Why compressor fridges - Adria?

colyboy

colyboy

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Just had a catalogue sent to me from Adria. On all the PVC’s they are only using compressor fridges why? On all previous vans we have had 3 way fridges with automatic change over, which we like as they are no trouble you stop for a few minutes and they change from electric to gas , no hassle!

With compressor fridges I understand you have to keep them on electric 12v or mains all the time. Is this not a drain on the battery, especially in the winter When you have heating and tv on etc etc. We spend a lot of time off grid 5 to 6 days I can’t see that would be of use to us as do like the Look of Adria pvc.

Colyboy
 
Perfect if you have no gas on board! we have a thetford compressor fridge,100w solar and two 110a batteries but it does depend on your usage, we can manage 4/5 days depending on the amount of sunshine and have been thinking of adding another solar panel to help out on those not so sunny days.
 
No holes in the side of the van for vents & the van doesn't have to be level for it to work well. We like ours & chills & freezes much better than the 3 way fridge we had in our previous motorhome but have 2 batteries & 200W solar to make sure enough power - been fine for Spring through to Autumn camping but not tested in winter in UK yet so EHU may be needed then if running tv etc.
 
Seems to be the way things are going currently
Most Globecars are the same

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I think it reflects how the majority of MHs are used, either on sites with EHU or touring using aires - which means the batteries get charged by the daily driving. Compressor fridges are also much better in high temperatures which again reflects where most of them are used - sunny southern Europe.

If you want to go off grid outside summer for several days at a time I suspect they are not for you. Our compressor cool box drains our batteries after a few days of cloud.
 
Wouldn't want anything else than a compressor fridge, simple, quiet and reliable, no servicing required - plus not having to mess around with gas

What's not to like?
 
Nasher said:
Wouldn't want anything else than a compressor fridge, simple, quiet and reliable, no servicing required - plus not having to mess around with gas

What's not to like?
Click to expand...
No good for me, only have one 100ah battery and one 100w solar panel, can't remember the last time we used EHU.
 
colyboy said:
Just had a catalogue sent to me from Adria. On all the PVC’s they are only using compressor fridges why? On all previous vans we have had 3 way fridges with automatic change over, which we like as they are no trouble you stop for a few minutes and they change from electric to gas , no hassle!

With compressor fridges I understand you have to keep them on electric 12v or mains all the time. Is this not a drain on the battery, especially in the winter When you have heating and tv on etc etc. We spend a lot of time off grid 5 to 6 days I can’t see that would be of use to us as do like the Look of Adria pvc.

Colyboy
Click to expand...

I'm converting a PVC and would only use a compressor fridge. They have distinct advantages, even for wilding. They allow a greater flexibility of layout (no need for vents), have more storage space for the same appliance volume, are way more efficient (can actually be used on 12V without the engine running), work in hot temperatures and don't require constant servicing by qualified engineers.

However, they won't run off an 85Ah leisure battery and a split charge relay. You need a B2B charger and/or solar. If you have both of these, you're fine until you want to sit still in a field in winter for 2 weeks. A decent B2B charger will keep up with the load if you're driving about at all. The solar will keep up if there is enough light.

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colyboy said:
Just had a catalogue sent to me from Adria...........

........We spend a lot of time off grid 5 to 6 days I can’t see that would be of use to us as do like the Look of Adria pvc.
Click to expand...

Paul,

Have a read of this thread started by Danny dodfloss

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Battery help

I have just put deposit on new van, solar panel and two leisure batteries, we like wild campin. My question is I keep reading on Motorhome fun about mppt and battery master. I’m a total techno phobe. So do I need to order one of these and what do they do ? Thanks for any help and sorry if it is...
www.motorhomefun.co.uk www.motorhomefun.co.uk

It covers everything you need to consider.

Cheers,

Andrew
 
Our swift PVC bought a couple of months ago has one, not a fan, it does work very well and even though small has a surprising amount of space but its the power drain that's a problem. We arrived at the New Forest show on Friday eve with two new fully charged 100ah batteries, by Sunday morning without anything but led lights we were down to 50%, if we had the telly on as well they would have been flat.
I have now fitted a BtoB and want to fit at least 200watts solar.
As DBK said modern vans aren't designed for wilding.
 
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I was familiar with these on boats, Max draw was 6amps however if turned down to mid setting on thermostat control draw went down to 3 amps
 
pelican said:
I was familiar with these on boats, Max draw was 6amps however if turned down to mid setting on thermostat control draw went down to 3 amps
Click to expand...

It depends on size and installation quality. If done right it will draw an average of around 1A. It hot weather or with poor venting, it will average more. Hot weather is rarely a problem, as this means your solar will be booming.

Obviously, you have to measure current draw over a long period, as the thermostat is pretty much fully on or fully off, so it is either drawing 5A or nothing at any particular point in time, which tells you nothing.
 
olley said:
Our swift PVC bought a couple of months ago has one, not a fan, it does work very well and even though small has a surprising amount of space but its the power drain that's a problem. We arrived at the New Forest show on Friday eve with two new fully charged 100ah batteries, by Sunday morning without anything but led lights we were down to 50%, if we had the telly on as well they would have been flat.
I have now fitted a BtoB and want to fit at least 200watts solar.
As DBK said modern vans aren't designed for wilding.
Click to expand...

I thought it had been established Olley that your Sergeant charger and 40W solar set-up was not capable of supporting your AGM batteries so in reality you only ever started out with a maximum 80% SOC, possibly lower. Most of us with compressor fridges would have issues if our batteries could only ever achieve 80% SOC.

If Paul gets his charger, battery and solar set-up correct then there's no reason why he can't manage a compressor fridge.

It may be best to report your findings once you have sorted out your charging issues.

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Ours states 5amps I think on average its 2amp or more.
 
When our compressor coolbox runs it's 2.5 to 3 amps depending on the temperature in the box. I think a lot of manufacturer quoted amperage are absolute maximums. 🤔 I'll look ours up...

It's 4 amps 👍
 
Blue Knight said:
I thought it had been established Olley that your Sergeant charger and 40W solar set-up was not capable of supporting your AGM batteries so in reality you only ever started out with a maximum 80% SOC, possibly lower. Most of us with compressor fridges would have issues if our batteries could only ever achieve 80% SOC.

If Paul gets his charger, battery and solar set-up correct then there's no reason why he can't manage a compressor fridge.

It may be best to report your findings once you have sorted out your charging issues.
Click to expand...

Where do you get this 80% figure from Blue Knight? Hankook recommend 14.6 the installed Sargent does 14.4 so your 80% makes no sense to me.
 
cmcardle75 said:
It depends on size and installation quality. If done right it will draw an average of around 1A. It hot weather or with poor venting, it will average more. Hot weather is rarely a problem, as this means your solar will be booming.

Obviously, you have to measure current draw over a long period, as the thermostat is pretty much fully on or fully off, so it is either drawing 5A or nothing at any particular point in time, which tells you nothing.
Click to expand...
these were med size built in with ventilation lots of them make Engel. domestic distribution panel shows amperage being drawn. Understand what you are saying though.
 
olley said:
Our swift PVC bought a couple of months ago has one, not a fan, it does work very well and even though small has a surprising amount of space but its the power drain that's a problem. We arrived at the New Forest show on Friday eve with two new fully charged 100ah batteries, by Sunday morning without anything but led lights we were down to 50%, if we had the telly on as well they would have been flat.
I have now fitted a BtoB and want to fit at least 200watts solar.
As DBK said modern vans aren't designed for wilding.
Click to expand...
We have a PVC with a compressor fridge, 180 Ah batteries, 200W solar with Votronic MPP regulator and B2B. Currently in week 5 of a Scottish trip, have only spent 5 nights on campsites, only 3 of those with EHU. The lowest our batteries have been is 82% SOC and the lowest daily charged state was 94%. Currently parked up near Bridge of Orchy with fully charged batteries.

Not as much solar input this time of year, but conversely the fridge isn't as power hungry either.

I wouldn't want a gas or 3-way fridge, but I did have to modify the van to make it compatible with our preferred usage (originally 100W solar, non MPP regulator and no B2B, just a split charge relay).

I took a few items out of the van to make room for a small Genny as an emergency backup before this trip. I haven't taken it out so far and don't anticipate having to do so now. Wish I'd left it at home :(

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olley said:
Where do you get this 80% figure from Blue Knight? Hankook recommend 14.6 the installed Sargent does 14.4 so your 80% makes no sense to me.
Click to expand...

This is a very good read for anyone wanting to buy a Sergeant-equipped van with the associated thinner wiring set-ups to AGM batteries.

I would say that the use of a Sergeant mains charger on 2 x 100Ah AGMs is as much use as a chocolate fire guard but still the likes of Swift insist they be fitted.

Grab a coffee:

AGM Batteries for Motorhomes/Caravans - Failures

Audi withdraw AGM from it's vehicles, wet technology EFB is now officially better. AGM Batteries were being heavily promoted for use in Motorhomes and Caravans, yet most of the Chargers in Motorhomes and Caravans are unsuited to AGM Batteries. Failures result
www.aandncaravanservices.co.uk
 
Lumpy said:
Perfect if you have no gas on board! we have a thetford compressor fridge,100w solar and two 110a batteries but it does depend on your usage, we can manage 4/5 days depending on the amount of sunshine and have been thinking of adding another solar panel to help out on those not so sunny days.
Click to expand...
Why do you need a fridge when you cant do any cooking, or is it just for the beer.
 
olley said:
Ours states 5amps I think on average its 2amp or more.
Click to expand...
Ours is rated at 6 amps, but that's a maximum with the compressor running. Even is summer, it only runs for about 20 minutes per hour at most, so at maximum 2 amps per hour.
 
Reallyretired said:
Why do you need a fridge when you cant do any cooking, or is it just for the beer.
Click to expand...
Those that choose not to carry gas usually have diesel heating and cooking or a full electric set up. Personally I have a Gaslow refillable gas system with gas cooking and gas heating/hot water as well as electrical alternatives including a microwave, my 90lt Thetford fridge freezer works really well and stores all the food I need along with the beers and wine.

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Interesting read Blue Knight but mainly talks of battery life not charge state and I noticed one error as below.

The latest 'new for 2017' Sargent EC600 still requires manual switching between Starter and Habitation area battery.

From Sargents instructions:
SMART – This turns on the smart charging feature. The energy from the intelligent
charger is automatically directed to the vehicle or leisure battery according charge
state of each battery. SMART is the default setting.
NORMAL – This setting will cause the energy from the intelligent battery charger to
be directed to the battery selected manually on the control panel by the battery
select menu item.

He's got a bee in his bonnet over chargers and Sargent in particular, I accept what he's saying but not sure about how accurate his figures are, he seems to almost have a pathological hatred of AGM maybe because he's decided not to sell them?
Makes no difference to me as new mains charger and solar are in my 10 year plan. ::bigsmile:

Looking at one of these?
Victron Blue Smart IP22 Bluetooth Battery Charger - 12V 15A, 1 output, I also like the Sterling but at twice the money ruled it out.
 
As a test I turned my mains charger off at 14.00, just checked the battery voltage of the AGM's and its 12.8-12.9 which some sites say is right others state 13 or slightly more, who to believe?
 

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