Thread for Isotherm Cruise 130 Elegance 2 way compressor fridge, the unit used in 2023 models.

[John E Davies]

I pulled my old 3 way fridge out yesterday and was so disgusted, that I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade.

Here is a good description of the unit,

https://reparadise.co/product/isotherm-cruise-130-elegance/?attribute_power=AC%2FDC&attribute_fridge-finish=Black

Isotherm home page with manuals.

https://www.indelwebastomarine.com/us/products/product/show/cruise-130/

I would appreciate any detailed closeups from current owners of the installation, and alsoany from those who have fitted one into an older hull.

Can we keep this thread as a general discussion of this model? I will post a separate How To thread when I am done.

Thanks

John Davies

Spokane WA

EDIT 05/12/23: some other related threads from this forum:

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9172-isotherm-shelves-fix/

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9168-how-to-install-an-isotherm-cruise-130-2-way-refrigerator-in-an-le2/

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9169-how-to-isotherm-intelligent-control-for-cruise-130-refrigerator/

 

 

 

[rich.dev]

John, pretty sure this is the same fridge/freezer that now comes with the 2023 trailers….if it is maybe the factory can send you some pics?

[SeaDawg]

Some comments on our choice and install, five years ago.

 

[BBL]

42 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

Some comments on our choice and install, five years ago.

@SeaDawg Too funny, every time you mentioned the “truck fridge” I was thinking you had an Isotherm in the back of your TV as an additional fridge like I have a Truma in my truck.  Never would have guessed you had a truck fridge in the Ollie.

Looks good - I like the drawer but I also like the additional height of the Cruise 130 with the interior drawer.

Brian

[SeaDawg]

If you check the specs, the tf130 and isotherm   cruise 130 are pretty much identical dimensions. Interior layouts, including the low drawer, which i love, are the same 

The tf 130 is made for land/trucks, so no coast guard approval. No rvia approval. Less stainless, probably more galvanized. 

As we own a very early trailer, we can do as we wish, and did the install ourselves. Oliver can't.  They have to meet rvia standards.

I've seen both, and the isotherm model has better door insulation. 

 

 

[John E Davies]

 

Isotherm Intelligent Temperature Control

It sounds very interesting, I just ordered one. Free shipping and no Washington sales tax (9%) from that vendor, woohoo.  I don’t know if Oliver installs these on the 2023 hulls, any comments?

• Up to 25% energy savings solely due to compressor efficiency gains
• Up to 40% energy savings with combined effect of cold energy surplus stored in food / drinks

Basically it controls compressor speed and it will “supercool” the food when a surplus of energy is available (solar) and it idles the rpm way down or off when the batteries take over the load. Plus you don’t have to open the door to make changes, which always dumps cold air out onto your toes. I can see myself keeping some extra big bottles of water or soda in there for more thermal mass…. LOTS of info here including docs and a video

https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?id=4161337

It looks quite nice and the installation is very simple, the hardest part is drilling 1” holes to make the flush mount opening.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

 

[BBL]

14 hours ago, John E Davies said:

don’t know if Oliver installs these on the 2023 hulls, any comments?

John - I have looked closely at this Isotherm for the last six months and have never seen/heard of this item. It sounds like a nice product and I am interested but not sure of what level of integration I am willing to endure for a brand-new trailer (in March).

Thanks for the share, very interesting.

Brian

[SeaDawg]

I wish indel/isotherm offered this as an upgrade, with the order.

I know I'd be sad drilling holes into a brand new fridge. Plus the extensive work of deinstall/reinstall.

Good for you, ordering before install. 

 

[Steve Morris]

4 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

I wish indel/isotherm offered this as an upgrade, with the order.

I know I'd be sad drilling holes into a brand new fridge. Plus the extensive work of deinstall/reinstall.

Good for you, ordering before install. 

 

That's exactly what I was thinking when John posted this. I haven't even picked up my trailer yet and considering yanking the fridge! Slow down there, Steve!!

[John E Davies]

47 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

I wish indel/isotherm offered this as an upgrade, with the order.

I know I'd be sad drilling holes into a brand new fridge. Plus the extensive work of deinstall/reinstall.

Good for you, ordering before install. 

That video is for an older analog version, not the new digital Intelligent one. The old one does indeed require lots of work. The new one needs a single hole in the fridge I think. Not counting the holes to mount the display, I am going to put mine under the microwave.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Rivernerd]

1 hour ago, Steve and Deb said:

I haven't even picked up my trailer yet and considering yanking the fridge! Slow down there, Steve!!

I had the same crazy thought before we picked our 2022 Elite II in November, but with regard to a compressor fridge rather than adding an Isotherm Intelligent Temperature Control!  After learning about absorption fridge RV fires, and that Oliver is putting compressor refrigerators in the 2023 models, I asked if a compressor fridge could be installed in our 2022.  Nope, because the compressor fridge requires a different Elite II hull design, and we didn't want to incur the substantial additional expense of going with a 2023.

So, I determined to see how the Norcold absorption fridge performed in our Oliver, then consider swapping it out for a compressor fridge down the road.  For the 10 days we used it in Tennessee and driving home to Idaho last November in cold temps, the Norcold performed well.  Time will tell how it performs in warmer ambient temps. 

I agree with you:  see how the compressor fridge performs before deciding whether to add the Intelligent Temperature Control.

[SeaDawg]

47 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

That video is for an older analog version, not the new digital Intelligent one. The old one does indeed require lots of work. The new one needs a single hole in the fridge I think. Not counting the holes to mount the display, I am going to put mine under the microwave.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Someone should let west marine know. I pulled that from their website today. Via YouTube.

https://www.westmarine.com/isotherm-cruise-130-elegance-black-4.6-cu.ft.-ac-dc-black-door-3-sided-flange-18609503.html

[John E Davies]

2 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

Someone should let west marine know.

https://www.westmarine.com/isotherm-cruise-130-elegance-black-4.6-cu.ft.-ac-dc-black-door-3-sided-flange-18609503.html

I did it just now. I had to consent to being contacted, that is OK since the fridge is coming from there and I am already getting hammered with emails....

John Davies

Spokane WA

[John E Davies]

Update, West Marine only had a unit in Florida, so they shipped it promptly, loaded it onto the wrong truck, the shipping label fell off and it ended up in New Jersey. They could not figure out where it was supposed to go, so they sent it back to Pensacola, so it could go in the right compass heading...  I picked it up today, the store manager here in Spokane said it had a little box damage, but he had opened it up, unbagged it, and inspected it all over, and all was great. I got it home, spun it around in my truck and discovered that some airhead drone had rammed a forklift arm  through the front door. The damage is a little hard to miss, do you agree? I am standing straight up, the door is buckled.

I'm not sure how anyone could miss that, SHAME on me for believing the guy. It goes back to the store  tomorrow for credit  and I have already ordered another one. Which is $50 more expensive, so they will have to credit me that too. Grrr.

At least I was able to make some measurements, to make sure the dimensional drawings are correct, and to see where the power connections are, and how the feet are spaced. I can start on the construction now...,. Here are a bunch of pics for your entertainment.

I have opened a ticket to see if I can get some guidance from Jason about retrofitting this into my old timer Hull 218.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

[John E Davies]

:ics

[John E Davies]

Pics

[Geronimo John]

18 hours ago, John E Davies said:

my old timer Hull 218.

LOL......   Hey careful!  I resemble those remarks!

[Geronimo John]

I really like the Secop compressor efficiency and having 4.6 cu ft vs. 3.0 is amazing.

My only concern is what appears to be a really small freezer space.  Our existing Dometic freezer space appears cavernous by comparison.  Being remote often, having two ice cube trays and some space for frozen meats is a requirement for us.  Don't know for sure as I have yet to find dimensions of the freezer cavity, but it sure looks tiny.

Do any of the other Secop compressor frigs have significantly more freezer space yet still fit in our OE2's?

GJ 

 

 

[John E Davies]

GJ, this will take care of your freezer concerns…

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/8828-for-sale-used-arb-classic-series-1-50-quart-fridge-freezer-close-to-new-inside-and-out-500/

John Davies

Spokane WA

[SeaDawg]

A couple people have installed the larger Novakool. Though still small, the Novakool freezer is almost twice the capacity of the isotherm. 11.4 vs 6 liters.

If I  remember correctly, @mountainoliver installed the Novakool 

https://www.novakool.com/r5810-1

[Geronimo John]

10 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

A couple people have installed the larger Novakool. Though still small, the Novakool freezer is almost twice the capacity of the isotherm. 11.4 vs 6 liters.

Roger.  It is FOR US a better choice as we do need freezer space.  For comparison, I have looked for hours to see the size of the Dometic RM 2454.  Any idea it is in liters?  I did find it's 16" X 5", but without the third dimension that data is worthless. 

And thank you!

GJ

[ADKCamper]

In addition to the NovaKool referenced above, Isotherm has a newer Elegance model with a larger freezer - the Freeline 115 Elegance (CR115EL). It appears to be 2 inches taller than the Cruise Elegance 130, with the same width/depth H:31.4" x W:20.7"  x D19.5" +2" door depth proud of flush). Not sure if that fits in the available Oliver spaces or not... It *appears* to have the functionality of the Intelligent Temperature Control built-in with its "ECO" mode (267 W/24Hr vs 418 W/24Hr for the Elegance 130 without the ITC). Slightly less overall volume (4.1 cu ft vs 4.6 cu ft for the Elegance 130) but a much larger freezer compartment (32 liters vs 6 liters for the Elegance 130). Some places show it as 12vdc only, and others seem to have a 12vdc/120vac version. Its compressor is bottom-mounted but has the same Danfoss/SECOP components as the Cruise Elegance 130.

https://www.westmarine.com/isotherm-cruise-115-freeline-stainless-steel-fridge-freezer-ac-dc-internal-mounting-system-3--side-flange-20597779.html?cm_mmc=PS-_-Google-_-DSA>Galley%20%26%20Outdoor-_-Null&creative=638403958720&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=OutdoorandMaintenance&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsIn0rtiQ_QIVCVVyCh3eMAqFEAMYASAAEgIt0_D_BwE

https://www.indelwebastomarine.com/us/products/product/show/freeline-115-el/

https://defender.com/en_us/isotherm-cruise-freeline-115-elegance-refrigerator-freezer

Could be worthy of investigation for those that want/need a larger freezer space.

 

[Geronimo John]

On 2/12/2023 at 9:37 AM, ADKCamper said:

https://defender.com/en_us/isotherm-cruise-freeline-115-elegance-refrigerator-freezer

Could be worthy of investigation for those that want/need a larger freezer space.

 

Thank you for your post.  Yes it's massive freezer is unusual.  Sadly it is only 83 liters total size or 2.9 cu ft.

I think the Nova Kool R5810 is the best choice for total use of the OTT refer cavity at 5.8 Cu Ft and 11 liters freezer space as the Dometic we have now use.  Still keeping my eyes open on the topic.

GJ

[ADKCamper]

I finally was able to measure the size of the freezer compartment on our (absorption) Dometic RM2454: W=17",H=6",D=8" = 816 cubic inches = 13.4 liters. As mentioned Dometic is somewhat elusive with their specs, but they do claim the overall size is 4 cubic ft = approximately 113 liters.

The Dometic and the 115 Elegance have *approximately* the same overall capacity, with a larger freezer in the 115 Elegance. The Nova Kool has a larger overall capacity, primarily by being somewhat deeper than the other 3, with a similar freezer size to the Dometic.

To summarize a few of the recently mentioned options:

Dometic RM2454:                          4 cu ft/113 liters overall, 13.4 liter freezer, ~99.6 liter refrig (by extrapolation)

Isotherm Cruise Elegance 130:    4.6 cu ft/130 liters overall, 6.0 liter freezer, ~124 liter refrig (by extrapolation)

Isotherm Freeline 115 Elegance: 4.1 cu ft/115 liters overall, 32 liter freezer, ~83 liter refrig (by extrapolation)

Nova Kool R5810:                           5.8 cu ft/164 liters overall ,11.3 liter freezer, ~152.7 liter refrig (by extrapolation)

As (almost) always, there are trade-offs to be considered 🙂

[Geronimo John]

On 2/11/2023 at 6:15 PM, Geronimo John said:

Roger.  It is FOR US a better choice as we do need freezer space.  For comparison, I have looked for hours to see the size of the Dometic RM 2454.  Any idea it is in liters?  I did find it's 16" X 5", but without the third dimension that data is worthless. 

Called Dometic and the RM24 dimensions they gave came out to 11 Liters for the freezer useable space.  Suspect this does not include the hollowed out space of the door itself.  

GJ