Anyone heard of this portable fridge?

[Petro]

Chinese I know, but they're selling them for $250 Cdn.


Specs are:

1. Normal voltage: 12V DC 120V/230v/240v AC Adapter
2. Minimum Operating Voltage: 10.7V DC
3. Maximum Operating Voltage: 14.0V DC
4. Maximum Current: 5Amp
5. Maximum Power Consumption @ 12V DC: 60W
6. Capacity: 42L
7. Dimensions: L 700*W420*H520MM
8. Meas: 750*458*570mm
9. Weight: G. W: 21KGS N. W: 19KGS

http://www.bluelifestyle.ca/home-appliances/freezers/lf8042-12v-dc-portable-freezer.html

 

[Martyn]

I haven't heard about this brand, but the power consumption is very high. 120 amps in 24 hours !!

 

[R_Lefebvre]

How did you get that Matyn? You're assuming it doesn't cycle? All fridges cycle, and have a high instantaneous load. But that doens't mean it consumes 120 Amp-Hours per 24hours.

 

[Martyn]

How did you get that Matyn? You're assuming it doesn't cycle? All fridges cycle, and have a high instantaneous load. But that doens't mean it consumes 120 Amp-Hours per 24hours.

There is no real method of working out how efficient the fridge is and how much it will cycle on an off without testing it.

So the simplest way of working out the power consumption is to assume it's being run as a freezer with the compressor running all the time. If we compare it to an Engel 45 L under these conditions the Engel will use 60 watts of power vs. the 120 watts used by this fridge.

If we assume that the efficiency of the fridge is as good as an Engel 45 and it will cycle in the same way then the Engel uses 28.8 amps in 24 hours and this fridge will use 58 amps.

But this is assuming a lot, Engel runs a Sawafuji Swing Motor on it's compressor and even though it's 40 years old it is still the motor that others compare themselves against.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Right, a lot of assumptions without any testing. For example, here somebody tested the "high-power" Edgestar fridge, and found it only ran 14% of the time, consuming only 18 amp-hours in a 24 hour period.

http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=471759&sid=2ffaa7ff6821319421e7793ddd2d73d1

Probably different test parameters than yours. My point is simply... unless somebody tests these alternative fridges using the same parameters as say... OJ's test, then anything else is pure speculation.

 

[Xterabl]

With any reasonable insulation, 33% duty cycle is probably a very fair assumption...considering day/night cycling, some opening/closing. Then if rated current consumption is 5A, actual will be more like 1.3-1.5A. Of course the cadillac fridges will be about 1/2 of this number.
Efficiency wise, here's a couple "rubber meets the road" differences: Running the fridge 5 days vs 2-2.5 days before killing the battery; only needing 20-30W solar panel vs. 50-60W to approximately compensate for battery drain. These are approximate of course, but more than likely not too far off the mark.

 

[Martyn]

With any reasonable insulation, 33% duty cycle is probably a very fair assumption...considering day/night cycling, some opening/closing. Then if rated current consumption is 5A, actual will be more like 1.3-1.5A. Of course the cadillac fridges will be about 1/2 of this number.
Efficiency wise, here's a couple "rubber meets the road" differences: Running the fridge 5 days vs 2-2.5 days before killing the battery; only needing 20-30W solar panel vs. 50-60W to approximately compensate for battery drain. These are approximate of course, but more than likely not too far off the mark.

Side by side testing with the right test equipment is the only way to go as there are so many variables.

With a stated consumption of 5 amps and actual average consumption of 1.3 - 1.5 amps would be very good. Under the conditions we tested Engel fridges they averaged 1.2 amps per hour over a six week period. There stated maximum power usage is 2.5 amps.

 

[Xterabl]

Side by side testing with the right test equipment is the only way to go as there are so many variables.

With a stated consumption of 5 amps and actual average consumption of 1.3 - 1.5 amps would be very good. Under the conditions we tested Engel fridges they averaged 1.2 amps per hour over a six week period. There stated maximum power usage is 2.5 amps.

OK, thanks for the correction. I'm curious to learn more; are the details of your tests published anywhere?

 

[Martyn]

OK, thanks for the correction. I'm curious to learn more; are the details of your tests published anywhere?

We do in house testing on all of the products we sell, or are thinking of selling. We don't publicize the data it's for in house use only.

Sharing data on good products is fine, it's more difficult on products that don't make the cut. Instead of getting into the controversy and politics of doing that we only carry product that have passed all of our testing with flying colors.

It's not as linear as that in real life. Some manufacturers won't sell you a single unit so you can test it, instead you have to buy a case or pallet load of the product. In cases like this we decline to carry the product but it has no reflection on the products quality.