Fridge question.

[wobbly]

Just come back from a 5 day French greenlaning/war cemetery trip.

Generally found myself to have the kit I needed, but the thing I lacked was a way of keeping food cool.

I dont have much in the way of funds, so I am going to be looking at a budget of about £100.00

I have seen some insulated boxes that have a cooling fan in the top - these run off 12v only which is ok for when on the move, if I pitch up for a couple of days I could always run it off a site lead/extension with an inverter.

At the Bath & West show last year a company were advertising an unpowered coobox that kept things cool - anyone come across these - cant remember the name! I guess it has to be pre-cooled and is then well insulated, but seemed a good idea for weekend use.

Pete

 

[wobbly]

This is the halfrauds one I was looking at - it keeps food 26deg cooler than the outside temp - so would probably be ok for England/France etc, although the Pyrenees may be warmer, I guess this is the weakness of a coolbox rathewr than a Fridge.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_785251_langId_-1_categoryId_165650

Pete

 

[Julian T]

This is the halfrauds one I was looking at - it keeps food 26deg cooler than the outside temp - so would probably be ok for England/France etc, although the Pyrenees may be warmer, I guess this is the weakness of a coolbox rathewr than a Fridge.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_785251_langId_-1_categoryId_165650

Pete

I have one of those, works very well at keeping a temp internally, however the important thing is the ambient temp, remember to keep where the fridge is in your vehicle cool, I also freeze a 2 litre coke bottle and place that in with whatever I am keeping in the cooler, there is more than enough room for a weekend to a week or so worth of supplies.
How well that would work somewhere like North Africa I could not say, might struggle with external temps that are high.

 

[Paul_Humphreys]

Keep an eye on ebay, I got a Waeco CF40 for £100. I also got a CF50 (almost new) for £150!!

 

[wobbly]

Does that mean you're selling one

You could recoup the money you paid for the CF40 by selling me the CF50 for £100........

Will have a look on fleabay.

Pete

 

[Paul_Humphreys]

No sorry, the CF-50 is in the 80 and the cf40 is in my lorry at work. So they are out there, you just have to keep looking.

 

[wobbly]

Would this be ok?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280974543392?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619

Very cheap, and Sheptons not too far for me to drive, or I can get someone to pick it up for me.

Pete

 

[Paul_Humphreys]

They are ok for over night, but use a lot of power.

 

[fast but dim]

Don't underestimate how good passive coolboxes are, I've got a coleman xtreme:
http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/articles/view.asp?id=462

It's superb, i have the 36 qt version, and far better than any cheap thermo electric box I've had. They genuinely will keep ice for 5 days, I drove for 3 days to the alps last year, and the contents were still ice cold. Obviously for longer trips you'll need a source of ice, which could be a problem in africa, but in europe you can either buy ice, or get shops to freeze you 4 pints of milk overnight or buy some frozen produce to keep the box cool.

coleman xtreme and igloo maxcold are both very good, far better than your usual passive cool box, well worth a look if you are travelling not too far from civilisation. I've got an expensive 3 way coolbox that I never use now I've got the coleman.

 

[fast but dim]

Wobbly,further to my above post, I've just seen that you're after a cool box for weekend use. I'd have a good look at either the coleman maxcold or igloo maxcold. Perfect for ice cold beer and burgers!

 

[wobbly]

Will do -the ones I saw at th Bath show were that type, might google passive coolbox, see if I spot the ones that were there.

Cheers

Pete

 

[Crispin]

This is the halfrauds one I was looking at - it keeps food 26deg cooler than the outside temp - so would probably be ok for England/France etc, although the Pyrenees may be warmer, I guess this is the weakness of a coolbox rathewr than a Fridge.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_785251_langId_-1_categoryId_165650

Pete

I got one of these for Lincomb last year. Was utter rubbish. I think it was the 40L as well. I stocked it with room temp coke and beer 2 days before I left. It was running continuously, bar a 4 hour break (car in shade, UK morning, not exactly hot) while I pretended to work. It then ran constantly en route to Lincomb. I got there and got a nice cold beer from Andrew and his ice packed normal cooler bag. Mine were lovely and tepid.
It was really rubbish.

I took it back to Halfords that Monday. They first had an issue with it as it was returned used after a weekend (a common issue apparently) but when the manager was called he said "ahh, another one of those. That's fine)


I think that maybe the 40L was a bit big for the Peltier and maybe a smaller one might be better. A friend has a "normal size" one and it's not too bad. Does not freeze but the cokes and beer with crisp.

Not a touch on a proper fridge though but then the price reflects it...

 

[Graham]

Hi Crispin,
The one I got, also the Peltier method, is about 18 liters.
And just as junk.
I think mine was from Aldi a couple of years ago, for about £30.00
I first thought the fan wasn't blowing enough air over the fins, but on this one, I could see the fan spinning, and feel the air movement.
If any one is thinking of buying one like mine, I can just say, "don't bother".
I think they all work on the same principle, so I can't see how efficiency could be improved.
W used to wrap the sides in blankets, until we finaly just stopped using it, and it became another ornament.

I went down the route of 2 separate fridge and freezer, but 240 volts.
I had previously bought an inverter of a fellow forum member.

Both fridge and freezer are roughly 600mm x 500mm x 550mm. the "Bar Top" variety.
They have been bounced around all over, and still work as good as the day I got them.

Gra.

 

[wobbly]

I'm content with a passive coolbox, didnt realise they would keep things cold for so long, and they are sub £100 unless I go for the 100litre, which is a tad big anyway.

Thanks for the links and the warning about the halfords type.

Cheers

Pete

 

[james-c]

I got myself one of these 3 way fridges of flea bay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ELECTROLU...663?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35c005841f

Very happy with it, and it gives you the option of 12v, mains or gas. I plug mine into the mains a few days before leaving to get it cold, and then on the day you're leaving pack your frozen / cooled food and beer. We tend to set up camp for a few days in one place, it works really well on gas. Overnight I have to turn it down a bit, otherwise the milk's frozen for breakfast and coffee

Its not that great when trying to cool down a lot of stuff at once, and it does not cope well when you open and close it loads of times during the day...

Otherwise, I'm happy with it.

 

[fast but dim]

I'm content with a passive coolbox, didnt realise they would keep things cold for so long, and they are sub £100 unless I go for the 100litre, which is a tad big anyway.

Thanks for the links and the warning about the halfords type.

Cheers

Pete

I've got the 36 qt, just about ok for a weekend, could perhaps do with being a little bigger, but bear in mind due to the thick insulation these boxes are large for their internal capacity.

 

[Jon_Tallis]

I got an "Ezetil" 40 litre compressor fridge a few years back. Was 300 but it's a cracking bit of kit. Will freeze down to -18'c even in mid summer in the med. Built in battery-saver so you can leave it running all the time and not worry about running the battery down. OK it's a bit above your budget but if you can find the cash you won't regret it. It's less than half the price of an Engel. Thermoelectrics are fine in cool climates but if it's 35 degrees outside you're still going to have warm beer!

 

[danial76]

[h=1]Why does my fridge water smell?[/h]I have a couple year old fridge with built in water/ice dispenser. Recently the smell of the water is similar to a urine smell. I have replaced the filter, but that hasn't help. Anyone know how to fix?

 

[Andrew T]

Why does my fridge water smell?

I have a couple year old fridge with built in water/ice dispenser. Recently the smell of the water is similar to a urine smell. I have replaced the filter, but that hasn't help. Anyone know how to fix?

You probably have a bacteria issue and need to clean it out with a Milton type sterilising fluid

It is likely that it was put away still wet.

It also may take a few soaks and flushes to sort it now.