Fridge Choice

[oside trailer]

so, the honest truth is... if it wasn't for the fact that i've become obsessed w/ wiring this trailer, i'd still be using dry ice.

if you can find dry ice, use it... especially if you only camp occasionally. the stuff melts straight from solid to gas (so no water to deal with) and it'll keep regular ice frozen for days (and all the food around it) as long as it's kept properly.

get a good cooler, a block of dry ice (usually from your larger chain grocery stores) and wrap it in newspaper. then sit the block in the bottom of your cooler packing frozen items near the block, non-frozen items away from the block. drop a blanket over your cooler for extra insulation, and BE SURE TO KEEP THE LID CLOSED.

WARNING: you'll also want to keep the drain plug for the cooler open to avoid a build-up of gas... that or crack it once a day to avoid the same.

oh... and keep the beer away from the block of dry ice too -- it'll freeze and ruin your entire trip

[eamarquardt]

Ice works well, when you have access to it on a regular basis. A well designed ice box, I'm told, on a boat will keep ice for a week. I, however, have never owned an ice box this good. One thing to keep in mind is that ice should not be left standing in water. Water conducts the heat (or cold depending on how you think about it) 25 times better than air. Keeping the ice above the food (and water) makes it last a lot longer. Also, keeping the standing water out of the box will, I believe, will keep it cooler longer. a small drain hose (with a loop to form a trap) will allow water to drain out of the box but not allow cool air to escape.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Gus

[Lou Park]

So I've got to ask. What happens with dry ice if it's not vented?
Lou

[brian_bp]

... but if replenishing the ice is no biggie...

That's a big "if" for me. I certainly don't want my camping locations limited to those near stores selling ice, and don't want my schedule to revolve around ensuring that ice is purchased during those hours that the store is open. For other people, these may not be issues at all.

My current trailer has a "3-way" (propane / 12V DC / 120 VAC) absorption-cycle refrigerator, which works okay for my purposes... but it's expensive, doesn't control temperature well, and requires me to either switch it back and forth between 12V and propane as I drive and stop, or run it on propane when driving (which is controversial). Starting from scratch, I believe that I would prefer a 12VDC compressor-type refrigerator and the electrical system to support it.

[Trackstriper]

I looked at Brian's reply and it got me thinking a bit. There really is no correct answer as to which system is best. A lot depends upon just what you are trying to do with the teardrop, or in my case tiny travel trailer. Are you leaving work early Friday afternoon to go to the mountains for the weekend at a primitive campsite? Are you camping in the desert for a week at a remote location, maybe by yourself for total solitude? Are you going to an established campground with shore power? Do you need a place to hole up for two weeks while the storm passes and you can return to your homestead? etc.

For ultimate off-grid sustainability, a serious battery pack, several solar cells (supplemented with a very small generator for the cloudy days), and a DC fridge ought to do the trick. Very elegant solution, couple 'o grand perhaps should do it. Actually, it would be very nice if your needs were to be self sufficient for a long stretch.

But it would be total overkill if you had available shore power because a $149 mini fridge would blow away the mega system in storage capacity and overall cost effectiveness. So it depends upon where you intend to go, and what your assets are when you get there.

My particular needs are not totally uncommon, but my wife and I introduce an interesting wrinkle into the equation. We're both somewhat chemically sensitive...not a terrible case but it's enough of an issue that I really can't just buy a small commercially built travel trailer. I work out of town a lot with my odd business. The last several years I have pretty much given up on motels and have created a small living space in my full-sized work van. This space occupies the 42" behind the front seats and has a transverse bunk and a combination shower/porta-potti enclosure. My cubbyhole is totally sealed-off from my equipment in the rear of the van by a serious bulkhead. I have electric hot water and the showers are great. Did a 3-1/2 week business trip out west in it, I've got probably 200 nights total time. Motels that I can afford are "cleaned" with smelly air freshener...if you know what I mean. More chemicals. Wife and I have hard times with most motels, not all. The van is a solo rig for lodging but it could tow a small trailer to house us! So what I'm looking for is not so much of a "camping" experience, but a clean, controlled-environment, mini-motel that I can tow with me. Also tow to the jobsite so wife can be near during the day, maybe stay at night at job, depending upon location. Cook healthy food. Win, win, win!

So for me, ice is not twenty miles away. I might even have shore power, and certainly a small genny for the AC if shore power is not available. I'm thinking that ice though, absolutely, always, works if it's there in reasonable quantities. It can't break. It doesn't hum at night, it doesn't give off additional heat (DC fridges probably do much better in this regard than the cheap AC units). And it's something I can afford.

But I hear the siren call of that mini-fridge! Tough to get to the right answer on this one.

Regarding dry ice. I will have an interior galley and I don't even want to have to think about CO2 doing it phase change thing from solid to gas...not inside a trailer I'll be occupying. Not even with the best noodled-out vent system. Outdoors, or in the rear of a properly sealed TD, that's a different question. Thanks for the input though. I would think it would be hard to come up with dry ice in some of the Podunk towns I've visited. Maybe not.

J.B.

[Alphacarina]

I lived with an icebox (a VERY well insulated icebox . . . . much better than any cooler you can buy) on my sailboat for several years and I can't tell you the celebration we all had when I finally converted it to DC refrigeration - No more lukewarm drinks or soggy balogna or all sorts of consumables being tossed out because they were 'questionable'

Camping and cruising are similar in that you just need to define what you consider 'minimal acceptible conveniences' for you . . . . and then strive to meet or exceed those

Sailors have an old saying - "I didn't spend $40,000 so I could go away from home and drink warm beer." Maybe such niceities aren't required for the type of 'camping' many folks do . . . . could be 'roughing it' is your thing, but it's not everyone's thing

Don

[oside trailer]

So, I'm going to jump right into the wonderful world of DC fridges with both feet and have purchased a Waeco CRF-40. I've been told this model has been discontinued but purchased a working floor model anyway for $100 with warranty (hard to beat the price -- it retails for $222). This fridge is a bit smaller than I had originally planned (probably holds 18 cans with a little extra room), but it is really only intended for the perishables -- meats, milk, eggs, etc.

One of the settings on the box is "freeze", as well as a "high/low" switch. No idea whether this means that the fridge can actually freeze something (like ice) or simply keep things frozen. But rest assured I will report back with my findings.

Hopefully this will help shed some light on the topic of this thread. Let the experimentation begin!

[Steve F]

So, I'm going to jump right into the wonderful world of DC fridges with both feet and have purchased a Waeco CRF-40. I've been told this model has been discontinued but purchased a working floor model anyway for $100 with warranty (hard to beat the price -- it retails for $222). This fridge is a bit smaller than I had originally planned (probably holds 18 cans with a little extra room), but it is really only intended for the perishables -- meats, milk, eggs, etc.

One of the settings on the box is "freeze", as well as a "high/low" switch. No idea whether this means that the fridge can actually freeze something (like ice) or simply keep things frozen. But rest assured I will report back with my findings.

Hopefully this will help shed some light on the topic of this thread. Let the experimentation begin!

The waeco compressor fridges will easily freeze, I leave mine on setting number 4 out of 10 and it will slightly freeze water bottles in it. At night I turn it down to two. The hi low switch is for the battery cut out. When you set it to low it will let the battery run lower before it turns off. I dont see a CRF model on the website though, only a CR or CF.

Cheers
Steve

[brian_bp]

...The hi low switch is for the battery cut out. When you set it to low it will let the battery run lower before it turns off. I dont see a CRF model on the website though, only a CR or CF...

Thanks for the interesting info, Steve; auto shutdown on battery voltage sounds like a nice feature, and being able to choose the threshold is a bonus.

It looks from the Waeco - Mobile Refrigeration - Compressor refrigerators page like a CRF- is a single-compartment unit (not a refrigerator with a freezer section) capable of getting down to freezing temperatures, offered as a freezer to complement the CRP- refrigerator-only unit. The current model is a CRF-50, and my guess is that the CRF-40 is just smaller (about 40 litres, instead of about 50 litres).

The CR- looks like a combined refrigerator/freezer, and a CF- would be a top-loading compressor cooler capable of freezing, the top-load equivalent to a CRF-.