ARB 45q fridge: tempetrure question. Is it accurate?

[mikemcgl]

I purchased an ARB 45q fridge/freezer the other day and took it out to the trails with the bikes today. After a hot day ridding I was looking forward to the ice cold beers in the ARB. I started the fridge the night before and set the temp to 33f thinking it would be as cold as possible without freezing my beers. It was in my truck back seat in the shade and 70 degrees outside.
The beers were nowhere near very cold; possibly 45f or so. Any suggestions or should I send it back for another unit? I almost purchased an Engel. Maybe I should have. Thanks in advace for the advice.

 

[TangoBlue]

I purchased an ARB 45q fridge/freezer the other day and took it out to the trails with the bikes today. After a hot day ridding I was looking forward to the ice cold beers in the ARB. I started the fridge the night before and set the temp to 33f thinking it would be as cold as possible without freezing my beers. It was in my truck back seat in the shade and 70 degrees outside.
The beers were nowhere near very cold; possibly 45f or so. Any suggestions or should I send it back for another unit? I almost purchased an Engel. Maybe I should have. Thanks in advace for the advice.

I advise calling ARBUSA before doing anything. They have excellent customer service and it might be something really simple that you might have missed and if it is hosed up they'll take care of you.

I have the same model for 2 years now and keep it in my truck 24/7 except for the winter. Works flawlessly.

We can give you hints all day long but ARB will be the ultimate resource to you.

ARB 4x4 Accessories

720 SW 34th Street
Renton, WA 98057
(425) 264 1391
Fax: (425) 264 1392
Toll Free: (866) 293-9078
tech@arbusa.com

 

[1911]

ARB thermostats are notoriously inaccurate. I have to set mine 8-10 degrees colder than I really want it, and then it works fine.

 

[Corey]

If you are using an old school ARB or Eegle, get an Engle thermometer from Wil at Sierra Expedition.
I have one, if works great.

 

[toddz69]

I purchased an ARB 45q fridge/freezer the other day and took it out to the trails with the bikes today. After a hot day ridding I was looking forward to the ice cold beers in the ARB. I started the fridge the night before and set the temp to 33f thinking it would be as cold as possible without freezing my beers. It was in my truck back seat in the shade and 70 degrees outside.
The beers were nowhere near very cold; possibly 45f or so. Any suggestions or should I send it back for another unit? I almost purchased an Engel. Maybe I should have. Thanks in advace for the advice.

How many beers did you have in the fridge? Were they cold when you put them in the fridge? I have an Engel and I've learned a few things in the past few years that may be of help to you. I think of it as a practical application of those thermodynamics and heat transfer classes I took 20 years ago in engineering school .

You already said you plugged it in overnight before you left. That's good. Did you check the actual temperature of the refrigerator's interior before you left in the morning? If you put a lot of beers (thermal mass) in the fridge that may not have been at or near the 33 deg. of the fridge, it's going to take awhile for that mass to be cooled to the temperature you desire.

I've found that having the fridge cooled to the temperature you want (empty) a day or more before leaving is a good thing. I know it's a pain to heave it around full of food or drinks but I like to have the food/drinks loaded and cooled before I leave too. Keeping it out of the sun (which you did) and having some air space around the compressor area also helps. Even then it sometimes takes awhile for the fridge to "catch up" and stabilize.

Todd Z.

 

[mikemcgl]

Later on last night I put a temp gauge in the box and tested one of the water bottles. 42 and the fridge said 34, so I put the fridge down to 22 before going to bed and tested it this morning. 3 of the 5 water bottles were frozen (I took all the beer out). I put the frige up to 25 and tested 12 hours later. Nothing frozen and gauge said 35. So now I know to just subtract 8 to 10 and the beers should be nice and frosty. Good idea about getting everything in line tempetrure wise the day before the trip. Thanks everyone for the feedback and ideas. I appreciate it. Michael

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Fwiw,

A household freezer is set in the 0F (-17C) to 10F (-12C) range on standard operating setup, thus the same type of temperatures should be expected for your portable versions as well, even more so when you figure lack of circulating fan and often much higher ambient temps. Thus if you are taking ice-cream with you, 30F isn't going to cut it, real world losses prevent 100% heat transfer (through air in most situations within a portable unit) thus its pretty expected imo for your fridge to be set at least 10 degrees (F) lower than freezing to actually obtain freezing items in your cooler, likewise for refrigerator duty, 10 degrees below your target temp, just like your house fridge... thermal losses. Different brand units may vary widely on similar situations, but that is 100% arbitrary imo and shouldn't be used to judge one unit from the next, rather it should be used as a baseline for the owner of said unit to decide what temperatures they use for various loading conditions. Your results may vary.

(re-posted my reply from a similar thread on the subject, again )