Bushman 190L Top Mount
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I am pleased to report an outstanding experience with Bushman. After putting up with 25 years of sub-standard performance from “Tropical” rated 3 way caravan fridges from another manufacturer, we had a Bushman DC190L fridge installed in our caravan by a third party about three and a half years ago. The fridge was adequately supported by solar… Read more · 2
panels, lithium batteries and heavy wiring.
From the outset, I was not convinced that the Bushman fridge was performing to specification and I had numerous phone and email interactions with the staff at Bushman, especially within the first six to 12 months of installation. Despite my frustration with the fridge’s performance, I always found Customer Service from Bushman to be excellent. In the end, I reluctantly accepted the status quo and convinced my wife to do likewise, much to her irritation. Deep down, we were disappointed that we had spent so much in pursuit of an improved caravaning refrigeration experience and seemingly, we were no further ahead.
This year when we switched on our Bushman fridge in preparation for our annual trip to North Queensland, neither the fridge cabinet temperature nor the freezer temperature dropped to anywhere near acceptable levels. I again contacted Bushman and was subsequently contacted by a Mr Paul Kottman. I didn’t know who Paul was and only after my many interactions with Paul during the following week, did I discover that I was dealing with the Managing Director of Bushman. After questioning me about the specs of electrical connections to my fridge, including the earthing arrangements, the current draw, the voltage at the compressor and aspects of the compressor behaviour, Paul agreed that all was not right. Paul had researched my previous contacts with Bushman prior to ringing me and following my discussions with him, he immediately agreed to replace the fridge under warranty. Given the general unavailability of labour to fit the new fridge in the short term and our pressing endeavour to depart on our planned holiday, Paul agreed that I could fit the fridge.
My wife and I are both the wrong side of 77 years of age and whereas the changeout process had its “moments”, all went remarkably well. There are certainly several improvements with the current model. The historic fan noise is totally gone and a new larger fan with better housing and air flow has been fitted, connectivity has been simplified (Anderson Plug) reducing the margin for error by the average punter, component spacing around the compressor has been improved and wiring is tidier and internal shelving has been improved to facilitate better cabinet airflow. We are now the proud owners of a brand new Bushman DC190L fridge that is most definitely working to specification. My wife is, at last, very happy with the Bushman fridge in our caravan. Currently, we are camped in SW Qld and with a present ambient temperature of 33°C, the freezer is -17°C and the fridge cabinet is +3.5°C with the fridge control set on just under setting 4. Last night I noted a freezer temperature of -20°C. From my perspective…..happy wife = happy life!!
I cannot thank Paul from Bushman enough for listening to me and acting so promptly to resolve my issue. He is a pragmatist who not only endeavours to keep Bushman customers satisfied but also does what it takes to protect the integrity and quality standards that go with the Bushman name. The whole episode has proved to me that you can really trust the Bushman brand.
Why did I not change to one of these fridges ages ago – I purchased this fridge several months ago and have not had the opportunity to give it a good run until recently, so now I'm able to make a review. The fridge arrived in an excellent delivery time frame and in perfect condition. After a bit of a struggle to remove the old 3-way fridge from the van. The Bushman fitted through the door and into… Read more · 1
the receptacle with little effort. Only modification required was to make a cover for the gap left at the top due to the Bushman being slightly shorter than the old fridge.
I have 400 watts of solar in 2x 200watt panels and storage of 2x 110-amp hour lithium batteries.
Now to the result. We have just been away off grid with the fridge running for three weeks. With everything running required, fridge, lights, water pumps, TV, charging phones and laptop etc. the biggest reduction in battery storage overnight was 17%. and the batteries were back up to full power by 7am each day. We had several overcast and wet days, and a 2 day stay in a National Park where the van was in dappled shade all day. Temperature ranged from 6-degree nights to 32+ degree days. The fridge never missed a beat and here is the best part. The beer was a very acceptable [perfect] temperature, and the eggs and lettuce were not frozen. The freezer worked a treat and everything in the fridge stayed where it was supposed to be with no breakages or spillage.
Very happy and wondering why I didn't do this change over earlier.
Best Fridge Ever – We are so glad that we chose this fridge as a replacement for our last compressor fridge. We were impressed from the moment it arrived - 2 days after ordering. It was an easy instal and has worked perfectly ever since. It's very room and we are surprised by how much fits in. Best of all it barely uses any battery power to run. We love it and highly recommended to anyone wanting a compressor fridge/freezer for their van. Show details · 1
Absolute best fridge ever! – We bought a 190 lt Bushman Compressor Fridge 2 years ago last February. It is the best thing we ever did. So much better than the 3 way we had. The after sales service is fantastic. We fully recommend these fridges. Thank you. Brenda & Peter. Motorhome owners. Show details · 3
Very happy with my new 12v fridge – I was looking at getting a 3 way fridge then people told me to have a look at the 12v fridge range. Chose the Bushman's fridge because it's Australian made and has good reviews. One thing I would suggest is during manufacture they could drill holes in the channel along the rear of the fridge. Then you could put screws in there to secure it to the floor. Show details · 1
Latest follow-ups
Great fridge and delivery was very fast. The fridge was exactly as described and fitted in caravan great. Show details · 2
Follow-up · There is plenty of room for all our food and drinks. The fridge is the best thing I have used in the caravan and the power usage is very good
In-depth reviews
A smooth transition to 12v cooling – I bought a new caravan fitted with a 160ltr three way fridge. From new, it was mainly used on gas and did provide reasonable cooling. However, it was mechanically unreliable, a constant source of annoyance and used a lot of gas which can be expensive. Several months ago it failed completely. I shopped around various brands but real information… Read more · 1
was hard to find. When I rang Bushman, Paul took the time to explain the concept of 12v cooling and how to integrate it into my existing electrical system.
I bought a 190ltr Bushman 12v fridge there and then. It was delivered in two days and fitting was simple. All the parts needed came in the package. The van had 350w solar panel and a single 140Amp/hr AGM battery. After testing, I added one more similar battery to the existing system. Since then, the fridge has operated better than expectations through several periods of bad weather. The fridge is high quality and Bushman seem a particularly ethical and helpful company to deal with.
A replacement fridge in your van – I purchased a Bushman's DC190L 12/24volt fridge to replace a Thetford 3 way or absorption fridge with rather a sad history. It was initially supplied without a thermostat and never seemed to be able to cope with extremely hot days. The Bushman was (nearly) a drop in replacement physically and meant we'd no longer have to switch our fridge to gas… Read more · 1
every time we stopped for a coffee.
Delivery of the DC190L was remarkably quick, it arrived well packed and being less deep than the Thetford was an easy lift through the caravan door. Electrically and thermally, its brilliant, while its too early to measure on a really hot day, a recent (Central Victorian) October day sat for several hours around 30 degrees and we used an average of 1.62Amps, or 39A/H for the day. During the hotter part of the day, the compressor was on for only half as long as off so has heaps of capacity for hotter days. A milder, 9c to 25c day (cloudy so little solar power available) saw a miserly 1.25Amps average or 30A/H for the day. Far better than I expected.
I was less happy with the mechanical aspects however. Unlike most caravan fridges, this fridge does not have any mounting arrangements at the back and its front mounting brackets are not permanently attached. It is supplied with three lengths of very thin metal angle that must be screwed on with the supplied, quite small "self tapper" screws. This lead to some issues, firstly the brackets and heads of their screws were, in total just too wide to fit into the specified 605mm wide cavity, some impromptu woodwork needed. Secondly, I don't consider the brackets to be substantial enough to hold a 50Kg fridge and all its contents in place on a rough road. And, finally, the front brackets covered left, right and top leaving nothing across the bottom of the fridge where there was a large, ugly, dust and insect issue gap. The front of the fridge sits on two black plastic feet, possibly adjustable in height (?) much like a domestic fridge.
So, speaking to the very helpful manufacturers, I ended up making additional brackets that clamped the back of the fridge to the floor of the cavity and replaced the plastic feet with a wooden plate extending the full width of the fridge.
The supplied manual is clear and reasonably comprehensive although I take exception to the advice about wiring the fridge directly to the battery, bypassing any Battery Management System. You do not want to lie to your BMS with lithium batteries. Further, the suggested practice of running the fridge from the batteries when on 240v power is not a good one with lithium batteries. Yes, its widely done but bad for the batteries.
Would I buy another one ? Yes, absolutely. But I am comfortable providing the extra mounting arrangements and understand the electrical issues. I wonder if a professional caravan repairer would go to those extra lengths. On the other hand, I suspect you can always expect good after sales support from Bushman, don't under value that.
David Bannon BSc RMIT.
Great value camping fridge – I have a 190ltr black fridge and have used it a few times in the van I recently renovated. It works really well and considering the other options on the market I feel its much better value for money. It suited me as I was only looking for a fridge that ran off my lithium battery and it does that really well. It barely uses any amps from my battery… Read more · 1
too. I recently free camped for 4 days and with 120watt solar panel on the roof it ran the fridge, all lights, stereo and water pump and the battery was still almost full when I left with the sun topping it up every day. I used up the 80 water tank which was the only reason for leaving early so Im a big rap for this fridge. The only thing is it should come with an on/off switch but that was an easy fix by installing a rocker-roller switch I bought from Jaycar on the positive cable from the battery somewhere near the fridge. Maximum setting on 7 keeps everything really chilled in the fridge and my steaks stayed frozen the whole time in the freezer compartment. Love it.
Recent reviews
If you’re after a fridge that sounds like an air-raid siren, then this is the fridge for you! :/ – I’m hoping ours is just a dud and someone hasn’t designed a fridge that sounds like an intermittent air-raid is going off every 10 minutes!! We’ve had to switch it off over night to get some peace whilst sleeping. Very disappointed. ☹️ Show details
To say I'm happy with the fridge and their service is an understatement. I purchased my fridge from a major Melbourne retailer. I picked it up and fitted it in my caravan, after mounting it and connecting it to the wiring from my previous compressor type fridge. I ran it for 2 days and found that it was not cooling down as it should. I called… Read more · 1
Bushman head office in Melbourne and after discussion with them they agreed that it must be faulty. Bring it around to their office they said and we will swap it out for another fridge. So about 1hr and a half later I have a new replacement fridge fitted and running in my caravan. Within 2 hours it was cooling down nicely and I thanked my stars that I had purchased a fridge from a reputable manufacturer. The guys could not stop apologizing for the inconvenience it had caused and said it was their first faulty fridge this year. Before I bought the fridge I new it was a great design, with a good old style analog thermostat dial control, and the condenser took up the whole back of the fridge with a fan forcing air up past it to help with cooling. these are the features that the old style fridges had, the ones that used to give you 20 years good service with no push buttons and lights and associated electronics to fail. I can tell that it is working better than my Waeco 190 Lt as the fridge temp stays more steady and the ice-cream in the freezer is much harder. In a way I'm glad my waeco fridge failed as this new fridge has much better performance and is using less power than the old one. So yes I am very happy with the company and the fridge. If anyone wants to ask me about the fridge feel free to call me on 0458 434 536
its a bit expensive but, like a divorce, its worth EVERY cent! Compared to my last fridge the Bushman is way ahead. It is bigger, 190ltr compared to 100 ltr But it gets way colder (ice cream is rock hard) and cools contents quicker. With all of the extra benefits the Bushman uses less than HALF the power from my 12v batteries! This fridge has impressed everyone who has checked it out... more importantly it impresses me :) Money well spent! Show details · 1
Find out how Bushman 190L Top Mount compares to other Caravan Fridges
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Fabulous company to deal with. Quick delivery. The fridge fitted into our old fridge space. Now let me tell you about internal space- huge- it fits everything we need for a good couple of weeks away. Efficiency- fantastic. Compared to our old fridge it is very friendly on our batteries. I love the raised front edge of the shelves, stops things… Read more · 1
slipping forward. I really love the simple and effective door lock. This fridge is fantastic. We should have done it earlier. Highly recommend.
Great fridge and exceptional service quick dispatch and delivery and any questions answered Show details · 1
Love the amount of space I’ve got to play with in my fridge, specially in the freezer. We can freeze at least two to three weeks of food in there. Ice cream holds well too as long as its had a good night to get down to set temp. Show reply
A well made product, great replacement for the three way in the van .very low power usage and a quality item Show details · 1
Happy with fridge; design, finish and interior. Fault reader needs to be mounted on the front of the fridge not on the back, no on off switch makes defrosting hard and needs to be able to switch off when in storage, the film on the outside needs updating took a good day and half to remove. Show details · 1
Recently purchased for an off grid farm location. Haven't used it in earnest yet but from the test run it went well on 12V. Show details · 1
Delivery time exceptional, great 12 v power consumption for such a big fridge Show details · 1
Quick delivery, happy with product, only negative is the plastic on the doors , hard to remove Show details · 1
Great fridge only problem was removing the thin plastic coating on doors frustrating Show reply
Find out how Bushman 190L Top Mount compares to other Caravan Fridges
Know better, choose better.
Have just installed the Bushman 190lt upright fridge in our Sprinter van and it fits and works perfectly. My wife is very happy with the size and says the internal layout is great. We had a great all round experience from ordering to installation. Regards, Vic Show details · 1
Best 12v fridge this is the 2nd one we have bought and love it Show details · 1
Great fit into existing hole. Great shelves. Bright light looks good. No issues Show details · 1
Great fridge swapped over my dead three way to compressor fridge. Has solved a few other issues with my lithiums and travelling. Show details · 1
Bushmans were easy to deal. Had the fridge within a week of ordering. Easy install. Working great Show reply
Shipped product fast and called to ensure the delivery process was sorted. I installed the fridge myself, and it was straightforward, with an Anderson plug ready to go. I used it the weekend I installed it, and nice and cold. Highly recommend. Show reply
Faultless – After 13 years, my 3 way dometic fridge gave up the ghost. Several years ago I purchased a Bushman gas/240v chest freezer and it has performed faultlessly, hence this helped my decision to go for the Bushman 190L fridge. It was a perfect fit into the existing cavity of the old dometic and after some wiring challenges that were quickly sorted by a… Read more · 1
call to Bushman. I was a little anxious as not long after the install, we spent 5 weeks away with the new Bushman running on solar. Came home to a perfectly cold fridge/freezer. 10/10
Great Fridge – Our caravan 7 years old and have had to replace other brand twice in our van had to get the same brand due to size again, when the second one died as well we went for a Bushmans brand this time and had cutout altered to fit. No regrets What a Great fridge. Keeps food much cooler and love the bigger Freezer. We also have got a Bushmans upright fridge in our ute love it too. Show reply
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Hi Sarah, An air-raid siren! :) Hmmm, that's very… Read more