merry christmas and happy new year to you all... as the winter season is upon us and the january sale is already heppening, i was wondering whether any of you out there could give me some advice on three way fridges, please (240v, 12v and gas). I have seen one here http://www.tauntonleisure.com/products/3-way-fridge/2658/ and another one here http://www.qksrv.net/click-1428744-10297635?URL=http://www.wildday.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?id=7871, but i am not really sure what to look for. We will be camping in a Vermont M therefore room isnt an issue but reliability longevity and cooling temps are. Has any of you got any experience and would you be able to recommend anyone in particular, please? Many thanks in advance to all of you. Kindest Regards,
Not sure if this helps but I have 5-yr old Electrolux 3-way fridge. Currently serving a wine/ beer chiller. Bought from Atwools in Whitminster GLOS. Would still take it if going to Med area.
Has done sevice in southern France,loacl temps averaging 35' for many years. They do take time to get down to temp & care with salads as the walls can give freezer chill. You will have to practice to get the right setting for various foods & amient local temps. We used it within a tent putting it on "shadier " side. Good luck
------------- Cryptian
Life is not a rehearsal--It's the real thing !
Hell Oriolo.
Firstly be aware that there are different ratings of fridge which can get temperatures in the fridge down as low as 20 degrees below ambient temperature, 25 degrees and 30 degrees. You really should consider the better ones that can get the temperature down to 30 degrees below ambient as, heaven forbid, should we ever again get a summer with warm temperatures a lower-rated fridge will not be sufficiently powerful to keep things safely chilled.
Secondly, be aware that you cannot set a temperature on a 3-way as you would, say, a domestic fridge. You set a power setting on a dial depending on how warm or cold the ambient/outside air temperature is. As such you will need a thermometer for inside the fridge (I've got one from, I think, Lakeside for about £5) and to check the temperature every so often to make sure that thingd aren't getting frozen or too warm. I also tend to reduce the power setting over night as, obviously, the ambient temperature tends to go down.
Having said all that, they are of great use if you are away for more than four days or so as you don't have to worry about spare gell packs, getting them nicked from the camp fridge, etc. Mine is a Dometic (formerly Electrolux) which I got off ebay (barely used, less than a year old) for less than half the "as new" price.
I've got a Waeco 3-way which was around £140 and looks much like the second one you posted.
It was really effective once we figured it out (instructions not too good). The only problem is that if the outside temperature drops too much then everything inside will freeze!
So the problem isn't keeping stuff cool in hot conditions as much as keeping stuff only cool in cold conditions!
We dropped into Somerset Camping at Taunton and they had the Waeco fridges on special offer, I think the CAB40 which is the -30 degree model was £150 but what we bought was reduced from the marked price so it might be worth talking to them.
They also had the CAB55 which is bigger but only cools to -25.
Depends where you camp really, we found our first Combicool which cooled to -20 was just about at its limit in France.
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Topic: Three way fridge
