Does my fridge run on 12v?

[awbeattie381]

Hi all,

I am feeling a little overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I dont know about caravans, but I guess we all have to start somewhere and thats what this forum is for!

I have a 1974 Viscount and was wondering whether my fridge can be used on 12v. The 12v component is going to be the most important for us as we intend on free camping a bit and I am a little worried about using the fridge on gas while we are asleep. I plan on installing a solar panel to charge the battery for the van.

Also, what is the button above the fridge for? (now I feel embarassed!)






Look forward to your replies.

[2lateagain]

Could you do a photo of the control knobs, should be in the front, possibly under the door or inside the door. Do you have a model number for it somewhere.

Graham

[awbeattie381]

Hmm was wondering if I needed more info/photos. Van is not at my place at the moment, but will take some more photos/note the model number down as soon as I can.

[doublechevron]

I'm pretty sure you'll find the old 3ways fridges are designed to work on gas or 240volts....12volts is just to try and keep the temperature down a bit while it's hooked you your *running* car.

You would probably flatten a car battery in a couple of hours running one on 12volts.... so you can imagine how many batteries you need if your going to try and run one of 12volts for a few days. Plus I've found there all but hopeless on 12volts. gas however works very well.

seeya,
shane L.

[Deleted]

Hi Andrew,
Your frig will only be 2 way on that model!sorry!
The white switch above looks like a water pump switch to run the tap.
12volt is only suitable to run from the car while you are driving to keep the frig cool,it won't cool down a warm frig,and as many people will tell you on this forum a flat car battery will be the outcome in a few minutes.
Gas is the norm while you are free camping and is quite safe and economical.Most of these frigs even run better on gas,as that is what they are originally built for.
A 12 volt only frig can be found,usually running with a Danfoss compressor that are built for battery and solar running,installed in a lot of new vans.
Also make sure the door seal is in good nick as this will affect the operation.If you need to get scuff marks off the interior,eucalyptus oil brings it up like new.
Hope this is of some help to you and don't feel embarrassed about asking questions,we all started somewhere!
Cheers
Hughdeani

[Deleted]

Hi Shane ,
The trick with frigs on 12 volt is they have to be cold to start with,then 12 volt from a running car will keep it at that temp,it won't cool down a warm frig.
2 of my vans are equipped with this facility and work great,even keeping ice cream frozen.
Cheers
Hughdeani

[greedy53]

as for running on gas at nigh, fitting a gas safety valve it goes on the bottle and will shut the gas of if a leak starts, i used gas all the time i was away and that was on a 2 month darwin trip from camden nsw,ran it on 12 volt while traveling,if your fridge don't have 12 volt get a 12 240 volt inverter and run the fridge on that while traveling

[awbeattie381]

ok so its sounds like unless I buy a new fridge, 12v is useless unless hooked up to a running car. That isnt really going to work for me either as I already have a dual battery system installed (to run my engel), so by the time the alt charges battery 1 then battery 2, there will probably be bugger all left for battery 3 (in the van). Might have to think about that. It will be a pain transferring fridge contents into the car fridge on every long driving leg then back again when we set up camp for the next night.

I like the sound of the gas safety valve, but also find it reassuring that the fridges work very well on gas.

Will have to use some eucalyptus oil as the fridge is a mess. The van was owned by slobs. Will also check out the deals and make sure they are in good order.

Thanks all!

As far as that switch goes, I dont think its for a pump as the original tap is a pump tap.

[tedalley]

Aug 15, 2014 19:07:54 GMT 10 awbeattie381 said:

ok so its sounds like unless I buy a new fridge, 12v is useless unless hooked up to a running car. That isnt really going to work for me either as I already have a dual battery system installed (to run my engel), so by the time the alt charges battery 1 then battery 2, there will probably be bugger all left for battery 3 (in the van). Might have to think about that. It will be a pain transferring fridge contents into the car fridge on every long driving leg then back again when we set up camp for the next night.

Andrew Hi.

I have a similar fridge and have a 130ah battery that gets charged -- 1) by the tow vehicle & 2) Solar Panels.

My fridge (1974 240v / gas) is hooked up to an inverter which in-total draws 10 amps on 12v (the 3 way fridge, in my last van, on 12v drew 7 amps).

I have 4 x 40w solar panels (purchased in 1984) which put out 12 amps on a sunny day. this keeps the battery topped up when stopped for sight-seeing etc. While free-camping I switch over to gas so that I have battery for lights and other things.

Modern solar panels put out more power and are more efficient -- but while they are still working I cant see the need to upgrade them.

I might add to them at a later date.

I hope this helps

Ted

[Deleted]

Andrew a lot of vans of that era had 12volt pumps that used 1 tap,you just opened the tap and pushed the switch.
Those door seals are no longer available,so if you need a new one go to a door seal replacement shop with the door and they can fit you a matching type for a reasonable amount.
Door is removed by undoing top bolt,lean door forward and pull up off bottom pin(great help in cleaning everything properly then too)
These frigs also have a safety cut valve as standard,so if flame goes out,gas will stop running.
Cheers
Hughdeani