advice on fridge

[fishinfool]

Well well well, I have had Chescold 3 way, and watched my mates curse their engels. Both buddies changed to Trail Blazers both 80 ltrs. However my National Lunar blows them all away.

Can freeze down to -45 deg, its 80 ltr stainless and its the best you can buy, I can run my fridge at -8 degs for 3 days and nights off a 75 Amph battery, with starting the engine. Bought mine from TJM at Coopers Plains. Just buy one, set the temp you want, put it in the 4x4 and forget about it.

Ps You will have to drink alot at -8 coz you will freeze the beer if you slow down your drinking.

Cheers all

[bruce4x4]

Chesgold 3 Way is the way to
hook upto battery when traverling
then gas when you get to your camp site

[wiseguy67]

no intentions to start something but..... how thick are the housings on chescold?
EvaKool have 40mm all round, this turns it into a very well insulated esky with freezing capabilities as well the compressor is externally mounted. Yes one other important thing to take into consideration; evakool are not imported, made right here in OZ Caloundra to be more specific

My experience with threeway fridges is that they tend to draw a lot of gas and in hot conditions tend to require constant running to keep the freezer end on things in order, this is where the extra insulation comes into play.

I am going to be going bush/beach for weeks on end and will not be able to fill gas bottles and the extra room required is not there to carry them.

This morning sparky just set up a third house battery and there is a jack for a solar panel in the future.

I would be interested in a comparison report of the above mentioned fridges systems to see under similar conditions how they stack up.
I am sure some camping and four wheel mags have done it but i was not able to find any.

Most importantly I have my fridge now and cold drinks while under the noon day sun

[bruce4x4]

Well

On our trip to the top my fridge ran on 12 volt all day while travelling
and on gas when we stopped at camp i only had 1/9kg bottle and never ran out
we still had frozen meat left when we got home and in good condition
our trip lasted 2 weeks
am very happy with my fridge
it also was very very hot

[GBC]

G'day wise,

Good choice mate - as is evidenced in prior threads, the 3/way 2/way debate is like cruiser/patrol owners. I'll just add that choice mag chose the evacool as best buy not long ago. That was under controlled conditions and only tested mass produced fridges, but good enough for me to recommend them to my mates who now run them without complaint. An important consideration I think, is the ability to use ice in them in case of a breakdown, which some of the others can't do.
C.J.

I forgot to mention if you're looking at transit bags etc, save your money. They are strong as buggery, and have excellent insulation properties anyway.

[2iar]

My experience with threeway fridges is that they tend to draw a lot of gas

Not doubting what you're saying here mate, but i don't understand the logic - doesn't it just keep a pilot light running for the heat exchange? I wouldn't have thought that the amount of gas required between the varying brands would differ much... a 9kg bottle should last about 2 weeks, with no effect from the ambient temp??? Or have I missed something? [smiley=confused.gif]

Good luck,
Mike

[GBC]

Just read your original post again wise -re solar panels. You say there is a jack for a solar panel - check for a regulator as well, as most panels are unregulated, however some of the new ones have built in regs. DO NOT plug an unregulated panel into your battery system as it will kill the batteries. I have a 65 watt panel permanently mounted on the ute which pushes approx 5 amps for most of the day. If you are planning to spend big amounts of time away I highly reccommend one or two or three. You'll find your battery life improves as well as they discharge less - that's if you buy cheaper batteries like me.....

[mr_stinker]

IF YOU RUN 3 BATTERIES YOU ARE GOING T0 PUT A LOT OF PRESSURE ON YOUR ALTERNATOR,WITH A GOOD CHANCE IT WILL STUFF UP,I RELATE TO SURF SNIPER.OVER THE YEARS THE LADS AND MY SELF HAVE DONE XXXS TIME ON THE BEACH I ONLY FISH AT NIGHT,YES I CHASE ONLY GREEN BACKS PLUS STINKER

1 80WATT PANEL
2 HEAVEY DUTY BATTERIES
1 60L TRAIL BLAZER
1 100L TRAIL BLAZER
ALL OF THIS ON THE BACK OF MY TOYOTA UTE
RUNS LIKE A CHARM

BOTH TRAIL BLAZERS SIT UNCOVERED ON THE BACK OF MY UTE AND ARE OVER 6 YEARS OLD AND WORK AS GOOD AS THE DAY I BOUGHT THEM



HORSE MAC ?????

[mr_stinker]

MY 100L TRAIL BLAZER 125MM SIDES NO SHIT,IT IS CUSTOM MADE AND NEEDS BUGGER ALL JUICE

[SURF_SNIPER]

agree mr stinker, the trail blazerers are a good setup also, in our gang two of us run snapper freezers and two run trail blaze both have had never a problem.

horse mack, recon you would hold a few hey?

[luckyone]

go the trailblazers have had one for 10 years and cant kill it .they are the best

[Rod_Bender]

Engel have the best name!!! Evakool are great too. Personally I wouldn't touch a Waeco having seen them perform - badly!!!! Yes some people have them and some people will be lucky to purchase a decent model, but there is far too many lemons out there in Waeco's. Yes Engel are expensive, but there's nothing worse then travelling for 4 days to find your unit not working properly. That extra $300-$400 spent would soon seem like a wiser option. Chescold are great for camper's who like to position themselves in the one position for a longer period of time. Waeco are cheap for one main reason. Touch base at your local camp ground or caravan park and ask actual owner's themself. Best way to soon find the one you require.

[joey_1987]

Hey, not to do with the fridge, but about your inflatable boat, i have been in a 3.1m zodiac with 15hp mercury, same motor as yours, this motor needed full throttle to plane it but you could back off once on the plane and stay on the plane still. With 4 people you struggle to get on the plane at all. I think it is to do with the water dynamics of the inflatables, they drag more and need more power. But maybe I am a speed freak because 30hp is on the back of my 3.95m tinny. Joey.