John and Lynelle Posted April 26, 2008 Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 Hi All,We presently have a Dometic 3 Way Fridge fitted to our XC Van. We have had so much trouble with it when encountering hot weather, that we are looking at changing to a Vitrifrigo 150Litre fridge. I am after feedback from anybody who has the Vitrifrigo fitted. How good are they? Have you had any problems in hot weather? How many batteries & Solar panels have you got fitted to the van. We presently have one 80W panel, & a 130ah deep cycle battery (a replacement bought in Darwin last year).Another option is a Waeco 12v fridge, but I would have to go a bit larger to get a 2 door model, which means modifying the area it will be fitted (more cost).I will be contacting Kedron eventually, but would like some feedback first.Thanks, & Happy travelling.Regards,John & Lynelle :confused1: :helpsmilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 We think the Vitrifrigo is absolutely wonderful! It has done a lot of travelling in the heat of the NT and Queensland (for several days once at Mount Isa the temperature was around 47 degrees during the daylight hours) and it has always coped.it had no trouble with the Gibb River Road, or back roads in Kakadu. Once, in Clare SA one of the door hinges broke, and Val took it off, found someone with a welder which he borrowed and fixed it. And we have had to replace the door "handle" once. But the fridge keeps everything icy cold and that's its purpose of course. :thumbsup: Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dismart Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 Hi John and LynelleWe have a 230l Vitrifrigo in our van, now 4 years old and I have nothing but praise for the way it has coped. We live in Darwin and have travelled in some very hot, 45C+, and very humid and the fridge and freezer (2 door) has coped with everything dished up. Would highly recommend it. Only problems we have had is the cental hinge holding the two doors together came apart, it is only spot welded and I have had a proper weld put on it now, and a door lock breaking, but this was after 3 and a half years so I can't complain too much.My caravan has 4 solar panels and 3 batteries and it copes reasonably well, we have never had the fridge cut out due to lack of power, but the 230l would use more power than a 150l. However, I do think you would need to upgrade your system if you are doing independent camping. regardsVal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JETnomads Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 HiWe also have the 230l. Van is 5 years old in June this year, has been on the road permanently now for 4 years.They only problem we have had, is loosing the little screw which holds the bottom of the door. A reminder to all to check they are tight occasionally Never broken anything else. We have 3 batteries and 3 panels.CheersJody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John and Lynelle Posted April 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2008 Thanks to all who gave me some feedback. I'm convinced that this is the way to go, plus more solar panel & battery to cope. Kedron factory doesn't do any changes to their caravans now, due to the pressure of building new ones. I'll most likely get the work done at Solar Express at Caboolture.Regards & Happy Travelling,John & Lynelle :thumbsup: :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazmit Posted April 30, 2008 Report Share Posted April 30, 2008 As a suggestion I would gain a 2nd quote from Springers at Brendale for the mods.cheersDarryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John and Lynelle Posted May 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2008 Thks Darryl, sounds like a good idea. At least I don't have to travel too far for either company.John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie and Helen Posted May 4, 2008 Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 We have a 150 lt in our XC, keeps the ice cream frozen and drinks cold keeps the food good too. We have 3 x 120 solar and 3 deep cycles. We haven't had any problems and don't seem to have to worry about what we use at night time to conserve power. :thumbsup: Laurie & Helen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John and Lynelle Posted June 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2008 G'Day All,I've finally settled on, & fitted myself a Vitrofrigo 150lt fridge. A bit of mucking around as it is 75mm narrower than the Dometic. I turned it on at 12.15pm, & by 1.30pm it was 4deg in the fridge, & -13deg in the freezer. Very impressed, & it used only 37amps up to 10.00am next day. I still have to buy & fit another Solar panel (130W). I bought a CTEK XS25000 25amp battery charger on Ebay for $370 posted. That's a saving of $115 on one from a 12Volt shop.Can't wait to get on the road to do a proper test. :thumbsup: Regards,John & Lynelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fieldsie Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 We too have a 150 litre Vitrifrigio in our 151/2 ft XC and whilst we are generally happy with its performance we have had some problems with it. After a not so bumpy trip to Birdsville and the Birdsville Track we found that the cooling pipes in the condenser had developed a hole allowing all the refrigerant to escape, thus no fridge. When we removed it for repair we found that all the self-tapping screws on one side of the fridge had stripped allow the fridge to move in the frame causing the damage. Luckily it was still under warranty so we had it repaired FOC. Has anyone else had this problem? What woujd be useful is a more user friendly manuel. Ours was mostly in Italian and just about useless.John and Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid fish Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Our 240L Vitrifrigo packed up a few weeks ago. The evaporator (ie the freezer compartment) developed a crack, eventually fracturing a pipe, and lost the gas. Took 3 weeks to organise a new evaporator (ex Camec in Brisbane) to be freighted to Darwin, where it was installed by a local fridge guy. Crack no doubt due to too much stuff in the freezer on rough roads. In future, before going on corrugations, we'll transfer the bulk of the freezer stuff into the Waeco chest freezer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazmit Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 The Vitros also seem to frost up quickly and therefore reducing the cooling performance dramatically.They are certainly a premium PRICED product !!!We chose a 190l Waeco Coolmatic for our 2004 XC mainly as it was a lot cheaper than a 150l Vitro and also larger than that sized Vitro.We have had no problems with it and it doesn't frost up or require freezer to be half emptied on rough roads - it's done the Tanami, Plenty & Mereenie.I did fit a small 12V in the fridge compartment to circulate the air around the fridge which also had the added benefit of being able to change the thermostat from 4 to 2.5 to maintain 0 - 4 C which means less on time for the compressor.Some people don't like the white finish but I prefer function over form.CheersDarryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbf Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Darryl,Does the 12V fan run continuously or only when the compressor cuts in? Did you draw power from the fridge connections or else where?Regards,Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazmit Posted August 29, 2008 Report Share Posted August 29, 2008 Hi PatI ran the power from the 12V supply behind the fridge and brought it in through the door rubber. The fan runs the whole time but I did fit a on/off switch inside the fridge so i can actually turn it off.cheersDarryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest John & Cheryl Posted September 6, 2008 Report Share Posted September 6, 2008 Hi allI will now go against the flow.When I specified my new Kedron XC at the end of 2006, I had a choice of Electrolux 3 way fridge with one battery and no solar, the Electrolux with one battery and one 130watt Kyocera solar panel or the Vitrigo with THREE batteries and THREE solar panels. I chose the middle option because I have had a good run with Electrolux fridges for 30 years and I didn't want to pay THOUSANDS more for a compressor fridge along with ongoing high battery replacement costs.After a round Australia trip, admittedly in Winter, I now know that I made the right decision. I do have a TROPICAL Electrolux fridge though and the Gall boys fitted it correctly with adequate ventilation. When camped at Ningaloo for a month, it was great not to have to worry about battery capacity!When on the road, the absorption fridges do consume a lot of current and hence voltage drop is inevitable. Keeping the caravan battery fully topped up was not possible when the sky was overcast. Upon arriving home, I found that the culprit was the Toyota Prado D4D alternator settings as dictated by Toyota. This was rectified by a very clever new device called a RanOx battery booster.Now, all is spot on for daily tripping or long term bush camping. The moral of the story is that Electrolux 3 way fridges aren't as bad as some make out when correctly installed.I can talk more at Milmerran about this topic and the RanOx if anybody will listen to me Cheers - John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted June 22, 2019 Report Share Posted June 22, 2019 Hi we have the 150i in our van & the first one failed when we were at Birdsville last year & caused us a lot of grief. it was replaced with a new one 2 months later after we struggled through the outback. Now 10 months later the new replacement has crapped itself. Don’t buy one may mate has had problems with the same frig. We just started another trip & got the stress again. even when there going the thermostat is nearly up to max to get down to 4 dec c with ambient 23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted June 22, 2019 Report Share Posted June 22, 2019 We have had three vitrifrigos and found they performed beautifully in even the hottest conditions... Even in 47 degrees it just kept on chilling the food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyH Posted June 22, 2019 Report Share Posted June 22, 2019 G’day Terry, Very sorry to hear of your dilemma, I also have a Vitrofrigo...12 years old and trouble free (touch wood)! As unlucky as you are to have two fail on you, your very lucky that you have a Kedron and a quick call to Robyn or Ashley (Kedron service) will have you sorted out in no time. Can I please ask you to update your signature, van model & location details....thanking you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve and Kez Posted June 22, 2019 Report Share Posted June 22, 2019 Hi Terry, You seem to be having the same luck with your fridges as I had with Toyota's, however as much as it saddens me to have to agree with Tony, as we also have a 230l Vitrofrigo which is 9 years old and has spent its whole life in either the Kimberly or NT and as Tony says it has been "trouble free (touch wood)"! I guess that, like me and Toyota's, you are one of those "special" people with Vitrofrigo. I feel your frustration. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.