Any one have any experience with the Dometic Portable freezer? (not Thermoelectric)

[jgvlanderos@yahoo.com]

I have never seen these and today I saw one in my local Camping World for $499. I was planning on buying a 37 quart ARB but for $300 less I might go for this one. I can't find much information on them about the warranty or if anyone is using them for off road vehicles instead of RV's

They are actually fridge/ freezers with a compressor but I cant find any comparisons to the ARB or Engel. Please provide me any feedback if you have researched this unit or own one. thanks

Here's the link to the deal in talking about.

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/portable-fridge-freezer-1-1-cu-ft-/75221#qanda

 

[mhiscox]

I have a 37 liter Dometic in the XV-JP and it's been excellent; no problems whatsoever. It got picked for being exactly the right dimensions, but it's worked just as well as the multiple Engel's I've had.

That said, the model you're talking about clearly isn't the same series as mine, so I've know idea whether you could safely generalize from my experience with this one:

http://www.dometic.com/enie/Interna...boxes--Freezers/Products/?productdataid=88172.

Good luck.

 

[jgvlanderos@yahoo.com]

I have a 37 liter Dometic in the XV-JP and it's been excellent; no problems whatsoever. It got picked for being exactly the right dimensions, but it's worked just as well as the multiple Engel's I've had.

That said, the model you're talking about clearly isn't the same series as mine, so I've know idea whether you could safely generalize from my experience with this one:

http://www.dometic.com/enie/Interna...boxes--Freezers/Products/?productdataid=88172.

Good luck.

Thanks, do you know what the warranty is on your unit. I can'f find any warranty info on their website. Maybe i'm just not looking in the right places. Also what is the power draw on it? does it drain your battery over night?

 

[mep1811]

I have a fridge freeze in my Cayenne and it has nor given me any problems. They are equivalent to Engel or the ARB

 

[Camelfilter]

I have a Dometic CF35, bought it on a similar special via Campingworld 3-4 months ago. Very happy with it so far. If you have a Campingworld nearby, and they have one in stock-you "should" be able to get the same deal-just give them a call. Saves on shipping.

My unit works like a charm, cycles very queitly. In fridge mode set between 3-4 C I have gone on 2 3 day trips now. 1 trip I didn't bother trying to recharge my house battery at all, and had charge left. My battery is a dears group 31 marine gel. It probably could go longer.

Power draw for my unit is ~3-3.5 A (when it cycles).

Now if you use freezer mode, it will cycle more per hour, using more power.

 

[moabian]

I have had 2 Waeco Coolmatics (now Dometic, I believe) and they were both problem free. One is now over 10 years old and still functions perfectly. I just sold the larger 8-year-old Waeco, also still working as great as the day I bought it. I was very happy with them, especially since they were so much cheaper than the others. I also had a FridgeFreeze that I just let go with my Tundra. I would not call it equivalent to Engel or ARB. FridgeFreeze is higher quality and more heavy-duty than either Engel or ARB...and the price reflects that. I now have a 63-qt. ARB in the JK. I like it, but it is also the ONLY fridge/freezer I've ever owned that I had to do repair work on, which doesn't say a lot for ARB. The fan started hitting one of the coolant lines after a few weeks. I had to pull the cover off and bend the coolant line away from the fan.

 

[jgvlanderos@yahoo.com]

Thanks for the feedback. I bought a unit today. It comes with a two year warranty and camping world has a 30 return policy. If it doesn't perform as advertised I will return the unit and get my money back within the 30 days. It will stay plugged in to my jeep and I will take it on the dusey ershim trail next week. I will post a review after that. Its a 33 quart unit but when I put it next to my friends 37 quart ARB we could hardly see a difference. In fact we took everything out of his ARB and fit it into the dometic exactly the same way.
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[moabian]

You may want to run another outlet specifically for the fridge...with heavier gauge wire. Most factory outlets will not reliably power a fridge. It may operate while the vehicle is running, but might shut down when the motor is off.

 

[takesiteasy]

We've had the Dometic CF50 for a couple of years. It has been reliable and problem free. I had seen the CF35 at Camping World but wanted a larger size. I had a $100-off Camping World coupon I wanted to use. Folks at the store said I could order any size from Dometic through the store and get Camping World price and use the coupon. It was shipped straight to me from Dometic. We've been happy with it, especially with the after-coupon price compared to other brands.

 

[Camelfilter]

You may want to run another outlet specifically for the fridge...with heavier gauge wire. Most factory outlets will not reliably power a fridge. It may operate while the vehicle is running, but might shut down when the motor is off.

+1.

Easy to do...if I can do it anyone can...

I used an outlet for boats (~$15), but outlets at auto parts stores should be fine too. Wired mine close to my "house" battery through a fused block with 10g wire.

You can also re-wire a factory outlet, but just seems easier to plunk in a new one.

 

[jgvlanderos@yahoo.com]

The factory outlet in the back my 2002 grand Cherokee seems to be doing the job. Im guessing that as long as the display is on it means that its getting the right amount of power right? The dometic has been plugged in for two days now and its been working great thus far. I start my jeep every morning and go to school or work. Its set on 27 degrees Fahrenheit and on low for the battery shutoff and I haven't had a dead battery yet. Its great to have a fridge full of healthy food and drinks. Im already saving money on food since I don't go to the vending machine or cafeteria at school or work anymore. I just go to my jeep and make my self a sandwich and have some fresh fruit. I occasionally need an energy drink to get through my econ class and its much cheaper to buy them in bulk and keep them in the jeep than it is to buy them at school. So day two and nothing but positive for the Dometic. I'll post an update after my dusey ershim trip next week.
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[moabian]

The factory outlet in the back my 2002 grand Cherokee seems to be doing the job. Im guessing that as long as the display is on it means that its getting the right amount of power right?
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Just because the display is lit does not necessarily mean the compressor is running. However, you may be fine if everything is staying cold. On many fridges, there is an error light that will indicate if the fridge is not getting an adequate power supply...or the display will indicate a problem. I don't know about the newer Dometics though. The battery shutoff setting will have an effect. The "low" setting may be the reason it is tolerating a possible lower voltage from the stock outlet, but it may also draw your battery down to an unacceptable level. Change it to the next setting up and you may find that it will shut down not long after your motor is turned off. If you are not running dual batteries, I'd keep a jump starter handy.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I had a CF-18 for a couple of years, worked great. Sold it and got a Truckfridge TF-41 (which is the same thing as an Indel-B TB-41.) Great fridges!

 

[tjrubicon]

My only issue in my 12 jk is the voltage drop, if set to med or hi it cycles off and on. Set it on low and it works great. This was with oem battery. It lasted about a day and a half and the fridge shutoff but jeep still started. The freezer is a cf50 dometic. My deka intimidator agm should be here in a few days, figured its better than oem battery when you cant afford a dual setup. Also plan on wiring in a new outlet with 8-10 gauge wire. I like the new arb locking plug but to expensive for what you can do yourself.

 

[Ozarker]

I was going to mention Norcol too.

Has anyone considered making a fridge and freezer? You can build a custom box, a top loader. You can get all the parts all you need is an insulated box. Often a favorite way of getting cold beer by sailors and live-aboards and fishermen keeping the catch frozen.