I'll second this. If you think going off on your bikes for a couple of 
days and coming back to a cooler full of melted ice and soggy warm food 
is a good thing, then rock on. The only thing that every got spoiled in 
my westy fridge was ME.

I do drive with it on 12v cause I can't make it stay on in gas mode 
when I drive.

Jim

On May 25, 2005, at 10:11 PM, Jeffrey Earl wrote:

> Stan wrote:
>>> The refrigerator is one of the most laughable
> things about a Westy. The Westy fridge is a good way
> to keep flies off your hot dogs and keep stuff in a
> dark place but I'd never trust it to preserve food for
> more than 48 hours unless it was in a can, box or
> didn't even need refrigeration.
>
>
> I am continually perplexed by how underappreciated the
> stock Westy fridge often is, and by the number of
> Westy owners I meet in campgrounds, etc. who say they
> never use theirs, and who prefer a good old fashioned
> ice chest instead. So they store peanut butter and
> music CDs in their unused fridge, and happily
> sacrifice another 3 or 4 cubic feet of precious cabin
> space in order to accommodate a bulky and outdated
> plastic cooler.
>
> A conventional camping cooler may seem larger upon
> first glance, but the most common size is 48
> quarts�the same capacity as the Westy fridge. And much
> of that space is consumed by at least several pounds
> of ice, which is crucial to its operation and which
> must be frequently replenished while on the road.
> Stick a warm six pack in an icechest, and your ice
> will melt that much faster as BTUs are exchanged;
> stick the same sixer in the Westy fridge and, although
> it may take a while, it will soon be appreciably
> chilled with no discernible increased use of fuel.
> Sheesh, iceboxes are early 19th-century innovations,
> and don't offer nearly the flexibility of the
> efficient and multi-powered Westy fridge. Besides
> getting underfoot, a heavy cooler full of icy water
> and cans of soda can be a noisy passenger too.
>
> By contrast, the Westy fridge is tucked out of the
> way, is perpetually cold, and largely
> maintenance-free. Offering 1.5 cubic feet (45 liters)
> of refrigerated space, the stock Westy fridge will run
> on LP and 12VDC cleanly, safely, and economically for
> perhaps 30 days and nights before requiring a
> five-dollar refill. I can count on one hand the number
> of times we've bothered to hook it up to a 120VAC
> campsite power supply, so although a handy option,
> that is hardly required. Though small, it holds all of
> our necessary refrigerated items for a multi-week
> trip, assuming periodic restocking. And unlike the
> familiar camping cooler, you won't find your wieners
> and cheese swimming in tepid water before lunchtime.
>
> If your fridge isn't working right, check out the
> helpful info on the Vanagon.com site, or Frank
> Condelli's site:
> http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/fridge.htm Of course,
> it's entirely possible a PO ruined the unit by running
> it off-level, so it may be a lost cause.
>
> Jeffrey Earl
> 1983 diesel Westfalia "Vanasazi"
> http://www.vanthology.com/
>
>
>
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