We run an old mustard colour ChestCold Freezer , 3 way that I
got for $5 as a junk shop a few years ago. All it needed was to have the gas
jet unblocked.
It has a thermostat on gas and on 240.
There is no thermostat on 12v.
12v uses 120 to 140 watts ( 11 to 13 amps)
Never run these on a lighter socket. On the last trip 3 people told me of dash
or rear panel fires from a socket.
I used a WELL crimped 2 pin "T" connector ( 2 spade terminals in a
plastic housing). The fridge only just worked and the connectors ran WARM to
hot. I tinned and soldered the 4 wire entry points. The unit ran VERY well on
12v for the rest of the 5 weeks when in the car, the cable and connectors were
less that warm.
On gas the flame is audible when cooling and bright enough to see a point of light on the wall of the trailer or tent. When in pilot mode the flame is as robust as a $2 lighter ( "blows out easily"). I'll have to see if the upper (larger) hole is supposed to be open or if the silver paper sticker should be intact and block the air ?
When at rest the units have to be VERY level ( side to side) so the heated
fluid can run down hill while the bubbles can run up hill ( VERY simple explanation).
I forgot to take a the bullseye level on the NT trip so at each camp put 10
to 20ml of water ( or wine) in the wine glass, this was my spirit level, I HAD
to drink the left overs..hic..
When in a car the rougher the track the better the units work , to the point
it just about froze my beer and lettuce and milk on 25 to 35 Deg Days when on
low 12v.
We now turn the unit off when we go to bed on cold nights and most times there is still ice on the alloy fins in the morning ( but yes , you get a pool of water in the base ( that’s why I put a cut up stove grill in the base, to keep the chocky and cheese out of the water ).
If the weather is hot we make a baffle between the cold end and the lettuce end out of old 12mm white foam or plywood slid down one of the grooves in the walls. This lets us freeze meet and water in one end that helps keep the other stuff cold at night and on REALLY hot days.
ANTS.. the lids on these older units is a top mounted plug door , if dust or water or ANTS get on the lid they can find a way in. We found that resting a thick fluffy towel over the top, over the sides and front did wonders.. No condensation , NO teeeennnnyyy little ants and it helps to insulate the unit from heat and sun.
The plastic tray that holds the controls cracked up before the last trip, So I made a HD one from 1.2mm alloy sheet. The sides started to expand, so I folded a length of SS sheet and used a few SS screws. I wanted to keep 'stuff' from blocking the air flow on the top and rear, Soo.. I mounted 2 x 24v 50mm x 50mm computer fans inside the rear cover down low. These point up and are angled out just a little. 24v fans on 12v are VERY quiet so I made sure one had a noisy bearing , I can JUST hear it purrrring when its on in the car with the car off.. The roll cage for the rear is just 2x 12" x 12" stowage rack shelves bent and ziped and clamped in place..
To keep the fridge from killing us if we had a rollover i made a frame to mount it in the back of the prado as well as letting it be used with one of the 3rd row seats. The catches came from an old computer cabinet , the same one that gave its wings for the stone deflector on the front of the camper ;-)
