12v Refrigerator: Door vs Drawer style?

adam88

Explorer
I was wondering what everyone's opinion is on 12v fridges in campers regarding door style vs drawer style.
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Most campers seem to use door styles, but I know in the marine world drawer fridges are quite popuilar.
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I was wondering if anyone has any advantages or disadvantages to either one, or opinions? Thanks.
 

locrwln

Expedition Leader
Been doing my research on the that very topic.
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The drawer systems seem to run about double what a door system runs. No idea why as they use the same compressors. They also seem to run larger for the same cubic foot size. I really want a drawer refrigerator versus a door as I have a Waeco 50L that I have been using for years and it is amazing how much more you can pack into it. Also after being on a rough road, you don't have to worry about your stuff falling out when you open the door. Currently have a door style in my hardwall camper and it's always fun after being on a rough road to open it and see what you can catch before it hits the floor. The drawer style can be a pain in that you may have to unpack several items to find that one thing you are looking for, which means putting the extra stuff somewhere while you look and the lid/drawer stays open the whole time (granted you lose very little cold air that way) versus a door style that makes everything (for the most part) instantly visible.
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Jack
 

coguzzi

Adventurer
i am personally a front loader person. everyone says the cold stays in a top loader when you open it vs in a front loader it falls out. sure--that is true. but front loader i open, grab a beer, close door. in a top loader what i want is inevitably in the bottom, so un pack it all or pull out the baskets and set them on the floor. maybe 1 minute to get what i want. did i really save any "cold"? and interior cubic ft vs exterior dimensions--front loader seems to win. no proof of that though-just what my eyes tell me. either one is one hell of a step up from ice and making your stuff soggy

ps, of course certain interior builds lend them selves one way or another
 

Herbie

Rendezvous Conspirator
First, we talking true "drawer" fridge, or you do mean the chest style with a lid? I only ask because the options for drawers are pretty slim and I haven't seen any that are very big. They seem to be be built as something a yacht-builder would throw in a secondary galley or a truck driver might put under the seat for sandwich fixings. If you mean chest style, well then the world is your oyster.

Second, for me it came down to what fits.

I had an Edgestar chest style for several years. Constantly moved it around the van, trying to find the right spot. It was too tall to go under the bed platform, and too wide to fit behind the driver's seat without blocking the aisle. The issue was always the overhead height needed to swing open the lid. Eventually, I broke down and switched to a regular door-style in a custom cabinet, and it fit my build much better. I was able to fit, in a smaller footprint within the van, the fridge along with a drawer and a lower cabinet to hold the porta potti.

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I don't think there's a right or wrong answer, but sometimes a chest fits better or vice-versa.
 

deadbird

Observer
I just replaced the old three way fridge in my FWC Grandby with a built in Engel sb70f. It fit he old fridge opening, and I can access it without popping the top. i thought about a chest, but would have had to make or buy a fridge slide and reconfigure a bunch to make it fit. Super happy so far. Amazon had free shipping and no tax.
 

adam88

Explorer
First, we talking true "drawer" fridge, or you do mean the chest style with a lid? I only ask because the options for drawers are pretty slim and I haven't seen any that are very big. They seem to be be built as something a yacht-builder would throw in a secondary galley or a truck driver might put under the seat for sandwich fixings. If you mean chest style, well then the world is your oyster.

I was mainly talking about actually drawer fridges, like Isotherm or Vitrifrigo which can be built-in and accessed from the front. Not coolers like Engel because they are top loading and can't be built in (they must be slide-out).
 

OverlandTheWorld

OverlandTheWorld.com
Cold air settles. Everytime you open a door fridge the cold air spills out.

I've used an Isotherm 36 Cruise drawer fridge for the last 2 years (9 months straight on a trip around South America) and lived out of it daily. There is a tray inside the drawer that keeps most of the cold air contained when you open it. It didn't seem to be less efficient than the ARB 50 that it replaced, actually seemed more efficient, but your mileage may vary. Pros = easier to clean & organize than chest style, you can see all the food without hunting for items, nothing gets crushed. Cons = no built in logic switch to protect the the food vs protecting the battery.
 

STREGA

Explorer
We just ordered a Bundutec pop up camper with a Domectic 12v door style fridge. Would have liked to had a chest type fridge instead but it came down to available real estate for the fridge, to have the chest fridge would have meant something else had to be eliminated. Not to worried about losing cold air or with stuff falling out when opening the door.
 

pugslyyy

Expedition Vehicle Engineer Guy
I like the drawer style (though I have a door style), mainly because every once in a while I'll open the door and get an avalanche of contents, especially with the freezer.

I'm not planning on converting to drawers, but if I were building/specifying from scratch I would seriously consider going that way.
 

craig333

Expedition Leader
Interesting, never seen a drawer style before. Thanks for learning me something today :)

I have a door style and it suits me fine. Yes, stuff does sometimes want to fall out. The whole cold air falling out thing is way overblown.
 

Herbie

Rendezvous Conspirator
Cold air settles. Everytime you open a door fridge the cold air spills out.

I've never found this to be an issue, and I think it's a bit of an old-wives tale. The specific heat of water (i.e. the energy needed to change the temperature of 1g of material by 1°C) is literally four times higher than that of air. In other words, in a reasonably full fridge, filled mostly with water and water-containing things (food), the vast majority of the thermal mass resides in the stuff, not in the air between the stuff.
 

SteveMfr

Supporting Sponsor
I've never found this to be an issue, and I think it's a bit of an old-wives tale. The specific heat of water (i.e. the energy needed to change the temperature of 1g of material by 1°C) is literally four times higher than that of air. In other words, in a reasonably full fridge, filled mostly with water and water-containing things (food), the vast majority of the thermal mass resides in the stuff, not in the air between the stuff.
This is true - but fridges are not always full. And you'll still need to get that beer even if it is the very last one.

I think looking to other applications is actually a really good way of learning things rather than re-inventing the wheel every time. Boaters, especially sail boaters have been faced with the issue of running refrigeration off-grid for much longer (and in greater numbers) than overlanders. A majority use top loading refrigerators. This discussion is had in boating forums as well, though.

If you spend most of your time in campgrounds or on trips lasting less than 48hrs, do whatever you want. If you spend longer than 48hrs off-grid regularly where every watt counts, you may want to consider staying with a top loader and putting up with the inconvenience.
 

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