Cheap alternatives to Shoreline fridges?

[n.b.Goldie]

I think that the reason so many folk have 'trouble' with their 12v fridges is because when the fridge is wired up the 'spec' of the wire is not up to the job, i.e. too thin. A thin wire will, especially on 12v dc lose a great deal of energy through resistance, energy that is not then available to power the fridge. 240v ac is less prone to this and the main concern then is inefficiency in the inverter.

 

If you are having '12v dc fridge troubles' check that your batts are still o.k., that there are no loose connections and that your wiring is up to the job. Smartguage (Gibbo) are good folk to talk to and have good info.

 

Ditchdabbler

[Phil Ambrose]

I think that the reason so many folk have 'trouble' with their 12v fridges is because when the fridge is wired up the 'spec' of the wire is not up to the job, i.e. too thin. A thin wire will, especially on 12v dc lose a great deal of energy through resistance, energy that is not then available to power the fridge. 240v ac is less prone to this and the main concern then is inefficiency in the inverter.

 

If you are having '12v dc fridge troubles' check that your batts are still o.k., that there are no loose connections and that your wiring is up to the job. Smartguage (Gibbo) are good folk to talk to and have good info.

 

Ditchdabbler

 

You are probably right , for my own part I used 25mm/sq to avoid voltage drop. I have had people say "ooh thats a bit heavy for a fridge" BUT not if it works. I may live on a boat but I aint' camping.

 

Phil

[sebrof]

I expect its yet another EU inspired thing.

 

Why?

 

Not withstanding all the knowledge display by various people on this thread and the Forum in general, I still maintain that 12v kit is better suited to use on a boat and to me it is nonsense to take 12v and turn it into 240v just to run something that is available in 12v form. The only difference is the price. I have never had to turn off either my 12v under counter fridge nor my 12v under counter freezer, it has never been an issue. Maybe my cruising and charging regime is better than some I really do'nt know. All I can say is that it works for me.

 

You're right it's nonsense. Nobody would dream of doing it were it not for the outrageous price difference between 230V and 12V kit. That's where the nonsense comes in. It's actually pretty nonsensical to use 12V rather than 230V if in the long run it will cost you more to do so.

[bag 'o' bones]

There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little more cheaply.

The person that buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey

 

John Ruskin

 

and

 

 

It's unwise to pay too much, but it's unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all.

When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do.

The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It can't be done.

If you deal with the lowest bidder, it's well to add something for the risk you run.

And if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.

JOHN RUSKIN (1819 - 1900)

 

Good advice but it doesn't explain why sometimes we are required to pay well over the odds for certain items of comparable quality and in some cases exactly the same product.

[ChrisPy]

this link is informative, even if it doesn't provide all the solutions

 

http://www.rpc.com.au/products/appliances/fridges/fridge_Apr05.html

[ayeaye]

We have a shoreline fridge which I reckon was worth every penny, we have also bought a converter from shoreline which it switches to when on land line well pleased with both but not cheap then again wouldnt have expected them to be. We had a waeco cool box which only lasted 13 month before burning out Bren

[GUMPY]

If you want to go out on a limb you could go this way using an inverter:

http://mtbest.net/chest_fridge.html

Its what I will be doing next time I need to replace my fridge using a small chest freezer.

full article here:

http://mtbest.net/chest_fridge_1.pdf

Edited October 26, 2010 by idleness

[nb Innisfree]

146kwh per year seems logical to me, 146/365 days = 0.4kwh per day = 33.33ah @12v. Sounds about right assuming 50% duty cycle.

[Phil Ambrose]

Why?

 

 

 

You're right it's nonsense. Nobody would dream of doing it were it not for the outrageous price difference between 230V and 12V kit. That's where the nonsense comes in. It's actually pretty nonsensical to use 12V rather than 230V if in the long run it will cost you more to do so.

 

 

This seems to be the answer,"money" I suppose I and a few others are happy to pay for convenience, oh and I dont have bottomless pockets just State pension. Not having to rely on an invertor means one less thing to go wrong.

 

Phil

[WotEver]

this link is informative, even if it doesn't provide all the solutions

 

http://www.rpc.com.au/products/appliances/fridges/fridge_Apr05.html

I found the 1st para enlightening, particularly the two sentences that I've emboldened:

If at all possible use a 12/24 Volt compressor-driven fridge. These are more efficient than a normal 240V AC type fridges and avoids something like a 15% inverter inefficiency loss. So-called ‘3 way’ fridges, which work on LP gas, are very inefficient when run on electricity. Danfoss compressors are generally regarded as the most efficient and reliable DC unit. This is why they are used for most vaccine fridges in rural clinics around the world.

 

Tony