Fridge in a Surf

[Overland Tonka]

The merc fridges are made by waeco...they come up on eBay every now and then.

[wishbone]

If you just want to keep beer cold then buy a cheapy halfords 12v fridge, stick a load of the freezer packs in it to help out and that should do.

If you want a decent set up then look for a compressor fridge with a leisure battery and split charge system.

The cheap fridges use a peltier element which are pretty inefficient but they do ok - my brother in law has one and it does him fine for weekend camping etc. It will be no good to keep food safe in the height of summer though. He needs to plug it in to electric hook up when camping aswell as it will drain the battery in no time.

I use a waeco cf50 with an anteres split charge unit and a 120Amp hour battery. In Autumn weather I get 3 days out of the battery before it needs a recharge. That's at 3 degrees C.

The main difference between a cheap fridge and an expensive one is that the cheap fridge will not be able to cool enough in hot ambient temps and will use a lot more power doing it.

It depends what you are doing with it as to how much you should spend. My fridge cost a weeks wages but has paid that back times over as I no longer have to buy food daily when camping.

Rob.

[BUSHWHACKER]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12v-24v-co...item3f0caeade4

[ROMEROTECH]

On the way down to Spain i stopped in France at a roadside Carrefour. They had a bunch of coolers for sale ranging from €20 - €200. I bought one for €45 that could be run off 12V or 240V. Keeps drinks really cold, fits nicely behind the passenger seat making it easy to get to. When switched off it keeps stuff cold for couple of hours and doesn't take too long to get cold again. I use it in the office now when not being used in the truck.

A gas option one would be good though, keeping everything cold while electric is switched off. They are a good idea though.

[Sancho]

If you're going camping, just take a CO2 fire extinguisher. It could be useful for putting out fires but, more importantly, chills a beer in about 2 seconds.

[dieselboy]

The merc fridges are made by waeco...they come up on eBay every now and then.

Thanks for the info / name. I didn't know that about Mercs. I just found this googling for Waeco http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephanridgway/5389599212/

[dieselboy]

If you're going camping, just take a CO2 fire extinguisher. It could be useful for putting out fires but, more importantly, chills a beer in about 2 seconds.

Trust Sancho to come up with a practical yet life threatening solution should a electrical fire crop up whilst camping

[Overland Tonka]

Thanks for the info / name. I didn't know that about Mercs. I just found this googling for Waeco http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephanridgway/5389599212/

Type waeco in eBay....loads to choose from new and s/hand...it is best to pay a little extra for a engel though if you can. Saw a merc one go for £30, well worth getting.

[Predictable Bob]

Trust Sancho to come up with a practical yet life threatening solution should a electrical fire crop up whilst camping

Way back in the last century I was on exercise in Canada during August which can get a bit warm so we took a pile of beer with us. Unfortunately military vehicles aren't usually fitted with fridges so we had to get a little creative ...

The solution was simple - empty ten pack into small side bin on wagon, strike BCF fire extinguisher, drop into bin, close lid, wait for a minute or two, open bin, open beer, drink !

PS
At the time people didn't know what BCF meant and had no idea what ozone was

[Ploddit]

I have a VW combi with an electrolux/dometic three way.

AS previously stated precool all things if possible
Precool fridge on 240
run on 12V whilst driving
when stopped use gas or better still 240v

Remove all out side packaging, and be economic with opening it.

On gas in 30°+ plus it keeps beer nicely chilled whilst i was out walking all day.

Gas fridges must be close to perfectly flat and need ventilation.

[Wolfracer]

Pre Cooling

We used to actually freeze cans of beer and cider before going on a camping trip - (tip, don't freeze them all!) so these are your "freezer pack". Plastic bottles are better, but open and squeeze out some air/liquid, so liquid has some room to expand once frozen.

2 litres of frozen cider will stay cold for a surprisingly long period of time even in a standard coolbox. Days not hours...

[Albannach]

Don't try to freeze 500+ml cans, there isn't a big enough air gap to allow the beer to expand so the cans burst.

[Predictable Bob]

Is that the voice of experience again ?

[Albannach]

Is that the voice of experience again ?

Yep...

[andycook]

I run a Waeco 40litre fridge/freezer.
Kept the beer nicely cold in Pyrenees for 2 weeks and withstood lots offroading