fridge replacement projects - post here

[baltik]

Ive always been intrigued by the Merlin controller - any noticeable benefit in terms of battery life?

[Howesight]

Hey Karl:

Thanks for chiming in. I was not clear in my post above. The factory TF-65 uses a "puller" style 90mm fan to pull air through the condenser and then blow that slightly warmed air over the compressor. In my mods, I removed the factory fan from its stock location, then (carefully - - so as not to kink the copper pipes) moved the condenser into the space previously occupied by the factory puller fan. Then I installed the 120mm "Fractal" brand silent fan where the condenser previously sat.

This means that the compressor still has cooling air blowing over it - - this was part of the overall re-design - - to get more air flowing around the compressor. In addition, I designed the shroud to force the air to go through the condenser and then all the way around the compressor, including a small path directing air to the cooling fins on the Danfoss/Secop compressor controller electronic unit. Then another shroud directs this warm air up to the grate on the back of the Westy kitchen cabinet. On the "air intake" side, I have installed a fabricated duct that allows the 120mm fan to only draw air in through the grate on the left side of the Westy kitchen cabinet to prevent any recirculation of warmed air going through the condenser.

I know pictures would have helped a lot to illustrate and I will get some posted soon.

Hey Baltik:

As for efficiency with the Merlin SSC, I believe that the TF-65 comes from the factory set at the lowest compressor speed, which is generally the most efficient speed. However, when I have excess solar power or the 14.6 to 14.8 volts of my alternator (can't recall which it is), the Merlin SSC allows the compressor to ramp up to the highest speed (3,500 rpm,) over several steps of 250 rpm each.

As such, in testing, I noticed that the power draw with each step up in compressor speed was greater. Of course, the cooling was also occurring at a faster rate also. The conventional wisdom, which I am sure holds water, is that over time, the slowest compressor speed is the most efficient. The Merlin simply measures how long a cooling cycle takes to hit the target temperature, and, as the cycles get shorter, it ramps down compressor speed back down in steps to 2,000 rpm. For me, I wanted simply to be able to cool the fridge and contents quickly on the drive out to our camping spots and my testing shows that this should work nicely.

It is possible to achieve a similar result by constructing, say, a circuit with several resistors and a rotary switch that will connect the different resistors in series with the terminals on the Danfoss controller that control compressor speed. The problem then is the need to remember that you switched the compressor controller on to "high" speed before you draw down your house battery too much.
_________________
'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[crazyvwvanman]

I would probably use a small relay for this, with the relay switching to another resistor for faster cooling time whenever the alternator was charging.
Really what I would like is to have the fridge cool to nearly freezing when the engine is running and fall back to a warmer temp when camped to extend battery life. Naturally I want this to happen without me needing to intervene.

Mark

[Howesight]

Hey Mark:

In testing, I figured out that there is a way to trick the Merlin to run the compressor at higher speed. By simply cutting power to the fridge, for just a moment, the Merlin re-sets and starts over again with counting the compressor run times. So, if you cut power and then set your thermostat to max cold, then switch power back on, the first run time will be longer and the Merlin will increase compressor speed. After a power cut, the Merlin starts the compressor at 2,000 rpm and then in quite short intervals, it ramps up first to 2,250 rpm, then 2,500 rpm, and then to 2,750 rpm. This first "ramp up" to 2,750 rpm takes only about 2 minutes for each speed increase. Then after 5 minutes, the next speed comes on at 3,000 rpm, and so on up to 3,500 rpm.

Eventually, the set temp is reached and the compressor switches off. The Merlin has nothing to do with controlling the set temperature. As the run times get shorter because the fridge contents are brought down to temperature, the Merlin cuts the compressor speed, eventually returning to 2,000 rpm. If you load a bunch of warm items into the fridge, the next run time cycle will be longer and the Merlin will sense that and increase compressor speed again until the run time reduces once again.

Nifty, but, yes, expensive. I have to admit that I misunderstood how the Merlin works. I previously thought that it also sensed when charging voltage was being supplied to the house battery and only did the compressor speed ramp up when the extra power is available. Not so.
_________________
'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[baltik]

Not to take this off topic - but doesn't the Isotherm smart energy control automate a lot of the things that we are trying to achieve?

http://www.isotherm-parts.com/parts-department/ele...ontrol-kit

[photogdave]

Tell me more about the condensation from these fridges. I guess I was under the (naive) impression that because they're electric, there wouldn't be any.
Can there be enough water to pool? Is there a recommendation for drainage?
At some point I hope to get one of these types of fridges for the increase in space and the freedom of not having to worry about finding a place that can fill the propane tank. (Sadly my Dometic works well enough to make ice cubes even in the recent heat wave!)

_________________
89 Syncro GL Westfalia 2.1 WBX/WBXaustSS

My Westy Movies:
photogdave On Vimeo
photogdave On YouTube

Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[Howesight]

Hey Baltik:

Yes, you hit the nail on the head. That Isotherm unit is the one that I should have purchased. I was researching these items, the Isotherm, the Merlin II, and the Coastal Climate Control "Guardian". (Seen here: https://www.coastalclimatecontrol.com/index.php/re...=25823707)

I conflated in my mind some of the features of the Isotherm unit, thinking mistakenly that the Isotherm's ability to sense battery charging was also a feature on the Merlin II. Live and learn, I suppose.

Hey Dave:

The condensation occurs when the fridge is shut off and the frost formation on the evaporator melts. I always leave the fridge door open when it is not in use. I also make ice cubes in the TF-65 and have water some spillage. Anybody buying a new Truckfridge should consider sealing the seam where the plastic interior material meets the steel exterior, using silicone or similar.
_________________
'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[shizam]

Looking at replacing the fridge in my 91 Syncro and want something besides the TF49 because I don’t necessarily need freezer space and it’s kinda old. I’m attracted to the Dometic CRX-50 and it comes in “flush” or “space saving” mount with a depth of 19.6” vs 17.5”. I was worried about depth so was trying to find the “space saver” version online but nobody carries it, everybody has the 19.6” deep flush version.

Two questions:

Is that too deep?
What other more modern fridge options exist that don’t have a freezer area?

Thanks!

[Howesight]

On my TF65 installation, the back of the fridge cabinet is hard up against the cross-member in the body panel behind the fridge. This means that there is no more space to install a fridge that is deeper than the TF-65 which is 17.5" deep. See this TF link for dimensions:
https://www.truckfridge.com/product/tf65/

Even so, on my installation, when the fridge door is open, about 1/2" of the fridge cabinet protrudes beyond the front of the Westfalia cabinet, and all of the door itself protrudes.

Here is an older pic that illustrates:

_________________
'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[shizam]

Thanks for dimension confirmation.

Looking at the schematics for the TruckFridge 49 (and 65) it looks like the freezer section is removable, can anybody confirm that you can remove the freezer section and the fridge still runs/operates fine?

Thanks!

[westyventures]

[nocreditnodebt]

Back in 2012 my 5 year old Norcold De-0040 failed and I bought a Vitrifrigo c51is through Karl as a replacement.

I performed some modifications for more effiiency and the fridge has been performing flawlessly nearly 24/7/365 since.

First, it came with a 270 Ohm resistor to run at 2500 rpm. I removed this for 2000 rpm and lesser amp draw. Fast cool downs are not an issue as I always keep mine running.

Second was more 3/4 inch foamboard insulation all the way around the body, except for door and around the cooling unit itself. This is not in a VW application. I built a cabinet to house the Norcold also which had extra insulation added to body, and had to modify it only slightly to fit the slightly taller VF.

Third was the Condenser fan. The sleeve bearing 120mm fan Vitrifrigo provided was rated at 0.24 amps, but I measured it at 0.12 amps I assume 0.24 amps was a brief start up surge. Google revealed it was rated at 72CFM, though no Static pressure rating i could find.

While the Norcold annoyed the living F out of me with its noisy vibrating 'swing' compressor harmonics, this VF provided fan was also fairly loud and sleeve bearing fans do not inspire me with confidence.

Enter the Noctua NF-F12, a 0.05 amp12v 120mm fan that is designed to push air through a restriction efficiently. It has quite a high static pressure rating for a fan only rated at 53 CFM and that much pressure and CFM for 0.05 amps is pretty much unbeatable and won tons of awards in the computer nerd world. Noctua fans come with a 6 year warranty.

As an Experiment with fridge compresor running I went to install this Noctua NF-f12 1500 rpm fan in the same orientation as the original 120mm Vitrifigo fan, sucking air through the 120Mm condenser, and once there was restriction behind the fan blades, the noise went from fairly silent to quite loud for a 120mm 1500 rpm fan.

The VF plumbing allows me to put the fan on the other side of the condenser, keeping the same direction of air flow, and when I put the fan there, the noise level did not increase and it did not seem as if the airflow coming through the condenser slowed at all, which it certainly did with the original fan in the original orienttion. The noctua's flow when pulling air through the condenser also was much reduced. As I had the fridge running and was measuring the duty cycle on off run times closely at the time, I found this new fan and orientation on the condenser, lowered the compressor run times from ~5:20 on and ~15 minutes off, to ~4:40 on and ~15 minutes off.

So the simple act of using a fan designed to push air through a restriction, made the fridge not only quieter, but perform better as well, using less electricity by running for shorter durations to remove the heat from teh interior and ventit to teh atmosphere. The Noctua fan itself used 0.07 amps less than the original fan too further reducing battery consumption.

I wound up building a cooling unit shroud, so that the fan had no option but to pull cold air from the floor below the fridge, push it once through the condenser, across compressor, compressor controller, and either into the next cabinet compartment, or outside the Van, or both. So the condenser was not able to recycle any preheated air. This is much more efficient than if the condenser fan were recirculating air it had already heated, over and over in a passively vented cooling unit compartment which is so common on so many compresor fridge installs.

Later on I added an Air filter on the intake vents below the fridge so the fan blades and compressor fins would not get infested with lint and dust. They still accumlate some very fine dust over the years, but the leading edges of the fan blades and condenser fins are not caked with lint dust hair and whatever else is floating around in a fewmonths as before the filter.

On the inside of the fridge, I tapped the 12vDC feed for the interior LED light, before the magnetic reed switch, for an interior fan. I sought the lowest amp draw fan as i could find, which was a 0.03 amp maglev Sunon fan which appears to be discontinued. This fan has basically been running continuously since October 2013. I removed the plastic freezer door and basically let it hang on a bamboo skewer covered in heatshrink tubing and stuck over the evaporator cooling plate. It blows inward into the freezer compartment, and while I intended to relocate it behind the thermostat dial out of the way, I never quite got around to it.

The internal fan allows me to use a setting of 2.2 of the 7 hatch marks, to maintain 32.5f interior temps +/- 1.5 F measured with an IR temperature gun at various places of the interior of the fridge. Without the fan I need a setting of just over 4 to keep all places inside the fridge below 41F, and the floor would be 27f, where the area just under the exterior cooling unit ( which is perfectly sized for holding a dozen eggs elevated off the floor) would be 41f.

The internal fan does not reduce the total amount of electricity the fridge uses, it keeps the interior temps much more even. If I place warm items within, they of course get cooled quicker than without the fan. It is inaudible with the door closed unless I place my ear to teh door. it is only rated at 6cfm or something. Absolutely no need for a high CFm fan for the interior, and the fan itself adds a small heat load for the cooling unit to then extract, another reason to go for the lowest amp draw fan one can find.

I did consider a 2 watt 1K ohm potentiometer inline on the t-stat circuit to change compressor speeds easily, manually, but honestly I have never felt the need to crank It up. 1 K ohm would not allow 3500 rpm, that would require 1523 Ohms resistance placed inline. I am not really sure of the current that passes through the t stat circuit, never measured it, but the tiny resistor VF provided did not seem like it could handle much current. One day I should see if my clampmeter can fit over the wire, but a poor man's compressor speed controller might be as simple as a potentiometer wired inline and easily accessible.

I think 3500 rpm would be a bit much for the relatively small evaporator plate and would not want it to go that fast. While I am no Fridge technician I think that 3500 rpm could not really be taken advantage of with the size of the evaporator plate in a 1.8 cubic foot fridge, even with a fan circulating air over it. I think the BD35f can power upto a 5 cubic foot fridge at 3500 rpm and larger fridges use the BD50f, but do not quote me on that.

Anyway, the fridge works beautifully, the only issues are, since I do not use any of the shelves, the plastic recesses for accepting the racks, the leading edges got cracked and beat up, and I tape over them with some nashua flexfix tape to prevent moiture from entering and compromising the original insualtion. The topshelf on the door also required reinforcement, and when that repair failed a piece of white gaffer's tape keeps in in place surprisngly well for much much longer than I ever anticipated.

The door seals are not very impressive. The Norcold'sonly design advantage in my opinion was that the door seals were wider, thicker, softer, and when cleaning the VF seals with a finger wrapped in a rubbing alcohol soaked napkin, I wound up splitting them, no doubt seriously compromising their insulative ability. The metal of the fridge body is actually going inside the fridge past the seal, and basically allowing heat to transfer directly into the fridge box which seems a bit asinine in the design departement, IMO. There is room for another seal inside the provided door seals. The metal around the door seals will sweat in humid weather, showing that quite a vast improvement in efficiency can be had here. I keep meaning to address this, but electrical consumption has not ever been a factor.

Still in 75f average ambients keeping 32.5F as i use the fridge, it averaged 0.62 Amp hours consumed each hour the last time I hooked my 'watts up' clone wattmeter inline on the power cord.

I have No issues powering this and everything else I need full timing on 200 watts of solar and with a 120 amp alternator whose voltage I control manually via a dial on my dashboard.

I also use a modified adjustable voltage power supply( meanwell rsp-500-15) as a plug in charger, which is capable of 40 amps output at any voltage from 13.12 to 19.23 volts. I hate automatic underchargers. This thing can truly fully charge any lead acid battery to its maximum potential remaining capacity, something few other chargng sources can accomplish despite their marketing claims. a true full charge applied to lead acid batteries frequently is how to achieve excellent longevity.

While I have room for 3 group 27 batteries, I found I never required that much capacity, and since June of 2015 I have been using a single Northstar group 27 AGM as the House battery, AND as the engine starting battery. It was bought in late 2013, so will turn 6 years old this year, and likely is approaching the 1100 deep cycle mark. I do not really follow the 50% 'rule'. I will take 65 amp hours from this 90AH battery and it can still easily start my 5.2 liter v8 engine depleted that low in mid 50's ambient temps.

So regarding the fridge electrical consumption as modified, it is low and I have seen no reason to go through the effort to further improve its efficiency, although the door seals do bother me. I used to crank up the fridge a bit higher when I had excess solar wattage available, but too often I would forget to turn it back down come evening time and my Milk would be slushy in the morning.

I am a bit of a ventilation enthusiast and Noctua fairly recently came out with a thinner 120MM fan (A12x15) which they claimed worked better than 2 NF-f12s mounted on both sides pf a computer heatsink( visually very similar to a fridge condenser) in a push pull configuration, and did so for even less noise.

Despite its greater electrical consumption of this A12x15 fan over the NF-f12, I bought it, and it is indeed quieter installed to push air through the condenser. I did not peform any duty cycle measurements once I got it and can't say I noticed any duty cycle difference other than even less noise when i was actively listening for it in a quiet area.

I relocated the then ~ 5 year old Noctua NF-f12 fan from condenser to the adjacent cabinet compartment which houses my solar charge controller inverter and adjustable voltage power supply, to exhaust it. This fan is running 24/7, usually on one of Noctua's 2 low noise adapter cables provided with the fan, which are just a resistor to lower input voltage and slow fan speeds and also reduce its electrical consumption. This fan is basically always pulling air through the air filter below my fridge and through the condenser and across compressor and controller even when the fridge compressor is not running. I could wire it in parallel with the condenser fan to run only when the compressor does, but I see no need for this. Come summer I will remove the low noise adapter for 1500 rpm and more flow but stragely the NF-f12 is fairly audible in this location. Not louder than the other fans I usually have running at higher and louder speeds though. Keeping the van interior cooler via good ventilation and blocking sunlight from entering is a great way to reduce fridge electrical consumption. 90 degrees ambient seems to almost double consumption over 80F ambient.

I've not pulled the fridge out since the A12x15 installation, which was probably around 2 years ago. This fan is only 15MM wide,as opposed to the NF-f12's 25mm thick. Since my cabinet was made for the extra insulated Norcold, I had just enough room to relocate the fan to the other side of the condenser and have about an inch and a half for the fan to scavenge air, so this thinner fan added 10mm to that scavenging area which should have increased efficiency, but I did not sit there and time duty cycles before and directly after to confirm.

Anyway, I would recommend that people seeking less condenser fan noise and better performance, relocate the fan to PUSH air through the condenser, and if the truckfridge plumbing does not allow the fan to be moved to the other side, well the Danfoss compressor controller can handle powering 0.5 amps of fans( double that for a second). That would be 10 of the NF-f12 fans. One could reverse the direction of the fan's flow then add a second fan to push in cool air across compressor controller, compressor and then into the reversed fan, and not have to worry about lack of airflow over the compressor with the reversed fan flow. The extra efficiency of the fridge cooling unit when bathed in cooler ambient air as opposed to a few passive vents allowing some degree of cross ventilation, will more than make up for the extra fan's electrical consumption, and the compressor running cooler should promote its longevity. When the fridge is working hard all that extra airflow will simply allow the fridge to remove heat from items inside the fridge and vent it to the atmosphere much more efficiently.

Obviously these fridges are meant to be able to be dropped into a cabinet with a few passive vents and work well. they do not require these enhancements, but their performance can be improved significantly when that condenser is well ventilated by a fan designed and oriented to push cool, non preheated air through it and it is pretty easy to accomplish.

I think the designers who said to install these fans to suck Air through the condensers, rather than push it, were smoking crack, as almost every fan I have experimented with, which is well into the multi dozens, gets significatly louder and barely moves any air in comparison, when there is significant restriction placed close behind the fan blades as opposed to infront of them. I bet one could use the low noise adapter cables of the Noctua Pusher fans' lowering the airflow/noise/ampdraw, and still have superior condenser cooling compared to the original noisy fan mounted to pull air through it. Seems the designers just throw a higher rpm fan in to account for the poor efficiency of a fan with restriction close behind the fan blades.

The fact that these fridges work as well as they do even with this botleneck of efficiency regarding condenser venting, is a testament to the ability of the danfoss/secop bd35f compressor, which is basically just having a nice stroll through the park cooling a sub 2.5 cubic foot fridge in sub 90f ambients.

One other thing I might add to those who made it this far, is regarding fan longevity. I have many fans exchanging air in my van, and almost all the fans I have used as intake fans mounted on a tight fitting shroud in a window, in my salt air environment, have had the solder connections where the wires enter the fan hub, and attach to the circuit board, corrode and break. Many fans i could access to resolder the wires and continue on but on some the green corrosion wicked its way along the circuit board traces and to magic smoke containing components, and the failed fans were not salvageable.

A glob of Dielectric grease over this wire entry promoted longevity, but some of these fans sucking in salty damp air still were much shorter lived than desired. Later On I found 'Amazing Goop' is Dielectric when cured. I now goop this area of every fan I employ to cover these solder joints and not one fan to receive this treatment has yet failed.

One silverstone FM 121 that recently failed at some 7+ years of age, used as an exhaust fan on my ceiling, a powerful 120mm fan with built in adjustable speed control, I removed the impeller of its new replacement and basically covered the edge of the circular circuit board to the hub with Amazing Goop.

I was unsure whether the electonic components inside would overheat being entirely removed from the airflow, but 4 months later of this fan running continuously, often at max speed all day long, it is still going.

I would also recommend the marine version of Amazing goop over the household version, if possible, as it dries a bit slower and much clearer when cured allowing one to easily see through it. It does not make long strings when using an applicator tool to pull a glob from the tube and place it precisely where desired, like the original version does. The only downside of the Marine version i can tell is that it smells for longer than the household version.

Noctua has introduced 'Industrial' fans, higher rpm and black colored versions of their venerated fans with IP 52 and IP67 ratings. I have had 3 of the NF-f12 3000 rpm versions fail, and Noctua mailed new fans to me from Austria that arrived within 5 business days once I sent them a screen shot of my proof of purchase. The last failure I was like 'no confidence in this particular fan anymore, send me the 140MM 3k rpm 12v IP52 rated version instead as a warranty replacement, which they did. The 24v version is IP67 rated, almost waterproof. I did the amazing goop thing to this fan's wire entry only and will pretty much do so to each and every fan from now on. Noctua has a Na-fc1 PWM fan speed controller which can handle powering many fans in parallel and they provide splitter cables making it mostly plug and play outside a computer. Just feed the yellow and black input wires 12vdc + and -. 3k rpm is loud, so the ability to dial it down to whisper quiet via a dial is paramount, Imo. make sure to buy the PWM versions of their fans, which have 4 wires instead of the three that Non PWM fans will have.

I also use Some Deoxit shield S5 spray and will spritz the whole of the circuit board. Not sure how effective this is but no fan I have done this to has failed either.

Hope this info helps someone to make their fridge quieter, more efficient and ultimately last longer, and help their batteries to last longer too.

[Howesight]

Thanks for the detailed findings and the work you have invested!
_________________
'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[nocreditnodebt]

The door seal on my 7 year old Vitrifrigo c51is never impressed me, and I have damaged them cleaning them, splitting them along their seam.

With my modifications I was down to an average 0.62AH consumed each hour with ambients temps mid 60's at night to mid to high 70s day even with the compromised seals.

What always bugged me about the design of this fridge, is the metal fridge skin onto which the door seal closes, goes into the fridge interior. The metal fridge skin can therefore allow exterior heat to easily enter the interior of fridge under the door seal.

Looking at the door seal, and just inside of it, I realized I could add a second seal. and prevent the metal fridge skin to be continuously exposed to cool interior temperatures.

I bought some of this EPDM D seal and adhered it to the plastic door just inside the original door seal.

https://www.amazon.com/Trim-Lok-D-Shaped-Rubber-Se...K&th=1


This seal I got ( .437 inch height; .375 inch width) is a bit too thick and the bottom of the door opposite the hinge, under the latch was not compressing the new D seal enough to allow the original seal to also close tight to fridge body. I see they have a D seal half as tall but that might not be tall enough.

I then moved the latch to the side opposite the hinge in the middle of the door, and both seals compress nicely and getting used to the new latch location after 7 years on top, was surprisingly quick.


My fridge is in a Dodge Van with a custom built cabinet and the fridge is actually recessed a bit into it. I used some inexpensive Air Conditioner Insulating Strip Seal around the perimeter of the door and the door perimeter is basically cradled with this soft cheap foam.
https://www.amazon.com/Duck-Conditioner-Insulating...amp;sr=8-1

When I had the fridge removed and on the workbench I added some more reflectix between compressor/condenser/controller, and fridge body, as a friend with an IR camera was pretty much able to see the outline of the compressor unit on his Older Norcold, through the back wall. The exterior of the door around the hinge pins was also significantly cooler than the rest of the exterior.
I removed a stainless door skin I'd made which was a bear to keep clean, and returned the black plastic original VF provided door skin with some more insulation behind it, and made my additional insulation seal a bit better in between fridge and cabinet. Replacing the failing original VF door seal looked to be an unpleasant task, as the door looks to have its foamboard insulation glued to the plastic interior. i did not want to try and replace the original Seal even if I could find an adequate replacement.

My average electrical consumption is now 0.42 AH each hour 75f days and 60F nights. One six hour period when ambient temperatures climbed into the mid 90's, the average electrical consumption for that 6 hour period was 0.46Ah each hour, But I only opened the door twice, once for a cold drink and once to return it.

0.62 amp hours consumed each hour on average is pretty darn good, but I have reduced that to 0.42AH each hour average with the latest modifications, and i have not yet even glued the corners of the mitered innermost D seal together yet.

I am not sure how much efficiency gain can be attributed to the inner additional D seal,and how much is the exterior foam door seal and how much is the other small improvements I just did regarding the already existing exterior insulation. I guess I could remove the exterior foam seal and test average consumption again, but it is a pain to try and do testing using the fridge the same way in the same ambient temperatures.
The improvement in efficiency was obvious even with changing variables, and I removed my inline wattmeter and declared success.

All the testing, the fridge interior was 33.5f or less.

As efficient as the Danfoss/secop compressor fridges are out of the box, they can be improved upon, to a significant degree.

[Howesight]

That is great news on the reduced power consumption. Can you post some pics of those mods?
_________________
'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[koubiak]

Preamble: I have built a couple solar off the grid generator for burning man and I have done boat electricity in the past. I still new to my vanagon but I studied my bentley and read extensively the samba.

I am going to do a secondary battery install over the Xmas break on my 85 vanagon to power my new fridge. I have done some level of research and I am ready to order all my parts.

Battery : I want to put in right to the water tank and left the fridge. I am still to measure but I know of someone that manage a 120Amp AGM battery. This is what I am aiming for at the moment. I have research the Lithium battery. I just can shell the money right now for the project. I might regret it in 3 years but if it does last that long then I believe I won already.  The battery will be locally grounded.

For charging the battery and isolate it I want to use Redarc DCDC charger. I read raving reviews and it will let me add solar in the mix easily. I am  planning to add 100 watts solar on the luggage rack and maybe a second based on performance. This will be most likely grounded with the secondary battery  

I will add 2 protection 50 amp fuse between batteries and DCDC charger (will get some spares)

I will protect each appliance to Fuse box (8 ways) I am planning to rewire all camping equipment to this (e.g. lights, water pump, instrument cluster). Most likely will end up in the cubby left of the fridge but maybe under the sink to simplify wiring. For the rewire I have looked at the gowesty instruction and I plan to follow what they propose for rewiring the relay. 
I want to install one cut-off  for each battery on the ground wire to simplify maintenance.
 
Finally since this is ultimately a fridge build question:Fridge VITRIFRIGO I contacted customer service and they say the model# is VF51 and they said that the dimension were:  20 3/8" (H) x 14 3/4" (W) x 19" (D). This does not match anything I am finding on this page or one other website. Anybody has experience? I am happy to go to a more verified reseller I just add issues in the last weeks finding an OEM replacement that was in stock.

I will get the gowesty kit for blocking the vent.

Things that might be added in the future but are not a big priority now. 
- Small inverter for emergency reasons- 12 volt shore chargers. 
- couple of usb outlets- couple of 12 volts outlets.
- lights
- propex under the fridge.

So my question is what am I missing apart for properly sized cables? 

[koubiak]

[westyventures]

The newest Vitrifrigo C51 uses an adjustable flange so will mount flush or surface mount like the Truckfridge. Unlikely the depth will allow it do flush mount w/o cutting away the sidewall reinforcement metal.

[koubiak]

Thanks for the info. I am ok with a not flush mount because I don't want to cut away. Surface flange is fine with me and many example here are surfaced.

Hum now that you are mentioning it I am unclear whether it include the surrounding brackets. I might to reach out to them again.

Edit: I just got an answer they don't provide the surrounding bracket... I am back to square one I guess to source a 12DC fridge with the proper mounting system. Or do we think I can find something at home depot that would work to fix the front part?

[owokie]