Run 3 way fridge on 12v permanently

[El radge]

Its great people have the time , know how and patience to work out all the different permutations on these matters . Don't doubt the accuracy of their findings.
But , I've had 5 vans all with 3 way fridges most of the time running on gas . Things in fridges are kept cold , don't use much gas (cheap anyway) .
For me 3 ways work fine (non technical assessment) don't hear any valid arguments for changing

 

[nabsim]

And leave the doors open ... Air Con

Good job spoke of us are lateral thinkers

 

[Obanboy666]

Its great people have the time , know how and patience to work out all the different permutations on these matters . Don't doubt the accuracy of their findings.
But , I've had 5 vans all with 3 way fridges most of the time running on gas . Things in fridges are kept cold , don't use much gas (cheap anyway) .
For me 3 ways work fine (non technical assessment) don't hear any valid arguments for changing

Same here !
What Ive found in my time on the forums is lots of owners appear to spend more time' tinkering ' with their motorhomes, uprating items, changing appliances, etc, etc, than spending time out and about in them.
Each to their own, me personally, I add solar panels and refillable gas cylinders then get out and about.

 

[maingate]

Its great people have the time , know how and patience to work out all the different permutations on these matters . Don't doubt the accuracy of their findings.
But , I've had 5 vans all with 3 way fridges most of the time running on gas . Things in fridges are kept cold , don't use much gas (cheap anyway) .
For me 3 ways work fine (non technical assessment) don't hear any valid arguments for changing

I felt the same as you and only made minimal changes to my motorhomes because we did not need to. We were happy with the performance of our 3 way fridge/freezers. i did have the odd problem with them over many years but in all cases I was able to repair them cheaply and quickly.

Everyone is different and if they want to alter their motorhome then that is their choice and good luck to them

 

[El radge]

Same here !
What Ive found in my time on the forums is lots of owners appear to spend more time' tinkering ' with their motorhomes, uprating items, changing appliances, etc, etc, than spending time out and about in them.
Each to their own, me personally, I add solar panels and refillable gas cylinders then get out and about.

Yes we are all different . Not critcising those that do lots of things to their vans .
Sure there is a long running thread 'What did you do to your van today' . Always makes me smile

 

[marchie]

Same here !
What Ive found in my time on the forums is lots of owners appear to spend more time' tinkering ' with their motorhomes, uprating items, changing appliances, etc, etc, than spending time out and about in them.
Each to their own, me personally, I add solar panels and refillable gas cylinders then get out and about.

We get out and about to Rallies and on our own trips, and have managed 100 days this year, despite illness and other problems that caused trip cancellations. We're off on another 55-60 days trip next week, having returned from a 59 night stay on 5th February. That last trip confirmed that; a] we were carying too much kit 'just in case'; b] that the Lithium Battery was not powerful enough to cope with Aires in Winter and still be able to charge bike batteries and operate the drop down bed etc with a sensible reserve; and c] the comfy camping chairs occupy far too much space for the very limited stays where they can be used on Aires

In the 3 weeks we have been back, we have removed a complete 21Litre box of kit and 1/2 doz or so sundry containers of odd bolts, fuses, screws, spare bike bits etc and weeded out the spare clothes that never saw light of day on the last trip. The comfy camping chairs have been replaced by the lightweight fold down Helios Camping Chairs, saving 10kg weight and removing a trip hazard in the Hab area. A spare pair of Ramps have been consigned to the Garden Shed. We've had an upgraded Lithium Battery and MPPT Controller fitted and some redundant electrics removed; bought a couple of replacement Fiamma bike arms to provide better and lower loading onto the Bike Rack. And sterilised te Fresh Water Tank and descaled the Water Heater and ad the fridge gas flue checked for safe burning. Lastly, we have removed redundant kit from the under sofa storage locker and fitted sprung clamps to this area to enable the Leifheitt Cleaning Poles and broom poles to be stored securely whilst still giving easy access

All of the above was down to the growing list made on the last trip of 'Things that don't work for us on long trips' and having the time between sojourns to take corrective action. But I've still got too much kit on board, so there will need to be another weeding out session, but that can wait until after the Portsmouth-Bilbao-Portsmouth jaunt that starts next week ...

Steve

 

[mistericeman]

Same here !
What Ive found in my time on the forums is lots of owners appear to spend more time' tinkering ' with their motorhomes, uprating items, changing appliances, etc, etc, than spending time out and about in them.
Each to their own, me personally, I add solar panels and refillable gas cylinders then get out and about.

Some us like to move with the times and rectify the fact a lot of expensive brand new motorhomes are little more than a 1970s caravan nailed on the back of a cheap chassis cab ...

And also tailor them to personal usage ...

It also keeps some US out of other mischief ...
For which the rest of society should be grateful for .

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Its great people have the time , know how and patience to work out all the different permutations on these matters . Don't doubt the accuracy of their findings.
But , I've had 5 vans all with 3 way fridges most of the time running on gas . Things in fridges are kept cold , don't use much gas (cheap anyway) .
For me 3 ways work fine (non technical assessment) don't hear any valid arguments for changing

Only one real one for my money is the 3 way is beyond economical repair and like for like it is out of the question

 

[wildebus]

Only one real one for my money is the 3 way is beyond economical repair and like for like it is out of the question

Why wait and loose money? if the 3-way is beyond economic repair, it is not worth anything.
I took out my still-operational 3-Way and sold it on eBay for more than I paid for my brand-new Compressor Fridge.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Why wait and loose money? if the 3-way is beyond economic repair, it is not worth anything.
I took out my still-operational 3-Way and sold it on eBay for more than I paid for my brand-new Compressor Fridge.

For us, it would need to be completely knackered David, if so we would find the money somewhere, (even a none working one will have value on Ebay but I've managed to repair any issues so far so the only thing that would stop me is if the actual pipe gubbins at the back went altogether, some you can replace but it's down to the age of the fridge as some parts are not available for some earlier models, you can swap igniters, use universal thermocouples, I've had to open up and repair 2-3 selector switches (essentially the same as points on a car the contacts just need to be filed smooth) and replaced burners & jets, they are fairly simple things really, nowadays I might struggle to drag one out though sp the time may come when I past mending stuff.

 

[wildebus]

For us, it would need to be completely knackered David, if so we would find the money somewhere, (even a none working one will have value on Ebay but I've managed to repair any issues so far so the only thing that would stop me is if the actual pipe gubbins at the back went altogether, some you can replace but it's down to the age of the fridge as some parts are not available for some earlier models, you can swap igniters, use universal thermocouples, I've had to open up and repair 2-3 selector switches (essentially the same as points on a car the contacts just need to be filed smooth) and replaced burners & jets, they are fairly simple things really, nowadays I might struggle to drag one out though sp the time may come when I past mending stuff.

You know, just you listing that you can get parts for this, parts for that, opened and repaired selector switches, cleaned burners, etc on your fridge says it all ....
Yes, you can do all those things. And get the parts. But a compressor fridge doesn't need this or that, or complex electronics (if comparing to a fancier AES type 3-way). It plugs in and it works. End off.

When I got my Motorhome, it had the 3-way fitted. A nice one. But I had to fiddle with the burner as it wouldn't start properly or restart properly. PITA. Within 9 months it came out and I fitted a Compressor fridge. For the last coming up to 3 years I have had to do NOTHING to keep that fridge running. No faffing around, no checking this or adjusting that. The only thing I used to do for the first few months was check it was actually working as the thing was so quiet you couldn't tell if it was on or off!
I leave it on all the time generally as it is the freezer overfill after we go shopping (like yesterday - bought too much frozen food from Iceland!). If I did that with the 3-way, it would be costing me at least £1 a day more minimum to keep running. Within a year, if you had a 3-way fridge always ready, it would actually work out cheaper to just go and buy and run another compressor fridge instead!
(Remember ... It is not just the servicing side, or the purchase price, it it is the ongoing running cost to bear in mind (plus the ease of use of course)).

the only advantage - and it really is the ONLY advantage - to a 3-way fridge is the ability to run on multiple fuel sources. Take that away and you have an expensive and inefficient dinosaur of an appliance.

 

[2cv]

the only advantage - and it really is the ONLY advantage - to a 3-way fridge is the ability to run on multiple fuel sources. Take that away and you have an expensive and inefficient dinosaur of an appliance.

This is exactly why I have a 3 way fridge. I only have a 110ah battery and small solar panel and would always be short on power running a compressor fridge. No space for more batteries.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

You know, just you listing that you can get parts for this, parts for that, opened and repaired selector switches, cleaned burners, etc on your fridge says it all ....
Yes, you can do all those things. And get the parts. But a compressor fridge doesn't need this or that, or complex electronics (if comparing to a fancier AES type 3-way). It plugs in and it works. End off.

When I got my Motorhome, it had the 3-way fitted. A nice one. But I had to fiddle with the burner as it wouldn't start properly or restart properly. PITA. Within 9 months it came out and I fitted a Compressor fridge. For the last coming up to 3 years I have had to do NOTHING to keep that fridge running. No faffing around, no checking this or adjusting that. The only thing I used to do for the first few months was check it was actually working as the thing was so quiet you couldn't tell if it was on or off!
I leave it on all the time generally as it is the freezer overfill after we go shopping (like yesterday - bought too much frozen food from Iceland!). If I did that with the 3-way, it would be costing me at least £1 a day more minimum to keep running. Within a year, if you had a 3-way fridge always ready, it would actually work out cheaper to just go and buy and run another compressor fridge instead!
(Remember ... It is not just the servicing side, or the purchase price, it it is the ongoing running cost to bear in mind (plus the ease of use of course)).

the only advantage - and it really is the ONLY advantage - to a 3-way fridge is the ability to run on multiple fuel sources. Take that away and you have an expensive and inefficient dinosaur of an appliance.

Exactly, they can be a PITFA to be sure, but up to getting this van that was also part of the fun, I think if I bought the perfect van that needed nothing and never had faults I'd be a bored bear very quickly, on another thread someone questioned why we do that kind of thing, I reckon it like putting your stamp on a house, or like when there was a point to lifting the bonnet of your car on a Sunday morning to do a bit of tinkering so it'd get you to work through the next week, some of us just like to have a project.

I would prefer it while away it all worked as it should though.

 

[marchie]

Exactly, they can be a PITFA to be sure, but up to getting this van that was also part of the fun, I think if I bought the perfect van that needed nothing and never had faults I'd be a bored bear very quickly, on another thread someone questioned why we do that kind of thing, I reckon it like putting your stamp on a house, or like when there was a point to lifting the bonnet of your car on a Sunday morning to do a bit of tinkering so it'd get you to work through the next week, some of us just like to have a project.

I would prefer it while away it all worked as it should though.

I/We approach it from a different angle, Kev. Brunhilde is our first Motorhome and what we know about the technical side plus tuppence wouldn't buy us a penny bun ... We accepted early on the oft repeated comment that there is no such thing as the perfect Van, so, during/after each trip, especially the longer stays where it becomes more obvious, we start a list of things we need to have/do to make the M/Home as close to the perfect vehicle for us as possible. Then we get the improvements made as money and parts availability allow. I think we're almost there! A semi-Air Suspension so that that wallowing around long bends, especially when driving in Europe, is the next/last upgrade, but I don't think the Bank would be happy to see this work undertaken this year ...

I need a sticker on the front screen, 'Sponsored by HSBC Bank'; and one on the back, 'But they don't know it yet ...'

Steve

 

[Pudsey Bear]

You have to like DIY Steve or be so skint you have to figure it out, I'm sort of lucky that I have a foot in both camps, when I started the self build, my skills were limited to being able to fit a kitchen, install sockets and do a bit of plumbing, I'd not touched joinery since skool, but the van we wanted didn't exist, so I had to build it, YouTube helped a little bit then I found SBMCC and they helped a lot, but there is aot to do where you jsut have to figure it out, no one can put the skills in your hands for joinery, you just have to buy the right tools (must flog them) the best tool was an 8x4 bench in front of the garage to cut stuff up comfortably, then a Plunge/track saw, a router, a table saw, miter saw, jig saw, pillar drill and cordless drill drivers, and a hell of a lot of deep breaths.

 

[Peregrinator]

Why would I pay for gas when the sun is for free?! The bottle only runs for 2 weeks of running the fridge, water and heating etc. crazy to pay when I have the electric system to run it. Why not just answer the question or not answer?

What do you do for the other 16 hours?

 

[wildebus]

Exactly, they can be a PITFA to be sure, but up to getting this van that was also part of the fun, I think if I bought the perfect van that needed nothing and never had faults I'd be a bored bear very quickly, on another thread someone questioned why we do that kind of thing, I reckon it like putting your stamp on a house, or like when there was a point to lifting the bonnet of your car on a Sunday morning to do a bit of tinkering so it'd get you to work through the next week, some of us just like to have a project.

I would prefer it while away it all worked as it should though.

I get what you are saying . I just annoyed when something *should* be working and for no proper reason it isn't (enter stage left the typical 3-way fridge )
I really liked my Motorhome (which is why I bought it ). But it hasn't stopped me making changes to it all over the shop . Did I NEED to change things? Not at all. But it has made it a far nicer environment for me and the way I like to do things.
(case in point ... I wanted to put some extra food stuff away in the Motorhome Fridge last night and it was dark. Told Alexa from in the house to turn on the Motorhome lights so when I got to it I could see inside. Geeky and maybe silly, ok. But fun )

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I get what you are saying . I just annoyed when something *should* be working and for no proper reason it isn't (enter stage left the typical 3-way fridge )
I really liked my Motorhome (which is why I bought it ). But it hasn't stopped me making changes to it all over the shop . Did I NEED to change things? Not at all. But it has made it a far nicer environment for me and the way I like to do things.
(case in point ... I wanted to put some extra food stuff away in the Motorhome Fridge last night and it was dark. Told Alexa from in the house to turn on the Motorhome lights so when I got to it I could see inside. Geeky and maybe silly, ok. But fun )

I cannot argue a like mind.

I do wish I could do another build, and TBH if I had the dosh, and a flat space I might be tempted, I'd need to have a van to use so there was no rush and I could search for all the gubbins, I would need to pace myself, but it would be good for my menkle elf.

 

[wildebus]

I cannot argue a like mind.

I do wish I could do another build, and TBH if I had the dosh, and a flat space I might be tempted, I'd need to have a van to use so there was no rush and I could search for all the gubbins, I would need to pace myself, but it would be good for my menkle elf.

I have a lovely design for a Motorhome in my head. But that is where it is staying as I know I work too slowly to be able to it fully and enjoy it.
If I were 20 years younger, I would have a workshop and staff and be doing commercial conversions, but once you get to a certain age, you have to accept the realities and pace yourself.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I have a lovely design for a Motorhome in my head. But that is where it is staying as I know I work too slowly to be able to it fully and enjoy it.
If I were 20 years younger, I would have a workshop and staff and be doing commercial conversions, but once you get to a certain age, you have to accept the realities and pace yourself.

Me too (see picture of 7.5t I was musing before I built mine) I said to Liz, I wish we'd got into this sooner, it's such a doddle once you get your head around it, and it adds real value to a old van.





This was the actual layout of the self build cept over fridge had shelves.

And wiring diagram of the actual build I did make a few changes as I figured out more.

Wiring diagram for Citroen Relay self build.pdf

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