12 V Fridge Quagmire

[buckwilk]

I have weighed the pros and cons of 12v fridges versus coolers and ice and have made the decision to purchase a 12 v fridge. My research has included forums, blogs and youtube. Unlimited internet quests. What I'm coming up with is so scattered as to be worthless. There are tons of "this is what I bought". This is new and cheap etc. Price is important of course but I'm more interested in how to decide what size I need, The number of cans it will hold gives me nothing. Warranty, is it available stateside, is there online support, can it be serviced by other than shipping to a factory in another country. I wonder how they hold up over time and travel. Will a single deep cycle battery charged by solar or alternator keep it running. I guess what I'm asking for is your experience with what you run. Why did you buy what you did and would you do it again. What size works for you, that is, how many people does it supply. Do you use it for food and beverages or just food? How long have you used it, how often? Would you buy it again or something else? Thanks for any help you feel like offering, should we ever meet, a cold one for your help.

 

[luthj]

Tell us what your usage case is.

How big do you need? Start with the typical size of cooler you need and extrapolate. Typically a 110L fridge is good for 1-3 weeks for 2 people.
Do you need a freezer?
Do you need a very cold freezer (hard ice cream etc)?
What environment will you be using the fridge normally? Summer desert? Norther all season? Etc.
How do you use the fridge? Camping for days at time? Just weekend trips?

Do you need a portable fridge or will a front loading style work? (typically mechanically screwed/bracketed into a vehicle or small galley cabinet)


As far as charging goes, how big of a battery can you fit? (knowing the vehicle helps). Solar is region and season dependent. How often do you drive and for how long?

 

[shade]

I have weighed the pros and cons of 12v fridges versus coolers and ice and have made the decision to purchase a 12 v fridge. My research has included forums, blogs and youtube. Unlimited internet quests. What I'm coming up with is so scattered as to be worthless. There are tons of "this is what I bought". This is new and cheap etc. Price is important of course but I'm more interested in how to decide what size I need, The number of cans it will hold gives me nothing. Warranty, is it available stateside, is there online support, can it be serviced by other than shipping to a factory in another country. I wonder how they hold up over time and travel. Will a single deep cycle battery charged by solar or alternator keep it running. I guess what I'm asking for is your experience with what you run. Why did you buy what you did and would you do it again. What size works for you, that is, how many people does it supply. Do you use it for food and beverages or just food? How long have you used it, how often? Would you buy it again or something else? Thanks for any help you feel like offering, should we ever meet, a cold one for your help.

I have a 51qt Indel B fridge; no freezer. It's large enough for me to easily carry a week's food for three people, and its narrow/tall form fits well with how I carry it inside my truck's cab on a slide I made. I could get by with a smaller unit, but losing height would've resulted in wasted space, so I bought the 51 quart model. I usually have a few beverages stored at the top, and replace them as they're consumed. For my use, this has been a good, efficient fridge at a reasonable price.

Indel B produces fridges for other makes, and uses the same basic internals as other, more expensive options. I paid $500 for it years ago; I don't know how it compares on price today. I haven't worried about repairs & parts availability, but they are serviceable.

Running a fridge off of an auxiliary battery is a good idea, but I've managed ok using an oversized start battery and careful monitoring; the under voltage cut off of the fridge also provides protection. I always have an independent jump pack so I won't be stranded. For a second battery, there are lithium based options that work well in this application, especially if size & weight are important.

When I was shopping, I found that the major differences came down to the compressor, insulation, efficiency, and price. I found that the Indel B balanced those factors well enough for me at the time. The market has changed, but I'd consider buying it again.

 

[DaveInDenver]

What size cooler do you typically use now? You can guesstimate a fridge will only need to be about 50% of that as a baseline because you immediately gain all the space that used to be ice.

Our standard cooler was a 54 quart Coleman so I went with a 43 quart (Engel MT45) and that's been fine for us up to about a week if I don't pack it full of beer up front (beauty of a fridge is you can add a few beers or Cokes each morning and they cool while you drive or run from solar). Longer than a few days just means we have to plan to hit a town for cold provisions resupply.

My reasoning for buying an Engel was it was a known brand and I trusted the swing compressor concept. I bought mine locally from Slee Offroad so between Engel and Slee I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be left out cold should something happen. So that would be my $0.02, buy something from a reputable vendor unless you're going to go to the other end with something exceptional low cost that can treated as disposable if you can't hack it back into operation.

I ran from a single large battery for many years and knock wood never killed a battery. But you have to be vigilant and do budget in for a new battery sooner since the constant cycling will age it faster. I run a dual battery now for peace of mind.

 

[shade]

@buckwilk - When it comes to power options, this sub-forum is the place to go. Lots of threads on this subject, and some excellent help from many people - DaveInDenver & luthj included.

Power Systems: 12v, Solar, Gen.

Discussion of auxiliary power systems as they relate to expedition travel.

www.expeditionportal.com

 

[luthj]

@buckwilk - When it comes to power options, this sub-forum is the place to go. Lots of threads on this subject, and some excellent help from many people - DaveInDenver & luthj included.

Power Systems: 12v, Solar, Gen.

Discussion of auxiliary power systems as they relate to expedition travel.

www.expeditionportal.com

 

[buckwilk]

Tell us what your usage case is.

How big do you need? Start with the typical size of cooler you need and extrapolate. Typically a 110L fridge is good for 1-3 weeks for 2 people.
Do you need a freezer?
Do you need a very cold freezer (hard ice cream etc)?
What environment will you be using the fridge normally? Summer desert? Norther all season? Etc.
How do you use the fridge? Camping for days at time? Just weekend trips?

Do you need a portable fridge or will a front loading style work? (typically mechanically screwed/bracketed into a vehicle or small galley cabinet)


As far as charging goes, how big of a battery can you fit? (knowing the vehicle helps). Solar is region and season dependent. How often do you drive and for how long?

110 liter is how big in quarts ? Freezer, optional. Environment, summer travel western U.S. 6 mo. at a time. Temps-- 70's to 100's. Portable best application. Initial install in enclosed trailer transferable to covered P.U. bed on occasion. Battery size and location not an issue. Good questions, thanks

 

[buckwilk]

Power options are not the issue, but thanks. Comparing the different products and getting actual feedback from users is.

 

[shade]

There may be some shops in your area that have fridges in stock. If so, taking a hands-on look may be helpful.

 

[DaveInDenver]

110 L is 116.2 quarts

That's a big fridge. Like shade says you might want to get eyes on these to get a sense of floor space, internal space, how much room you'll need to open the lid or door. You want to make sure to size it big enough to fit want you want but not so big that it might be substantially empty too often. The couple of times I've needed longer time away from a grocery store I ran the Engel as a freezer and cycled ice blocks to a cooler. That worked but would not be an ideal long term solution.

 

[dreadlocks]

I can keep pre-frozen food still frozen for a week at bottom of my 84qt engel.. for a family of four this is large, even with a big beer budget.

I came up from a 64qt ARB and they both seem to consume about the same power per day, ~20AH on average.. sometimes higher, sometimes lower.. packed right and good quality upping the size shouldn't be really much difference power wise.. chilling a 6pack is chilling a 6pack in both of em.. thats our biggest consumer of power is restocking it.. this was also the biggest reason why we burned through ice so fast even with high end heavy insulated coolers.

There's hypermiling techniques like keeping ambient lower, adding insulation, unplugging it at night but I found a DC only approach is pretty abusive and having an onboard charger so you can get that battery up to max when the opportunity presents.. you know you'll depart home with a full charge, and at least get it back full once you get home.. if you stop over for a dinner w/family along the way you can get it back up.. it takes a long drive to recharge your battery, like 8h of driving every few days, and/or ideal solar conditions all day long so having something as trusty as an AC charger can mean difference between batteries lasting twice as long or more.. even more so on a trailer that gets terrible charging all the way back there.

You gotta really be sick of obtaining ice and dealing with water logged food to commit to a DC fridge, I mean you can buy literally tons of ice for the cost of a DC Fridge and adequate DC power system.. buy cheapest batteries you can dont spend alot on something your liable kill in same time regardless of cost.

 

[87Warrior]

Like you, I was in a fridge quagmire exactly one year ago. At the time I really didn't know what I wanted in a fridge, so I opted to buy a fridge that rivaled the cost of a decent rotomolded cooler.

I settled on the cheap 52quart Costway fridge found on Amazon. While the price wasn't pocket change, it did help convince me to try it out. To power the fridge I added a house battery under the hood since I learned the fridge would drain my flooded cell starting battery if left on over a weekend. The house battery is charged by the alternator via a basic solenoid, a switch and heavy duty cables hooked to the starting battery. I did a write up of my install over on Overland Bound. With the house battery, the fridge will drain it to the low power protection setting over about 3 days @ 75° but I am still able to start and charge the house battery when underway.

The fridge works great and have grown quite impressed with it over the last year. It was big enough to hold food for a family of 4 for 5 days without any restocking. We kept perishable drinks (like orange juice) in the fridge and only chilled water from jerry cans in bottles when somebody wanted cold water. I run the fridge at 34° and have only noticed a max 3° temperature swing when loaded. Never dealing with ice (like the other vehicle that we were traveling with) was splendid and totally worth whatever I paid for the fridge. The fridge stays in my Land Cruiser powered off most of the time, but it is used to haul groceries during the day-day and cools down very fast. I would certainly buy this fridge again, knowing what I do about it.

 

[llamalander]

I use a 70l Snomaster dual-compartment fridge-freezer, for 2 people it is more than big enough for a few weeks, starting with a dozen meals made and frozen, meat for a few more, condiments, some extra ice blocks & lots of fresh food sitting in a black truck in the southwest.
Certain produce goes in an insulated drawer with an ice block that gets changed every other day, because it does not need to be too cool and it is easier than taking it out of the top whenever we want something from below. We cook a lot on the road and have even frozen half-risen bread to revive and bake in a dutch oven, whatever we need fits and stays useable, so I guess we could use a slightly smaller model because we are not out for more than a month, usually half that.
If you do get a dual-compartment fridge, it is nice to be able to use either for each setting. Having 2 thermostats takes some of the guesswork out of packing, things are either around 36º or 5º, not too cold or warm.
Without having to get ice, our time is limited by the water we carry, because it is often not to be found. Not having to go to town twice a week has changed the where and way we travel for the better.

 

[Charles R]

I have a Dometic 28L, that I've been running basically 24/7 since 2016. Other than the compressor being a little louder than it was when brand new, it runs flawlessly.

Size-wise... I'm a solo traveler, so I only carry supplies for myself. Typically I carry all my lunch supplies during the week, and will just stuff in extra things for trips. I always think I want more room, but I always come back from trips with a fair amount of untouched food and drinks. I try to keep it fairly full at all times with drinks, food, and even dry goods that don't need the cold because I know fridges are a bit more efficient when full.

Power-wise... I've had mine plugged into a factory rear power jack in my Jeep. So no extra battery. I've also been running it on the lowest shut-off setting because it will go into a "power save" cycle very quickly once the Jeep is shut off. (less than 4-6 hours) Because of this, it has "softened" the battery over time. I can tell it does not have the cold cranking ability it had when new (I'm a mechanic, and I know this is terrible for the battery).... But It's currently still functional. (I also have a "donor" battery in my second jeep, that I've swapped from time to time)

A while back, I bought a Yeti 1000. With it, and the optional regulated power cord from Yeti, (read up on the voltage drop problem with the lithium Yeti's) I found I can run the fridge for 4 or more days on a single charge. Just in the last week I finally mounted my Renogy 100w Eclipse solar panel, with a simple pair of wires + an 8mm plug adapter, to feed the Yeti some sun. So far I'm really impressed with how well the system stays topped up. It's winter, so it's not very warm outside right now, but my vehicle also goes into shade around 2pm. So that it's still staying topped up enough to not need the regulated power cord is impressive.

Would I buy it again? Absolutley! I bought it at Overland Expo West as a show deal. On my multi-week trip to to the show, I hit the limits of my cooler fairly early (90 degree days). So when I came across the Dometic booth at the show, I was sold. At the time the only well known option was the ARB 50 which was WAY more than I would need, or wanted to fit into my Jeep. So when I saw the size of my 28L, I bought the only US model they had there! HA! The only thing I would honestly like to change about it, is that I would REALLY like a side opening top over the hinge being at the end.

 

[Rbertalotto]

Great thread! In my case, it comes down to what you are doing. Road trip or a one place camping trip? The challenge is keeping an auxiliary battery charged.
On a road trip, a DC To DC charger is a fantastic investment. Charges a 100Ah AGM battery in no time.
On a one place camping trip, solar is your friend. But every time you move the truck, you are charging the battery with the DC to DC charger. And in an emergency, you can simply run the truck for a bit.
Worse case is a small "quiet" generator......
If you have only camped with ice and coolers in the past, you will love a 12v refrigerator.