I decided to upgrade to a much larger fridge, because I am a moron... and just purchased a Dometic CFX-75DZW. This is a true dual zone fridge. Either side can be a freezer or fridge or a side can be turned off when not needed.
For such a large fridge I have found it to be very energy efficient. With a watt meter hooked up I have done a bunch of testing in my hot garage where the temps varied from around 85 degrees to over 100.
On the 24 hour test with the fridge pre-cooled on 110 power for about 12 hours and set at 36 on the large side and 20 on smaller side the fridge average a mere .60 Amp/per hour draw. For a total of 14.61 amps consumed over a 24 hour period. Really impressive. I am going to do a few more test with both side set at 36 and then both sides set at 20 or less to see how it goes.
The fridge is only about half full with water bottles for testing. So that isn't even the optimal setup. All 12 volt fridges run best when full and pre-cooled for at least 24 hours.
If you are going to the Expo Dometic is going to have large booth. In 2017 I did a fridge shootout with the CFX-65DZ being the most efficient. That review is on 4XOA.com and will be updated in a few weeks after using this beast for a few weeks.
Yes it takes up a ton of room but it will be nice for long trips to be able to truly freeze food and have extra food on hand for group meals. We have led several trips where folks pitched in for group meals and we stored and prepped all the food for everyone. This fridge will make it easy.
I have heard Dometic makes the ARB refrigerators now. These should definitely be considered if you are thinking about getting a fridge. My 100 watt solar setup keeps the battery charged up without any voltage cutoff issues.
I just need to purchase a large fridge slide for this. The hack of my old one doesn't allow the fridge to slide out of the FJ far enough.
New vs old. My 2 year old Indel B 51
A new platform for my FJ is being built. I just need the new fridge slide to finish it.
Jet and Cash aren't impressed.
Phase I of the new platform
For such a large fridge I have found it to be very energy efficient. With a watt meter hooked up I have done a bunch of testing in my hot garage where the temps varied from around 85 degrees to over 100.
On the 24 hour test with the fridge pre-cooled on 110 power for about 12 hours and set at 36 on the large side and 20 on smaller side the fridge average a mere .60 Amp/per hour draw. For a total of 14.61 amps consumed over a 24 hour period. Really impressive. I am going to do a few more test with both side set at 36 and then both sides set at 20 or less to see how it goes.
The fridge is only about half full with water bottles for testing. So that isn't even the optimal setup. All 12 volt fridges run best when full and pre-cooled for at least 24 hours.
If you are going to the Expo Dometic is going to have large booth. In 2017 I did a fridge shootout with the CFX-65DZ being the most efficient. That review is on 4XOA.com and will be updated in a few weeks after using this beast for a few weeks.
Yes it takes up a ton of room but it will be nice for long trips to be able to truly freeze food and have extra food on hand for group meals. We have led several trips where folks pitched in for group meals and we stored and prepped all the food for everyone. This fridge will make it easy.
I have heard Dometic makes the ARB refrigerators now. These should definitely be considered if you are thinking about getting a fridge. My 100 watt solar setup keeps the battery charged up without any voltage cutoff issues.
I just need to purchase a large fridge slide for this. The hack of my old one doesn't allow the fridge to slide out of the FJ far enough.
New vs old. My 2 year old Indel B 51
A new platform for my FJ is being built. I just need the new fridge slide to finish it.
Jet and Cash aren't impressed.
Phase I of the new platform