I am off to the south of France in the summer for a couple of weeks, and have decided it is about time I invested in a camping fridge for the tent. (I am getting too old for warm beer and wine! )
I had decided to get a Dometic RC2200, as this was within budget and seemed to offer the best cooling at 33 degrees below ambient temperature.
I was going to buy it and I then stumbled across the Waeco B40 which when plugged into mains seems to cool to minus 15 degrees regardless of ambient temperature. Am I understanding this correctly?
On the RC2200 I will never use the gas function so perhaps the B40 seems the better choice, if it gets a lot colder.
I am a total novice with camping fridges, and do not want to buy the wrong one, so would really appreciate any advice and feedback. Many thanks.
We have the Waeco CAB 40 which sounds like an older model of the one you mention. -15 degrees sounds more like a freezer than a fridge. Freezers usually cool minus 16 to minus 21. Fridge I think cool to about plus 4 degrees.
We have only used ours in the UK but have been fortunate in the pas with decent weather. We keep ours in the tent which often got upto mid 30's. We still found ice forming on items close to the element...and beers were acceptable cool !! On the CAB40 you can vary the temperature.
We bought a 3-way and thought we would never use the gas function, but we are now going to a campsite where we can't get an electric hookup, so we will use the gas. Nice to have the option !
The other thing to note is that Waeco and Dometic are the same company.
you could also look at a small domestic type fridge if you belive you will always be on hookup.some say they are a problem because you are meant to let them settle after you move them,but aslong as you can transport it stood up they don't need to be left for long before use.
I took an rc 2200 to jersey last August and it worked perfectly keeping all food and drinks nice and cold. It made ice cubes easy enough and ice does form on items kept next to the unit. Completly silent aswell.
Hi I have got an electrolux Rc2200 and I think it's great I also have a Sibir 3 way fridge which is also great. Why have I got 2 because I bought the Electrolux for silly money at a car boot. Electrolux became Dometic and dometic own Waeco and Sibir. I think if you get a 3-way they are all Dometic.
I use them as 3-way fridges so on 12v in the car to keep the picnic cool on gas and on EHU. and to keep some beer cool in the dining room as well!!
If I was to look at your second choice I would ask are you ever going to use it as a freezer? If not then it's quite pricey also it has a compressor and they can create noise. A 3-way fridge is silent, That's why they albeit mains versions used as minibars in Hotel bedrooms.
So what would I do?
Assuming that you are not going to use it ever on gas won't use it as a freezer and don't need 12v operation then I would see if I could hire a fridge at the campsite or buy one of those glass fronted beer fridges you see.
Ps
First time we went to France the electrical heating element for the fridge packed up so we ended up opperating through out the holiday on gas and used a bottle.Last time we went to France 2 years ago 2 of the sites we used for overnight stops had power cuts including la Bein Assise. we were in a friend van when this happend so had go across to our van put the fridge onto gas go back and resume drinking. But other people seemed to be in a real panic because they had no tricity.
Has this helped not really but I guess I would choose the 3 way or go to currys and buy a domestic table top one
Hi I have got an electrolux Rc2200 and I think it's great I also have a Sibir 3 way fridge which is also great. Why have I got 2 because I bought the Electrolux for silly money at a car boot. Electrolux became Dometic and dometic own Waeco and Sibir. I think if you get a 3-way they are all Dometic.
I use them as 3-way fridges so on 12v in the car to keep the picnic cool on gas and on EHU. and to keep some beer cool in the dining room as well!!
If I was to look at your second choice I would ask are you ever going to use it as a freezer? If not then it's quite pricey also it has a compressor and they can create noise. A 3-way fridge is silent, That's why they albeit mains versions used as minibars in Hotel bedrooms.
So what would I do?
Assuming that you are not going to use it ever on gas won't use it as a freezer and don't need 12v operation then I would see if I could hire a fridge at the campsite or buy one of those glass fronted beer fridges you see.
Ps
First time we went to France the electrical heating element for the fridge packed up so we ended up opperating through out the holiday on gas and used a bottle.Last time we went to France 2 years ago 2 of the sites we used for overnight stops had power cuts including la Bein Assise. we were in a friend van when this happend so had go across to our van put the fridge onto gas go back and resume drinking. But other people seemed to be in a real panic because they had no tricity.
Has this helped not really but I guess I would choose the 3 way or go to currys and buy a domestic table top one
Thanks for your time boff, and all the advice. You may have just convinced me. If there was a power cut it would be good to be able to swap to gas, and I must admit I did not know that compressor fridges were noisier!
hi leo i have an electric cooler but recently bought a coleman xtreme 50 ltr cooler box for when we dont have an ehu ..which seems to be the norm now... its great for 3 or 4 day breaks ..keeps things nice and cold.. and i just add bags of ice cubes if i need to
Quote: Originally posted by leothetiler on 14/2/2012
Quote: Originally posted by boff on 14/2/2012
Hi I have got an electrolux Rc2200 and I think it's great I also have a Sibir 3 way fridge which is also great. Why have I got 2 because I bought the Electrolux for silly money at a car boot. Electrolux became Dometic and dometic own Waeco and Sibir. I think if you get a 3-way they are all Dometic.
I use them as 3-way fridges so on 12v in the car to keep the picnic cool on gas and on EHU. and to keep some beer cool in the dining room as well!!
If I was to look at your second choice I would ask are you ever going to use it as a freezer? If not then it's quite pricey also it has a compressor and they can create noise. A 3-way fridge is silent, That's why they albeit mains versions used as minibars in Hotel bedrooms.
So what would I do?
Assuming that you are not going to use it ever on gas won't use it as a freezer and don't need 12v operation then I would see if I could hire a fridge at the campsite or buy one of those glass fronted beer fridges you see.
Ps
First time we went to France the electrical heating element for the fridge packed up so we ended up opperating through out the holiday on gas and used a bottle.Last time we went to France 2 years ago 2 of the sites we used for overnight stops had power cuts including la Bein Assise. we were in a friend van when this happend so had go across to our van put the fridge onto gas go back and resume drinking. But other people seemed to be in a real panic because they had no tricity.
Has this helped not really but I guess I would choose the 3 way or go to currys and buy a domestic table top one
Thanks for your time boff, and all the advice. You may have just convinced me. If there was a power cut it would be good to be able to swap to gas, and I must admit I did not know that compressor fridges were noisier!
So thanks again
Thank you for your kind words. We have nothing against Casey's infact it's about 10 miles from us and we bought our last tent from them but it is worth looking around. Look at these as well
We use a Waeco CF25 Compressor portable fridge/freezer.
Superb piece of kit, best £150 I have ever spent, despite the £20 it cost me to get it shipped from Portsmouth to Manchester.
It fits easaly into the boot, of our icle VW Golf, great for keeping stuff refrigerated along the 900 mile journey, to the campsite in the Southern Ardeche, for our July fortnights campings.
And runs of 12/24v or mains EHU, as for noise there is none, the compressor occationaly kicks in to keep, the set temp in check, but it's quieter than a mouse, and you don't notice it, not even in the dead of night.
It's more than paid for itself, by us not having to hire or buy a fridge for on the campsite.
When the temps are hitting +40Deg C, you realy need something that can cut the mustard, Absobtion fridges that promise -30Deg C below ambient temp, are just simply not going to hack it, down in the South of France, during a hot summer.
We use a Waeco CF25 Compressor portable fridge/freezer.
Superb piece of kit, best £150 I have ever spent, despite the £20 it cost me to get it shipped from Portsmouth to Manchester.
It fits easaly into the boot, of our icle VW Golf, great for keeping stuff refrigerated along the 900 mile journey, to the campsite in the Southern Ardeche, for our July fortnights campings.
And runs of 12/24v or mains EHU, as for noise there is none, the compressor occationaly kicks in to keep, the set temp in check, but it's quieter than a mouse, and you don't notice it, not even in the dead of night.
It's more than paid for itself, by us not having to hire or buy a fridge for on the campsite.
When the temps are hitting +40Deg C, you realy need something that can cut the mustard, Absobtion fridges that promise -30Deg C below ambient temp, are just simply not going to hack it, down in the South of France, during a hot summer.
Now I am really confused. That is why I was being drawn towards the compressor fridge because ambient temperature does not seem to be an issue. Who would have thought buying a camping fridge would be so tricky!
Quote: Originally posted by leothetiler on 13/2/2012
I am off to the south of France in the summer for a couple of weeks, and have decided it is about time I invested in a camping fridge for the tent. (I am getting too old for warm beer and wine! )
I had decided to get a Dometic RC2200, as this was within budget and seemed to offer the best cooling at 33 degrees below ambient temperature.
I was going to buy it and I then stumbled across the Waeco B40 which when plugged into mains seems to cool to minus 15 degrees regardless of ambient temperature. Am I understanding this correctly?
On the RC2200 I will never use the gas function so perhaps the B40 seems the better choice, if it gets a lot colder.
I am a total novice with camping fridges, and do not want to buy the wrong one, so would really appreciate any advice and feedback. Many thanks.
The fridge you are talking about has both a compressor and thermo electric cooling system. Your fridge at home uses compressor technology, where as a typical camping "coolbox" uses thermoelectric hocus pocus to reduce the temperature which doesn't have the same cooling capability of a refrigeration system. Hence there is a difference between a "cool box" and a "fridge".
The B40 is a hybrid system which has a 12 v thermoelectric cooler which you can use on 12v in the car (compressor no good bouncing around in the back of the car) and compressor on 230v mains. It will always cool better on the mains but if you cool it before taking it out on the car, it should stay very cold in "coolbox" mode.
I would defininey go for the B40 if you don't want gas. Running in "fridge" mode on mains, it will out perform any thermoelectric cooler. Remember especially in the SOF, the ambient temperature could be > 40 degrees in your tent.
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Topic: Help choosing a fridge please
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