Has anyone tried the Porta-Gaz refrigerator?

[JCruse]

This Porta-Gaz three way fuel fridge costs a lot less than the usual brands and it uses a different type of refrigeration too. It is said to be an "Absorption refrigerator".
The only review on Amazon says the guys only issue was he had to turn it down otherwise it froze everything inside. Not a bad "problem" to have for a $300 fridge. Has anyone tried one?



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009GT5J5C/?tag=dc105-20


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator

 

[Paul_L]

Sounds like a portable version of a typical RV 3-way fridge.

 

[e9999]

nice to have the ability to run on propane for a portable unit. For long stays in place where battery life is an issue, that is great. You could probably go for a week or 2 on a 20lbs tank. I love that part.

However, my experience with absorption units is that they don't provide anywhere close to the cooling power of a similar sized compressor-based unit. Mine (built-in in trailer) will certainly keep things cold but would take a long time to cool something from warm. (I think I posted some numbers on this here some years back.) And it's the same whether it runs on LP or 12V likely since I imagine the electrical mode is just an electric heater in lieu of the flame. Absorption and compressor devices are different beasts. The former are also rumored to not like operation too far from horizontal. Also keep in mind that since you burn the propane you'd better not use this inside.

Certainly better than a thermoelectric cooler, though.

(this thread should be in the camping forum).

 

[JCruse]

The lone amazon reviewer said he had to turn it down to keep it from freezing everything!


I wouldn't mind having to use pre chilled drinks/food to save a few hundred bucks, and possibly better reliability as opposed to the lower priced edgestar/wyntner units. I just want to avoid having to deal with buying ice all the time and often having a wet soggy mess. I need somebody who has actual experience with this unit to review it.
I'm normally only going out for one or two days at a time. I would live on the beach if I could but, apparently they have laws about that.