Hi Stephen, We have a three way powered camping fridge but don't want to use this as cutting holes in side of van and needing to light and extinguish gas due to driving will become a pain. these three way absorbption cycle fridges while being fine on gas because they are heat powered are heavy on 12v also no thermostat on the 12v heater. Not as efficient as a compressor fridge but big advantage is they can be fuel powered. Years back Alice and a friend did some vanning with a domestic under the counter fridge run off a 600watt modified sine inverter, yes it could start the compressor! worked well with 140ah of cheapy "leisure" batteries charging off the alternator it could hold out for one day without driving. with a bit of solar and more modern inverter plus alternator split charge we hope to be able to run a small under the counter fridge freezer we already own. Alice knows it will be a bit tight on power but can plug in at home and some campsites and should be good for maybe 3 days off grid, longer if sunny. but yes energy budget will be close. a more efficient option is converting a small chest freezer to a fridge with the inverter 12v side relay switched from thermostat to save quiescent current of running inverter, better insulation and top loading really saves the energy at the expense of convenience. will report back when have some real world data on our setup.

Cheers, Nerys

Hi Nerys,
Sounds like a great project.
Have you compared power consumption between a domestic and camping fridges like Engel, I have 2 Engel camping fridges, one used as a freezer the other as a fridge ( getting a bit old now ) one of the great things about these fridges is they only use 2.5 amps at 12 volts when they are running and there is a 240 volt plug as well. I have 2 solar panels on a pole with tilting to get the best angle to the sun, and 2 deep cycle lead acid batteries together they are able to power my camping setup indefinitely. Large inverters are fairly pricey at least in Australia they are and they do use a bit of power to produce AC power.
Just some thoughts.
Cheers,
Stephen.

Hi Doug and Martin,
We are planning on collecting the bus on Wednesday. I'll see what we can do in the way of a photo or two as it is at the moment, but really it's only a VW LT35 Minibus, a pretty shade of blue I must admit.

Cheers, Nerys

Hi Nerys,
It would be nice to see photos of the of the conversion.
Even some before and after shots will be good.

Martin555.

I agree with Rick Nerys, please keep us informed on progress👍
I assume then that Hon Commodore Alice, OC Construction & Logistics Division, has finished building and equipping the sheds?
Would love to see some pics of how she has fitted them out😀
Cheers, Doug 😎

The plan is that Alice will pick me up in it from the hospital at 10pm on a Saturday night when I finish dialysis. Clear off somewhere for a couple of nights and get me back there at 5pm Tuesday ready for another four hours of misery.

Cheers, Nerys

Wonderful a vehicle to get away in.Stay warm and cook how good will that be .
Yes please keep us informed .
Rick

Thank you Martin. We are planning on collecting the vehicle next week sometime, Alice has insured it from Monday. She wants to use good quality timber rather than the stuff that comes from B & Q and the local builders merchant and have found a firm hiding away in the woods that specialises in home grown hardwoods all grown within a few miles of their yard. Less bulky but stronger. We won't need that much as it is not a huge vehicle. We are also looking for a better quality ply for panelling etc. Roof and sides will be well insulated. We already have a suitable fridge and cooker and Alice has suitable radio equipment. We will have to buy some batteries and an inverter, that way a domestic fridge can be used rather than a camping fridge. Solar panels are also planned as the budget makes are well under a £1 per watt now. I'll keep the forum informed on progress as long as it creates enough interest.

All the best, Nerys