15L drink/lunch fridge freezers appearing

[mep1811]

I've had a 15 Qt Engle for over 15 years and it has been very very handy on trips. I keep lunch items and drinks . They are close by and I don;t have top open up the back of the truck to get to the big fridge. I'll use it at times as a freezer to extend my food capacity.
It fits nicely in the back of my Porsche Cayenne as well as my 200 Series Land Cruiser. Great to move from vehicle to vehicle.

 

[john61ct]

I took the Ausranvik out for a bit of a drive and recovery of my dad stuck up in the mountains. It pulled 3-3.5A in normai mode. Didn't think to measure in Eco mode. My Dometic CFX50 draws 4-4.5A for comparison.

For context, this would be capable of 3 days comfortably on a single battery over a long weekend. Would provide plenty of food for 1 or 2 and cycling a couple drinks in as needed. A pair of them would be great to have a frozen fridge and a cold fridge and get you further, though you are up to 6-7A now, and bigger fridges may make more sense at that point depending on your use case.

The amps drawn is barely relevant, duty cycles vary so much

Need to measure Ah per 24hrs

 

[67cj5]

The amps drawn is barely relevant, duty cycles vary so much

Need to measure Ah per 24hrs

I did a power test on the little CDF-18 in the winter time left in the Van in "Above" freezing Ambient temps and it used 4.8Ah per 24 hours, I was really impressed with that, In normal 16 to 24*c it chews around 10 to 14Ah,

I tested the ARB47L and it chewed 9.5Ah in temps around 15 to 17*c, Once the ambient temps get above 20*c+ then they start to chew a little more, But my testing was done in 23*c in a room where it is the same temp at night as it is in the Day time so it never got the chance to run in the cooler temps normally found at night.

 

[john61ct]

That is tiny!

 

[robert]

Looks like a handy size for weekend trips.

 

[whitenoise]

I downsized from a 82qt Edgestar to an 18qt Indel B (sold by Truckfridge). The cheap Chinese stuff from Amazon wasn’t worth considering at the price I paid for something made by a company that’s been making 12v fridges since the ‘60s. Around $350ish.

My opinion of this size is that it’s perfect for any length of trip, for 2-3 people. You tend to stop for re-supply every 3-4 days anyway, so picking up fresh groceries at the same time isn’t such a big deal. But you do have to plan a little on how much and what size of each thing you buy. I’ve switched from beer to scotch so that frees up a lot of space inside the fridge too.

 

[67cj5]

I downsized from a 82qt Edgestar to an 18qt Indel B (sold by Truckfridge). The cheap Chinese stuff from Amazon wasn’t worth considering at the price I paid for something made by a company that’s been making 12v fridges since the ‘60s. Around $350ish.

My opinion of this size is that it’s perfect for any length of trip, for 2-3 people. You tend to stop for re-supply every 3-4 days anyway, so picking up fresh groceries at the same time isn’t such a big deal. But you do have to plan a little on how much and what size of each thing you buy. I’ve switched from beer to scotch so that frees up a lot of space inside the fridge too.

One thing you need to take in to account is that a lot of these cheap Chinese fridges use LG Compressors and when it comes to Domestic Appliances LG is a market Leader be it TV's, Fridges, Phones and the list keeps growing Not to Mention they make some of the best solar panels ever produced,

For medium to large 4x4 fridges I prefer the ARB Blue and Grey Series II fridges that use the Secop/Danfos BD-35F Compressor, The larger 78L/82Qt uses the larger Secop/Danfos BD-50F Compressor which is a great fridge but you need around 100w+ of Solar and 4 hours or more of Sunlight to keep the batteries topped up, So all the Fridges with the BD-35F are a Gold standard,

When it comes to small fridges I prefer the Dometic CDF Range that use the Secop/Danfos BD-1.4F Compressor because it can use as little as 4.8Ah in a 24 hour period or around 61w per day and about 100w per day running on AC.

 

[john61ct]

From a practical POV I think the compressor used is pretty irrelevant.

Energy efficiency comes a lot more from good insulation.

Reliability and longevity to me are the #1 concern, and the compressors are the last component to fail.

Really, it's how robust and easy to swap out are the electronic control bits

and most critical, will those parts even be available, will the company's service department still be helping you ten years down the road?

 

[Robert Bills]

You guys are going to spend all my money. I was perfectly happy with my cheap, off brand roto-molded cooler, but now I'm wondering if there is a small 12v fridge in my jeep's future to add to the Engel fridge already in my trailer.

Right now I'm looking at compact 12v fridges in the 18-25 liter range as an approximate size to replace a 29 quart cooler that uses almost half the volume for ice. The maximum size I have available is 22W x 13D x 16H (or 22D x 13W x 16H depending on orientation of lid).

Any suggestions?

 

[67cj5]

You guys are going to spend all my money. I was perfectly happy with my cheap, off brand roto-molded cooler, but now I'm wondering if there is a small 12v fridge in my jeep's future to add to the Engel fridge already in my trailer.

Right now I'm looking at compact 12v fridges in the 18-25 liter range as an approximate size to replace a 29 quart cooler that uses almost half the volume for ice. The maximum size I have available is 22W x 13D x 16H (or 22D x 13W x 16H depending on orientation of lid).

Any suggestions?

Well The Dometic CDF-18 Is a great little fridge and is whisper quite and it measures 18" from L to R and 12" front to back 16 1/8th Tall which is a side opening model but because of it's small size makes it easy to get in to from any angle and has a very low power draw in fridge mode, I bought 2 of them from Amazon because they had the best deals,

It can cool right down to below -20*c and lower, It is so quiet that I have slept with it under my bed in the Camper and I had to check to see if it was still working, Personally I think it is the best small fridge on the planet.

hope that helps.

 

[Robert Bills]

The dimensions are perfect but $711 appears to be the best current price for the Dometic CF-18 (I cannot find a CDF-18). That's too rich for me for such a small fridge.

I've subscribed to a camelcamelcame.com price watch so we'll see if the price ever comes down.

In the meantime, any good alternatives?

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

ALICOOL

The dimensions are perfect but $711 appears to be the best current price for the Dometic CF-18 (I cannot find a CDF-18). That's too rich for me for such a small fridge.

I've subscribed to a camelcamelcame.com price watch so we'll see if the price ever comes down.

In the meantime, any good alternatives?

Alpicool C15

 

[67cj5]

The dimensions are perfect but $711 appears to be the best current price for the Dometic CF-18 (I cannot find a CDF-18). That's too rich for me for such a small fridge.

I've subscribed to a camelcamelcame.com price watch so we'll see if the price ever comes down.

In the meantime, any good alternatives?

Brass Monkey and Alpicool seem to be pretty good,

I paid £330.00 / $412.50c USD for my CDF-18's from Amazon, But you should check them out weekly because their prices go up and down like a YoYo, and that has happened 6 times in the past 2 months so don't rush in to it, Just keep checking on Amazon and they will come down in price,

Hope that helps, Good luck.

 

[Robert Bills]

I cant find any listings for the Dometic CDF-18, just a CF-18. Are they the same or different?

Unfortunately, the Alpicool C15 is currently "unavailable " on Amazon. There is also a notation in the product description that says Alpicool doesn't ship to California.

??????? Emperor Newsom at work again?

 

[67cj5]

I cant find any listings for the Dometic CDF-18, just a CF-18. Are they the same or different?

Unfortunately, the Alpicool C15 is currently "unavailable " on Amazon. There is also a notation in the product description that says Alpicool doesn't ship to California.

??????? Emperor Newsom at work again?

No the Guy who is selling that CDF-18 is pulling a fast one, But don't worry because they will be on sale again real cheap within a week or two,

Here's the CDF-18

DOMETIC CoolFreeze CDF 18 Portable Compressor Cooler and Freezer, 18 Litre 12/24 V: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

Buy DOMETIC CoolFreeze CDF 18 Portable Compressor Cooler and Freezer, 18 Litre 12/24 V at Amazon UK. Free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

Have a look at this CDF-11

DOMETIC CoolFreeze CDF 11 Portabe Compressor Cooler and Freezer, 10.5 Litre: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

Buy DOMETIC CoolFreeze CDF 11 Portabe Compressor Cooler and Freezer, 10.5 Litre at Amazon UK. Free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk