Just went wacko for a Waeco!! OMG.. couldn't help myself!

[Willy]

Going through Craigslist I was doing a search for 'camper van' and forgot to limit it to the title and.. lo and behold! Some guy had torn apart his camper van, which he'd just put together last year, and was selling some of the parts. One of these parts was a near new Waeco CR-1050 compressor fridge for $250! Well, I'd like to think of myself as the total 'wheeler-dealer', but it ain't so.. only got him down to $220.&nbsp; http://www.dometic.com/enus/America...tors/Refrigeration/?productdataid=85709&nbsp; Now I've got a project for tomorrow, and that's to mount the fridge in my camper. Will keep my CF-50, but that's relegated to backup and when I'm not using the camper. WOO-HOOOO! Man, am I ever stoked. Too dark for pics, but will fire some in tomorrow. ..Willy.<h2 class="postingtitle">&nbsp;</h2>

 

[wrcsixeight]

Nice deal, congrats!!<br><br>I was considering that model, but found a DC only Vitrifrigo for 150$ &nbsp;less with free shipping.<br><br>$220 vs $741 new.<br><br>http://www.boatandrvaccessories.com/e128.html<br><br>Mount it so that cooling unit breathe well. &nbsp;Would love to see pics of the cooling unit and the door locking mechanism up close, and how the 92 or 120mm fan is mounted to the condenser, and if you can see the part numbers on the fan I am interested in the CFM waeco thought ideal for their fridge.<br><br>I'm interested in the fan CFM, and if there is a resistor inline on the thermostat circuit where it hooks to the controller.<br><br>I replaced the fan Vitrifrigo supplied( 120mm 72 cfm 32 db 0.15amp)<br>with this fan:<br>http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&amp;products_id=42&amp;lng=en<br>(120 mm,54 cfm, 18db,0.05a)<br><br>and mounted it to push air into the condenser rather than pull it through it. &nbsp;Much quieter and performance increased.

 

[Willy]

Here are some photos. The fan is bolted in and I can't make out any writing on the face.&nbsp;

 

[wrcsixeight]

Cool, thanks for posting those.<br><br>Interesting condenser set up. &nbsp;Also the metal encased electronic controller. &nbsp;I think they made the metal cased units to reduce radio interference on boats. &nbsp;Another trick is to twist the power leads.<br><br>Don't know if you got instructions with the unit:<br>http://www.ra.danfoss.com/Technical...f_electronic_unit_ac-dc_04-2009_ei100g402.pdf<br><br>http://www.ra.danfoss.com/Technical...nit_101n0600_12-24vdc_08-2011_dehc100m602.pdf<br><br><br><br><br>I am not seeing the 120v inputs on the controller. &nbsp;Is this a DC only model?<br><br>For reference, this is how my cooling unit came set up. &nbsp;The condenser looks more like a car radiator.<br><br>

<br><br>My cabinet is a tight fit with the extra insulation. &nbsp;I was afraid the pipes were in danger of installation and removal stress so I took the stainless steel door face from my failed Norcold, and made a cooling unit cover to protect it, and funnel the fan's flow across the compressor and controller.<br><br>Here is the fridge encased in 3/4" or more insulation all around, with the new Noctua fan pushing air through the condenser and through the tunnel.<br>

<br><br>I riveted some angle aluminum to the stainless tunnel to keep it from being pushed inward. &nbsp;It is held on with tape.<br><br>

<br><br>Missing from this picture is the foam board separator which seals the fridge section of the cabinet.<br>

<br><br>My single pass &nbsp;condenser fan system, pulls air from the floor under the fridge and exhausts it out a louvered vent behind the fridge.<br>

<br><br>It pulls some serious air from the floor:<br>

<br><br><br>When It was in the low thirties a week or 2 ago, when the fan and compressor would kick on, I'd feel cold air getting sucked in past my less than perfect door seals as it pushed air out the louvered vent.<br><br>So I cut a hole in the foam board partition to allow the condenser fan air enter the electrical portion of my cabinet instead of exhausting it outside the van. I also cut a hole in other partition of the cabinet and put a small fan in it to exhaust both partitions of condenser heated air, but also the electrical cabinet, which can generate some heat on its own.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>

 

[Willy]

It's 12/24v only and, truth of the matter, I'm happy with that. The Waecos with AC capabilities were problematic and the straight DC rock solid. I'm thinking of casing most of the fridge with 1 1/2"--&gt; 2" foam insulation, bottom/sides/back. I especially don't want airflow under the fridge as that can heat up the bottom. Unfortunately I'm kinda limited in where I can put the damn thing. Would like to have it set lower (cooler &amp; centre of gravity lower), but that wouldn't be practical. Can't put it where the stock fridge used to be, since it's now shelving and my other auto-propane tank is boxed in there.

 

[wrcsixeight]

I guess being DC only it would be the cr-50 model not the cr-1050.<br><br>http://www.gotruckstop.com/acart/products/Waeco_CR-50_Refrigerator.html<br><br>My previous Norcold was designed as to pull in air under the fridge and exhaust it up top in front of the fridge, So I originally designed the cabinet around the extra insulation I added all around.<br><br>My Vitrifrigo has an additional 3/4" on the bottom, which rests on a 1/2 inch plywood shelf with some peel and seal reflective roofing flashing facing the downward where the air gets pulled in. &nbsp;The back and sides have 1.5 inches more foam board installed, then the plywood itself. The top, an extra 3/4".<br><br>The Door itself and the seals are the weak spot in terms of insulation on mine. &nbsp; I've got some ideas for that, but honestly the electrical consumption is pretty minimal already so I doubt I'll follow through.<br><br>Keep the fridge off the floor. &nbsp;It is hard enough to reach things placed in the back of it with mine 3 inches off the floor, and the door would have more obstructions to opening if closer to the floor.<br><br>Consider using another computer fan to evacuate the air in your cabinet as your condenser fan's orientation will not allow a single fan to do both jobs.<br>The controller can handle powering up to .5 amps of fans and the fan you have in there is probably only 0.1 amps. &nbsp;It would make up for any electricity used by making the whole cooling unit more efficient as well as promote longevity by keeping the compressor and controller cooler.

 

[Willy]

&nbsp;I'm going to leave the top, where the compressor is, open and thus mitigate any air-flow problems. This will also make it easier to service. gonna check that door too, since I've seen too many utilize pink fibreglass insulation in lieu of foam. If such is the case, I'll put some foam board in there with some blown-in foam to fill the gaps.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;as you can see in the pics I posted, there's quite a lot of room to work with where my other Waeco is. Nice thing is, I'll have maybe a bit more space in the fridge vs. the chest cooler AND have space for a shelving unit and a small section to store things on top of the fridge. Would be a good place to store my laptop.<br>&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;As for the model..&nbsp; looks like you're right, seeing as I was basing my info off of what the original owner posted. I think he just couldn't find the specs. Doesn't make much difference though.. a skookum unit through and through. &nbsp; &nbsp;

 

[wrcsixeight]

I know you got it installed. &nbsp;Details, Pics!! <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle">

 

[maritimecamper]

GOOD WILLY! I TOO GET AROUSED. ..JUST LOOKING AT IT!