Griffs photos of the beast

Yep, yep, yep, some nice photos there Griff. Nice one. Angie

Thanks, Guys and Dolls - you're very kind (you could have said it was all a bit of a Jolly Sore Arm). The Fridge is a Waeco RPD-190 with the black panels removed & replaced with brushed Stainless (had to keep the Ambiance). Love the door locks. They positively lock top and bottom on each door in the fully closed or partly open (for storage) by means of a shaft running inside the door edge connecting the two latches. Great layout inside. It would appear to have thicker insulation than the HPD-190 fitted usually by BT. It also has a natty little fan in a plastic cowling covering the lower back to ensure good air past the compressor. Like the pressed metal heat sink with fins across the entire back which carry the coils. Its the heat sinking that is attached to the side of the fridge & takes the weight, as opposed to what I often see, where the coils are fixed & they carry the heat sinking - less likely to have metal fatigue type fractures. Gave BT the dimensions for cut out before seeing fridge. Ended up too big in the cut-out opening and would probably have given ourselves 20mm or so extra depth if we had it earlier, just to make fitting easier (too shallow to take the Sound in Motion supplied alarm siren, so had to substitute smaller unit). Only other thing is the silly condensation tube leading to a drip-bowl on top of the compressor. Have extended to outside vent - so no splashes or grotty water in the area. This fridge is designed to pull air from inside the van at floor level, and exhaust it into the van at the top front. I have sealed these off to prevent dust incursion in favour of the usual bottom & top rear vents. While I was at it I also insulated all around to improve sound isolation & thermal efficiency. Off to fit an inside/outside fridge thermometer (from Jaycar - thanks Anthony) Worth a look Griff

Griff,
Impressive v e r y impressive and would definitely like to
more about your fridge and why you chose it.
Cheers,
Helen

Have a look on the Waeco site athttp://www.waeco.com.au/au/rpd190.html If it behaves itself as well as our 50lt portable, we'll be happy Griff

Griff, looks cool. If starting from scratch, what dimensions would you give BT for optimal installation? Cheers, Jay

Griff Just noticed the Bailey's bottle! When we were cruising, Skywave was know as the Bailey's boat - even had it in our morning coffee! How about some specs on the microwave? Have you had much trouble with scratches or fingerprints on the fridge surface. Jackie says if we buy it with the ss, I have to keep it print free - . Cheers, Jay

Microwave is a Whirlpool 6MT744 with stainless trim kit. Liked the drop-down door which can take up to 20kg resting on it in the open position. I felt this was a worthwhile safety feature - somewhere to rest hot, hot food when taking it out if needed. the thought of the door being banged shut on you by the kids rushing past as you are dealing with hot stuff is not good. Similarly for a high mount installation, hot food at face level is a no-no. Does lots of nice things including browning & cooking in square containers (with the revolving plate disabled), but the more exotic features need shore or generator power. Cooks great. Good back up if we ever run out of gas. Griff the Semi-Naked Chef

Griff, A 20kg prime roast resting on the door ... my kinda thinkin' !!!! Semi-naked chef huh ! Do you leave the top half naked or the bottom half ..... Excuse me Waiter ! There's a hair in my soup ..... [cheekyGrin] Anthony Explore this Great Land ...Do it easy ...Tow a Bushtracker

The back half, naturally. Griff

Griff, Other than the thicker insulation on the RPD-190 compared to the HPD-190, were there other features that resulted in your purchase of the RPD? Whas there a significant cost difference? Thanks, tgintl/jay

190lt fridges in Stainless hard to come by. On a more practical level, liked the idea of being able to bolt it in with a frame. Probably $200 dearer (just over $2000) plus custom Stainless fronts, its certainly a luxury compared to the standard RPD-190, but love the outcome. Prefer the door locks, Fan & coils. Could be that the fan makes it marginally less efficient, but with the amount of insulation I have shoved in there, probably better than normal. Griff's Beer at 3.7 deg