12v fridges and leisure batteries

[Chicken Chaser]

Over the last couple of years we have made use of a 46l 5 day Coleman cooler which is great but the cool packs need to be continually refrozen. Not so bad during the height of a British summer however, we are off to France this year and I am anticipating warmer temps.

I've looked at getting some kind of powered cooler for the T5. I've got a 110ah leisure battery with split charger and also 240v hook up but we may not always be on hook up. We are moving around quite a bit.

I've seen some 2 way coolers which can work off 12v or 240v and claim to cool 20deg below the ambient temp. I don't think Gas is any good for us as we don't have a gas installation built in and I don't want any leaks whilst in the van.

Does anyone get away with camping or caravanning with anything with 2 way only power? If so how do you do it? It claims 48w of power which is about 4 amps and therefore about 25hrs.

[JimbobVFR]

The ideal would be a Waeco compressor fridge/cooler box and possibly a solar panel. Although if you're moving around regularly you'll be fine without the solar.

[SimesJH]

An Engel is the best product, in my view.

I've ran mine for 2 days on just the starter battery in my 110 before with no problems. They're incredibly efficient.

[Bobley]

What he said. 3 way absorption fridges are only intended to run on 12v while driving. I've seen people with them in a van and a separate gas bottle which they leave out in their awning though? Waeco compressor fridges are def your best bet though. I sold mine when I got a front loading fridge in a camper van but the top loaders are much better.

[neenaw]

I've also got a T5 with a 110ah leisure battery fitted and I've been running a Waeco CDF26 which has been fantastic.

It will happily freeze any food you put in it if you have it set too low so I'm told but we've been careful to set it high enough that everything is just properly chilled.
The first time we used it was for a 3 day trip away for a bike race and the fridge lasted the 3 days without killing the battery. It wasn't cheap but I'm happy that I spent the extra on it rather than one of the cheaper models.

The fridge will work on 240v or 12v but we've only used it with 12v.

[bristolracer]

Our van has a fairly standard van conversion fridge (indel)
It will do the leisure battery in in 24 hours,but last year we bought a solar panel which will keep it running no matter how long we are away from hook up. The panel control also has a couple of usb outlets too.

It has given us a lot more freedom in that we are not tied to hook ups,which are always hard to find on busy popular sites.

[Chicken Chaser]

Thanks for the suggestions, seems a compressor fridge is the one to go for. Im after a top loader coolbox style. Waeco do a 36l one which is fairly reasonable.

Whats the solar panel you have?

[bristolracer]

We have a similar one to this ours is 120w
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12v-100W-solar-panel-kit...

It is mounted on our pop top so is always charging the battery,useful for winter maintenance if you are not using the van.
You can get free standing ones too,but these need setting up out of the way to avoid flying footballs and running children.

We have found the freedom of not needing hook up great.
The leisure battery and panel allow us to run the vans internal led lamps and the fridge,recharge a phone if needed.