Depend on Caravan Refrigeration for complete service for your camping fridges, RV air conditioning systems, and refrigeration services for remote power locations.

Fully licensed to install and repair all air conditioning and refrigeration products, we provide comprehensive service of what we sell, backed by over 40 years of first-hand experience in the refrigeration business.

Authorised dealer for:

Engel Refrigerators	National Luna	Chescold
Air Command	Chescold	Electrolux
	Vitifrigo

Our fridge services include repairs to gas refrigeration products and portable camping fridges as well as service for all types of low-voltage refrigerators.

Specialists in lifestyle refrigeration, over the last 40 years, we've built our reputation on our ability to provide first-hand advice on the suitability, viability, and sustainability of motor home fridges and other camping refrigeration products. Our tips, below, come from knowledge we've gained through personal and practical experience over the last 35 years and pertain to camping and caravanning in our harsh Australian climate. Although our style of camping may differ from yours so that all of our tips may not work for you, sometimes you can save yourself a service call by performing just a few simple checks.

Your 3-Way Fridge

• Your three way fridge just needs three things to work: a level area, proper ventilation, and a blue gas flame.
• Be sure your 3-way fridge is level; unless its level to 2°C, it simply won't work.
• Proper ventilation is important to your 3-way fridge. Your built-in caravan fridge needs a removable vent panel at floor level as wide as your fridge. At the top, it needs a vent that extends at least 150mm above the fridge's condenser.
• The gas flame for your 3-way fridge needs to be solid blue although you may see a bit of yellow where the flame touches the thermocouple and piezos.
• Be patient with your newly installed three-way fridge (also known as an 'absorption refrigerator'). Three-way fridges may take from 10 to 12 hours to reach operating temperature.
   

Your 12 Volt Fridge

Performance of all 12 volt fridges is affected by the outside variable factors of ambient heat and battery voltage applied to the fridge. It the ambient temperature is high, the thermostat will call for more cooling. If you lock your fridge in the rear of your 4WD wagon in the hot sun, when internal temperatures rise above 60°C, your fridge fights a losing battle against the heat. Be sure to always park in the shade and open your windows to allow hot air to escape.

Most DC fridges are built with industry standard Danfoss BD compressors and have built in error codes to assist with the diagnosis of faults. If your fridge has an error light indicator, these error codes will help you determine the problem and decide whether or not to call us for service. The indicator light will pause for five seconds between error indications. For instance a single flash followed by a five second pause indicates one error and two quick flashes followed by a pause indicate another type of error.

Danfoss Error Codes

1. Flash means low voltage. Check wiring and battery.
2. Flashes mean a fan overload. Make sure the fan isn't jammed. If that isn't the problem, call for service.
3. Flashes indicate a Motor start error. Leave off for 10 minutes and attempt to restart. If the 3-flash error remains, call for service.
4. Flashes indicate a low motor speed. Call for service.
5. Flashes indicate a thermal cut out. Check the ventilation. If it appears okay, call Caravan Refrigeration.
    

Solutions to Battery Problems

If ever there was a black art batteries are it! How many different types are there? All the different terms—CCA, wet cell, deep cycle, GEL, AGM, SLA, VRLA. So the list goes on!

Let's make it simple. For our purposes, we'll assume that the battery runs:

• Fridge
• Lights
• Radio
• LCD/DVD
• Two Way

Your battery powered fridge uses 70-80% of the energy needed to run your RV for the day.  Most fridges use 40-50 amps for a 24 hour period. (Large two-doors use more!) Lights use about 10 amps, radio/tv/dvd about 10 amps. You'll need a 120 amp battery to run it all. The 120 amp gives you just a little less than twice what you'll use (70 amps), so your battery doesn't go too deep into discharge, which gives it a shorter lifespan.

All batteries are energy sources and like everything else, "You get what you pay for". Our above application is worthy of an AGM 120 amp battery, a valve regulated battery with long life and a good easy recharge regime.

This brings us to battery chargers. When you return from a trip, always recharge your battery. A multi-stage battery charger is a must for all systems and must be sized correctly to suit the bank of batteries it supplies. The rule of thumb is 10% of total battery capacity for the charger. So, if you have two 120 amp batteries, you'll need at least a 25 amp charger.

Finally, if you're using vented or capped batteries, you'll need to check the battery electrolyte every six months. This requires the use of a hydrometer. Instructions for battery checking should be included with the hydrometer you purchase. Care of battery terminals for corrosion and mechanical soundness is also a must. Check these every twelve months for positive connection.