3 way fridge.

AlyJay said:
I'll need to invest in a DC clamp then once I look up what one is 🤔. Thanks for advice.
Click to expand...
It's a type of meter that can measure current in a cable simply by clamping the device around the cable. Ones that measure AC current can be had for less than £15 but you'll need one that measures DC current for the 12V system and they are more expensive typically £30 and up. It's easy to fall foul of dodgy advertising and receive an AC version even though you thought you were getting a DC version.
The one Kev (pudey bear) linked to above is a decent device.
I can recommend a UNI-T UT210E
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00O1Q2HOQ?ref=emc_p_m_5_i_atc
It has a 2A range and is very sensitive and you can measure current's down to a few milliamps but it only goes up to 100A which is fine unless you want to measure large inverter currents over about 1Kw or so. They also do a 200A version for a few quid more
UNI-T UT210D
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BJPH1WB5?ref=emc_p_m_5_i_atc
but I dont know if it has the same sensitivity as mine?

Here's a link to a clamp meter thread on WC

No excuses, you need one of these.

So, having answered many electrical queries and problems on here and posted several times about the necessity for motorhomers to own a DC clamp meter I thought I'd post info on this one which I've just took delivery of and cost me just £17.42 Inc postage, Mustool C21. I got it from Banggood...
wildcamping.co.uk wildcamping.co.uk
 
Okta said:
230V kitchen fridges are not really designed for running with the bumps and bangs of a moving vehicle, they are usually slightly noisier, slightly more power hungry and don’t have the nighttime noise and power saving modes. However they are cheaper and some people are happy with using them in their motorhomes with an inverter. I have a 12V Thetford compressor fridge and think it is brilliant and have no wish to go back to a 3 way fridge.
Click to expand...
Did you retro fit this into your moho?
I'm wondering if its a neat and tidy fit and looks like it belongs there?
Could be an option for my Moho but although really tidy and worth spending the money on my moho is 18yrs old so would it be a like for like foot print wise

Photo of fridge.

20250315_124331.jpg
 
AlyJay said:
Did you retro fit this into your moho?
I'm wondering if its a neat and tidy fit and looks like it belongs there?
Could be an option for my Moho but although really tidy and worth spending the money on my moho is 18yrs old so would it be a like for like foot print wise

Photo of fridge.
Click to expand...
Ours was original equipment but I expect you could find one to fit neatly.
 
AlyJay said:
Did you retro fit this into your moho?
I'm wondering if its a neat and tidy fit and looks like it belongs there?
Could be an option for my Moho but although really tidy and worth spending the money on my moho is 18yrs old so would it be a like for like foot print wise

Photo of fridge.
Click to expand...
If you go to this link for Jacksons Leisure - https://www.jacksonsleisure.com/caravan/campervan/motorhome/compressor/fridges/

And then look at the left hand side, you will see a couple of "Replacement Fridge Charts", one for Thetford and one for Dometic. Those charts will have your current fridge and its dimensions, and then current replacement options that are 'slide in' replacements to fit the same gap.
Your fridge looks identical to the one in my Motorhome, which I think was a Thetford N180 from memory?

Cheyenne635SE

I priced up a Thetford 12V option to fit in the gap and there is a very nice one which I quite fancied and would have happily gone for :) Except for the price, that is. With a trade discount, I think it would have been around £900
I looked at this one - https://www.jacksonsleisure.com/fri...ressor-fridge-freezer-for-campers-motorhomes/ which they list at £1,395
T2175-front__75048.1616081574.jpg


and this one - https://www.jacksonsleisure.com/fri...ressor-fridge-freezer-for-campers-motorhomes/ which is listed at £1,450. Same width and height, but one is slightly deeper.
At those prices (even with trade discount), it was too much to pay and I went for a 240V option instead


In appearance, pretty well the same as the Thetford ones, and just needed to make a small frame up as the 240V frige/freezer was around 1/2" narrower and about an inch shorter. BUT is was also less than 1/4 the retail price. I was happy to save many many many hundreds of pounds for a non-OEM solution (y)

If you particularly like having the wood effect door, you could get some fablon from B&Q and stick it on the doors I would think.
 
PS. If you fit a 12V version, you will need to run appropriate cable to the fridge.
If you fit a 240V version, you can use the socket already there for the Mains operation and connect the source of that cable to an inverter output.
Typically, the 240V options are simpler to wire up in a motorhome.
 
Just wondering how everyone with a standard 240v fridge has worked around the door catch issue?
 
wildebus said:
PS. If you fit a 12V version, you will need to run appropriate cable to the fridge.
If you fit a 240V version, you can use the socket already there for the Mains operation and connect the source of that cable to an inverter output.
Typically, the 240V options are simpler to wire up in a motorhome.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the detailed info.
So for the 12V compressor option I would need to run from the hab battery instead of being fed from the vehicle battery?
I will probably have to fit solar panels & a bigger battery however fitting solar panels was on the cards anyway.
We dont do a lot of wild camping to be fair (Although we would like to but its increasing difficult with local councils and others vans) but would definitely need to run fridge during transit, so 12V option would be the way I went.
 
AlyJay said:
Thanks for the detailed info.
So for the 12V compressor option I would need to run from the hab battery instead of being fed from the vehicle battery?
I will probably have to fit solar panels & a bigger battery however fitting solar panels was on the cards anyway.
We dont do a lot of wild camping to be fair (Although we would like to but its increasing difficult with local councils and others vans) but would definitely need to run fridge during transit, so 12V option would be the way I went.
Click to expand...
you run a 12V compressor fridge off the battery, yes. Your wiring almost certainly is setup so the fridge 12V is from the Starter Battery and you would run a new pair of cables from Leisure battery (via a fuse of course) to the Fridge.
It may be possible to reroute the existing cables but very likely more hassle then just starting with fresh.

If you wanted to run the fridge when driving, which of course is normal, then if you have a 240V one, you would have to have an inverter to enable you to do so. you could then run the inverter if wild camping as well though.

Adding an inverter would of course increase the cost of the 240V option, but even with that, it is still way cheaper than a 12V fridge from say Thetford or Dometic of the size of fridge you currently have.
In terms of efficency, 240V vs 12V is near enough the same. My 240V fridge is MORE efficient then many 12V compressor fridges. The inverter overhead added in makes it slightly less efficient, but talking small differences and not enough to say best to go for one or other for energy reasons. I went for 240V option for cost-efficiency.
 
merl said:
Just wondering how everyone with a standard 240v fridge has worked around the door catch issue?
Click to expand...
Having broken the posy 'smoked glass front' [actually black plastic at over £300 each for top & bottom panels ...] with the internal plastic security lock with a quite flimsy metal hook catch on the Dometic RM9435 fridge in 2022, I went for the Spanish fereterria solution, and got it right on about the 5th attempt! I drilled a hole in the side of the wooden cabinet and inserted a length of threaded rod with a slip on aluminium sleeve, the latter being about 10cm shorter than the rod. This allows a knurled button to be threaded on each end [bathroom end is tricky, so leave the 'open' end knob in situ and hold the bathroom end to receive the threaded rod that is tightened from the open end. I used 2-3 R clips to take up the slack on the aluminium sleeve whilst still leaving 'jiggle room' to get both knobs in place.

Each morning was a 'last and final call for the fridge' before departure - it's a bit of a faff to fit, but it holds the fridge door shut safely round the longest bends. I also used 2 'flats' of aluminium and screwed these in to the bottom rail of the fridge cupboard, so that they could be swivelled into the 'locked' position, but the top rail was strong enough not to need the bottom supports. The photo shows the rail in all its glory [or not ...] :ROFLMAO:. The rail gathers dust on the overhead shelf until the next time that the handle breaks ...The holes are now covered with 2 cream coloured plastic bolts, used to join kitchen cupboards etc, to complement the 'cappucino' internal decor ... :rolleyes:

Steve

SteveFridge Temp Repair Handle.jpg
 
Pudsey Bear said:
Click to expand...
That works when the door AND the fixed part next to it are flush with each other. Looks Neat as well.
However, if they are NOT flush, need a different solution. I used to use flexible straps similar to this - https://amzn.to/4fC3ELR , but I changed to a setup where you use the spare hinge position (for reversible doors) which lets you drop a bolt in. Or getting a bit more funky, have a flexible part with a fixed bolt which you just lift slightly to open and let go to lock. Virtually invisible but 100% effective and impossible to leave the door closed AND unsecured :)

On my own fridge/freezer, with no flush fixed parts and two doors which I want to be able to open independently, I went for a 'meccano' type solution and made a hinged bar that closes centrally over the two doors. A little obviously in appearance but that does mean I can glance back from the drivers seat and see very easily if I remembered to lock the fridge or not :geek:.

What I would like to do, but not yet investigated a way to do it with my particular fridge with the surrounding woodwork ... Utilise central locking plungers to automatically lock the fridge doors on the appropriate signal - maybe the D+ from the alternator or ignition on signal maybe, so you don't have to remember to secure the doors, plus they are unlocked for you when stopped.
 
It was just to illustrate that there was stuff out there David,as setup will vary vav to van.
 
marchie said:
Having broken the posy 'smoked glass front' [actually black plastic at over £300 each for top & bottom panels ...] with the internal plastic security lock with a quite flimsy metal hook catch on the Dometic RM9435 fridge in 2022, I went for the Spanish fereterria solution, and got it right on about the 5th attempt! I drilled a hole in the side of the wooden cabinet and inserted a length of threaded rod with a slip on aluminium sleeve, the latter being about 10cm shorter than the rod. This allows a knurled button to be threaded on each end [bathroom end is tricky, so leave the 'open' end knob in situ and hold the bathroom end to receive the threaded rod that is tightened from the open end. I used 2-3 R clips to take up the slack on the aluminium sleeve whilst still leaving 'jiggle room' to get both knobs in place.

Each morning was a 'last and final call for the fridge' before departure - it's a bit of a faff to fit, but it holds the fridge door shut safely round the longest bends. I also used 2 'flats' of aluminium and screwed these in to the bottom rail of the fridge cupboard, so that they could be swivelled into the 'locked' position, but the top rail was strong enough not to need the bottom supports. The photo shows the rail in all its glory [or not ...] :ROFLMAO:. The rail gathers dust on the overhead shelf until the next time that the handle breaks ...The holes are now covered with 2 cream coloured plastic bolts, used to join kitchen cupboards etc, to complement the 'cappucino' internal decor ... :rolleyes:

Steve

SteveView attachment 76632
Click to expand...
Crickey Steve, that looks high security mate....can you put a padlock on it to keep your cold Jaffa cakes safe?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:40)

Back
Top