Fridge settings

Ours is set at 2 also and to make sure that it no longer gets accidentally knocked onto 7 as has happened several times, I put a piece of velcro top and bottom of the control knob, and another bit in the knob, we then put the other sided velcro in one strip joining all three and no more frozen lettuce etc. Whil on fridges, in addition to that I put a hook and eye on the side of each door to make it easy to see if it is locked. We probably didn't clip the plastic tabs in properly on two occasions as cleaning up beetroot, scrambled eggs and all the other odds and ends off the floor isn't one of my favorite jobs. Sooner empty the loo. Brian.

COOLMATIC HDC-190 Gross capactiy: 185 litres total, 45 litres <v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 stroked="f" filled="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600"><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:formulas><v:path o:connecttype="rect" gradientshapeok="t" o:extrusionok="f"></v:path><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></o:lock></v:shapetype><v:shape id=_x0000_i1025 style="WIDTH: 29.25pt; HEIGHT: 9.75pt" type="#_x0000_t75" alt=""></v:shape>-freezer compartment Voltage: 12/24 volts Average power
consumption:
60 watts Average running
time:
25% at 20°C ambient temperature and 5°C interior temperature Power consumption: power input x average running time Insulation: solid polyurethane foam System: fully hermetic Danfoss BD50F compressor with integrated control electronics, low-voltage protection, electronic fuse/automatic reverse pole protection, mechanic, continuously variable thermostat Material: body and doors in sheet steel, interior of impact-restistant polystyrene Colour: cabinet, inside door lining and interior: white Quality features: interior light, door with magnetic seal, variable door hinges and locks (right/left), two separate doors Weight: 39 kg Scope of delivery: two removable multiboxes, two height-adjustable, plastic-coated grilles Test mark: TÜV/GS, e-approved according to 95/54/EG
(EMC guidelines for vehicles) <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Ref. No. HDC-190 12/24 volts

Phil, Have put the specs of the fridge in the post above in case you've never seen them. I have done a couple of things to my fridge to help a bit .... the first is 100 % polyester insulation between the fridge exterior and the BT cabinet in which it is housed. Some people say it will cause condensation and rust ...... Humbug I say !!! I bought 100mm polyester bats, split them into 50mm and slid them between the fridge and cabinet via the two outside vents using a 400mm wooden ruler and hands. Its a bit a chore but not too bad. It has a twofold effect ...... effectively gives the fridge more wall and top insulation ( well, the steel cabinet less affected by heat anyway) and makes the space more conducive to the heat/air being more convective, in through the bottom vent and out the top vent. Make sure the insulation only comes flush with the fridge to leave the coil free to do its job. I think there is a pic in my album showing the 12v outlet I put in the top vent, you can see the insulation in one of the pics ..... ? The other little helper is a digital fridge thermometer ...... used double sided tape to put it on door and probe goes into fridge underneath rubber and sits near thermostat inside. I can now see what the fridge internal temp is and adjust thermostat to keep fridge at 4-4.5 instead of guessing. It came from Jaycar and was $20. My thermo runs at 1.5 on my fridge. I had my thermo heaps higher when we first got the van and it was not very cold ? I rang BTi and Peter said that "It is supposed to cycle the frost off the back wall when it is set right. If it stays as ice/frost and doesnt defrost it is set to high." It does seem to make sense ....... we turned down the thermostat and the fridge became colder ..... go figure huh !!! The drinks in the door were only average now at 1.5 they are cold and the frost is cycling off the back wall. I will be able to tell more after Cania ( temp gauge on door). One more little improvement I'm looking at is a fan mounted in the top vent blowing out ........ or a fan behind compressor blowing out pushing more heat out into the convective stream up to top vent ..... would start when compressor kicks in .......might install both ? I think the latest fridges going in the vans draw clean air from the van interior through a vent and fan system and then out a vent at top of fridge to exterior ??? (much more efficient) Regards Anthony

As a very rough guide, at an ambient of 25-27 degrees C, most 12/24 volt electric fridges use an extra 5% energy for every degree the inside temperature is reduced below 4 degrees C.

Adding additional insulation will reduce this significantly - but do be careful before doing so as some fridges (like the Autofridge) uses the sides to dissipate heat! You can always tell if you have one of these as the side walls are warm to the touch.
Collyn Rivers

We have a 100 L Trailblaza frdge freezer. It has 75 mm wall thichness insulation (there is a 125 mm option as well) We run the bottom third as a freezer at about minus 8 to 10 degrees C. In ambient temperatures of 35 Deg C the frdge has an approx cycle rate of 25%. Van internal temperature when parked in the sun are much higher but the frdge has no difficulty in coping with these conditions. At night the cycle ration is much less. We run 4 six volt 200 amp house batteries with four 75 Watt BP solar modules coupled via a PL 20 Plasmatronic controller. This works well. We actually look for shade when we park the vehicle. On our recent Kimberly trip we bushed camped for 63 consecutive days without external power. The internals of the Trailblaza fridge are much the same as other 12 volt compressor fridges but the wall insulation is a fair bit thicker which probably makes the difference. Some people with other frdges had difficulties where we had none. Vidas

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Anthony, I am interested in the thermometer probe that you referred to - pls see the picture attached which I got from Jaycar website - is this the one you are talking about? Phil

Phil I think what Anthony is referring to is a little digital thermo with a wire attached (about a metre long) which has a little sensor (with sticky part) attached which would just run through the door. I don't have one on the fridge (but will now, good idea Anthony ) but have one through the door recording temp inside and outside the van. That way you get to know just how cold (or hot) it is outside when you don't have to go out there, especially in the middle of the night. I got mine from Dick Smith. Regards Jeff

G'day guys, It is the one with a probe on about a metre or so of tiny twin flex ... I have used double sided tape to attach the probe just above fridge thermostat. I shortened the wire to probe(soldered and heatshrunk) and used some zip tie adhesive blocks to attach wire to ..... a pic is worth a thousand words ........... I'll try to get a pic into my album by Thurs morn/lunch ...... Regards Anthony

All, Finally found a digital thermometer with lead+sensor which can be used to monitor the fridge temperature (and avoid running it too cold and draining all the batteries). Dick Smith sell a neat little unit, cost about $28. As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, insert lead under/ around rubber door seal, and the readout can be fastened to the outside of the fridge for a quick check that all's well. Phil

I recently purchased a unit with an Engel badge for $30. It is white with 4 metres of cable. It has a very small clothes peg like attachment for clipping the sensor onto a shelf. I have it just in front of the evaporator on the rear wall. I will eventually position the display on the overhead cupboard in the kutchen(so the dish washer uperer can keep an eye on it). Engel equipment is top of the tops so that was good enough for me. With a thermostat setting of two it reads from 5 to 7 degrees. Ernie