Need fridge to be cool - but van in storage, HELP!

[Ian341]

Hi all,

This weekend we are heading off on a 3-4 hour journey.

The van is kept in storage and as we have neighbours who don't approve we cant bring the van home.

We will be taking food with us and we need the fridge to be cold, we will have it plugged in 12v once on route but I need to know how to cool the fridge before we leave.

I don't fancy leaving the fridge on gas when not there and I dont think the owners of storage would allow it either.

does anyone have any good tips ??

Many Thanks

Ian

 

[Damian]

Ian, if you have room at home, on the drive, for the van, bring it home the night before and plug it in.

It is YOUR van, YOUR house, YOUR drive, what the neighbours think is immaterial.

 

[Ian341]

HI Damian,

our drive is on a slope, we cant even get cars up it.

We have an area outside our house which is a pavement and there is room for 2 cars. We sometimes bring the van home but the people next door then deliberately park there car opposite so that we can't get the van out.

People 3 doors down have the same style house, and they have cut out their front garden to make space for it.

We applied for planning but next door rejected so the van remains in storage :-(

Thanks again

Ian

 

[CheapnCheerful]

So bring the caravan home, then park your car opposite instead of on the drive?

 

[CheapnCheerful]

So bring the caravan home, then park your car opposite instead of on the drive?

 

[ShadySadie]

Most modern caravan fridges will chill down quite quickly on mains electric. Can you not plug the van in at your storage site whilst you are loading.

On trips over the channel I freeze milk in Plastic containers and cheese and bread etc. The caravan fridge keeps it cold but allows it to thaw whilst travelling.

Re house and neighbours. Just block them in or call the police if they are obstucting the highway, and then move.

Re parking area"cut out" do you not need it for dissability needs of family ;-) Planners will rarely object to that.

 

[Ian341]

LOL tried that, they then get more spiteful and park it down the road knowing that we won't get the van around the corner. Then if we run an electric cable to it they deliberately "trip" over it and threaten to sew us.

Think we will have to go back to the idea of trying to cool the fridge in storage, any tips ??

Many Thanks

Ian

 

[Ian341]

Hi Sadie,

sorry i didnt reply on previous comment, i didnt see it until i had already commented.

I like the idea of freezing the milk etc. we will definitely do that. Unfortunately there is no hook up in storage :-(

At the moment they have 3 cars - 1 is blocking the pavement because it is sticking out of the drive and the other 2 are on the road, only allowing room for a small car to fit through, think I will get my sister in law to attempt to get her pushchair through and if she fails a phone call to the council will sort it out.

There house is up for sale, so hopefully they will be gone shortly.

Thanks again

Ian

 

[ShadySadie]

Hi Sadie,

sorry i didnt reply on previous comment, i didnt see it until i had already commented.

I like the idea of freezing the milk etc. we will definitely do that. Unfortunately there is no hook up in storage :-(

At the moment they have 3 cars - 1 is blocking the pavement because it is sticking out of the drive and the other 2 are on the road, only allowing room for a small car to fit through, think I will get my sister in law to attempt to get her pushchair through and if she fails a phone call to the council will sort it out.

There house is up for sale, so hopefully they will be gone shortly.

Thanks again

Ian

Crossing to Ireland and France overnight the frozen stuff keeps the fridge cold! Even after a drive to the ferry.

 

[alaintaylor]

sounds a very sorry state of affairs with your neighbours, I can't offer any other advice on that, except to move.

But on chilling the fridge - just add ice bags around the food, making sure the bags are sealed so they don't leak. We take ice with us on every trip, not only to help out the 12v system but for the obligatory G&T on arrival!

Alan

 

[RogerP]

How about putting some freezer packs in the fridge over night. Might just give it a boost so that you can put your food in just before you start your journey.

Other option is to get an 12v electric cool box and mains converter. Put the cool box on the night before leaving home to cool down. Then when you're ready to go to the yard to collect the van put the food in the box (with some freezer packs for added extra coolness) , and plug the box into your cars 12v.

We used a cool box with converter when we stayed in a B&B a couple of years ago. Not brilliant but did enough to keep the baby milk at the right level of coldness.

 

[LesleyRussell]

We also use an electric cool box. Bring it down to temperature at home the previous day, transfer it to the car and plug in. When on site the cool box can be transferred to the caravan and plugged into the electric until the fridge cools down.

If we are only travelling a short journey we carry a normal cool bag with ice blocks in and leave it closed until the fridge has cooled. We find putting fridge on gas to start with cools it quicker.

 

[JeremyClarksson]

I vouch for Alans suggestion fill the freezer with ice packs and frozen food and put a couple in the fridge as well.

We also use a 3 way fridge in the car, that can be bought down to temperature in advance but does not have a freezer.

 

[LMH]

Ian

CHILL!

My husband is an ex butcher and is hyper about temperature control and storage with food so I do understand your concern. However, do you have a plug in/12V? fridge? (we use one as extra storage space when in the van), you could put the high risk items in that and run it off the cigarette lighter whilst driving.

Don't leave the fridge on gas at the storage place.

Providing your food is fresh and has been chilled beforehand, 3-4 hours on a journey and then waiting for the fridge to cool will be fine. If you're particulary worried, buy some of the blue freezer packs and a chiller bag and use that method en route.

Lisa

 

[Lutz]

This may be a silly question, but what's the reason for your apprehension about running the fridge on gas overnight before you take it out of storage? The owners of the site would never know it's on and the chances of anything happening is minuscule.

 

[Ian341]

HI All, thanks for the replies, some great tips have been metioned.

We went to Tesco today and they had ice blocks in the sale so we got about 5 for

 

[Legsmaniac_374344731]

I agree with Lutz, what's the problem with leaving it on gas overnight?

We've been away twice on non-EHU sites and so the fridge is on gas 24/7, overnight and when we go visiting/sightseeing. It's what it's meant for.

 

[scottiemad]

Read a tip somewhere - make a meal up like shepherds pie or a casserole or something similar and freeze (can be done weeks before) Put it in your caravan fridge when you pack it up and by the time you get to your destination you will have a meal defrosted and ready to heat and a chilled fridge!

 

[Marsha_374361062]

Didn't want to make a new post just to ask

How long does it usually take to cool the fridge/freezer on mains?

We're going away tomorrow, no EHU on site so wanting to cool it before travelling, keep on 12v battery until we get there then switch to gas for the long weekend, that should be ok shouldn't it?

 

[Ian341]

Hi marsha,

It usually takes about 1-2 hours to cool on mains, dependent on your fridge and if there is anything in there and also the temperature.

By using gas the fridge will cool in half the time.

Hope this helps

Ian

 

[jinty0_0]

another question can you run the fridge off the battery when you have no elec hook up?

 

[Gumbo]

Yes you can with ours, a Domestic

 

[Rubix]

Frank, Surely your battery will be flat within hours. I was under the impression the fridge draws quite a bit of current on 12V, I vaguely remember measuring it when connected it to my car ans it was around 4 or 6 Amps.

J & G - why not use gas to run the fridge ?

 

[Dave_374330759]

The average caravan fridge takes about 120w = 10amps at 12volts which will totally flatten an 85a/h battery in about 6-7 hours

 

[jinty0_0]

Frank, Surely your battery will be flat within hours. I was under the impression the fridge draws quite a bit of current on 12V, I vaguely remember measuring it when connected it to my car ans it was around 4 or 6 Amps.

J & G - why not use gas to run the fridge ?

Rubix we use the gas at the moment, but since buying the caravan last year and only using the van for about 21days holidays we used 2 1/2 bottles for the fridge and cooking which we felt was a lot. we have a small solar pannel to keep the battery toped up and have just bought a power invertor aswell so just wondering if the fridge would work ok off the battery. thanks for your reply