What's up with condensers?

A condenser (aka heat exchanger) is the part of your fridge that gets rid of all the heat.
Without it, your fridge would not work at all, so they're pretty important. Let's have a deeper look.

What does it look like?

There are actually 3 types of condensers and they each look different.

1. Wire on tube
You might remember these from the back of Grans old Kelvinator! They are a big, black wire grid.

We like this type of condenser as they have the most air flow around them, which leads to the best efficiency for our fridges.

Other reasons we choose this style condenser is they make less noise and get way less dust and fluff build up over time, so no cleaning or maintenance is ever required. Win / win.

Ye old Kelvinator

What does it look like?

There are actually 3 types of condensers and they each look different.

1. Wire on tube
You might remember these from the back of Grans old Kelvinator! They are a big, black wire grid.

We like this type of condenser as they have the most air flow around them, which leads to the best efficiency for our fridges.

Other reasons we choose this style condenser is they make less noise and get way less dust and fluff build up over time, so no cleaning or maintenance is ever required. Win / win.

2. Wire on plate
Also known as finned or radiator style condensers, these look just like your car radiator. Lots of small metal fins, spaced very closely together.

These are actually the most efficient for the small amount of space they take up, so they are great for tight spots like drinks fridges in a cafe.

However on the downside, finned condensers are very prone to dust and fluff build up because of the small gaps between the fins. This makes them unsuitable for camping, caravans or anywhere dust is an issue. For this reason alone we do not use any wire on plate condensers.

Finned style

2. Wire on plate
Also known as finned or radiator style condensers, these look just like your car radiator. Lots of small metal fins, spaced very closely together.

These are actually the most efficient for the small amount of space they take up, so they are great for tight spots like drinks fridges in a cafe.

However on the downside, finned condensers are very prone to dust and fluff build up because of the small gaps between the fins. This makes them unsuitable for camping, caravans or anywhere dust is an issue. For this reason alone we do not use any wire on plate condensers.

3. Built in
Built in, or surface mount condensers are most commonly found in home refrigerators only.

The condenser piping is actually built in behind the back or sides of the metal fridge cabinet itself. So the whole back or side of the fridge get hot. This is fine for residential use where there is a-lot of air flow around the fridge, but in a caravan or camping situation no-one wants their whole fridge cabinet heating up.

We give this type a miss too.

Built in on side

3. Built in
Built in, or surface mount condensers are most commonly found in home refrigerators only.

The condenser piping is actually built in behind the back or sides of the metal fridge cabinet itself. So the whole back or side of the fridge get hot. This is fine for residential use where there is a-lot of air flow around the fridge, but in a caravan or camping situation no-one wants their whole fridge cabinet heating up.

We give this type a miss too.

Wire on tube condenser for Bushman

As you can see there are different types of condensers for different applications.

For us at Bushman, wire on tube are the best by far. These condensers have the most air flow around them, are the quietest, require no cleaning or maintenance and work the best in hot weather and confined spaces. Perfect.

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