ok guys....fridge

[zeratul]

I made a few modifications to Ikea Alex:
- bottom two drawers are no longer drawers, which allowed me to save a lot of space for the water containers (can now be stacked next to one another) and so about half the bottom space is available for storing stuff.
- Added a 12v socket in the back, to connect the Waeco fridge
- Added a 2x USB in the side for charging stuff
- Added a leisure battery tester in the side
Pictures here
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/ikea-alex-kitchen-pod-diy.13922/

 

[Trav88]

Hi MattBW,

I've been looking at fridges and always thought that the CFX 40 would be the bees knees, so I found it interesting to read your review,, not sure what to do now. Do you know if the CFX is better than the CF ??

Would it be worth getting a cheaper fridge and just change it as and when it packs up? Or is the CFX worth the investment? Not sure if the 35 will be more convenient?

Cheers!

I have a CF40 Waeco:

We find it fits under the multiflex board on a 3 seat beach in the boot which is good, I hear it will not fit under a 2 seat version which has a lower bed.

We can extend the bed with the fridge in place on the floor behind the passenger seat but it takes up all of the floor space there making the use of the left swivel seat difficult.

We sometimes wonder if we would have been better with a smaller one as it is quite large but the capacity of the 40 is very nice and useable. We can easily fit milk, 1.5l drink bottles and plenty of food inside. It also runs from mains and 12v, as the beach has a smaller battery we tend to use mains whenever we can but run the fridge from 12v when driving. I calculate that the fridge should however work for 2 or 3 days on a 68ah Beach battery before running the engine or ehu would be needed, smaller fridges may last longer. The fridge does have auto cut out for low voltage to avoid damaging the battery, which is handy.

One thing to bear in mind, if we had an internal pod too, there would be no floor space left when the 3 seat bed is extended. We are still working it out though and I am sure we will find different ways of organising our beach.

I wrote an amazon review after 18 months of light use, I will paste it below with some of the negative points:

I bought this model to use in my campervan.

It's a good size (and quite heavy) and has a top loading design which is great in an efficient fridge because cold air stays in when the doors open rather than falls out as per a side loading one.

It will go all the way down to -18 and has served us well in times of need as a spare freezer.

It has also kept food cool for camping trips and is relatively efficient on 12v but can be used on mains too.

However we have always found the thermostat wildly inaccurate and it has only got worse after 18months of very infrequent use. For example to get a 5c inside temp I find that you have to set the Waeco to 0c or -1 but occasionally this will result in freezing food most of the time it wont. Anything set between 1 and 5c will generally result in 10c which is probably too warm for food really.

Looking online you will find lots of stories of too cold or too warm waecos with poor support from Waeco themselves. When things go wrong they aren't much help. It seems these can be very expensive to fix unless you're brave enough to try yourself.

We do love it but the inconsistency is unforgivable for such an expensive device. Buy with caution and return at first sign of problems is my advice.

 

[Ignazio]

Hi MattBW,

I've been looking at fridges and always thought that the CFX 40 would be the bees knees, so I found it interesting to read your review,, not sure what to do now. Do you know if the CFX is better than the CF ??

Would it be worth getting a cheaper fridge and just change it as and when it packs up? Or is the CFX worth the investment? Not sure if the 35 will be more convenient?

Cheers!

After weeks of waiting thinking comparison ponderation and other problems, i just bought a indel tb41. It is supposed to arrive in tuesday.
Then I'll tell you my impressions. I'm real confident. Expensive. But Danfoss and perfect dmensions for us.
i hope…;-)

 

[Ignazio]

On tuesday.
Thanks everybody for your precious suggestions and support. ;-)


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

 

[MattBW]

Hi MattBW,

I've been looking at fridges and always thought that the CFX 40 would be the bees knees, so I found it interesting to read your review,, not sure what to do now. Do you know if the CFX is better than the CF ??

Would it be worth getting a cheaper fridge and just change it as and when it packs up? Or is the CFX worth the investment? Not sure if the 35 will be more convenient?

Cheers!

Don't get me wrong I still love it and we use it a lot these days. Maybe I'm expecting too much from the thermostat.

If you're near by be happy to show you the 40. The 35 uses much less power I believe .

 

[Trav88]

Hi @MattBW I'd love to see it but I live in Barcelona! So might be a bit too far! Seem to be staying in campsites a lot more (due to the kids!) so it shoulnd't be a problem if the 40 uses extra power. Just bit concerned about the thermostat, its a lot of money for something that may give me problems

 

[MattBW]

Ive had the fridge on in my house for the last two weeks to keep an eye on it. The thermostat has been set to 2c and the fridge interior has been 4-5c which has been good. It's out but it has been consistently out for the last 2 weeks.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[California Dreamin]

We just got the CFX28 and we love it. Fits under the beach flexboard and light enough to lift with ease. We have dine yeara with a bomb proof engel and now loving lightness, size and digital (harder to accidently move) temp settings.

 

[Ignazio]

Here we are. Indel b tb 41! Beautiful italian product, webasto warranty, compact but full of space inside (almost 40 litres). It seems to fit almost perfectly behind the driver seat (continental, left side) and/or along the side under the window (left). Even with the bed done, is possible to open the lid, so is accesible anytime anyway. It is slim (35 cm) so that, in spite of the relevant weight, you can move it behind. We travel with the rear 3 seats bench, ready to become a bed, so it's ok. It is a huge object but fits perfectly in the rear, under the damned multiflex board. It works fine, finally, cast and a little bit noisy. In the California t4 it was the same so starting and stopping compressor (Danfoss) is a familiar noise, and Iike it! Finally: tecnology and compact dimensions are perfect, for us. 580 euros. We'll see…
Thanks again everybody, for your clear suggestions.
Ciao
Igna

Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

 

[kave]

Looks very similar to the CF35?
Where did you find it at that price?

 

[Ignazio]

Yes it is. Maybe better: danfoss compressor instead of china made, almost 40 liters instead of 35. And a little bit slimmer: 35cm but higher: 44cm.
Found on Amazon Italy (now is 613 euro. Amazon France is 599 euro, now). Consider the Announced slidepods discount. Ciao


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

 

[Trav88]

@MattBW do you know if the CFX 40 fits in the back under the multiflex of the 3 seater T6 beach, I've measured the height and it looks awfully tight!

 

[MattBW]

My CF40 fits in my 3 seat beach T5, but I believe the CFX models are better insultated and maybe a little chunkier?

Happy to slide my CF40 in the van when I get home and give measurements and a photo

 

[MattBW]

The weekend just gone, was the first time I've tested the Compressor fridge on a wild camp in the beach. I have used it for an entire week in the T25 with solar (100ah battery 80w panel) and no hook up. It wasn't entirely "wild" but the site we were on did not have electric hook up and we were parked in an orchard. I also didn't put my van on hookup before leaving which would have increased the charge to 100%.

So in summary a 3 day camp. Fridge was a Waeco CF40, set to 5c internal temp. Pre chilled in the house and filled with food and chilled drinks. Initiailly the battery voltage cut off was set to high and then later to medium. Beach standard 68ah battery. (details of voltage protection on waeco below)
After 24 hours - the cut out started to kick in on high after about 24 hours so I dropped it to medium.
24-48 hours - Fridge stayed at 5c, the voltage cut out would occasionally kick in but after a short time of battery rest it would restart. The fridge continued to maintain 5c internal temp for the entire time even with the occasional voltage cut out. The amp draw can be big but is usually for a very short time.
48-72 hours - In the morning it was still cold and on. We actually went out for a day trip and did a few hours of driving throughout the day. We turned the fridge down to about 2c whilst travelling and set back to 5c when out and about. Usually by the time we got back to the van, it had not yet got back upto 5c and thus the compressor didn't need to kick in. The battery seemed back to healthy voltage and the cut out didn't re-engage that day.

I arrived home last night (with fridge still on). After a 150mile drive the battery seemed to be charged up again and showing a healthy voltage.

I had no problems starting the van, no issues with food not being cold either. I also used lights in the van, an LED rafter on two evenings (thanks Nick @comfortz) .

I wouldn't have been confident in the 3rd day if we hadn't been moving the van but with the occasional trip it worked a charm. I wasn't keen on the low setting as to me that seems overly depleted so could have got more from it if I needed.

There are three set-able battery protection levels;
"Hi" equates to 11.8 volts (High cut-out)
"Med" equates to 11.2 volts (Medium cut-out)
"Lo" equates to 10.1 volts (Low cut-out)
These are the voltages sensed at the refrigerator under load at which the compressor will shut down to protect your vehicle battery.
If you have a small battery in a smaller vehicle, you should select high so that you are able to restart your vehicle easily.
If you have a larger vehicle and larger battery capacity you should select the medium setting.
If you have a dual battery set up and the secondary battery is able to be isolated from the starter battery you should select the Low setting.
http://cfx.waeco.com.au/cfx/faq.asp

 

[Ignazio]

Here we are. Indel b tb 41! Beautiful italian product, webasto warranty, compact but full of space inside (almost 40 litres). It seems to fit almost perfectly behind the driver seat (continental, left side) and/or along the side under the window (left). Even with the bed done, is possible to open the lid, so is accesible anytime anyway. It is slim (35 cm) so that, in spite of the relevant weight, you can move it behind. We travel with the rear 3 seats bench, ready to become a bed, so it's ok. It is a huge object but fits perfectly in the rear, under the damned multiflex board. It works fine, finally, cast and a little bit noisy. In the California t4 it was the same so starting and stopping compressor (Danfoss) is a familiar noise, and Iike it! Finally: tecnology and compact dimensions are perfect, for us. 580 euros. We'll see…
Thanks again everybody, for your clear suggestions.
Ciao
Igna

Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

And now we tried our new fridge, IndelB TB 41: enough space for 5 (2adults, 3 little children), perfect dimension (it's big, but it's ok, in front of the rear bench (behind the driver, EU), but the best is energy saving: i set it on 5, the 4 and down to 3, eco running (always), almost 24 hours without hookup, result on LB: 12.5v. it runs only when needed, and so smoothly, you can hear starting compressor, but it's better and lower than old california (t4). perfectly cold beers and vegetables and milk and everything, and low consuption of the battery. really appreciate it.
only thing i have to find how to fasten, because it moves al little bit around the bend...but it's ok.
thanks for your suggestion, really recommended as alternative to waeco.
ciao!
igna

 

[Peter Jennings]

I've got a VW one available if you are interested?

Brand new unused. Came on our ex demo but we don't need it.

Hi - do you still have the fridge?

 

[Riofer]

Hi - do you still have the fridge?

Hi Peter
Yes I still have it available

 

[Peter Jennings]

Hi Peter
Yes I still have it available

Ok cool. I would be interested to know the details please? What make and model? Price etc? Where are you? Peter 07968 773070

 

[Dayzee]

We bought a CFX 28 from the Dometic stand at NEC a Waco product was delivered.... Does anyone know if they are exactly the same....? The one we have doesn't seem to connect to the whizzy iPhone app we were shown at the show....

 

[rackind]

We bought a CFX 28 from the Dometic stand at NEC a Waco product was delivered.... Does anyone know if they are exactly the same....? The one we have doesn't seem to connect to the whizzy iPhone app we were shown at the show....

We've also got a CFX 28. Unless spec has changed since last year, only the larger CFX models worked with the app. CFX 28 still uses the old Waeco wireless remote control unit

 

[Bigted]

The CFX28 is not supported by the app as stated. The app only does the same as the remote. I have the remote (came free with fridge) and while it shows more info I would not buy one if wasn't bundled as you don't really need it and it's just more stuff to lug about.

 

[California Dreamin]

Remote is useful for one thing - showing battery voltage (if you have beach not ocean)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hirsty]

Fridges seem to have gone up a lot recently (Euro? weather? season starting?), but I needed to man-up and sort one out for the summer.

Partly based on @Ignazio s enthusiasm, and partly by being so utterly confused by Waeco / Dometic product marketing - CF, CDF, CFX, WTF - I've chosen the slightly smaller Webasto / Indel Travel Box TB31 which is now winging it's way up from Doncaster.

I've had several excellent Webasto products before, it looks to be the right size & shape for us behind the passenger seat (two-seat bench Beach multiflex board is a lot lower than the three-seat, gave up on finding one for the boot) and this nice looking Italian family seem pleased with theirs :

Pics, thoughts & wiring diagrams to follow when we get back from (non-Cali) holiday next week.

 

[Sp0_0k]

Yea, it is Italian Indel B sold by Webasto I suppose.
I have 2 50L ones on the left side of the Beach. Got the 2nd one this spring for ~400 pounds

 

[Ignazio]

Fridges seem to have gone up a lot recently (Euro? weather? season starting?), but I needed to man-up and sort one out for the summer.

Partly based on @Ignazio s enthusiasm, and partly by being so utterly confused by Waeco / Dometic product marketing - CF, CDF, CFX, WTF - I've chosen the slightly smaller Webasto / Indel Travel Box TB31 which is now winging it's way up from Doncaster.

I've had several excellent Webasto products before, it looks to be the right size & shape for us behind the passenger seat (two-seat bench Beach multiflex board is a lot lower than the three-seat, gave up on finding one for the boot) and this nice looking Italian family seem pleased with theirs :

Pics, thoughts & wiring diagrams to follow when we get back from (non-Cali) holiday next week.

Good choice!
Let us know your opinion!
Ciao


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk Pro