Compressor fridge install.

[CandC]

Following on from my other thread where I asked advice about repairing or replacing my old electrolux three way fridge, here is the installation story for my new fridge, a Waeco cr50 compressor fridge.

First job was the removal of the old fridge, flu and surplus wiring. The fridge came out very easily and I disconnected the wires after sliding it out


Leaving a big almost empty space

With just the flu in the way. I went outside, removed the flu cover

Then drilled out the pop rivets holding the flu in place. A quick cleanup and then the resulting 2" hole was blanked off using sikaflex and some black plastic

Before putting the old vent cover back in place.

After a quick dummy run to check the fit, I realised that I would need some wooden blocks to raise the fridge slightly, giving me clearance to open the door above the back seat base.


There are 4 fixing points in the sides of the fridge. To get to them you have to take out blanking caps. As you can see, they are quite tight but fortunately the fridge comes with spares so it's not a major issue if you wreck them taking them out.

Wiring went very smoothly too. All I had to do was run some cable I had left from my solar install from my habitation distribution fuse box to the back of the fridge and join it with chocolate blocks.


The manual says to use a 15A fuse, but I only had 10A or 20A. It's never a good idea to use a higher rated fuse than needed so I went with the 10A.

With all the screws in, here's the finished article.



And yes, it does work

Total time taken was about 3 hours and would have been a lot less without my daughter "helping" bless her

 

[davidbaldam]

Looks like a good job, well done.

 

[jollyrodger]

So long as it keeps the beer cold Result

 

[CandC]

Thanks guys. I've left the fridge running on low since Saturday and the solar panel is coping admirably. More importantly, the beers are indeed cold

 

[DP+JAY]

Looking good
How many amps does it actually use in a 24 hour period?

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[CandC]

Looking good
How many amps does it actually use in a 24 hour period?

Thanks @jay I haven't got one of those fancy battery monitor jobs, but the voltage hasn't dropped below 12.4 volts after 3 days and nights of continuous running (about 20% discharge I believe) and that's with 185AH of leisure battery and mostly cloudy so reduced solar output. 60w solar panel btw.

The manual says approximately 1.4A average current so 33.6AH per day.

Hope that gives you some idea

 

[Cal54]

@CandC: glad your happy with the fridge. It is the same as the one I have and I am well pleased. My 100 wt solar panel and 2 x 100 amp batteries cope admirably And I do use the TV a lot especially at night.

 

[2657]

I am not an expert but do your pictures not show why some 3 way fridges do not need to be room sealed, this was mooted on another thread recently.

The installation of your old fridge was vented through a sealed vent and pipe through the side.

I recently had to replace a large Dometic fridge /freezer in a caravan and the only venting was through a space between top and bottom vents which was sealed from the inside.

Due to cost and the fact that we only use the van on site I replaced it with a domestic compressor 240v fridge/freezer at a fraction of the cost.

I don't know how the original unit was installed as I had to dismantle the cooling unit from the back before it would fit through the door!!

 

[CandC]

@CandC: glad your happy with the fridge. It is the same as the one I have and I am well pleased. My 100 wt solar panel and 2 x 100 amp batteries cope admirably And I do use the TV a lot especially at night.

Two more sleeps and then the real test begins... Fridge, lighting, chargers, portable dvd player if it rains a lot and, judging by the weather forecast, blown air heating for our two week Scotland trip we'll be moving every couple of days though so with the split charger I am confident that all will be well

Glad to hear the fridge and solar are working well for you too

 

[CandC]

I am not an expert but do your pictures not show why some 3 way fridges do not need to be room sealed, this was mooted on another thread recently.

The installation of your old fridge was vented through a sealed vent and pipe through the side.

I recently had to replace a large Dometic fridge /freezer in a caravan and the only venting was through a space between top and bottom vents which was sealed from the inside.

Due to cost and the fact that we only use the van on site I replaced it with a domestic compressor 240v fridge/freezer at a fraction of the cost.

I don't know how the original unit was installed as I had to dismantle the cooling unit from the back before it would fit through the door!!

I am far from being a three way fridge expert too... My only 3 way experience was with the old one which, my engineer told me had a "perfect flame profile" but wasn't cooling hence the replacement.

I can confirm though that the fridge' flu was sealed off to take the exhaust gasses (wrong term maybe but you know what i mean lol) to the outside. The air flow grills were mounted internally so (as I understand it) no chance of fumes from the flu vent blowing back into the van from the outside through them. (short answer to your question imo is "yes")

If the typical 3 way install nowadays is to have external air flow vents as it seems to be, then fumes could blow back into the van through those vents, especially if there were no separate external flu. That would be why that kind of installation needs to have the back end totally sealed off from the living area.

Oh yes, while I'm not a 3 way fridge expert, my job involves dealing with domestic and commercial building gas installations on a fairly regular basis so I know a lot of the regulations and the reasons behind them.

Ps well done on your fridge, the prep sounds like it was a bit of a chore!

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