Is there a buyers guide or FAQ for refrigerators?

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
Just curious. After our Moab trip and our recent Teardrop journey to the coast I really want a fridge now.

The Amazon reviews have me a little scared of the Edgestar (even though on our Moab trip Michael had no problems with his.)

I realize that negative reviews are more likely than positive ones, only because unhappy customers are more likelty to complain than happy customers are to rave, but the horror stories of inoperative units and poor customer service are too numerous to ignore.

There seems to be a huge price gap between the budget priced (Edgestar and its clones) and the high priced units (ARB, Engel, etc.)

However, I realize I may be missing out on some options. I think one thing people commonly do with fridges is that they assume they need the same size fridge as their current cooler - so if they carry a 50qt cooler, they assume they need a 50qt fridge.

Seems to me that what I need is not a huge fridge like the 48-50qt size you commonly see, but something that's only big enough for the stuff that has to stay cold: meats, cheeses, eggs, milk, etc. Because I can always carry an ice chest for the beer and soda - if that stuff gets warm, no big deal.

Some folks here had mentioned small fridges used to transport human organs or other medical supplies - that's something that would be more like what I'm looking for

A $750 ARB would be nice but is actually more fridge than I need. And I realize I can get an edgestar for under $400 but given all the negative press they've gotten I would be very reluctant to spend that kind of money on something of questionable reliability.

So does anyone make a small fridge (not a thermo-cooler, a true refrigerator) in the 20 - 30 qt size, and priced under, say $400? Because that's really what I need.

Any input would be appreciated!
 

Honu

lost on the mainland
in that price ?
I think the thing to do is look at the Engel or Norcold fridges on the used market and you will end up with a good price in a proven design etc..
Dometic (Waeco) are also pretty decent reputation
seems some get them never use them and they end up in like new condition
I would avoid the beat looking ones for sure !!!!
 

Honu

lost on the mainland
I have always heard good things about the dometic/waeco stuff

not sure if you searched here ? but cant think of any real negatives I have heard when I started looking at fridges
if I had to say a negative it might be they use a touch more electric than some of the others but again for the price and I wanted a new fridge on a budget it would be on my short list

reading this might be good if you did not find it here yet :) might help ya like the dometic/waeco more :)
http://www.expeditionportal.com/res...rland-journal-portable-12v-fridge-review.html
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
I have always heard good things about the dometic/waeco stuff

not sure if you searched here ? but cant think of any real negatives I have heard when I started looking at fridges
if I had to say a negative it might be they use a touch more electric than some of the others but again for the price and I wanted a new fridge on a budget it would be on my short list

reading this might be good if you did not find it here yet :) might help ya like the dometic/waeco more :)
http://www.expeditionportal.com/res...rland-journal-portable-12v-fridge-review.html

Thanks for the link, that's the sort of thing I was looking for, except that I didn't see the cost mentioned - that's a factor that has to be considered.

I think I'll probably get the Dometic I linked above. It's smaller than most of the refrigerators the folks here use but my thought is that I would not replace my cooler, I would use it in conjunction with a cooler.

So my setup will be like this: Meat, Cheese, milk, butter, eggs, - things that will spoil if they get warm (and also things that will be ruined if they get soaked with water) will go in the fridge. If I make a sandwich or a burrito or something I want to save for later, that also goes in the fridge. If there's room for a water bottle or a beer or two, great. If not, no big deal. Beer, soda, water and anything else that won't spoil and won't be ruined by melting ice will go in the cooler with an ice block and some cube ice (I learned the value of block ice in Moab back in April. Lasts a LOOOONG time, even in hot weather.)
 
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Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
Their price was good ($318) but they would have hit me hard on shipping. The eBay link above was $345 and included free shipping.

I went ahead and ordered it. Should be here late next week. Can't wait to try it out!

Thanks again for all the help. :ylsmoke:
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
Never heard of them before but the larger models are very competitively priced.

However, if they are simply re-badged versions of the Edgestar-type, then they could suffer the same issues.

My thought was that $500 is way too much to spend on something of questionable reliability. I'd rather either spend more and get a higher quality product of the same size, or spend less and get a higher quality product albeit in a smaller size (which is what I ultimately did.)

I think the $500/55qt price point is an excellent one. But without knowing more about the brand and where it comes from, I would still be reluctant to spend the $$.
 

Honu

lost on the mainland
Thanks for the link, that's the sort of thing I was looking for, except that I didn't see the cost mentioned - that's a factor that has to be considered.

I think I'll probably get the Dometic I linked above. It's smaller than most of the refrigerators the folks here use but my thought is that I would not replace my cooler, I would use it in conjunction with a cooler.

So my setup will be like this: Meat, Cheese, milk, butter, eggs, - things that will spoil if they get warm (and also things that will be ruined if they get soaked with water) will go in the fridge. If I make a sandwich or a burrito or something I want to save for later, that also goes in the fridge. If there's room for a water bottle or a beer or two, great. If not, no big deal. Beer, soda, water and anything else that won't spoil and won't be ruined by melting ice will go in the cooler with an ice block and some cube ice (I learned the value of block ice in Moab back in April. Lasts a LOOOONG time, even in hot weather.)

one thing you could do for your cooler is get some 2 liter bottles freeze them with water then as it melts you have cold water and no water sloshing around in your cooler ! and solid ice always seems to last longer :)
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
one thing you could do for your cooler is get some 2 liter bottles freeze them with water then as it melts you have cold water and no water sloshing around in your cooler ! and solid ice always seems to last longer :)

Yup, I already do that although I use smaller bottles as they're easier to move around the cooler.

We have a chest freezer at home so freezing bottles before a trip is pretty easy. I was dumb not to do it before Moab, don't know why I didn't do it but it resulted in me running out of ice on day 2 of White Rim and having to ask Michael to share some space in his Edgestar.
 

Honu

lost on the mainland
yeah I finally broke down bought a chest freezer a few years ago and kicking myself for not doing it sooner !!!!!

keep us posted on your fridge when ya get it :) I can say once you have them its hard to go back !! we still use a cooler for the kids drinks etc.. we freeze those juice boxes and other things so no water sloshing plus with the kids and such dont want them opening our fridge every 3 minutes :) hahaahahha
 

spikemd

Explorer
Having a freezer/fridge, I feel is the single best upgrade for vehicle based camping/overlanding. No more soggy food! and you know your dairy/meat aren't spoiled. I have a 50qt ARB and although you might think it is big, I don't find it too big at all. In fact, it seems to fill up pretty quick especially if you are out on the trail for a week.

Would love to see pics of your new fridge.
 

teotwaki

Excelsior!
Martin, in your earlier question about sizing.... a buyer should take the ice chest internal volume and then deduct the volume of all of the ice to arrive at a fridge internal capacity. For me I found that the external volume of my fridge was close to that of my ice chest but the advantages of the fridge were well worth it.
 

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