3 way fridge on propane doesn't cool

[Grandpa Don]

I have a compressor Fridge (Alpicool 40 Qt). I have one deep cycle 12-volt battery and one 100 Watt solar panel. On my last camping trip, I had to use the heater a few times during the night. Even with that I never completely depleted my battery. I had limited sun for the Solar panel and still, the battery was back up to full charge by noon. My camping partner cousin left his small Alpicool Fridge running in his truck all night and was still able to easily start the engine the next morning. These things use very little power.

 

[Michael J]

I've wired my PUP for solar 20A 48V and run 4x120 panels actual can be from 14watts trickle to 240watts max. I have added 3 cigarette females that I can run multiport car adaptors with USB-C up to 65watts for my laptop. I rewired higher Amp wire off the Inverter monitored LOAD terminals. Yet wiring in two computer fans as seen in the original post had me saying not worth the effort and introduction of possible issues over time. Just me folks!

So here was my cheep easy solution I run upon refrigerator startup or when I believe the fridge needs a cooling boost and the fins feel hot, relative to outside air. I don't run the fridge in route so the possible fans touching the fins and melting is not a concern for me. I check them on site when I start the fridge with control panel below. The outer cover was off for demonstration and is always in place when running.

My first version was actually on the outside and used magnets to hold onto the screw heads worked great added to setup and breakdown time, I know seconds but just one more thing to do but the controller I found on Amazon for like 5$ and I like it as I don't have to monitor it and most times in the evenings everything cools enough it doesn't run again till late morning. I thought about solar and was trying to make sure our power consumption was as low as possible, all lights have been LED converted and plan on putting a switch on them to be able to run just half as at night it's bright as heck. Heating I figured is gonna be my main power draw unless I can find a radiant to fit the bill like my 74 StarCraft had I love that heater, no power needed in that camper other then light!

 

[Olivert2]

Oh my a big flaw in my estimates. I calculated that the new style portable compressor frig/freezer would draw (LOAD) like my old Coman cooler chest, constantly! I know as I tried it and as advertised this box tried to keep the inside 40 degrees cooler than the outside air while drawing 40-50 watts an hour non-stop. I have just been viewing the portable coolers with a swap out lithium batterie pack. Where these are run empty, they get the specified hours of use listed but put items inside like 5 @ 1-gallon jugs of water and presto they shut off when the desired temperature is reached and turn out lasting a lot longer on batterie. Your results may vary so do your homework. They are now coming out with MPPT solar controllers built in. From what I've seen a 120watt solar panel even at 60% actual yield should keep these running or are close to max solar input watts. So now I'm definitely going to get one of those if my 3-way ever stop working. The replacement would be better and less expensive and greener in my mind. I wonder if this spells the end for 3-ways going the way of the ice-boxes. lol? BTW attaching solar panels on your roof means you have to park your camper in the sun.

 

[Grandpa Don]

Oh my a big flaw in my estimates. I calculated that the new style portable compressor frig/freezer would draw (LOAD) like my old Coman cooler chest, constantly! I know as I tried it and as advertised this box tried to keep the inside 40 degrees cooler than the outside air while drawing 40-50 watts an hour non-stop. I have just been viewing the portable coolers with a swap out lithium batterie pack. Where these are run empty, they get the specified hours of use listed but put items inside like 5 @ 1-gallon jugs of water and presto they shut off when the desired temperature is reached and turn out lasting a lot longer on batterie. Your results may vary so do your homework. They are now coming out with MPPT solar controllers built in. From what I've seen a 120watt solar panel even at 60% actual yield should keep these running or are close to max solar input watts. So now I'm definitely going to get one of those if my 3-way ever stop working. The replacement would be better and less expensive and greener in my mind. I wonder if this spells the end for 3-ways going the way of the ice-boxes. lol? BTW attaching solar panels on your roof means you have to park your camper in the sun.

Yes, see my post #61 above. Those compressor Fridges are great. Whichever one you buy. I didn't mount mine inside of the camper. That way I can leave the camper closed up before a trip and still load the food items in the fridge before I leave. I then carry it on the rear or front seat of my truck. On long trips, I have access to the food for a noon lunch stop or just getting a cold drink. It's a perfect setup.

 

[davido]

First guess would be wasp nests blocking the flue not allowing the heat to get to the boiler. May be difficult to clean out. Run a bottle brush from the top and bottom to knock out the big stuff and blow it out with compressed air.

This is what happened to me. Well, it was a spider nest, but same idea. It cost me a couple hundred for a service call to my home, because it was too inconvenient to hook up and tow the trailer in for an hour's worth of service.

Now I have screens covering the furnace exhaust and intake, fridge vents, and water heater vents.

 

[Dannyt123]

We had similar issues with our 3 way fridge. There’s a lot of good suggestions on this thread, and I’d like to contribute a different solution that made all the difference for us. Be sure the cooling fan (the one that’s next to the coils and draws air out to the vent on the side of your camper) is working properly and when it needs to. These refrigerators will not maintain cooling without it! There should be some type of thermo-switch that turns on the fan when the temp gets too warm and off again when it cools. I also replaced the one fan with a more efficient and much more effective Dual fan unit specifically for campers. (Check out Amazon) and now our fridge stays icy cold even in the hottest part of summer!

 

[Robmoo]

You got me thinking the compressor frig/cooler at 4 to 5 amps (45w-60w @ 12v) on a 100amp/hour lithium battery could go about 18 hours and would require 6 hours of re-charging + compressor load @ 240 watts (actual) during the day. Loosely calculated I'd already have enough to run a compressor refrigerator and pop-up LED lights plus electronic charging devices and maybe one smaller fan, in an ideal sun (brightness) area.

But one day of overcast weather and this off grid scenario will need another 100ah lithium backup and at least another pair of 120w PV solar panel to refresh that back. Taking that a step further and placing the batteries in series to get 24V system (6 120w panels) could go 2 days off-grid before a charge. Guesstimate a cost of minimum $2,200 DIY for the whole solar, Inverter, wires and frig I could have a freezer and frig unit holding a little more than the current 3 way volume. Placing that chest of food outside under bed in front near the batteries or run a cord to the back. Or with the fridge gone maybe someone could figure something like a pull out as the compressor coolers are typically top opening. I've seen the newer campers pull from the frame/body to the outside if someone wants to perform surgery on their PUP or make use of a front storage compartment door. Anyone know the watts needed to run the typical 3-way if I just left it in DC mode? I think you are on to something for us PUP people, but the cost may be a bit much.

These are my 4 foldable 120w panels producing 240watts at 24 volts 10 amps all in parallel direct connected with 50 feet MC4 cables. New England USA area. In truth I could have gone with just two panels except I'm also working from the camper as a home office and have a need to go for two days without sun running my 9-5 workday with high DC demand electric appliances of two laptops, phone/hub and tablet. I calculated with this setup pictured I only need 6 hours of direct brightness (sun, sand, reflective water) for three days off-grid of capacity on one lithium type 27/24 100Ah batterie. I also invested in an emergency lithium portable battery MPPT DC/AC that I charge off a separate 120W panel and can plug in at night for Shore Power simulation yet since going to all DC I have little need for but just in case I need that 4th day.

My 3.3cu upright compressor fridge that I bought from Recpro pulls about 2.5 amps. It will pull 5 amps for an hour after turning it on, but at the camp site 2.5amps. I got rid of the 3-way and replaced it with the 12v compressor fridge. I run 100watts x2 with a MPPT charge controller. I usually bring a second 12v compressor cooler for the drinks. Your setup will probably be fine.

The 3-way DC circuit was 20amp. The fridge probably pulled more like 12-15amps. The circuit board pulled 1.5 amps on gas.