With Christmas 1999 fast approaching my efforts to get the 109 V8 set up for
camping became more and more frantic. The plan was to spend a couple of weeks up North, some of which would be spent living in the back of the Rover. One of the difficulties faced when camping is how to keep
your food, and that all important liquid refreshments cool.The only options really available are to use ice in a chilly bin, or purchase a portable fridge.
The ice idea is great if you are close to
civilisation and can keep topping up, and have a chilly bin big enough to hold all the ice as well as your food and drink.
As far as fridges are concerned, there are a wide variety of makes and models available, with
an equally wide range of prices. There are two main types of refrigeration technology on the market: Absorption refrigeration and Compressor refrigeration.
Absorption fridges are often seen in the 3-way design
ie. gas/12v/230v. This means that they will run on either gas, 12v or 240v power. These fridges have no compressor unit. The refrigerant is forced through the cooling cycle by using an external heat
source (gas flame or 12v/240v heater).
Compressor fridges operate using the same compressor technique used in your household fridge, only 12v/24v.
The advantages and disadvantages of both systems can be summarised as follows:
- The compressor fridge is extremely efficient. The published power consumption for the unit's ranges from 8-12W/hr. That means on a 12v system, they draw under 1amp. The absorption units can
draw up to 5 times this amount of power.
- The compressor fridge can be placed at any angle up to 30deg and still function correctly. The absorption fridges must be kept horizontal to enable the refrigerant to flow correctly. Try doing that
when off roading!
- The compressor fridge will maintain its cooling capacity even though the ambient temperature may increase eg the middle of summer. The absorption fridges can only drop the temperature by a fixed figure
compared to ambient. Hence if the ambient temperature goes up, so does the temperature inside the fridge.
- The compressor fridges are generally 30-50% dearer to purchase than the equivalent sized absorption fridge.
I looked seriously at all the above advantages and disadvantages, and after a lengthy discussion with the helpful people at Serada Marine and Leisure Limited I decided to purchase a Cool Mate C-41. This is a
compressor driven fridge with a 41 litre capacity. The unit can run on either 12v or 24v, which is an asset if you decide to put it into your Mack truck, or perish the thought, a Nissan Patrol.
Fridge makes excellent center console (cool drinks on hand!)
One of the features that drew me to the C-41 was its physical dimensions. It is exactly the right
size to fit between the front seats of the 109 once the center squab has been removed. The fridge lid also has can holder recesses moulded into its top.
Heaps of capacity
Performance from the fridge is outstanding. On my first attempt I managed to freeze a collie flower
in 40 minutes! Some experimentation is required to get the temperature settings right, but once you have that sorted, it's all plain sailing. The temperature control is electronic and memorises its
last setting.
Another great feature is that the fridge operates extremely quietly. This is a huge advantage considering that we actually sleep in the back of the Rover. The fridge can be left on all night
without disturbing your sleep! (except when I again had the temperature set too low, and a can of Coke froze and exploded. I thought I had been shot!)
As I stated before, the compressor type fridges are extremely efficient. I carried out a trial while camped out on a fishing trip, where I left the fridge running for three days without starting the
vehicle. Although I took the jumper leads as a precaution, the V8 started without any indication of a drained battery.
To some up, although they are expensive, I can highly recommend the Cool Mate range of fridges. The build quality and refrigeration performance is outstanding, and to date the fridge has operated
faultlessly.
