 

[Bertie Bassett]

I don't know but just looking at Amazon there are A+ rated fridge/freezers that are only rated at 50watts and cost less than £200. Would it be feasible to run one of these from an inverter (which are now pretty cheap) rather than forking out loads for a 12v model.
Anyone know ?

Good one and I too will be interested in the answer RR.
Just seen Scotjim #11 and am inclined to go with that response.

 

[dabhand]

Don't know the ins and outs, had a 3 way Electrolux AES for last 14 years, hasn't missed a beat wilding++ and hook up, it just seems to work! Last van had the same but an older 1983 model, that worked perfectly too, unless you were parked on a hill!

 

[ronidog1]

So if you are parked on a hill what happens?

 

[scotjimland]

So if you are parked on a hill what happens?

you roll out of bed..

absorption fridges on any power source need to be level to work properly, if run on a slope they won't cool properly and it can damage them..

Doesn't need to be perfectly level.. IIRC up to 5deg is ok.. check the handbook

this diagram may help explain why being level is important

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[ronidog1]

Each time I park on a hill I must turn off the fridge? Not too good for a panel van used in the hillier parts of the UK!

 

[scotjimland]

Each time I park on a hill I must turn off the fridge?

if by parked you mean camping on a hill, yes, I'm afraid so

 

[ronidog1]

Jim, I was thinking of parking the van on a hill for a day whilst walking

 

[Judge Mental]

always have had 3 way, but one in present van is so efficient even in high summer it amazed me...I discovered its because of the way its been installed..properly! yes its just a stock fridge but can freeze the contents if you turn up the stat to high even in 35+ deg. all the vans I have had have struggled and i have fitted fans etc to get them to work in the past

 

[scotjimland]

Jim, I was thinking of parking the van on a hill for a day whilst walking

same answer..
but when you park up the fridge will be cold and if full of food and drinks will remain cold for a while without being on.. so out walking for the day should be ok..

suck it and see

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[Judge Mental]

Jim, I was thinking of parking the van on a hill for a day whilst walking

then park it sideways to the hill and use levellers

 

[vwalan]

at the moment i,m using an iceking undercounter fridge with a freezer box . have had an undercounter fridge /freezer in here. use it off solar /batteries and inverter. it uses about 440wats but only for about 20mins in one hour.
been all over maroc off roading and in spain /portugal most years . hardly ever park on the level .best places are where its unlevel. doesnt have any probs . mind if we get a week of rain in portugal that can soon flat the batteries.
i took out the freezer/fridge as travelling alone it took ages to finish the frozen food and wasted fridge space. but it worked fine.
with carefull parking on a downwards slope i can put handbrake on trailer then reverse truck and very often get the trailer level. thats another bonus of the artic.
but the compressor fridges work on quite slopey set ups.

 

[Dogeared]

Our previous van had a compressor fridge, we added a spare leisure battery to try and cope with meets like the Chester one. We never managed more than four days, with minimum use of other electrics. Also really spoilt being away having to constantly monitor the batteries. Never again. This van six weeks in France, but with added solar panel. Never used hook up once.

Unless you are going on sites always with elec hookup, don't bother.

Baz

 

[Cal54]

When I purchased my current van 18 months ago the one thing that I was concerned about was the fact it had a compressor fridge. I had a second battery fit at the time of purchase and have since had a solar panel fitted. Having had this set up now for some time I can honestly say I prefer the compressor fridge, it chills a lot quicker and the ice box is great. It may be a small fridge but I do think it is better than my previous absorption fridges.

 

[Gary217]

Reviving this thread, we have a 3-way having had a Waeco compressor in our previous van. Now it is each to their own and I appreciate that 3-way works for many but we much preferred the compressor as I am forever forgetting to switch the 3-way over, while the compressor just ran off the leisure battery so nothing to do when we stop/start. We always use hook up so it was no problem for us with the battery going flat.
The question is what would be involved in changing my 3-way to a compressor? For the moment I'll ignore the need for new fittings to hold the fridge in place and changes to gap (although that will be an issue) but I'm thinking technically
- need to blank off the gas supply to the fridge
- need to blank off the 240 supply to the fridge
- need to buy/install a camper style hook-up charger for the leisure battery when on hook-up as I believe I won't have one of these (I might be wrong on this)
- possibly get a second leisure battery and connect correctly - but we ran successfully on just one leisure battery previously so this is not a 'must-have' for me
- install a split charger for the leisure battery
- blank off the vents for the 3-way

Anything else I've missed, or anything I've got wrong?

Finally, looking at three-way fridges they are expensive, ours is now 7 years old (Dometic) but is there a market for second hand ones to defray the cost a bit?

Not sure if I'll do this but it is at the 'feasibility' stage at the mo so any information gratefully received.

Thanks!

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[phase3begins]

Usually move each day, twin leisure batteries, small solar panel and compressor fridge. Much prefer it to 3 way.