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dantastic

Member Since: 04 May 2010
Location: London
Posts: 367

Compressor fridge on a budget?

Before the season I need to upgrade the refrigeration. Currently using a 12v cool box. It's not super effective and it's incredibly inefficient.

Problem is, I can't really afford to spend £500 or so on a proper compressor fridge. Nevermind the £900 or so for a National Luna unit.

Can anything be done on a budget? Are there any cheaper brands around? Any Chinese knockoffs?

7th Mar 2015 8:37pm

VeeTee

Member Since: 06 Mar 2011
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 1512

I read somewhere on the interweb about some cheap experiments to improve the efficiency of the Peltier type coolbox. Insulation is almost always bad with these type boxes, by adding some insulation and adding a small computer fan to improve the airflow to cool the Peltier element it was possible to make it work a lot better. Cheers, Vincent
1959 Polynorm 1/4 Ton Trailer, Olive Drab Green (sold)
1970 M416 Military Trailer (Camping Trailer Conversion), Epsom Green (sold)
1975 Series III 88 V6, Light Green (sadly sold)
1996 Defender 110 CSW 300 Tdi, Epsom Green (sold)
2000 Freelander 1 TD4 3-drs, Silver (sold)
2006 Freelander 1 TD4 5-drs Facelift Automatic, Tonga Green (sold)

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7th Mar 2015 9:17pm

Brewstop

Member Since: 28 Oct 2012
Location: South Oxfordshire
Posts: 311

2002 Defender 110 Td5 CSW Zambezi Silver

How often do you need a compressor fridge?

Is it weekly or less often?

Have you thought about hiring for those specific periods?

I've hired compressor fridges in the past and been impressed, however, I own a Waeoco cooler now, it does everything I need at a much reduced price. Sandy

7th Mar 2015 9:22pm

dantastic

Member Since: 04 May 2010
Location: London
Posts: 367

Mostly weekends. The odd week here and there.

I can't really rent this kind of stuff where I live so that's not an option.

I've been looking at coolers but they seem to all suffer from high power usage. I do have a leisure battery but I will need to be able to run the fridge on the leisure battery for at least ~30h without recharging.

7th Mar 2015 9:58pm

Cupboard

Member Since: 21 Mar 2014
Location: Suffolk
Posts: 2971

2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 HT Corris Grey

forget about the "coolbox" type things, they don't work well and use a huge amount of juice. Like they'll completely flatten a leisure battery in a few hours, and actually use more energy in a day than my kitchen fridge does.

Is a coolbox full of ice an option? It's cheap and will happily do a weekend.

21st Mar 2015 2:09pm

dantastic

Member Since: 04 May 2010
Location: London
Posts: 367

I was actually really lucky and I bought a Engel MT35 in very good condition for only €300.
So I think the answer to my own question is to be persistent and just keep looking.

23rd Mar 2015 8:25am

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