31 replies to this topic

[hebegebe]

I’ve had many 3ways but my wife says the baseline of civility is having ICE with evening drinks so the compressor won! Let’s face it if you have a FWC you are glamping anyhow

[Ronin]

I replaced my 3 way when it stopped working with a TruckFridge. I really like it and I've run it for 4 days in 98* temps off my 100 AH battery. Here's how I installed it:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pvstoy]

With our older fwc Ranger and Casita trailer used a three way. No problems other than creating proper venting draft. The only issue was that we always seemed to park way off level at places (not camping parking) and needed to turn off the refrigerator. I always ran off propane, never off battery. House current to pre cool before trips.

Now have Hawk with solar, the power hungry 130 liter ref that came with it. But I love the freezer that hold 3 half gallon ice cream. I don't worry about being too far off level anymore.

I believe both systems can work fine if installed correctly and maintained. The choice is yours. It is good to read the many experiences that has been written as there are advantages and dissadvanges to either system. Just as there are units that are lemons that give the user a bad experience.

[craig333]

Just finished my six day trip at Antelope lake with not one but two compressor fridges running. The built in Truckfridge and a chest type engel (the only trip I ever bother to take an extra fridge) and even considering I was charging phones and battery packs, 250w of solar kept up just fine and I was shaded in the afternoon. Never dropped below 90 soc. My new awning probably helped quite a bit keeping the TF shaded. 

 

 

 

P.S. a bag of ice in the engel (set as a refer not freezer) barely melted all week. I agree, its uncivilized not have ice for my cocktail!

[Zoomad]

I've just picked up a ARB 50L for my camper and I have yet to go out with it yet.  But I pulled the original Dometic 3 way out when we refurbished the interior of mine.  It seemed to work on 110v but I had no plans of keeping it.  Mainly for a reason that would be unique to the Blazer/Bronco/Scout FWC campers.  With the front of the camper open to the cab of the truck the darn Dometic was in the way of my driver's seat going far enough back and seat back tilted right for my driving comfort.  All other FWC campers won't have my problem for sure.

 

But just to show an example for a weeks worth of camping out of mine with a 12v compressor fridge my co-pilot on our annual Desert trip last year brought a dual zone Snowmaster with us in mine. It was huge!   I'm running 1 aux battery solely charged by the truck's charging system.  I have a battery/power monitor for that battery in the camper and with the Snowmaster at temp the current draw was minor.  As in less than an amp to .5 amp.  Overnight with camper lights on, charging phones, gopro's and my Cpap on 12v the aux battery never dropped below 12v the next morning.    Our style on the desert trip is a new campsite every day so we are constantly on the move and rarely in the same spot more than a day.   This allowed the aux battery to recharge while driving.  Keep in mind I'm not running a huge deep cycle, high amp/hr battery for my aux battery either.  Just a regular 800 cca standard truck battery, not ideal but for how I camp it works ok.  Long term I'll switch to a deep cycle and solar to extend my ability to boondock for more than a day without having to start the truck.  

 

Modern 12v compressor fridges are extremely efficient for sure.  But is the price of admission worth the cost to replace a 3 way fridge that still works?  That's up to your wallet as much as your mind.   It's cool to see that many have had excellent luck with the 3 way fridges, just as much as it to hear good reports from others on the 12v fridges.   I will say this, either beats having to carry ice in a cooler for sure.  

[ntsqd]

I wish that the 3 way had worked well enough to be called a refrigerator and not merely a cooler because it did run a very long time on very little propane and that is very attractive. I'm not sure what I could have done differently to improve its performance and consistency. 40°f below ambient in Summer Alaska probably would have been acceptable, but 40°f below ambient in late Spring Nevada meant that we had to throw out spoiled food.

[nevaska]

I've had my compressor fridge running for about 3 years continuously off 100w solar/100ah battery. Given I live in Nevada with huge solar gain, my panel sometimes exceeds its rating. I never have to plug in to AC or fuss with a pilot light, and when I leave the country for a month and get back to wherever I parked my truck, cold beer!  

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I've had my compressor fridge running for about 3 years continuously off 100w solar/100ah battery. Given I live in Nevada with huge solar gain, my panel sometimes exceeds its rating. I never have to plug in to AC or fuss with a pilot light, and when I leave the country for a month and get back to wherever I parked my truck, cold beer!

I tried that at Lake Powell when I had my Grandby. I came back to warm beer and a battery that was below the refrigerators voltage threshold. Dometic 80 Qt... I think that speaks more about the refer than the solar setup.

[JaSAn]

My 2¢

 

That said, I know very little about the compressor refrigerators other than the people who have them tend to like them.

 

Unless you live off-grid you have a compressor refrigerator in your home.

 

I have had both absorption and compressor RV refrigerators.  My current fridge is a 35 y.o. Norcold DE 251D.  The most important thing with either refrigerator is proper ventilation.  Norcold specified 36 square inches of vents, half low, half high.  Without proper ventilation the fridge works harder and doesn't cool as well.  This makes a huge difference in the performance of either type of refrigerator.

 

IMO an absorption refrigerator requires more maintenance than a compressor refrigerator: cleaning the pilot office, cleaning insect nests out of the chimney, shutting off the propane before entering a gas station (in some states it is unlawful to be within X feet of a gas pump with an open flame), ferry, or tunnel, having to adjust the flame for proper heat extraction, making sure the pilot didn't blow out while driving or during high winds.  More stuff to think about and go wrong.  With the Norcold I just vacuum out the condenser side of the refrigerator before a big trip and make sure the exhaust fan is working.

 

I have camped for ~500 nights with the Norcold with 200W solar and 208AH of battery.  I can count the number of times I have had to supplement my solar without taking off my shoes.  Norcold uses < 30AH per day; batteries are usually ~80% in the AM.

 

jim

[nevaska]

I tried that at Lake Powell when I had my Grandby. I came back to warm beer and a battery that was below the refrigerators voltage threshold. Dometic 80 Qt... I think that speaks more about the refer than the solar setup.

Mine is an Indel-B 31L, that might be the difference. I have also recently stepped up to 200w solar due to having to use a powerful laptop for work and traveling to cloudier areas for skiing.