Am I correct in assuming that you can run the fridge on gas and electric at the same time in the same way that you can run the water heater on gas and electric together ?
Running fridge on gas and electric
- Thread starter JamesH
- Start date
NO. If you do that you will severely overheat the coolant. The fridge will not work properly and you have a high risk of damaging it.
Many modern fridges will automatically switch BETWEEN gas and electric. Older caravan fridges usually have a selector switch which only selects one source at a time. However portable 'camping fridges' often have no means of actually stopping you using both at once .....other than a big label telling you not to!
Many modern fridges will automatically switch BETWEEN gas and electric. Older caravan fridges usually have a selector switch which only selects one source at a time. However portable 'camping fridges' often have no means of actually stopping you using both at once .....other than a big label telling you not to!
It would be impossible on our fridge, and most others I have seen as the fridge can only be switched to one system at a time.
VicMallows said:
"Modern" fridges? We had a new U4 Seville in January with a Dometic 130L tall fridge and that still requires manual switching and manual gas ignition........
Woodentop said:
And I am VERY happy that they are still available (note that I did say 'many modern...') It strikes me as crazy that the manufacturers deemed it a good idea to 'improve' on the perfectly satisfactory manual system by replacing it with electronics (with a spectacularly high failure rate) and the need for a constant 12v supply even when operating soley on gas.
The problem is that the marketing people know that many customers like to have the latest 'bling' in their new 'vans , and the fridge manufacturers are perfectly happy to oblige ...and sell very overpriced replacement PCBs
hmy:
Raywood said:
No but our previous ones date back to the 1970's before fridges. May be my memory is failing but I cannot remember a fridge that would run on both at the same time.
Raywood said:
Oh yes they could, - I cant remember the model number but Electrocute fridges had independent controls for all power sources, so in theory you could have turned on Mains 12V And gas at the same time.
Edit... I am referring to some of the first 3 way powered versions nothing recent
JamesH said:
Are some people not getting confused about that they can run power on a mix of gas and electric?
JamesH said:
The truth is it may depend on the exact model of fridge you have, so you would be best to check the operating instructions.
If you don't have them, assume it is only advised to use one power source at a time.
My 1970s Electrolux could be operated with gas and either 12v or 230v at the same time. The instructions clearly said the electric control knob should be off before using gas. Never use both together.
I totally agree that the modern fridge is unnecessarily over complicated. They are also diffcut to use if you have restricted vision as the small energy source lights do not show up in strong dayligh/sunlight. What was wrong with the good old rotary selector switch, apart from offending some stylist
The set up instructions in book supplied with my new caravan a year ago did not work and it took some correspondence with the maker to get the correct version.
It seems that you cannot connect to a source unless the source is actually available at the time e.g. when going from mains to the battery/car connection, the car must be connected and ignition enabled for the fridge to lock on to that source. (Although once selected you can stop and start engine for lunch breaks, filling stations etc. without loosing the connection)..
I could wish that designers paid more attention to transit locks too.
The set up instructions in book supplied with my new caravan a year ago did not work and it took some correspondence with the maker to get the correct version.
It seems that you cannot connect to a source unless the source is actually available at the time e.g. when going from mains to the battery/car connection, the car must be connected and ignition enabled for the fridge to lock on to that source. (Although once selected you can stop and start engine for lunch breaks, filling stations etc. without loosing the connection)..
I could wish that designers paid more attention to transit locks too.
RayS said:
Totally agree with your views and there are a number of caravan systems that rely too much on electronics and connectivity. But I’m not sure that the development and environmental testing will be anywhere near as rigorous as that applied to cars. Yet caravan usage patterns are also totally different and from my experience electronics are most reliable when used either continuously or frequently.
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