I have a mate who has been on the road all of this year and once he got the stupid Drifter unit replaced, and an extra battery all seems to run well so long as he stays away from shady spots and days of cloud cover, then its time for the Genny, he says the fridge runs fine its all the other rubbish you want power up that causes the problems...phones, laptops, coffee machines but he does say having a portable panel makes all the difference, 200 on the ground gives more than the 300 on the roof.
Compressor fridges
- Thread starter GUlewis
- Start date
Also to add, I have come home from a weekend and just walk away from the van with the fridge/ freezer packed. Might leave it running on the street and no worries about having to change from 12v to GAS, or will the Gas run out, or plug in 240v.
Really wish the manufactures just dumped 3 ways and changed all to 12v
But I'm sure they would cop a lot of flak at the same time.
Drover, good point about the portable panel, something I could use in the car and just swap as needed.
Really wish the manufactures just dumped 3 ways and changed all to 12v
But I'm sure they would cop a lot of flak at the same time.Drover, good point about the portable panel, something I could use in the car and just swap as needed.
I see a need for 3 ways, on a run early this year if I had a compressor fridge I would have been in a bit of strife as I was camped in a shady spot, not much choice so the 120w portable was carrying the show for a week, the roof top wasn't getting much at all so I was being very economical with my power usage and didn't have to worry about the fridge, while my mate mentioned above had to empty his fridge into the Engel in his Ute and have a big barbie cook up when his Drifter crapped out which just killed the whole 12v set up in the van, charging and 12v supply, the whole lot was cactus, which really showed these systems that do the lot , solar charge, 240v charge etc might be great when they work but a failure means you loose the lot, a bit of jury rigging got the lights back but it needed warranty stop over to get it all replaced, with my rig the the 12v system is charged by solar or 240v by individual units which if one fails the system will still operate, the combined systems nowadays are a step backward I believe, my recent trip the 240v charger died but no drama and was easily and economically replaced, if my 3 way dies then a compressor fridge would be the go depends on which was cheaper I think.
I’ve been in the auto electrical game for 45+ years, my brother is 6 years older than me and has been vanning much of his life, his new van has a 3 way after battery/weather problems during his last big lap. Hopefully we will be ordering a new van this month fingers crossed ant it will have a 3 way fridge, I have fitted lots of 12 & 24 volt fridges over the years but for us a 3 way gives us more options and they are getting better. All personal choice at the end of the day, my beer lives in our Waceo anyway
It seems to me that, at this point in time, the advantages and disadvantages of 2-way or 3-way are about even. Depending on personal circumstances, previous experiences, etc, the scales will tip one way or the other.
When ordering the Penguin, I did have a choice, but, in the end, stuck with a 3-way. It was just easier. But, since I have been in electronics for well over 50 years, my interest should naturally fall to a 2-way system. Also, of late, less use of fossil fuels is also of some interest to me.
In my opinion, if there is a step jump in the attractiveness of a 2-way system, it would be game over and 3-way fridges would become museum pieces. What do I mean by that:
1: 2-way fridges need a significant drop in cost and a marked increase in efficiency.
2: Solar panels need to keep reducing in price, increasing in efficiency, in reduced weight.
3: Energy storage technology needs to have a big increase in capacity, reduction in weight, and reduction in cost.
4: Energy management systems need to become more reliable and less complicated. The user should not have to carry a multimeter around to keep the system running.
As we know, there is currently positive movement in all 4 areas.
I have gotten use to my 3-way and it serves our purpose. But I am waiting in anticipation for some time in the future when it becomes brain dead obvious that it is time to upgrade. At the moment, for our usage, the improvement is only marginal at best. We have seen these step jumps in many other areas of technology. The RV market is huge and it just needs one company to bite the bullet and offer a revolutionary approach and investment to provide much improved solutions to energy management in this area.
Anyway, I am off to finish packing. Tomorrow morning, we are going to Vaughan Springs for three days.
cheers
Mike
When ordering the Penguin, I did have a choice, but, in the end, stuck with a 3-way. It was just easier. But, since I have been in electronics for well over 50 years, my interest should naturally fall to a 2-way system. Also, of late, less use of fossil fuels is also of some interest to me.
In my opinion, if there is a step jump in the attractiveness of a 2-way system, it would be game over and 3-way fridges would become museum pieces. What do I mean by that:
1: 2-way fridges need a significant drop in cost and a marked increase in efficiency.
2: Solar panels need to keep reducing in price, increasing in efficiency, in reduced weight.
3: Energy storage technology needs to have a big increase in capacity, reduction in weight, and reduction in cost.
4: Energy management systems need to become more reliable and less complicated. The user should not have to carry a multimeter around to keep the system running.
As we know, there is currently positive movement in all 4 areas.
I have gotten use to my 3-way and it serves our purpose. But I am waiting in anticipation for some time in the future when it becomes brain dead obvious that it is time to upgrade. At the moment, for our usage, the improvement is only marginal at best. We have seen these step jumps in many other areas of technology. The RV market is huge and it just needs one company to bite the bullet and offer a revolutionary approach and investment to provide much improved solutions to energy management in this area.
Anyway, I am off to finish packing. Tomorrow morning, we are going to Vaughan Springs for three days.
cheers
Mike
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Yep @mikerezny I think you have it in a nutshell, if we see it in our lifetime it will cost a lot of $$$$ and be over priced but the requirements of so many people means the 3 way will still be there, I would like a compressor and having an Engel for over 40 years I have given them a good test run and sometimes the 3 way wins the contest, especially when we were tenting, the 3way needs a gas bottle so simple, the compressor fridge demands a trailer load of batteries, panels or fuel and genny... each has their own niche, if you are not of the Green Steam Brigade then it can be expensive exercise to pay someone and if you are really only going away for a few weeks a year is it really worth it...