Bushman DC-L Series

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

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.