Quote:
Originally Posted by Tassie f100
Question for caravan owners.I have bought a project 5 th wheeler which among other upgrades needs a new fridge around 150-180 litre.Quandry is do I stick with 3 way system or should I go compressor type.I have had 2 other vans both with 3 ways and have been very happy with their performance and running cost (virtually always running on lpg)but it seems the go now is for compressor type.my concern is how much battery power would I need for a week or so bush camping
|
We have a 150L Dometic tropical rated 3way in our 2014 Expanda. I hate the POS thing. I can never get the temperature right when on gas. Always freezing things that shouldn’t be frozen. We will be upgrading vans in the next 3-5 years and will seriously consider a compressor fridge with the appropriate amount of solar and battery which will probably be lithium.
You are looking at around 70-80Ah of battery a day for a 180L 2 way fridge excluding what solar puts back in. As a general rule of thumb you want double the solar compared to battery capacity so 200W of solar for 100Ah of battery. Keep in mind an AGM battery should only be run down to 50% SOC. Lithium is far greater so you would nearly want double AGM capacity compared to lithium. There is a massive weight saving when using lithium compared to AGM but lithium is very pricey compared to AGM.
Having said all of the above we only have a 100Ah battery and 120W of solar and have never run out of power (LED lights, water pump, exhaust fan, 12V TV, charging devices) but with a 3 way fridge. When ordering our next van I will increase solar and battery compared to what we have now.
Please note this is easy telling you what you should be doing when it isn’t our money.