Gas Fridge

[freefish]

Taking an extended trip to the Gulf at the end of the year & due to trouble running both fridge & freezer on 12v have decided to try gas for the freezer. Can anyone recommend a freezer in the 40 - 50 litre range? Will look at 3 way, 2 way or gas alone. The reason is that we will be camped for a month or more approx 250km from the nearest supplies & gas seems the best option. Hope to go in loaded with food. come out loaded with fish. Bill

[russ81]

Hows it going mate

These are avaliable at Ranger camping
Chescold / Electrolux F400 EXPLORER- 3 WAY FRIDGE / FREEZER 1 The advantages of three way operation - 12v, 240v or LP Gas combined with a moulded cabinet and a high performance tropicalised cooling unit turns the Explorer into a go anywhere refrigerator /freezer.
Enjoy complete freedom and comfort anywhere you choose to go- four wheel driving, camping, caravanning and even at home on the patio. The Explorer will provide you with a great deal of outdoor pleasure.

• Size: Height 500mm, Width 610mm, Depth 510mm. Gross capacity 39 litres.
• Consumption:
  • Electric 240 volts,120 watts
  • Battery 12 volts, 120 watts, 10 amps
  • Gas (LP) - 0.86 MJ/H (375g per day) approx.
• Weight empty 23kg.
  
• The RC1180 Combi Box is extremely flexible. Featuring a moulded cabinet for extra strength and with its removable divider it is the ideal ref/freezer for people on the move. With a choice of three way operation -LP Gas, 12 Volt or 240 Volt you can take it anywhere, use it anywhere.
• Size: Height 525mm, Width 665mm, Depth 505mm. Gross capacity 50 litres approx. (Refrigerator 30 litres and freezer 16 litres and divider 4 litres).
• Consumption:
  • Electric 240 volts, 115 watt
  • Battery 12 volts,115 watts, 9.5 amps
  • Gas (LP) 0.86 MJ/H (375 grams per day) approx.
• Weight when empty 25kg.
• these are some of the specs for the 39 and 50L fridges
• Hope this helps
• Russ
  

[weipa girl]

done the chescold thing was a distater , go the engel cant lose ,hook up to car battery , alas not a gas fridge but the best fridge going.

[tigermullet]

We have a Chescold RC1180 on board and cannot speak highly enough of it. However, some reports from the NT and NQ say that they struggle with the higher ambient temperatures. A 9kg gas bottle gives about 24 days of continuous operation but the fridge is always kept in a fairly cool and well ventilated position.

You might be disappointed with the freezer capacity of 16litres on an extended trip. It takes about four days, in the bream season, to fill the freezer to capacity with fillets. That is with just one person fishing so I doubt that 16litres will be adequate for your hopes of a good haul of larger fish.

Consul fridge/freezers seem to work very well but are larger, more expensive and, of course, use more gas because of their size. All reports heard have been favourable. Even though we are happy with the RC1180 I would like to be able to justify the expense of getting a Consul.

For your purposes the question of which fridge/freezer to buy will not be easy to answer because you will need a lot of gas and/or fuel for a generator to operate in a hot, humid environment.

Cold costs.

Good luck with your search.

[Hamish73]

I also have a older chescold which used to be excellent, but it has taken a turn for the worse lately. Still good on 240, but very poory performance on 12v and gas Can anyone recomend a place on Brissy sth side to get it looked at?

Back on track, I can reccomend the chescold. Remove the divider and crank the temp up and the whole thing becomes a freezer. The 12v input is only good when you are actually driving as 10 amps (more like 12 in reality) will suck even big batteruys flat in no time at all.

[tigermullet]

Hamish, thanks for the tip on cranking the Chescold up. Will try that this season. We have been running ours at the minimum gas setting and using it as a fridge/freezer. Even at the minimum setting the freezer compartment does a wonderful job and I can believe that it would act as freezer with the thermostat turned right up

We bought ours in July 2006 from Recreational Refrigeration Services 4/68 Perrin Drive Underwood Phone 3209 5044. Their price was $160 under the best price quoted by other suppliers. I think that they also service and repair.

[freefish]

Thanks all. Seems that I will go for 3way, 50l of one brand or the other. Seems they can be used as a fridge or freezer using about 9kg gas every 3 weeks. Easier & cheaper than trying to carry enough petrol for the boat & generator. Means we will be able to leave one of the fridges home which will make the batteries (3) last longer with more time between recharges. Then more fuel for fishing which is the point of the trip. Bill

[Hamish73]

thanks tiger.... I'll give them a call

[reelchippy]

I have chescold RC1180 yes it is a 3 way but would only recommend gas and 240v
It will ran at at 50 below ambient using 1 kg of gas every three to four days
great fridge

[tigermullet]

Yep. That's about spot on for gas consumption and I agree that 12volt should not be used except in an emergency otherwise the battery will be drained in no time flat.

Forgot to mention that the refrigerator, when running on gas, should be kept level. One of those little bullseye levels does the job BUT the trick is to start with a level surface and test by placing the level on the internal floor of the refrigerator as a first check and then find a spot on the lid that agrees with the readings and mark the appropriate spot with an indelible marker.

[mangomick]

Did a trip around Oz with a 3 way chesscold. Alright down south but really struggles when temp above 33 Degrees.They tell me if you fit a computer fan to the condensor in the back it can improve performance. Quite often I find if I unhook it and turn it over a few times until I hear it gurgling and tip it back when the gurgling stops it seems to get cooler. With the small draw on the Engels that will be the way I'll be going in future. That and a solar panel with small generator back up.The chesscold really sucks down the amps in 12v mode but the Engels only use about 2amps I think

[sharkymark2]

I have a 60litre Sadec freezer and on 240v it goes down to -18 Centigrade. Yes it can be used as a fridge if turned back to the start of the thermometer setting. Yes you are right when you say that they struggle in hot climates.

[weipa girl]

yep same ,

crew of 12 people quite a few of em had chescolds including us lost the lot milk , meat whilst camping up at weipa just too much struggle with the heat .

got hold of a huge engel the old mustard coloured ones , for 750 bucks second hand from a caravan park in port mcq nsw , that was 15 years ago and its still goin now.

might not run on gas but they go well when they do go, just had to use the generator or took a spare battery and charged it up when we went for a drive on beach etc.