Am I asking too much from our Dometic FF? (1 Viewer)

[TinaLes]

HI all newbie Tina here, we are still waiting for Sept to collect our new moho, and getting very excited!
My question is, will it be possible to take with us a stock of pre-frozen "proper meals" that we have made with us when we travel? I understand that the FF should keep things frozen while on gas or mains hook up, but what about on a long journey when its just getting power from the engine alternator? Then assuming that we have a large leisure battery back up with loads of solar going on (when the sun shines that is) can the freezer compartment keep its contents frozen and safe to eat?
Somehow as I said before, I think I am indeed asking for too much, hope there is a way round it though.

Many Thanks
Tina & Les

 

[moulin 87]

with our Dometic FF we are able to travel with the Fridge on gas... So dependent on your MH and Model you may be able to do the same...

 

[funflair]

I would say yes you can take frozen things from home or even put bought stuff in and freeze it down in the van FF.

The one time looses its cool is long Ferry crossing so we tend to take stuff cold from home and then freeze it when we come off the ferry as ours will freeze while we drive. I know other people don't hold their FF in high regard so you might get a variety of answers.

Martin

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[MC 55 FUN]

Probably best to pre - cool your f.f. on ehu before you travel to obtain the lowest possible temperature, then the f.f. is highly likely to maintain temperatures whilst on the move

 

[daveandsan]

It should maintain whatever temperature it is at, but it won't make contents cooler.

 

[Dorset Diver]

As has been said we can travel with our fridge on gas but we don't because it has never defrosted or even warmed much, especially the freezer part. Our pre-departure routine is to run the FF on either gas or EHU for about 12 hours prior to packing. We then take with us home made frozen ready meals and other frozen bits. The fridge gets fill with whatever is the home fridge and off we go. Never had a problem.

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[TinaLes]

Many thanks all thats better new than I thought I would get.
So we will get the FF down as cold as we can on hook up at home, then drive to wherever stay on an Aire for instance, so maybe no facilities, but providing that we turn our gas on when we arrive then all should be hunky Dory. I suppose the 12 volt from the leisure batteries will just maintain the temperature rather than reduce it further.
I believe our new Carthago can run its heating whilst on the move, so maybe the FF also, I guess it just depends on the gas regulator that is fitted, you know the ones that turn off in a collision.

 

[moulin 87]

Many thanks all thats better new than I thought I would get.
So we will get the FF down as cold as we can on hook up at home, then drive to wherever stay on an Aire for instance, so maybe no facilities, but providing that we turn our gas on when we arrive then all should be hunky Dory. I suppose the 12 volt from the leisure batteries will just maintain the temperature rather than reduce it further.
I believe our new Carthago can run its heating whilst on the move, so maybe the FF also, I guess it just depends on the gas regulator that is fitted, you know the ones that turn off in a collision.

Exactly

 

[DL42846]

Perhaps I shouldn't speak too soon, but our Dometic FF works very well. I set it to Auto and forget about it. We transport ice cream etc. Only the other week I had to turn the temperature down in the fridge part as the tomatoes we put in there froze. I took some frozen meat out the night before and put in the fridge part expecting them to be thawed out for lunch the next day and they were still frozen solid.

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[peterc10]

If you are getting a new Carthago it will almost certainly have an automatic fridge. It will switch to 12V while the engine is running and gas if it isn't running and 240V if yiu are plugged into EHU. However if you switch the engine off it will not change to gas until after 15 minutes has elapsed. That is because it does not want to try to ignite the gas if you are filling up in a petrol station!

We leave ours on Auto all the time.

 

[Dorset Diver]

Many thanks all thats better new than I thought I would get.
So we will get the FF down as cold as we can on hook up at home, then drive to wherever stay on an Aire for instance, so maybe no facilities, but providing that we turn our gas on when we arrive then all should be hunky Dory. I suppose the 12 volt from the leisure batteries will just maintain the temperature rather than reduce it further.
I believe our new Carthago can run its heating whilst on the move, so maybe the FF also, I guess it just depends on the gas regulator that is fitted, you know the ones that turn off in a collision.

As has been said above your Carthago will have a FF that if set on auto will just do its thing very well. Ours is a Chic C-line and as I said above we just pre-cool pack and go. Never had a problem. Please do join the Carthago Owners Club. Lots of info there. PM me if you want more info.

 

[Clarky]

Worry not. We also have a Carthago C Line and pack the freezer before every trip.
Just keep the gas turned on, then you don't have to remember when you get to an aire or wherever you stop. You will almost certainly have a Truma crash valve thingy (cuts the gas in case of a crash so you can safely leave it on all the time).
The fridge will run off the engine alternator while driving and switch to gas when you stop (after the delay previously mentioned) or electric if hooked up.
The freezer doesn't really reach the very low temps that are recommended for freezing fresh food (-25c I seem to remember is what the experts say is ideal) but will keep pre-frozen food for weeks.

I endorse @Dorset Diver's advice about joining Carthago Owners, if you haven't already.

Richard.

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[TinaLes]

Thanks fellow Carthago owners, yes we did think about joining the owners club, but not sure when the annual membership starts and ends, was going to look into it next month, as we are sociable folks and like to muck in
I remember being "encouraged" at The NEC show a couple of years back, to join the Swift Owners Club and so signed up on the spot in October. We were given our "secret password" to enable us to go online and look at all the upcoming events and rallies, great I thought, until I discovered that they were all fully booked right through the following year!
Although I did feel that we were conned at the time, we actually managed to get on one holiday rally in North Devon, which was great, but there was a definite feeling of pecking order and cliquishness that spoiled it somewhat. I take it that was the way the good old CC club rallies were run historically, with plastic badges given out, flag meetings, cheese and wine & bacon baps morning etc

Hopefully a refreshing change, we will give The "COC" a call soon and see if there are any venues left open for next year especially if they are on the continent. One place we will be going to however is Carthago City to use their free Aire and have a look at the showroom and production line, anyone else been there yet? as its fairly new I am told. Anyone else want to come with us?, haven't thought of a date yet, so open to suggestions

As usual very informative help and guidance given on this thread, many thanks to all thus far.

 

[Dorset Diver]

@Clarky Just a quick note. The correct temperature for a fridge is 5 deg C. and a freezer is -18 deg C. To be fair ours actually does both until the OAT reaches the mid 30's. I would like to fit fans but it's a bit above my labour grade and access to fit the expensive Dometic package is impossible (IMHO).

 

[Dorset Diver]

Thanks fellow Carthago owners, yes we did think about joining the owners club, but not sure when the annual membership starts and ends, was going to look into it next month, as we are sociable folks and like to muck in
I remember being "encouraged" at The NEC show a couple of years back, to join the Swift Owners Club and so signed up on the spot in October. We were given our "secret password" to enable us to go online and look at all the upcoming events and rallies, great I thought, until I discovered that they were all fully booked right through the following year!
Although I did feel that we were conned at the time, we actually managed to get on one holiday rally in North Devon, which was great, but there was a definite feeling of pecking order and cliquishness that spoiled it somewhat. I take it that was the way the good old CC club rallies were run historically, with plastic badges given out, flag meetings, cheese and wine & bacon baps morning etc

Hopefully a refreshing change, we will give The "COC" a call soon and see if there are any venues left open for next year especially if they are on the continent. One place we will be going to however is Carthago City to use their free Aire and have a look at the showroom and production line, anyone else been there yet? as its fairly new I am told. Anyone else want to come with us?, haven't thought of a date yet, so open to suggestions

As usual very informative help and guidance given on this thread, many thanks to all thus far.

I was once told that the owners club does not have rallies, it has gatherings . The few we have been to are very genteel, interesting, fun, and extremely well organised and run. I can't remember when the year begins but the cost is low so it makes not a lot of difference. If you are interested give it try. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1481028958851757/?fref=ts

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[Clarky]

I was once told that the owners club does not have rallies, it has gatherings . The few we have been to are very genteel, interesting, fun, and extremely well organised and run.

Will be able to confirm, or not, in three weeks.
Going to our first 'gathering' on the Dordogne as part of our trip which starts next Wednesday.
A gentle and slow trundle down through France over two weeks then another couple of weeks to trundle home again, probably via a very roundabout route.

Richard.

 

[BILL 875]

Hi,
May be straying away a little from the original post but when driving and on 12v is the alternator power going direct to the fridge or is it just keeping the batteries topped up as the FF takes quiet a bit of power out of the batteries.
Bill

 

[Northernraider]

Hi,
May be straying away a little from the original post but when driving and on 12v is the alternator power going direct to the fridge or is it just keeping the batteries topped up as the FF takes quiet a bit of power out of the batteries.
Bill

It has a feed straight to the fridge

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[Dorset Diver]

Will be able to confirm, or not, in three weeks.
Going to our first 'gathering' on the Dordogne as part of our trip which starts next Wednesday.
A gentle and slow trundle down through France over two weeks then another couple of weeks to trundle home again, probably via a very roundabout route.

Richard.

At present health problems have got the better of me otherwise we would be there to . Very envious as the Dordogne is one of our favourite places (first discovered it in the early 70's) and a meander through France in September is heavenly. Enjoy.

 

[two]

The fridge will keep cool while travelling, using 12V. It's designed to do this in the 'Auto' mode and 'catch-up' after the journey using gas or mains once you've stopped. It may be challenged if you are driving at length on a very hot day or take a long ferry crossing (when the use of gas is prohibited). The 12V supply for cooling the fridge comes from the engine, so only works while the ignition is on. You can force the use of gas by switching from 'Auto' to 'Gas' but I believe that's illegal in France, although largely unnecessary anyway.
Fear not, your ready-made meals should be fine. If anything goes wrong, you could always eat out: it's a major part of our holiday to explore the local cuisine.
COGUK membership is £10. I'm pretty sure that joining now will give you 2018. They have an active FB page which will provide you with specific answers to Carthago problems and some of the members are surprisingly friendly.

 

[Dorset Diver]

Only some! .

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[two]

on reflection,
"surprisingly friendly" may not be a desired form of welcome!

 

[MichaelT]

For our 3 week trip to France recently we pre-cooled the FF for a couple of days and froze lot of ready meals, milk, meat etc. On afternoon of trip packed them into the FF and added a few bottles of frozen water into the fridge part as well for the ferry.

On arrival home we still had 1pt frozen milk in solid state plus a few peas and we had temperatures over 40 in the Dordogne.

Keep it on Auto so it keeps cold when stopped, if you get EHU check the amperage, if its less than 10a then change over to gas on the fridge (tun to auto when leaving) as less than that its useless in hot weather. Keep the temperature on the fridge to around number 3, do not be tempted to whack it up to 5 as that just makes the fridge work harder and generate more heat so it goes in a vicious circle.

If its a large FF like ours it does use a lot of gas in hot weather so keep an eye on levels, ours was practically on 24 hours a day when it was really hot, you could hear the gas burner going.

Then enjoy the cold beers and your holiday...

 

[funflair]

It has a feed straight to the fridge

I would have said that the only alternator feed straight to the fridge is to the relay to switch it to draw power from the batteries which are charged by the alternator, ours runs on the habitation batteries charged via solar and alternator while driving.

Martin

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[Northernraider]

I would have said that the only alternator feed straight to the fridge is to the relay to switch it to draw power from the batteries which are charged by the alternator, ours runs on the habitation batteries charged via solar and alternator while driving.

Martin

Pretty sure when the fridge is on 12v it's only when the engine is running and comes direct from the vehicle battery/alternator
Same set up as caravan charging relay

 

[peterc10]

Hi,
May be straying away a little from the original post but when driving and on 12v is the alternator power going direct to the fridge or is it just keeping the batteries topped up as the FF takes quiet a bit of power out of the batteries.
Bill

That will depend upon your motorhome. Ours does both through two different relays. It seems to me that the 12V works as well as the gas and 240V.

 

[peterc10]

Pretty sure when the fridge is on 12v it's only when the engine is running and comes direct from the vehicle battery/alternator
Same set up as caravan charging relay

I agree

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[TinaLes]

Thats great news that the FF works as it should whilst driving on 12 volt, I really thought it would just be a glorified cool box on the move, but it seems its better than that.
Just going on to join The Carthago owners club as I speak, love the idea of a "gathering" tour around France, just hope all the "gatherings" are not fully booked for 2018, we shall see.
We are still to think of a name for our new ship, I suppose something will pop up thats fitting like Cathy maybe.
Many thanks to all.

 

[two]

That will depend upon your motorhome. Ours does both through two different relays. It seems to me that the 12V works as well as the gas and 240V.

I think the two electric elements are similar wattages, so you'd expect 12V DC to perform much the same as 240V AC but it does not seem that way. Maybe it's the positioning of the elements.

 

[Dorset Diver]

I think the two electric elements are similar wattages, so you'd expect 12V DC to perform much the same as 240V AC but it does not seem that way. Maybe it's the positioning of the elements.

I doubt that would work as the maths would not stack up.

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