April 2022 rolling out now: check 1st post. 3 Models 25% so far.

[SharpeCat]

Just got done testing the sustained consumption for AC power at 0 degrees for the TR, and for some reason the jackery 160 only lasted 4 hours and 17 mins. It lasted 7.5 hours on DC power for the same temp setting last night. Only difference other than AC power, is that the outside temp was 69 when i started instead of 52 from last night; i don't picture that affecting it by that much.

Anyone have a clue? At this point i am thinking i will run the same test again (AC at 0F), to make sure it wasn't a fluke. I expected AC to be less efficient but 4.25 hours vs 7.5 hours for DC is a HUGE difference. I did check to make sure lid was fully closed so that no air was leaking out.

 

[vwynn]

simply put, these 12 volt fridges run more efficient on 12v DC than from 110v AC (which has to be converted back into 12V at a loss)

there are a few videos on Youtube explaining this. HOBOTECH guy on youtube did a comparison on AC vs DC and found the same results where DC is more efficient (uses less electricity) than AC on a portable battery.

The guy measured 227 Watthours on DC and 330 Watt/hours on AC.

 

[SharpeCat]

simply put, these 12 volt fridges run more efficient on 12v DC than from 110v AC (which has to be converted back into 12V at a loss)

there are a few videos on Youtube explaining this. HOBOTECH guy on youtube did a comparison on AC vs DC and found the same results where DC is more efficient (uses less electricity) than AC on a portable battery.

The guy measured 227 Watthours on DC and 330 Watt/hours on AC.

Wow. I knew there would be a difference but didn't realize it was so big! I'm low on DC outlets so i've been running AC this whole time. So i will just move onto the next test and see how long the Jackery 160 lasts at 20 degrees setting for both AC and DC.

 

[Hybrid Life]

Thanks. Yes. Thats a great video. I was expecting that Iceco used the same DC plug in all of their units. This, unfortunately, does not seem that case. The VL45 seems to use the vertical angle plug which I expected was correct. Its not. The box waiting to return to amazon proves it.

The VL35 uses a horizontal angle plug (see picture below)
View attachment 2442709
This uses round pins and is of a thinner shape than the vertical angle plug. I've got one of the straight on cables on order which looks like a closer match. While I'd prefer an angle connector, I have not been able to find a good match even at Iceco.

WOW, the plot thickens. Thanks for posting the photos. I can understand why some fridges might orient the receptacle differently, or have a different angle the wire exits relative to the pins and key slot. But I can't understand why anyone would be following an unofficial industry standard for at least the plug pins and keying/polarity, and then introduce a similar but different scheme without a clear explanation as to why, plus an ample supply of the deviant new plugs, preferably in many configurations for people needing to route the cord in different directions for different reasons.

Offhand, I'd say it was a bad move by ICECO. If they want to establish a better way of doing it, fine, announce it and let's have a VHS vs Betamax battle and see which one wins. But to just start shipping stuff with non-standard plugs and sockets without explanation, is more than a bit crazy. That's the problem with using unofficial, de-facto standards, especially when every single manufacturer seems to intentionally fail to document or name that standard, presumably to make it difficult or impossible for people to make their own custom cables except by buying and hacking up the ones they are selling. And no third-party suppliers in this case, seem to have taken on the task of documenting or naming the existing de-facto standard, officially or unofficially. Nor have they taken on the task of making top-quality plugs/cables, just poor/fair/good ones in a straight-in configuration with cheap cigarette plugs at the other end of minimum-sized wire. Personally I'd look at replacing any unusual receptacle on the fridge with something more easily dealt with, maybe replacing it with a standard one. Or better yet, with Andersons recessed into the case at a new location of my own choice and wired either in parallel with the existing receptacle, or switchable between them, or disconnecting the factory one. Then cap the old one if it's still live in parallel.

 

[Hybrid Life]

After a lot of measuring, and scaling dimensions of protrusions off spec drawings of fridges, I decided that the space I thought I could jam an ICECO JP50 into, would not work if they shipped the version with the protrusion for the power cord hookup, or if it did fit, it was a risk to the plug and outlet breaking from driving vibrations. Due to poor luck, the plug would have been smashed hard against my center console down near floor level. Flipping the fridge around 180 would cause other problems with cooling fan placement, lid-opening direction, and an almost equally nasty plug location possibly getting hit every time I closed the car door after getting something from the fridge. I ran into similar but different problems for my 2nd choice, the Alpicool CF45 or CF55, despite finding good prices on the Vevor versions of them with LG compressor option. Low $300s! That narrowed it down to either a very boxy (good!) metal (good!) Zokop with unusually great reviews and a different Chinese compressor allowing temps down to -13F (-25C) to be set. OR the Vevor/LG version of the Alpicool CX50 which Is another tight fit, but only regarding a molded-in handle protruding a little. Nothing to break on the fridge, and I'd take a dremel or belt sander to it if need be, to keep it from cracking my car's center console if it's wedged in too tight. I think it will fit as is. So that's what I'm going to try first. The controls, lid operation, and plug are all in problem-free spots, with the cooler oriented well for food access both from the driver's seat and the rear passenger door. Incredible price, too. $253ish on eBay from each of 3 sellers in China shipping fridges out of the same location in California. I looked over their feedback scores and comments, all quite similar, and not bad despite some irate purchasers of juicing machines broken in transit, etc. I chose the one who started with 45 of the fridges for sale. After me, they have 36 sold and 9 left, and the other sellers have about 10 total left between them. I haven't been to a casino since March, so this gave me a chance to gamble by not paying $42 for 3 years of Square Trade coverage. I'm not feeling perfect about that decision, but I'd feel locked into pursuing them to pay the claim, and I hate dealing with insurance claims. I'd rather try fixing it myself, selling it for parts, or using it for a SECOP transplant experiment. I checked all of the other ICECO fridges that might fit. The TR45 visually looks like it will fit, but the numbers say otherwise, they made it bigger than it looks (more insulation?) and longer than the JP series. The expandable one is too long also, not that I'd buy a fridge that becomes so odd looking with the extensions on it. Now you guys will probably get an amazing clearance-sale price plus amazing discount code stacking on the JP50, and then I'll find out it would have fit. But I keep reminding myself that even if I took the Dremel to the JP50, the plug would still stick out to the same place and get trashed, unless I moved the fridge receptacle. Who knows what that involves, a few screws in plastic, or de-soldering something from the expensive compressor. Like most fridge buyers, maybe this isn't the last fridge I'm going to buy. Hopefully I don't end up with 11 of them in search of what's best for me, like the YouTube fridge reviewer. Hopefully the wheely cart built into the CX30 comes off easily. The wheel indentations in the case waste some space, but conveniently lessen the fit problems caused by the contour of my car's center console. I hope. P.S. The ebay search term I used was portable freezer lg, and then I sorted by price. The 22L Vevor/Alpicool/LG shown in the 11-fridge review (it was their next-favorite go-to fridge after the VL45) also shows up there for $235ish. If I wasn't planning long trips, or if this wasn't 2020, I might have picked that instead of a 50L fridge.

 

[SharpeCat]

@Hybrid Life let's just say i'm glad im not in a Prius and having to sprout grey hairs trying to figure out how to get a 50L fridge to fit.

" But to just start shipping stuff with non-standard plugs and sockets without explanation, is more than a bit crazy. "

You are taking it a bit far and making a lot of claims because you don't like the plug. If you demand that every manufacturer announce and explain every little decision and changes before you buy, then i wish you a lot of luck.

" I'd rather try fixing it myself, selling it for parts, or using it for a SECOP transplant experiment. "

Have you looked up the cost of the SECOP compressor? It's not cheap... If you buy the alpicool because it's cheap, thinking you can just swap a secop compressor in if it fails after the Alpicool 1 year warranty, then you'll be spending way more in the end. Better to just get an entire ICECO fridge for not much higher than the cost of the SECOP compressor alone. That and i'd imagine the difference in power consumption alone between the 2 compressors over the years would cover the difference.

Anyways, to each their own and i do wish you the best, but we have got to get this discussion back on topic. If you think the LG/Alpicool is a better deal or a great price or is better for you, then share it in the Alpicool thread. I explained in the first post why i chose not to go the Alpicool path; not because they're bad fridges, but because i think ICECO is the better bang for your bucks. I personally don't sweat the small details when the much-bigger details look good; that and... i'm fine with the plug.

 

[CowboyTaco]

Yeah...back on topic, please.

I have zero issue with the connector plug on my JP40.

 

[Hybrid Life]

@Hybrid Life let's just say i'm glad im not in a Prius and having to sprout grey hairs trying to figure out how to get a 50L fridge to fit.

" But to just start shipping stuff with non-standard plugs and sockets without explanation, is more than a bit crazy. "

You are taking it a bit far and making a lot of claims because you don't like the plug. If you demand that every manufacturer announce and explain every little decision and changes before you buy, then i wish you a lot of luck.

" I'd rather try fixing it myself, selling it for parts, or using it for a SECOP transplant experiment. "

Have you looked up the cost of the SECOP compressor? It's not cheap... If you buy the alpicool because it's cheap, thinking you can just swap a secop compressor in if it fails after the Alpicool 1 year warranty, then you'll be spending way more in the end. Better to just get an entire ICECO fridge for not much higher than the cost of the SECOP compressor alone. Anyways, to each their own and i do wish you the best, but we have got to get this discussion back on topic. If you think the LG/Alpicool is a better deal or a great price or is better for you, then share it in the Alpicool thread.

Sorry if I got your thread off track. I didn't even know there is an Alpicool thread here.

I view almost every warranty as worth $0 to me, not worth my time to deal with a claim. A 5-year compressor warranty on SECOP is wonderful, but if that's 5x the warranty on the fridge itself, imaybe there is how to a get a SECOP for cheap, to transplant when the fridge dies. And I'm as likely to do it as an engine swap. I could, but probably it won't ever move up to #1 on my to-do list.

I came here expecting to buy an ICECO/SECOP at a good discount, likely a JP50. It turns out that a JP50 no longer fits my application now, which is ONLY TRUE because ICECO stopped delivering what they advertise. If they had advertised what they're really shipping, I never would have come here, because it would have been obvious to me that it wouldn't fit into one of my cars.. Come on, you're blaming ME because THEY advertised the wrong overall length of their fridge, because they changed the fridge and didn't change the specs? Get real.

23 inches long and 24 inches long are not the same thing. End of story.

That was my problem #1 with ICECO. If they're lazy about keeping current specs and photos online, what else are they lazy about? In their defense, their specific error only affects people who care about length with handles removed, or people who care about length a specific height above what it's sitting on . But that's quite a few people tucking fridges into RV drawers, cabinets, on car floors, etc.

The plug incompatibiity cypher2001 discovered is a distant problem #2. But it's already caused an actual problem for a fridge-owning member of the forum, it's not some imaginary thing I'm making up. Not a big deal to me, but not a confidence-inspiring pattern by them., to be changing yet another thing about a product, without ever mentioning it. I like the stuff arriving on my doorstep to be what I thought I was buying. If I bothered looking at photos closely, or reading a mechanical drawing, I want it to have been right.

Buy what you want, but I'm not buying anything where marketing/spec/tech materials show a fridge meeting my needs, and what they ship does not.
Or where parts are 100x harder to get, and not what any repairman is expecting, just because they decided to make a change for no apparent reason.
The plug problem, I can get around myself, with probably nothing more than a Swiss Army knife or a pair of alligator clips or 100 other ways.
That's not the point. If I buy a $559 fridge, I don't want it to need me using my Swiss Army knife cobbling up spare cords for each vehicle.

Alpicool fridges aren't overall as good as ICECO fridges. I know that.
LG compressors may or may not be overall as good as SECOP compressors, probably not., but they're both really good.
Alpicool/Vevor seems to ship exactly what is in their own photos, specs, and technical drawings. With no oddball power cable, either.
In that sense, I voted with my wallet.
But most of all, it just seemed the most likely to fit and work well in the tightest space among the vehicles I'll use it in.

You guys have fun. If anyone needs accurate fridge dimensions of anything, I probably have them. My username on YouTube is the same as here.

 

[CowboyTaco]

@Hybrid Life ,

I don't think ICECO actually designs or manufactures these fridges. If you look at all the 12v fridge/freezers on the market, you'll notice that all of them seem to derive from under a dozen designs. If ICECO did manufacture the fridge, why would they put the same "B" in the vent as the Indel-B designed "TruckFridge"?

They are simply purchasing these units in bulk at a discounted rate and then passing them along to us for less than we can get them somewhere else.

Based on the slow response time of ICECO to inquiries, I too have my concerns if I ever have to make a warranty claim. That said, I think the value is more than there for the ICECO fridges. I feel like I got exactly what was advertised and would absolutely purchase again.

Please don't take this as a personal attack. I'm just stating that I think your reaction to the plug thing is a bit out of proportion. I hope you find the perfect fridge to suit your needs.

 

[SharpeCat]

@Hybrid Life ,

I don't think ICECO actually designs or manufactures these fridges. If you look at all the 12v fridge/freezers on the market, you'll notice that all of them seem to derive from under a dozen designs. If ICECO did manufacture the fridge, why would they put the same "B" in the vent as the Indel-B designed "TruckFridge"?

They are simply purchasing these units in bulk at a discounted rate and then passing them along to us for less than we can get them somewhere else.

Based on the slow response time of ICECO to inquiries, I too have my concerns if I ever have to make a warranty claim. That said, I think the value is more than there for the ICECO fridges. I feel like I got exactly what was advertised and would absolutely purchase again.

Please don't take this as a personal attack. I'm just stating that I think your reaction to the plug thing is a bit out of proportion. I hope you find the perfect fridge to suit your needs.

Truckfridge is an ICECO rebrand. Truckfridge rebrands a lot of fridges including one of ICECO's, and a lot of other companies have rebranded ICECO fridges. Just follow the price, if ICECO rebrands another fridge the price would reflect that. The closer to the real manufacturer, the better the price for the same unit. If you look in ICECO's website, they post their manufacturing information.

Just because Lu can be slow to respond to our GB when GB is active and things are busy, does not mean all of ICECO will be slow to handle warranty claims later on; it's honestly too soon to tell and everyone who speaks on it are not basing it on facts. Everyone who had an issue so far did get it resolved even during busy times. Remember that Lu handles the GB, not all of ICECO, but ICECO handles the warranty. Like all other warranty claims you just need to give them time, but we have no reason to believe they won't honor it.

Also, like i said this thing is pretty simply built, all the components ICECO is in charge of are small things that is easy to fix (like electronic display components, power cables, fan and etc) and SECOP is in charge of the compressor; you deal with SECOP directly for the most important component. Personally, i wouldn't worry about it especially here on mud where you'll have plenty of people who have this fridge figured out and we can fix these things ourselves pretty easily; if ever needed. Until it happens we have no reason to think we need to fix it ourselves though.

 

[SharpeCat]

Sorry if I got your thread off track. I didn't even know there is an Alpicool thread here.

I view almost every warranty as worth $0 to me, not worth my time to deal with a claim. A 5-year compressor warranty on SECOP is wonderful, but if that's 5x the warranty on the fridge itself, imaybe there is how to a get a SECOP for cheap, to transplant when the fridge dies. And I'm as likely to do it as an engine swap. I could, but probably it won't ever move up to #1 on my to-do list.

I came here expecting to buy an ICECO/SECOP at a good discount, likely a JP50. It turns out that a JP50 no longer fits my application now, which is ONLY TRUE because ICECO stopped delivering what they advertise. If they had advertised what they're really shipping, I never would have come here, because it would have been obvious to me that it wouldn't fit into one of my cars.. Come on, you're blaming ME because THEY advertised the wrong overall length of their fridge, because they changed the fridge and didn't change the specs? Get real.

23 inches long and 24 inches long are not the same thing. End of story.

That was my problem #1 with ICECO. If they're lazy about keeping current specs and photos online, what else are they lazy about? In their defense, their specific error only affects people who care about length with handles removed, or people who care about length a specific height above what it's sitting on . But that's quite a few people tucking fridges into RV drawers, cabinets, on car floors, etc.

The plug incompatibiity cypher2001 discovered is a distant problem #2. But it's already caused an actual problem for a fridge-owning member of the forum, it's not some imaginary thing I'm making up. Not a big deal to me, but not a confidence-inspiring pattern by them., to be changing yet another thing about a product, without ever mentioning it. I like the stuff arriving on my doorstep to be what I thought I was buying. If I bothered looking at photos closely, or reading a mechanical drawing, I want it to have been right.

Buy what you want, but I'm not buying anything where marketing/spec/tech materials show a fridge meeting my needs, and what they ship does not.
Or where parts are 100x harder to get, and not what any repairman is expecting, just because they decided to make a change for no apparent reason.
The plug problem, I can get around myself, with probably nothing more than a Swiss Army knife or a pair of alligator clips or 100 other ways.
That's not the point. If I buy a $559 fridge, I don't want it to need me using my Swiss Army knife cobbling up spare cords for each vehicle.

Alpicool fridges aren't overall as good as ICECO fridges. I know that.
LG compressors may or may not be overall as good as SECOP compressors, probably not., but they're both really good.
Alpicool/Vevor seems to ship exactly what is in their own photos, specs, and technical drawings. With no oddball power cable, either.
In that sense, I voted with my wallet.
But most of all, it just seemed the most likely to fit and work well in the tightest space among the vehicles I'll use it in.

You guys have fun. If anyone needs accurate fridge dimensions of anything, I probably have them. My username on YouTube is the same as here.

All that cherry picking and spending hours trying to pick out all the little things wrong with it and you still don't have a convincing enough argument to push us away from ICECO. No one is forcing you to even consider ICECO if they make you so mad over not sending you a newsletter detailing every reason why they chose every single component. No one is paying $559 for a JP either (thats point of a GB discount), but you can stretch the truth and cherry pick every which way you want, it still won't change anything.

Have fun bud, and good luck finding a fridge for you and good luck with your youtube channel.

 

[Battlecreek]

Just got done testing the sustained consumption for AC power at 0 degrees for the TR, and for some reason the jackery 160 only lasted 4 hours and 17 mins. It lasted 7.5 hours on DC power for the same temp setting last night.

If I'm understanding you the power from the battery in the Jackery is going through 2 different conversions to cool the fridge. First the Jackery's inverter, then the ICECO's to get back to DC and run the compressor, right? Those could have a loss as bad as 30%—each.

Actually this is kinda cool, if you assume 75% efficiency on each inverter you get 7.5 hours cut to 5.625 through the first inverter, then 75% of that is 4.21 hours. almost exactly what you got in your test.

 

[cypher2001]

WOW, the plot thickens. Thanks for posting the photos. I can understand why some fridges might orient the receptacle differently, or have a different angle the wire exits relative to the pins and key slot. But I can't understand why anyone would be following an unofficial industry standard for at least the plug pins and keying/polarity, and then introduce a similar but different scheme without a clear explanation as to why, plus an ample supply of the deviant new plugs, preferably in many configurations for people needing to route the cord in different directions for different reasons.

Offhand, I'd say it was a bad move by ICECO. If they want to establish a better way of doing it, fine, announce it and let's have a VHS vs Betamax battle and see which one wins. But to just start shipping stuff with non-standard plugs and sockets without explanation, is more than a bit crazy. That's the problem with using unofficial, de-facto standards, especially when every single manufacturer seems to intentionally fail to document or name that standard, presumably to make it difficult or impossible for people to make their own custom cables except by buying and hacking up the ones they are selling. And no third-party suppliers in this case, seem to have taken on the task of documenting or naming the existing de-facto standard, officially or unofficially. Nor have they taken on the task of making top-quality plugs/cables, just poor/fair/good ones in a straight-in configuration with cheap cigarette plugs at the other end of minimum-sized wire. Personally I'd look at replacing any unusual receptacle on the fridge with something more easily dealt with, maybe replacing it with a standard one. Or better yet, with Andersons recessed into the case at a new location of my own choice and wired either in parallel with the existing receptacle, or switchable between them, or disconnecting the factory one. Then cap the old one if it's still live in parallel.

I have stopped short thusfar from opening it up with the intent of resoldering a new connector. I fully expect that might void a warranty.

I tried to reach out to Iceco -- but it should be of no surprise here that I got no response.

I also tried 2 similar looking ones at amazon -- neither fit. Other than buying everything amazon has with the intent on returning it, I'm back to square 1.

In the end, I just want an extra cable. I'd gladly pay for it -- if I could find a place to buy it. Its not a gripe -- its a reality. What happens if people lose that cable?

 

[SharpeCat]

I have stopped short thusfar from opening it up with the intent of resoldering a new connector. I fully expect that might void a warranty.

I tried to reach out to Iceco -- but it should be of no surprise here that I got no response.

I also tried 2 similar looking ones at amazon -- neither fit. Other than buying everything amazon has with the intent on returning it, I'm back to square 1.

In the end, I just want an extra cable. I'd gladly pay for it -- if I could find a place to buy it. Its not a gripe -- its a reality. What happens if people lose that cable?

I’ll ask him about replacement cables for the expandable, as well as the third basket. I assume we are talking about the expandable?

 

[cypher2001]

I’ll ask him about replacement cables for the expandable, as well as the third basket. I assume we are talking about the expandable?

Yes. The 35-52. It’s a nice unit. Little different than the rest of their lineup.

 

[SharpeCat]

If I'm understanding you the power from the battery in the Jackery is going through 2 different conversions to cool the fridge. First the Jackery's inverter, then the ICECO's to get back to DC and run the compressor, right? Those could have a loss as bad as 30%—each.

Actually this is kinda cool, if you assume 75% efficiency on each inverter you get 7.5 hours cut to 5.625 through the first inverter, then 75% of that is 4.21 hours. almost exactly what you got in your test.

That’s a great explanation. The only thing i don’t get is that if there is a loss going into the Jackery, then it would affect the DC test as well. The Adapter from ICECO does the conversion and should only add 1 inverter into the mix; it is 12V By the time it makes it to Jackery. Could it be losing that much with just that 1 adapter instead of 2?

Just finished with the DC test for 20 F, and it lasted 8 hours 35 mins with the Jackery 160. Will do the AC test when the JAckery is charged again (few hours so probably in the morning). If the AC adapter is the issue then the AC version should only last about half as long for the 20 degrees test as well. If it lasts longer then maybe i need to run the other test again to see if 4.25 hours is a fluke or if it's normal to have that much of a loss with the AC to DC adapter.

 

[SharpeCat]

For people missing third basket, can I please get order numbers? Lu is asking me for them.

Also, if you need replacement cables for expandable just text him and he will get some out for you. If you want me to help then I will need order numbers for reference. Thanks everyone!

Oh and I did also ask about extension date, and it’s looking like within the next week, possibly as soon as this weekend. I will update soon as I get an official date. Thanks again!

 

[cmw]

For people missing third basket, can I please get order numbers? Lu is asking me for them.

Also, if you need replacement cables for expandable just text him and he will get some out for you. If you want me to help then I will need order numbers for reference. Thanks everyone!

Oh and I did also ask about extension date, and it’s looking like within the next week, possibly as soon as this weekend. I will update soon as I get an official date. Thanks again!

It might simplify the process for you to clarify with Lu if the the 35L or the expansion packages are intended to ship with three baskets. I purchased it knowing it came with two and would be thrilled to get the third, also would be willing to pay for it as an accessory / pay for shipping.

I will DM you my order number.

Under ideal circumstances I would be interested in pursuing an insulation problem (manufacturing defect) with my fridge but I'm not sure how much energy I want to put into that process. Thinking of getting some thermal images first to really confirm my impressions.

 

[SharpeCat]

It might simplify the process for you to clarify with Lu if the the 35L or the expansion packages are intended to ship with three baskets. I purchased it knowing it came with two and would be thrilled to get the third, also would be willing to pay for it as an accessory / pay for shipping.

I will DM you my order number.

Under ideal circumstances I would be interested in pursuing an insulation problem (manufacturing defect) with my fridge but I'm not sure how much energy I want to put into that process. Thinking of getting some thermal images first to really confirm my impressions.

Perfect. Just DM it to me and ill send it over along with @cypher2001 's. Anyone else needing a third basket for the expandable? I am inquiring about replacement DC cables as well, also for expandable.

 

[SharpeCat]

Under ideal circumstances I would be interested in pursuing an insulation problem (manufacturing defect) with my fridge but I'm not sure how much energy I want to put into that process. Thinking of getting some thermal images first to really confirm my impressions.

Oh and the part about the insulating problem, can you tell us more about it? Symptoms? Sounds like it might be a tough one. If I had one I would do some power consumption tests and compare it to yours to see. If yours is leaking or there is a defect then I’d imagine it would use up more power to keep the same temp. Maybe another member with one can run a test and compare? It’s probably not too far from my VL45 actually, since it is a VL class and close to same capacity. Maybe compare it to that?