Quick question regarding my fridge.

[Mona Owner]

Which fuel is likely to cool my fridge quicker from start-up?
Gas? Or Mains hook-up?
Many thanks
Alan MonaOwner

 

[kev54]

Which fuel is likely to cool my fridge quicker from start-up?
Gas? Or Mains hook-up?
Many thanks
Alan MonaOwner

My instinct would be to say gas - but there will be some properly knowledgeable bods replying soon. I’m just registering my interest in the topic!

 

[Mona Owner]

My instinct would be to say gas - but there will be some properly knowledgeable bods replying soon. I’m just registering my interest in the topic!

Yep, like your reasoning. I am going tomorrow and have benefit of both gas or electricity. Additionally I could leave gas running on the move too I believe which would help.

 

[Garfields]

Gas
Most van fridges are primary gas with the electric added on.
Ours works fine on electric up to about 31c outside temperature then it needs to be on gas.

 

[Barriesimpson]

Mine is 3 way and will use 12V from the alternator while driving and then changes to gas when stopped. If plugged in via EHU it will use that, but have not tried that yet. Completely automatic, no need to change anything. So far it's working fine and is very cold.

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[Spriddler]

The day before going away I put mine on 230v in the drive.
Whilst driving 12v will just about maintain the previously-cooled temperature.
When away I use gas (Gaslow refillables) which is the most efficient source.

 

[maison]

The day before going away I put mine on 230v in the drive.
Whilst driving 12v will just about maintain the previously-cooled temperature.
When away I use gas (Gaslow refillables) which is the most efficient source.

We do the same and usually add a couple of bottles of frozen milk in the fridge. That tends to keep the temperature low.

 

[Mona Owner]

Mine is 3 way and will use 12V from the alternator while driving and then changes to gas when stopped. If plugged in via EHU it will use that, but have not tried that yet. Completely automatic, no need to change anything. So far it's working fine and is very cold.

Mine is 3 way but not auto. I need to select the input manually on the front panel. I think that it may stay cooler on gas. As I am stopping in a location without EHU, I am thinking gas during my time there....

 

[kev54]

Yep, like your reasoning. I am going tomorrow and have benefit of both gas or electricity. Additionally I could leave gas running on the move too I believe which would help.

Personally I wouldn’t drive with gas on. It should run on alternator power whilst driving. Put some very cold/frozen items in there to get the temperature down as per maison Have a great adventure!

 

[Shrimp]

We used to put van on EHU day before travel and fridge on then it was nice & cold, 3-way fridge gets very cold when travelling as it runs at full power on 12V.

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[rosalan]

May I also add that an empty fridge takes longer to cool down and keep cool. I was advised by a fridge salesman to fill the space for the unit to be more economical.

 

[Riverbankannie]

At Hereford rally, the lovely Two on Tour, Paul, explained that the fridge works by drawing heat out of the things inside so it wont work when empty.
I don’t bother to switch on before leaving home. I just put in 3 or 4 of those freezer blocks from home freezer and leave overnight. Then last thing, I put in all the stuff I am taking out of the home fridge/freezer and drive away using 12v until at destination.

 

[Lenny HB]

The fridge will give the best performance on gas and normally cheaper to run than on mains electric.
Modern fridges often work as well on 12v as they do on mains electric so if you have plenty of Lithium & solar and the suns out worth running on 12v for a few hours a day.

 

[Wingman123]

The fridge will give the best performance on gas and normally cheaper to run than on mains electric.
Modern fridges often work as well on 12v as they do on mains electric so if you have plenty of Lithium & solar and the suns out worth running on 12v for a few hours a day.

You can’t normally use the fridge on 12 V, unless the engine is running and switches on the relay from the alternator.
Lenny, perhaps you could advise how you bypass the relay?

 

[Lenny HB]

You can’t normally use the fridge on 12 V, unless the engine is running and switches on the relay from the alternator.
Lenny, perhaps you could advise how you bypass the relay?

Every van I have had can be run on the hab battery when the engine isn't running. Fairly standard on German vans.

You just need to wire a changeover relay to the high power supply to the fridge, relay common connected to the fridge, Normally closed contact connected to the leisure battery via a suitable fuse & Normally open contact to the starter battery, relay switched by D+.
Really just a case of swapping the existing fridge relay for a changeover relay and adding a wire to the leisure battery.

You can then make use of the S+ terminal to control the fridge. I did that in my last van using a Votronic solar controller that gave a signal to the fridge when the batteries were charged and plenty of solar.
New van I'm using Victron so I'm using the relay in the BMV 712 battery monitor to switch the fridge, I will also fit a timer so the fridge runs on 12v in blocks so as to give the batteries a bit of relief.

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[rosalan]

After being switched off for two weeks in southern Spain (hot), it took nearly 3 days to reach working temperature.

 

[Lenny HB]

After being switched off for two weeks in southern Spain (hot), it took nearly 3 days to reach working temperature.

Why was it off for 2 weeks Alan?
Should have still got down to temperature in 24 hours.

 

[rosalan]

My van was ina garage, under cover having major repairs to automatic gearbox. Long story re auto Renault boxes cannot be repaired in Portugal so limped to Badajoz Spain. Fiestas, delayed parts, hotels and breakdown insurance Portuguese office that did not speak Spanish. Love Badajoz now .

 

[PaulyP]

Mine is 3 way but not auto. I need to select the input manually on the front panel. I think that it may stay cooler on gas. As I am stopping in a location without EHU, I am thinking gas during my time there....

As you won’t have EHU then gas is your only alternative as 12v is only whilst driving.

 

[Nanniemate]

My van was ina garage, under cover having major repairs to automatic gearbox. Long story re auto Renault boxes cannot be repaired in Portugal so limped to Badajoz Spain. Fiestas, delayed parts, hotels and breakdown insurance Portuguese office that did not speak Spanish. Love Badajoz now .

Hope your all sorted now but k owing you pair you turned lemons into lemonade

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[Lenny HB]

My van was ina garage, under cover having major repairs to automatic gearbox. Long story re auto Renault boxes cannot be repaired in Portugal so limped to Badajoz Spain. Fiestas, delayed parts, hotels and breakdown insurance Portuguese office that did not speak Spanish. Love Badajoz now .

Just remembered Chris bellabee said you had a problem when I saw her at Hereford.
Must have missed it on the forum.
Please you have it sorted Alan hope it wasn't too expensive.

 

[poppycamper]

At Hereford rally, the lovely Two on Tour, Paul, explained that the fridge works by drawing heat out of the things inside so it wont work when empty.
I don’t bother to switch on before leaving home. I just put in 3 or 4 of those freezer blocks from home freezer and leave overnight. Then last thing, I put in all the stuff I am taking out of the home fridge/freezer and drive away using 12v until at destination.

Sorry but I would dispute that...
A fridge will work with nothing in it albeit maybe not as efficiently.
We always plug fridge in before a trip and within a few hours it will be at -18 freezer and 4 in fridge..
We then load it up from house fridge..

 

[Sleeveless]

The flow and action of refrigerant is exactly the same on both EHU and gas, both of which provide slightly more heat to the boiler than the 12v option. EHU provides about 135W (model dependent) of heat to the boiler, whereas the gas input is about 250W or so on most fridges ( dependent on jet size) at full gas pressure , less on bypass mode . There is also less regulation on the gas mode, as the burner has only 2 modes , idle and full flame, so this may be why folks are saying gas seems to cool better.