Costway Fridge (1 Viewer)

[80t0ylc]

Just to keep this thread up to date with the ARB plug option. I ended up finding out that my power wire was run to a starter solenoid in my diesel swapped rig. The previous owner had put a LOT of aftermarket power wires on there. The terminal was under tension and the housing had developed a crack, which caused poor contact inside the solenoid. (burn marks) When I traced the power wire back to the solenoid, I tried to tighten the connection and it came off in my hand......

I rewired all the other wires to a Blue Sea fuse block I had in the garage. (Sorry for the bad picture).....

The rear outlet now seems to be working. The fridge kicked on using only battery power. I'll keep tabs on it. Also, the ARB cord works, if I push and hold it in the outlet. So, my thought is that the ARB socket along with the ARB cord might still be a good option for me. I'm going to run what I have for a few days before making that call but I wanted to update anyone reading this that the ARB option is not dead.

Good catch! I have a Blue Sea fuse block in that location, too. For performance reasons, I would still eliminate that section of 16 AWG wire on your rear 12V plug. In your pic of that plug, it looks like the connections are the quick disconnect (clip on) covered with heat shrink. If so, you could cut the heat shrink off with a razor blade & unclip the 16 AWG (remembering the polarity) and cut them off at the end of the 12 AWG. Re-terminate the 12 AWG proper size clip on terminals and install them along with heat shrink on the plug. It looks like you have sufficient length to do that and everything you can do to improve that 12V plug will pay dividends down the road.

 

[Lumpskie]

Just a quick update. My fridge ran all night in an 80 degree garage. Seems like I found a big part of my stability issue. I'm going to use the fridge this weekend. If all goes well, I'm going to get rid of that cigarette lighter and put the ARB plug in to use with the ARB cord. (I'm still a little worried because I have get to get the compressor to kick on with that cord) I'll post results, if/when I do that.

 

[geanes]

I've had my Costway fridge for 18 months now. It's connected to power using the ARB wiring kit and ARB 12v wire for the fridge. It's been a good fridge from a cooling perspective, low power consumption and budget. The one big minus for me over the span of ownership has been the lack of insulation on the fridge (it does NOT like warm weather at all) and the seals along the lid not seating correctly (no way to modify that either as the clasp is not adjustable). Oh, and the chain is not stainless and rusted like crazy (replaced with weedwhacker line). Well, now I've finally reached my final straw with mine. The compressor started ringing like a cowbell about 6 months ago. Any small bump and it sounds like a cowbell. I've taken the unit apart and discovered that the compressor is not serviceable. There is something internal that has shaken loose. The fridge still works, but is incredibly annoying. Wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Strongly considering getting a real fridge at this point assuming better construction and support.

I honestly don't feel this fridge was designed for anything more than RV travel. Offroad/overlanding seems to rattle things loose that are not repairable.

 

[cmw]

I honestly don't feel this fridge was designed for anything more than RV travel. Offroad/overlanding seems to rattle things loose that are not repairable.

This is helpful information

 

[Irish Reiver]

I've had my Costway fridge for 18 months now. It's connected to power using the ARB wiring kit and ARB 12v wire for the fridge. It's been a good fridge from a cooling perspective, low power consumption and budget. The one big minus for me over the span of ownership has been the lack of insulation on the fridge (it does NOT like warm weather at all) and the seals along the lid not seating correctly (no way to modify that either as the clasp is not adjustable). Oh, and the chain is not stainless and rusted like crazy (replaced with weedwhacker line). Well, now I've finally reached my final straw with mine. The compressor started ringing like a cowbell about 6 months ago. Any small bump and it sounds like a cowbell. I've taken the unit apart and discovered that the compressor is not serviceable. There is something internal that has shaken loose. The fridge still works, but is incredibly annoying. Wondering if anyone else has experienced this. Strongly considering getting a real fridge at this point assuming better construction and support.

I honestly don't feel this fridge was designed for anything more than RV travel. Offroad/overlanding seems to rattle things loose that are not repairable.

Sounds like you've had a bad experience. I have had mine for 2 years. It runs either in my truck or, recently due to covid, in my garage. I could count on 1 hand the number of days it hasn't been used. Like you say, it cools excellent but a hot truck is a problem. I had my brother make me a thermal cover for it which helps a lot. I do miles and miles of off roading with mine and i can sometimes hear (i assume the compressor) clunking off something. Its never been any more than that though and everything still works as expected.
At this stage i wouldn't hesitate buying another one. Oh and my chain has zero rust...go figure

 

[cmw]

So here's a question for you all;

A used (out of warranty) ARB 50 or a new Costway?

 

[80t0ylc]

Maybe this is the wrong thread for this, but why put up with bargain fridges that you worry about or have known problems. I've had my 50 L National Luna for 7 yrs now. It's been down in Baja, Arizona, Nevada, several Utah trips, all over Oregon in triple digit as well as below freezing temps - without a hitch. Sure it wasn't cheap, but you get what you pay for and leave your worries behind. How much is peace of mind worth? Don't scrimp when you're dealing with keeping your food from spoiling and the results of food poisoning.

 

[geanes]

Maybe this is the wrong thread for this, but why put up with bargain fridges that you worry about or have known problems. I've had my 50 L National Luna for 7 yrs now. It's been down in Baja, Arizona, Nevada, several Utah trips, all over Oregon in triple digit as well as below freezing temps - without a hitch. Sure it wasn't cheap, but you get what you pay for and leave your worries behind. How much is peace of mind worth? Don't scrimp when you're dealing with keeping your food from spoiling and the results of food poisoning.

I went "cheap" because it was a good way to figure out what I actually needed. It was a low cost of entry and has worked fine. It's never failed in the field and has always kept the food and, more importantly, the beer cold. If it weren't making such a racket (which appears to be an isolated case), I'd probably keep it for another season before consigning it to patio duty and replacing with a nicer fridge. Having used it for many trips, I've discovered that I really need a slightly larger fridge and prefer it to have side-opening lids. It's also helped me understand power consumption and what I really need. The cheap units like the Costway burn a TON of amp hours compared to more efficient known brands such as ARB, Dometic, Snomaster, Engel, etc. They'l work fine overnight, but you aren't running them for 24 hours in the Texas summer without having to crank your engine to recharge the battery. The know brands use about 1/3 to as little as 1/4 the amp hours as the Costway. Finally, the cheap ones have practically zero warranty. They break/fail, you toss and replace. I was actually fine with that figuring I was only paying $300 or so and could figure out what I really needed when it came time to upgrade. It wouldn't hurt near as bad as paying $1k for a fridge and then realizing that you needed a bigger one and wanted side opening lids. That would have been an expensive mistake

In the end, I think the cheaper fridges have their place. Many can't afford to dish out $1k+ for a fridge. Just like they can't fork over $1k+ for ARB or BAJA designs lights. They get something that can largely address their minimal needs and not bang the pocketbook hard. Weekend warriors who camp up to 10x per year could see a benefit from the cheaper options. For more frequent and longer excursions (3+ days) away from civilization, the more expensive/reputable brands start to separate themselves quickly.

 

[80t0ylc]

I went "cheap" because it was a good way to figure out what I actually needed. It was a low cost of entry and has worked fine. It's never failed in the field and has always kept the food and, more importantly, the beer cold. If it weren't making such a racket (which appears to be an isolated case), I'd probably keep it for another season before consigning it to patio duty and replacing with a nicer fridge. Having used it for many trips, I've discovered that I really need a slightly larger fridge and prefer it to have side-opening lids. It's also helped me understand power consumption and what I really need. The cheap units like the Costway burn a TON of amp hours compared to more efficient known brands such as ARB, Dometic, Snomaster, Engel, etc. They'l work fine overnight, but you aren't running them for 24 hours in the Texas summer without having to crank your engine to recharge the battery. The know brands use about 1/3 to as little as 1/4 the amp hours as the Costway. Finally, the cheap ones have practically zero warranty. They break/fail, you toss and replace. I was actually fine with that figuring I was only paying $300 or so and could figure out what I really needed when it came time to upgrade. It wouldn't hurt near as bad as paying $1k for a fridge and then realizing that you needed a bigger one and wanted side opening lids. That would have been an expensive mistake

In the end, I think the cheaper fridges have their place. Many can't afford to dish out $1k+ for a fridge. Just like they can't fork over $1k+ for ARB or BAJA designs lights. They get something that can largely address their minimal needs and not bang the pocketbook hard. Weekend warriors who camp up to 10x per year could see a benefit from the cheaper options. For more frequent and longer excursions (3+ days) away from civilization, the more expensive/reputable brands start to separate themselves quickly.

And no matter what brand or quality, the fridge's performance depends on the quality of the rig's electrical system and connection. So the bargain hunter will have possibly 2 hurdles to over come to get a reliable portable fridge. One thing I might recommend, even for the higher quality units, is unplug it if you're not using it. An empty fridge is so much harder to keep cold than a packed one which is considerably harder on the unit. When not in use, I leave mine unplugged in the rig, propped open slightly to avoid bad smell buildup. And if you're using it plugged in to AC in your home for additional food or beverage storage, that adds to the "wear and tear". That's not considered portable usage by the industry - bargain fridges will wear out even faster since they're not made for continous use. Sounds pretty lame, doesn't it? But really, you get what you pay for. If you want a bullet proof fridge, they don't come cheap.

 

[SharpeCat]

Hey everyone, I am organizing a fridge group buy for those still looking.

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

1st GB: Hello everyone. July is around the corner, and Like many of you, I have been on the search for a fridge. Also like many of you, I can’t afford to shell out $1000. Because of this I have started looking at the smaller names like Alpicool (Costco/costway fridges, also rebranded 100...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[87warrior]

I am still rocking a Costway a year after its first use. I am impressed this thing still works. Not only does it still work, it works pretty well.

During the last year, I always set the temperature somewhere around 34 degrees. Items on the sides or bottom of the fridge would tend to get frosty after a few days. This year I stuck a Blue Tempo Disc wireless thermometer at the top of the wire rack and set the fridge to 36 degrees. It now takes almost a week before something touching the side starts to get frosty. Below is a screen shot of the fridges behavior, only about 30% full, in the back of my Land Cruiser:

I also replaced the Costway 12v wire and the 12v socket on my power panel with the above-mentioned ARB units. The old Costway plug was loose fitting and would fall out of the standard 12v socket in the power panel.

 

[Lumpskie]

I am still rocking a Costway a year after its first use. I am impressed this thing still works. Not only does it still work, it works pretty well.

During the last year, I always set the temperature somewhere around 34 degrees. Items on the sides or bottom of the fridge would tend to get frosty after a few days. This year I stuck a Blue Tempo Disc wireless thermometer at the top of the wire rack and set the fridge to 36 degrees. It now takes almost a week before something touching the side starts to get frosty. Below is a screen shot of the fridges behavior, only about 30% full, in the back of my Land Cruiser:
View attachment 2401939

I also replaced the Costway 12v wire and the 12v socket on my power panel with the above-mentioned ARB units. The old Costway plug was loose fitting and would fall out of the standard 12v socket in the power panel.
View attachment 2401959

It's awesome that you got this done. Are you running the 54quart version or the 44 Stakool version? I still haven't gotten around to swapping mine.

 

[87warrior]

It's awesome that you got this done. Are you running the 54quart version or the 44 Stakool version? I still haven't gotten around to swapping mine.

I am running the 54 quart Costway.

 

[Lumpskie]

I also finally got around to replacing the standard cigarette lighter plug with the ARB setup. Like I mentioned before, the old style ARB plug (wire and outlet) work without modification. Just wanted to update this thread showing that the 44 qt version (StaKool) also works.