Waeco Coolfreeze CF25

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WoodyP

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I bought one for the boat. It works fine in the car but I cannot make it work in the boat unless the engine is running.

The specs say that it will not cut in unless there is 12.2v available and cuts out at 11. something to prevent the batteries being run right down. The multimeter shows 12.6v +at the plug so any suggestions why it isn't cutting in? I have 2 125 ah batteries on board that are brand new (well nearly), and show plenty of charge.

emailed Waeco/Dometic help desk, but haven't got much further that what was in the hand book with them.

My technical knowledge is quickly depleted, so simples is good, thanks in advance:)
G.
 
It pulls something like 8A when running. Mine did the same until I upgraded the supply wire to something more meaty. Guess that with the battery voltage decreases whilst the compressor is running, and together with the losses in the wire was enough to drop it below minimum. The meter reading you give is presumably without any load on the battery.

Is there a setting on the fridge to alter the minimum voltage?
 
Take the plug off the Waeco and wire it direct to your batteries. If it works then, you'll know that you have to upgrade the distribution wiring. If it doesn't work, sounds like you might have to take it back for a refund.
 
We had the same problem with ours. The guy at Dometic was a great help and suggested that I uprate the wiring to the cigar plug outlet. The unit uses about 33W when running, (3A-ish) but it takes a lot more to kick start the compressor when it switches in and, frequently, the wiring is not up to carrying the current needed.

I had a look at the wires supplying our socket and found that the -ve wire was a heck of a lot smaller than the positive. I went to Maplin and bought some thicker multi-strand wire and ran this back to the supply board for both +ve and -ve. We never looked back. The fridge is just brilliant; it can run for literally days, set at 5 degrees, without sapping the battery bank too much. I use a 13W briefcase-type solar panel for keeping the batteries topped up if we are in port for a few days. never a prob.

Persist with the issue. I know how disappointed you must be, but it's NOT the fridge that's the issue. It took 20 minutes to cure the problem and then it's cold beers all the way.

Good luck,

K
 
pvb said:
Take the plug off the Waeco and wire it direct to your batteries. If it works then, you'll know that you have to upgrade the distribution wiring. If it doesn't work, sounds like you might have to take it back for a refund.
Click to expand...

Just be careful, as you'll invalidate the warranty if you remove the fused cigar socket adapter. I'm convinced it will be the wiring to the socket that will need uprating - it was for us and we had the identical symptoms which were easily cured with a rewire.
 
The manual suggests wiring the unit as close to the battery as possible to minimise voltage losses (and chunkier wiring).

Also sounds like you might have the voltage cut in/out set to 'High'. Try Med (12.0V/11.0V) or Low(11.2V/10.4V). Press 'Set' twice, then 'up'/'down'.
 
Warranty

KAL said:
Just be careful, as you'll invalidate the warranty if you remove the fused cigar socket adapter. I'm convinced it will be the wiring to the socket that will need uprating - it was for us and we had the identical symptoms which were easily cured with a rewire.
Click to expand...

I would be pretty grumpy if removing the cigar lighter socket type plug invalidated the warranty. The fridge will be far better with decent wiring to the battery as said. Cigar socket type plugs are pretty horrible for volt drop. Even though it works OK in the car the volt drop will be from cumulative drops including the socket connection. So getting the plug and socket out of the circuit will reduce volt drop. good luck olewill
 
WoodyP said:
I bought one for the boat. It works fine in the car but I cannot make it work in the boat unless the engine is running.

The specs say that it will not cut in unless there is 12.2v available and cuts out at 11. something to prevent the batteries being run right down. The multimeter shows 12.6v +at the plug so any suggestions why it isn't cutting in? I have 2 125 ah batteries on board that are brand new (well nearly), and show plenty of charge.

emailed Waeco/Dometic help desk, but haven't got much further that what was in the hand book with them.

My technical knowledge is quickly depleted, so simples is good, thanks in advance:)
G.
Click to expand...
Start-up on my similar ASU unit, requires 5.5amp, which settles to 3.5-4 amps when running.

I suspect the cross-section of the cable, to the fridge compressor is either to small, or the run is too long for the correct volts to be maintained.

To check this out, connect the Waeco, vis a heavy cable, direct to the battery - it should work.

In the installation instructions for mine, 12mm X section area, a run not exceeding 2m and a direct battery connection were the recommandations. Apart from taking the cable from the 3-position battery switch, all the above were complied with. It's run perfectly for the last 10 years (under continual use 7/12).
 
I also have the CF25 and had exactly the same problem. It wanted to start, but the high starting curent was too much for the small old wire. Like Charles Reed I made a new thicker wire from the 1-2-both switch with a more solid cigar lighter plug at the end of it to connect the Waeco. Problem solved!
Brilliant piece of kit, worth every € (or GBP if you like).
 
Yes again I had the same problem and I cut off the 12v plug and hard wired it straight to the battery. Run without fault each summer for 3 years. Excellent kit and uses so little power.
 
Many thanks

Sorry not to reply before now, but work etc, you know.

I rather thought that the volt drop was the problem but having spoken to Dometic about the problem they thought the wiring that I have should be ok ( about 4m2). Your experience shows something else, so I will do a direct plug in with some hefty wire and see how that works.

Its a lot of money to have these sort of problems though, and a pita to boot.
Thanks again for all suggestions,
George.
 
We have a CF35 and it is wired directly to the switchboard with 20 amp wire, no problems. It is also well worth checking which power regime you are set to, that coukld be having an impact if you have voltage drop.
 
Rebooting an old thread. I put in a direct wire to the fridge from the battery, with a fuse, and it worked fine. I have sold the boat now and kept the fridge for the back of my vehicle and it no longer works. It starts but then shuts down after a minute or so.
Has anybody any clues as to how I can put it right. I am loathe to just junk it.
 
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