Opinions on fridges (1 Viewer)

[eatSleepWoof]

I've previously owned an ARB 63QT, which I loved, but at some point sold.

I've been using coolers since, but recently decided to try out a chinesium fridge. I ended up grabbing the F40C4TMP 30QT from Amazon, for a total of $310 CAD shipped (during a "Lighting" sale). The build feels cheap and lacks a few details (like tie-down spots), so it's definitely nowhere near ARB/SnoMaster/NationalLuna/etc. in that department, but I have to say that it cools quick, is quiet, and surely offers tremendous value given the super low price.

On AC it cooled down from ~25C ambient to 3C in literally 4-5 minutes. I previously also tested it on DC in my trailer and it went from ~30C to 10C in about 20 mins. A few days ago I put it on the front seat of my LX, plugged it into the 12v port at the console and used it for the entire day; it had no problem holding 3-5C and keeping all our food, baby food, and drinks cold. For the ~3-4 hours we were in camp I had it plugged into another 12V port in the back (which I installed some years ago), powered while the LX is off, and the battery never went below ~12.4v or so. Compressor seems to be reasonably efficient for the small fridge size.

Definitely much more convenient than the 35QT Yeti cooler we have (and previously used). Without needing to put ice inside the overall useable volume is larger, too.

 

[mdh384]

This is good information. Thanks for sharing.

So you leave your fridge in the LC all the time. Do you leave it running constantly? If so, do you worry about wear on it?
If not, does a take a bit to cool it down - like if you come out from a grocery store with a pint of icecream?

Fridge is always on, set to 3C. I am of the school of thought that mechanical things like to stay running. Lately I keep some beer in it, so I don’t have to go inside to grab one when I’m working on stuff outside. When we buy ice cream I’ll drop the setpoint down to -2or3C, it tends to get there in 10-15 minutes although this will depend on how much is already in there.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

We found it's also handy for parties, tailgating & picnics etc...

 

[wiseinvestor]

Everyone has valid points. For me having a fridge running in the truck 24/7/365. I find it useful for having drinks on hand and for midday stops at the grocery knowing I wont get home for hours. For camping, coolers work great... but it is a luxury I probably won't give up.

 

[MCtree]

Everyone has valid points. For me having a fridge running in the truck 24/7/365. I find it useful for having drinks on hand and for midday stops at the grocery knowing I wont get home for hours. For camping, coolers work great... but it is a luxury I probably won't give up.

How is this powered?
If it’s from your starter battery, do you drive enough daily/weekly to keep it topped off?

 

[SF1911A1]

How is this powered?
If it’s from your starter battery, do you drive enough daily/weekly to keep it topped off?

I had this same concern, my wife frequently does not drive for 4-5 days at a time. I have not set everything up yet but I bought a whole solar setup for the roof rack with a panel, charge controller etc. I already have a lifepo4 battery to keep it a stand alone system. When it’s not 1,000 degrees in Houston I plan on installing everything. It’s obviously not a cheap proposition, but like the OP I really like having the fridge available at all times and having cold drinks available at a moments notice. The only down side is that I will have to take the panel off for long road trips requiring a cargo box. Such is the price for the luxury though.

 

[wiseinvestor]

How is this powered?
If it’s from your starter battery, do you drive enough daily/weekly to keep it topped off?

I have a 100ah liFePo4 in the back under my arb drawer sidewing. It is powered by the alt and I don't have solar. Truck can sit for several days with no issue.

 

[SF1911A1]

I have a 100ah liFePo4 in the back under my arb drawer sidewing. It is powered by the alt and I don't have solar. Truck can sit for several days with no issue.

My 100 ah lifepo4 will run the fridge for 3.5 days in the car in houston summer heat with the windows cracked. That combined with the fact that the cruiser is not a daily driver is why I needed the solar panel. I agree that if it was a daily driver I would not have needed the solar panel and would definitely have just hooked up to the alternator.

 

[wiseinvestor]

I had this same concern, my wife frequently does not drive for 4-5 days at a time. I have not set everything up yet but I bought a whole solar setup for the roof rack with a panel, charge controller etc. I already have a lifepo4 battery to keep it a stand alone system. When it’s not 1,000 degrees in Houston I plan on installing everything. It’s obviously not a cheap proposition, but like the OP I really like having the fridge available at all times and having cold drinks available at a moments notice. The only down side is that I will have to take the panel off for long road trips requiring a cargo box. Such is the price for the luxury thoug

My 100 ah lifepo4 will run the fridge for 3.5 days in the car in houston summer heat with the windows cracked. That combined with the fact that the cruiser is not a daily driver is why I needed the solar panel. I agree that if it was a daily driver I would not have needed the solar panel and would definitely have just hooked up to the alternator.

Yep. everyone's situation is a bit different. I originally picked up a I picked up a ctek lithium charger to use as shore/house power in case I need to throw some juice in while in the garage. I have never had to use it. I also have a couple red arc briefcase solar panels if I was ever camped for extended periods of time, also never used. Like you mentioned, I drive my truck most days, even when camping. If I'm going to be at an airport for 7+ days I will just drink the beer in the parking garage and turn off the fridge.

 

[SF1911A1]

Yep. everyone's situation is a bit different. I originally picked up a I picked up a ctek lithium charger to use as shore/house power in case I need to throw some juice in while in the garage. I have never had to use it. I also have a couple red arc briefcase solar panels if I was ever camped for extended periods of time, also never used. Like you mentioned, I drive my truck most days, even when camping. If I'm going to be at an airport for 7+ days I will just drink the beer in the parking garage and turn off the fridge.

Great plan!

 

[Slow Paddler]

To power my National Luna 90 Twin I simply have an extension cord laying in the driveway, and when I’m home, I plug it into a pigtail hanging out the bottom of the bumper.

When camping with the trailer, it is plugged into the 630 A/h of lithium battery, and when not home or camping, it uses a Bluetti EB 70s for power

 

[MCtree]

So thanks to all of your input, I am now the proud owner of a 75L Dometic CFX!

I have two options that I see for powering it.
A. 12 volt plug in my cargo area connected to an aux Optima yellow-top battery. (Connected to the starter battery via a REDARC BCDV)

B. Ecoflow delta 2 (1000wh lithium) that would be put in-line between the fridge and 12 cargo area 12v outlet.

I would prefer the former since it’s one less device with which to bother and am testing it now.
Question is; what is the minimum voltage I should allow this yellow to drop to? Is there any standardly accepted min voltage before battery damage occurs?

And then… when camping, any thoughts on how long I would need to run the engine each day to top the aux battery off? Or maybe a voltage I should take it back up to?

 

[SF1911A1]

So thanks to all of your input, I am now the proud owner of a 75L Dometic CFX!

I have two options that I see for powering it.
A. 12 volt plug in my cargo area connected to an aux Optima yellow-top battery. (Connected to the starter battery via a REDARC BCDV)

B. Ecoflow delta 2 (1000wh lithium) that would be put in-line between the fridge and 12 cargo area 12v outlet.

I would prefer the former since it’s one less device with which to bother and am testing it now.
Question is; what is the minimum voltage I should allow this yellow to drop to? Is there any standardly accepted min voltage before battery damage occurs?

And then… when camping, any thoughts on how long I would need to run the engine each day to top the aux battery off? Or maybe a voltage I should take it back up to?

I would recommend a lifepo4 battery.

 

[linuxgod]

The Ecoflow delta is 80Ah. The Optima is 48Ah. The Ecoflow can be discharged down to near zero without any damage, but the Optima shouldn't be cycled to more than ~50%. (30% in a pinch).

IMO if you're going to drive every day so the battery gets recharged then I'd go with the cheaper Optima. OTOH if you want to camp in one spot for a few days I would go with the Ecoflow as you'll get 2-3 days of use before you have to recharge.

I wouldn't worry about putting something inline.

 

[MCtree]

I would recommend a lifepo4 battery.

The Ecoflow is lipo4, I believe. Is that not a form of lithium battery?

 

[MCtree]

The Ecoflow delta is 80Ah. The Optima is 48Ah. The Ecoflow can be discharged down to near zero without any damage, but the Optima shouldn't be cycled to more than ~50%. (30% in a pinch).

IMO if you're going to drive every day so the battery gets recharged then I'd go with the cheaper Optima. OTOH if you want to camp in one spot for a few days I would go with the Ecoflow as you'll get 2-3 days of use before you have to recharge.

I wouldn't worry about putting something inline.

To be clear, I already have the Aux battery installed.
And own the Delta 2 (purchased to run Starlink).

And I don’t plan on driving every day. I like to set up a camp and then hike out in the different directions during the day.
But I could run the vehicle engine in the evenings and mornings if necessary.

Thank you for the information on the Optima cycling. That is helpful to know.
Any thoughts on what voltage I should watch for to make sure I don’t go below 50%?

Since my initial post today, I have found different settings on the dometic for low, med and high voltage cut offs for when it stops drawing power. But I’m not sure what voltage they relate to so I want to test.

 

[linuxgod]

To be clear, I already have the Aux battery installed.
And own the Delta 2 (purchased to run Starlink).

And I don’t plan on driving every day. I like to set up a camp and then hike out in the different directions during the day.
But I could run the vehicle engine in the evenings and mornings if necessary.

Thank you for the information on the Optima cycling. That is helpful to know.
Any thoughts on what voltage I should watch for to make sure I don’t go below 50%?

Since my initial post today, I have found different settings on the dometic for low, med and high voltage cut offs for when it stops drawing power. But I’m not sure what voltage they relate to so I want to test.

For the optima you just have to watch the voltage when unloaded. I used to plan to stop when I hit 12V, and around 11.8V was my floor. Even still I used to kill AGM batteries every 3 years or so, though I was recharging with solar on my trailer every day so it was a lot of cycles.

 

[SF1911A1]

The Ecoflow is lipo4, I believe. Is that not a form of lithium battery?

Yes, that’s lithium iron phosphate. It’s the best option for this kind of application. I personally would not even consider the optima because the trade offs are so great. It’s heavier and also has the much lower useful range as Linuxgod explained. I have an Amazon generic lifepo4 power station that I like, but when hooked up to the fridge tends to turn off randomly. As such, I cannot trust it to run the fridge unless I’m checking on it every few hours and I refuse to have to do that. I picked up a 100 ah lifepo4 car battery style battery and just connected a 12v socket directly to the terminals so that there is no possible failure other than completely draining the battery. I still use the power station to power led lights in camp or fans or whatever, but I can’t count on it when dealing with food. If your eco flow does not have that auto-shut off problem then I think you are good to go with that.

 

[MCtree]

For the optima you just have to watch the voltage when unloaded. I used to plan to stop when I hit 12V, and around 11.8V was my floor. Even still I used to kill AGM batteries every 3 years or so, though I was recharging with solar on my trailer every day so it was a lot of cycles.

View attachment 3443357

Perfect! Thank you!

I googled on the World Wide Web and couldn’t find anything as succinct.
This is just what I was looking for.

 

[MCtree]

Yes, that’s lithium iron phosphate. It’s the best option for this kind of application. I personally would not even consider the optima because the trade offs are so great. It’s heavier and also has the much lower useful range as Linuxgod explained. I have an Amazon generic lifepo4 power station that I like, but when hooked up to the fridge tends to turn off randomly. As such, I cannot trust it to run the fridge unless I’m checking on it every few hours and I refuse to have to do that. I picked up a 100 ah lifepo4 car battery style battery and just connected a 12v socket directly to the terminals so that there is no possible failure other than completely draining the battery. I still use the power station to power led lights in camp or fans or whatever, but I can’t count on it when dealing with food. If your eco flow does not have that auto-shut off problem then I think you are good to go with that.

Okay. Good to know.
But since the optima is already installed, I guess I might as well keep it. I’ll just use it to charge the ecoflow - else I would need to change the wiring to the plugs in my cargo area.