Dormobile coolbox - fridge replacement?

On all the Dormys I have seen with a 3 way fridge, it was fitted in the cupboard space down and to the left of the coolbox in your photo. The space comfortably takes a typical stock small caravan 3 way fridge.

That said, you will have less storage than in the original large coolbox because of the space taken up by the bulky works of a fridge and it will obviosly be a lot heavier too.

I have not seen any 3 way fridges that open from the top. Such a unit would have to have its works underneath rather than behind, which would be difficult on a gas unit due to the bulk and height required to make a pumpless heat drive gas unit to work and the ventilation would also be difficult. Im not saying its impossible to do but to make such a unit would be expensive and demand for it would be very limited.

There is another alternative. On this Dormy, to save weight and not lose storage space the original coolbox has been re insulated and then fitted with the works of a good quality twin fan Peltier unit, which runs on 12 and 240 volt but not gas. It doesent make ice cubes but it does get covered in ice and occasionally has to be left off for an hour to de-frost the cooler fins.

The original old polystyrene was not a snug fit all the way round (as i expect you noticed when you removed yours). It was filled in to eliminate any gaps.

The peltier unit came from an off the shelf good quality portable coolbox - (the more powerful the better). You need the twin fan type, one fan outside for cooling and one inside for circulation. Its a bit cringing to cut up a brand new coolbox to strip the works out but it was cheaper buying a whole box on special offer than trying to scource just the unit on its own at the time.

Careful measurement enabled the unit to be let into the side of the original dormy cooler avoiding contact with the reinforcement struts of the body. All the same, a couple of small bits had to be cut out to clear. Two small air vents were let into the body panel by the peltiers air inlet and outlet (square 6x6 cm bought at a diy supermarket).

A two way switch was fitted to select between 12v when driving and mains when on site. Mains supply came from the coobox manufacturers own mains adaptor which was placed under the coolbox and wired into the mains supply for the rest of the van.

Although the peltier works could be glued to the coolbox it was decided to use very small self tappers as used in electronics or model making so the unit could be removed or replaced should there be any need in the future. Finally the join should be sealed with silicone or tape to ensure the best possible cool retention.

Theres another advantage to doing this conversion in that, like a chest freezer, the lid can be opened without all the cold air falling out like it does with a front opening door.

ps. Make sure the lid seals well too

Well, well, well ... it turns out that I have exactly what I need already - a powered coolbox that was not being used, so I've taken the knife and cordless drill to it and liberated the mechanism:



And it looks like it's exactly the same power as yours:



The only issue is that there is no 240v supply, but I could probably get something in Maplin to cover that

Result!

A little project for a non-rainy day then ...