Hi, do all the 3 way coolboxes have a gas canister that you have to keep replacing or can you run them on a larger standard butane or propane type cylinder? We are converting a Merc Vito and want to be able to fit a coolbox flat on the floor (under seating) when not in use as opposed to having a normal upright fridge permanently in position.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Chris
Answer is no. Most use a separate gas bottle. Do you mean the coolbox you have runs off cannisters ? I don’t know if you can convert it to run on a bottle. If you are going to run a fridge on gas inside your van the fridge exhaust needs venting to outside to avoid CO build up which can be deadly.
A number of answers/facts, some to unasked questions, but highly relevant.
Most 3 way fridges (they are fridges rather coolboxes, as they have the better performance of a fridge) on the market run from a 'large' external refillable Calor type gas cylinder. A few (can only think of one actually!) run from a CP250 disposable gas cartridge fitted within the casing.
You do realise that you cannot SAFELY run a 3-way type portable fridge on gas in the confines of a camper or other enclosed space! It's fine on *12v/240v electric if suitable ventilation space for heat exchanger at rear, but there is a severe risk of lethal Carbon Monoxide (aka CO) poisoning if used in a confined space on gas.
It would be fine in an awning, and they are not weather proof so do need shelter rather than left outdoors. The 'upright, permanent' fridges you refer to are vented to the outside with sealed ducting for the gas exhaust so you can safely use them in confined spaces like campers and caravans.
It's been discussed before on this forum, IIRC to the best of anyone's knowledge, there are no commercially available adaptors or converters to allow a CP250 type fridge to easily be converted to use a bulk refillable Calor type cylinder. There are also no gas exhaust venting conversion/kits to allow safe use in confined spaces. They are what they are, and that's it.
I've got two 3-way fridges, one fitted in the caravan, and a portable one as well, I love their 3-way power versatility for on/off grid use, but I've also recently acquired a portable 12v/24v/240v compressor fridge/freezer, now if you want to operate it in your camper, that may be the way to go, it'll run for days off a good capacity 12/24v battery, and has battery protection feature to stop it killing the battery dead, with a decent solar panel to charge battery it'd run indefinitely for free. *Your 3-way fridge draws so much power it will absolutely kill a 12v battery in just a few hours, and can only really be powered from a vehicle 12v system with the engine running, or a 240v EHU.
Thank you everybody for your replies but particularly Monty15, explanations don't come more thorough than that. I was going to use gas but it looks like a portable 12v compressor fridge/freezer is the way to go.
With this in mind...I have a good condition, 12v 95Ah battery which i could use as a leisure battery. In the UK, what would you consider a reasonable sized solar panel would be to top up a leisure battery like that to run a compressor fridge all day, a laptop for 3 hours a day, 2 LED interior lights (5 hours a day and charging 2 phones once a day? I know this is probably a 'how long is a piece of string' type question but I am only looking for a ball park figure. Or is this a question that should be posted in its own right in the forum do you think?
Thanks again for your help
Chris
Hi Chris, I've no idea of the answer but I'd recommend a new topic. More people are likely to read it and it will be easier to find for anyone looking for the same info in the future.
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Topic: Gas query on 3 way Coolbox
