Fridge

[Pete-B]

Hi, when we're on a 2/12 - 3 hour journey will the 12v just hold the fridge at the temperature we set out at or will it actually get it colder?

[Keithl]

It depends on the make and model of the fridge. Some older fridges did not have thermostats on the 12 Volt control so they may well get colder.

Details of your MH and fridge make/model would help!

[Pete-B]

Hi Keith,

It's a 2020 Autosleeper Warwick XL and the fridge is a  Thetford.

[Keithl]

I'm assuming this is a 3 way absorption fridge so by its age my guess would be it is thermostatically controlled on 12 Volts. Does the instruction book give any clues?

[Pete-B]

Yes it is a 3 way, the thing is, by the time my wife’s had the door open to stock it up the temperature has gone up quite a bit

[Keithl]

Try stocking it the night before departure, I'm guessing you can run it on 240 V at home?

[Pete-B]

That’s what I’ve been trying to get the good lady to do😩

[Keithl]

Tell her I said so 😁

[Pete-B]

Now my heads sore😩

[Derek Uzzell]

A 2020 Warwick Xl will have a relatively small capacity (88 litres?) Thetford single-door 3-way fridge installed beneath the kitchen worktop adjacent to the vehicle's rear lounge.

My 2015 Rapido 640F had a large capacity Thetford double-door 3-way fridge-freezer and, immediately before setting off on out usual trip (130 miles) to Portsmouth ferry port, my wife used to stock the fridge up. She used to put freezer blocks in with the food, but I never bothered to 'pre-chill' the fridge beforehand - I just selected its coolest temperature and relied on its 12V capability during the 3-hours drive. By the time we reached Portsmouth the fridge's internal temperature had dropped significantly.

I would have thought it predictable (and normal) that - if the fridge is cool inside to begin with - having its door open for any length of time while putting food in will result in a noticeable temperature rise. As Keith has said, if this is a concern, pre-cool the fridge beforehand using 240V, then stock it up, then keep its door shut (and the 240V power on until just before the journey begins). But, based on my own experience, during a 2 to 3 hour journey in the UK, a modern Thetford 3-way fridge should cool down very satisfactorily just using its 12V capability.

[Robinhood]

Whilst in the past many three-way fridges didn't have thermostatic control on 12V, it was more likely that this would result in over-cooling on that source rather than the opposite. Many/most now have such control on 12V.

Certainly the specifications of the current range of Thetford (and Dometic) absorption fridges indicate that the cooling (heating) power consumption in watts is rather similar for both 230V and 12V operation, and though the latter is usually a smidgin' lower, it really shouldn't be enough to make any material difference.

The conclusion I'd come to is that most current (and recent) fridges should perform very similarly on both 230V and 12V operation.  (assuming similar cooling efficiency per watt input from either source)

Quoted gas consumption indicates that the cooling performance on that source might be slightly higher (or slightly less energy efficient 😉)

[Brian Kirby]

20 hours ago, Keithl said:

Try stocking it the night before departure, I'm guessing you can run it on 240 V at home?

I think this is the key.

We used to turn on our fridges, and set their temperature, 2 - 3 days before our departure date.  That way you can see how well it is holding its internal temperature under current ambient conditions, and adjust as necessary. 

We stocked the fridge a least 24 hours before departure (because whatever you put into it is likely to be warmer than ideal, so will take some time cool to fridge temperature), making sure that, apart from the last minute items, everything possible was in the night before departure to cool overnight.  Any last minute items (milk, etc. from the home fridge) would then be added on the day of departure.

This way, all the 12V fridge supply has to achieve is to maintain the items at fridge temperature during transit, rather than cool them further.  Given this pre-cooling treatment the fridges were always able to maintain temperature over several hours of (sometimes quite hot!) travelling - with gas invariably used during meal breaks.

[laimeduck]

Depends where you are travelling to? If you are going to Europe via France then legally (for France) you can't really have much in your fridge other than water! 

We always freeze a few cold blocks before we travel (and fire up the fridge 24 hrs before we go) and then put them in the freezer/fridge compartment while we travel.

We also have some freezer blocks in cool bags with stuff we take with us but shouldn't?)

Jeremy