how big a fridge

[Juggs]

have ordered in a waeco cf-80 fridge freezer

i just want to lay my mind to rest before i pick it up that it will be big enough

our needs
2 adults 3 young kids
1-3 night stays
have a evakool esky for drinks

camper has a 110 amp hour battery to be installed soon, wont be charged off the car, we are pretty new to this and will be using caravan parks for the first year or so till we have it down pat and then may start venturing further afield

this means ill have 240v access to recharge the battery when needed, was wondering how long a 110 amp battery with say 55 usable amps would last ?

its a fridge freezer unit of the right dimensions to fit in the camper trailer easily
its at a price i can afford 1400 versus 2k for the same sized engel
and the idea of a voltage shutoff sounded like a good thing

the next sized up units are massive in external dimensions maybe im just thinking like i am at home and need a 800l fridge

anyone got any opinions?

 

[frosty]

I've got 2 Wacoe CF 50's. I tossed up betweeen 1 bigy or 2 smaller one's. If your only going for 2 nights, an 80lt. is a BIG unit. Also, do yourself a huge favour, get the trailer wired to the car. It's simple to do yourself or quite cheap to have done. It makes you almost totally self reliant.

 

[Juggs]

thanks for the reply

its still a company cehicle so i cant do too much too it unfortunatly

arb and the other mob dont do a dual battery kit for the bt-50 yet, you mean just wiring so the camper deep cycle charges while driving?

example in feb we are going away for a week so longer stays will be 2-3 times a year rest will be weekenders

the 80 will fit in the camper easily where 2 50s or 60s wont ill go back tomorrow and have a look

 

[DR J]

Hey Juggs, I've got a waeco 60 ltr fridge and find it plenty for 2 adults and 2 kids you will soon learn which foods can be taken and packed differently to use with the fridge but if your waeco has been as good as mine you will love it

 

[cloughcarib]

Hi Juggs, we have 2 young ones as well as us.

We've got the cf-80 and can easily pack in enough frozen and fresh stuff to last 2 weeks.

If we are only doing short trips, the freezer section gets filled with water bottles to reduce the cycling time.

It's a great fridge, but definitely big, however it suits our purposes.

 

[Juggs]

thanks for the replies

the 50-60 only uses 1amp where as the 80 uses 2.9 i dont understand why such a bit difference

with your 80 how do you power it>

 

[frosty]

thanks for the reply

its still a company cehicle so i cant do too much too it unfortunatly

arb and the other mob dont do a dual battery kit for the bt-50 yet, you mean just wiring so the camper deep cycle charges while driving?

example in feb we are going away for a week so longer stays will be 2-3 times a year rest will be weekenders

the 80 will fit in the camper easily where 2 50s or 60s wont ill go back tomorrow and have a look

You don't need to have a dual battery system to power the camper. An autospark can run power straight from the altinator to the light plug so when the engine is running it will charge the camper battery. If you don't tell anyone, they will never know.

 

[zoom]

juggs you might be mistake about the big groups not doing a dual batt. set-up for the BT-50, I've had one since May last year. Was an ARB job .

 

[Juggs]

went to arb bankstown last month they said no and trn penrith about the same time

i will go back and ask again

they said the 2009 was different

thanks

 

[zoom]

Sorry Juggs, I didn't know you had a 2009 model. I haven't seen one yet , are there many changes ?

 

[Juggs]

im not sure sorry zoom as i haven't seen a previous model

engine bay seems pretty cramped though also has a gearbox controller mounted in front of the air cleaner so that would have to be moved

anyway ill go have a chat to them this week

on the fridge front and a lot of googling the 80 isn't going to work unless i take a generator along for stays more then 2 days

easy 2amp per hour thats 48amps per day have a 110 amp battery so 55 usable amps just is not enough


the size i snot a issue as it will be mounted in the camper

so guess ill buy a cf50

 

[zoom]

if moneys an issue then you wont like my suggestion. get two 6v batts together in series & the two batts = 12v but if each are...... say 80amp you'll get 160 total - 25%. yjat gives 120amp (usable).

 

[cloughcarib]

im not sure sorry zoom as i haven't seen a previous model

engine bay seems pretty cramped though also has a gearbox controller mounted in front of the air cleaner so that would have to be moved

anyway ill go have a chat to them this week

on the fridge front and a lot of googling the 80 isn't going to work unless i take a generator along for stays more then 2 days

easy 2amp per hour thats 48amps per day have a 110 amp battery so 55 usable amps just is not enough


the size i snot a issue as it will be mounted in the camper

so guess ill buy a cf50

This makes sense if the fridge is running constantly, however, even in an uncovered trailer our fridge only cycles for 3-5mins about 4 times an hour.

We keep it set at -10C when away from 240V and the last time we were out it was unplugged for 30hrs and was still holding -2C when plugged back in.

That was after sitting in the trailer at a campsite while I was out breaking the car.

 

[Juggs]

thanks for the replies

ill let the wife decide then if it don't work out i aint the one in trouble lol

the 80 and 110 use a different model compressor to the 40-50 etc and is very inefficient compared to them 2.9 amps versus 0.86 at a certain temp and 32c
and was basing that usage on what posts i could find online

will just buy t and see how it goes, am thinking a 80 watt solar panel would be the answer i have a 40watt atm but it wont be enough and am reluctant to buy a generator

 

[Juggs]

well picked up a waeco cf50 today
sitting beside my desk now running and will get a test run on the weekend with an overnight camp somewhere
thanks for the advice and opinions

 

[hoody]

Fridge

Juggs I Have A Eve Kool 55 Litre Fridge That Fits On The Draw Bar And A 32 Engel Thats In The Back Of My Triton , The Eva Kool Runs Of My Deep Cycle In My Camper ,that Is Charge By The Anderson Connection Itsthe Best Way Of Running Fridges

 

[Juggs]

well just spent 5 days at forster and the fridge stayed at 3degrees for all that time on a single 110 amp hour battery mounted on the camper with no charging

so more then enough for my needs and works well