Can it handle abuse of bumping down a trail?
Ammonia absorption type fridges like a bit of shaking around to stir up the ammonia. Supposedly, they don't like being operated off-level. I've shaken The 1.7cu' Norcold 323 in my truck around like crazy and let it run off-level a million times. Only problem I've ever had was a thermocouple that I had to replace - but that eventually happens with all pilot-light devices.
But I was AWARE that I could screw up the fridge by doing what I did. I didn't care since I figured when/if it fails, I'll swap it out for a compressor fridge. But the stupid thing just won't fail.
NOTE: On the "How it Works" page, Cold-Factor says:
"
THAT’S WHY IT’S SO VERY IMPORTANT TO KEEP YOUR FREEZER / FRIDGE LEVEL"
http://www.cold-factor.com/Howitworks.html
They can run off of 12v or propane.
On 12v it draws 10.8a. That's not intermittent like it would be with a compressor fridge - it's constant, powering a heating element when the pilot light is off - so it'll fully drain a 100ah aux battery in 10 hours or less.
The Norcold 323 in my truck draws about the same and I never run it from 12v. I run it propane only. The theory is that you are supposed to shut off the propane and run it from the truck while driving, but with my fridge it's too much of a PITA to switch back and forth. Might be easier with that fridge you're looking at.
On the plus side, the 5 gallon propane tank in my truck will run the fridge on low plus using the stove for 3 squares/day for 5 weeks - 3 weeks if the fridge is set to high. That page you linked to says it'll run 3 weeks on 9kg, which is roughly the same as mine does when set to high. I never run it on high except during the hottest days because if the ambient is less than 80 degrees F, the damn thing becomes a freezer.
As HenryJ noted - there's not much in the way of fine control. On propane I can adjust the pilot light from low to high, but the Norcold 323 is so simple, it doesn't have a temp sensor or an electronic control board. Basically it operates like a diesel - turn it on, pull something, turn it off.
In this case, it's turn it on, cool something - or freeze something, turn it off.
It doesn't cool based on temperature. It cools based on extracting X btu/hour from the box. So depending on how hot or cold the ambient is, and how much btu is seeping into the box, then subtract the extracted btu and that's what the termp will be.
In other words - a crap shoot.
Still - it does get the job done, and all I ever really have to do is make sure it's not on high unless needed so it doesn't freeze everything.
As long as you remember to shut it off while you are off-level, and the price was right, it'd be a damned efficient cooler running from propane.
