Cheap Fridge <$400 shipped

[Finlay]

How long does it take for one of these to cool down? I picked up a 43qt model off Craigslist and was functioning fine in his garage on AC power so I thought I would be good to go. Finally got it wired into the truck and it's been on all day and the temp is only down to 65 and it doesn't seem to be getting any colder. Fast Freeze does nothing either. Ambient outside air temps have been mid 80's and now in the 70's, if it can only cool to 65 there is something wrong, pretty disappointing.

My 63qt went from 90 degrees to 0F in a few hours.

Try it on AC power. If it works fine there, then something is wrong with the voltage regulator. It's a pretty easy fix - the parts just swap out.

 

[magentawave]

They cool down really fast and even the Fast Freeze setting is fast. There aren't many parts in these things so maybe its an easy fix.

 

[kbahus]

Alright, pulling it out now for an A/C power test, will update this evening.

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

How long does it take for one of these to cool down? I picked up a 43qt model off Craigslist and was functioning fine in his garage on AC power so I thought I would be good to go. Finally got it wired into the truck and it's been on all day and the temp is only down to 65 and it doesn't seem to be getting any colder. Fast Freeze does nothing either. Ambient outside air temps have been mid 80's and now in the 70's, if it can only cool to 65 there is something wrong, pretty disappointing.

You need thicker wire!

The HOT wire that you are running to your battery is not getting enough juice to the fridge to work properly!

Do a search, this has been discuss before!

 

[kbahus]

It's 10 gauge direct to the battery so I can't imagine I would need any more at the amp rating this fridge is unless I am wrong? For an update I am down to 37* on AC after a few hours and started with fast freeze.

 

[K2ZJ]

Check the plug (12v), is it hot? Mine was not connected well inside and we had issues until we changed it out.

 

[kbahus]

It's down to 26* now so that is showing me that it's working on AC power. I will check the plug tomorrow, I used a Marinco locking plug and socket and took the time to install it right so I wouldn't have issues like this, however the previous owner installed the fridge end so I better check that out.

 

[ZMagic97]

Will it cool if just plugged into the dash 12V power?

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

however the previous owner installed the fridge end so I better check that out.

Now you cought my attention!:Wow1:

 

[kbahus]

Well the story gets better and it appears I got burned, literally. Watched the disassembly video on Edgestar's website and took the cover off this morning only to find a thin coat of oil on everything (assuming refrigerant) and numerous melted wires that look like a fire waiting to happen. It also sounds like the transformer may be the problem with my DC power issue but with what I have found I don't really trust the unit and I am very disappointed with it. The cost of replacement parts makes it not worth fixing either.

edit: I probably need to seriously look into fixing this thing as I am in no position to eat the price I paid. Can someone confirm the light brown oily substance is refrigerant? If so I think what I can do is repair all of the damaged wiring, get it recharged and leak tested, and then go from there. Hopefully it's not a transformer as it's almost $200 from Edgestar.

 

[kcisland]

Confirmation of wiring

So I am about to dive in and purchase this frig for the back of my Ram 1500. If I am reading correctly, if I run a 10ga. wire directly from the battery to a 12v receptacle in the bed I can plug it right in with no power drop? What kind and how many amp fuse should I use?


Thanks for helping out a newbie, first post here!

KC

 

[magentawave]

You might want to check out the Sundanzer solar fridges because they use less than half the juice that the Edgestar do.

So I am about to dive in and purchase this frig for the back of my Ram 1500.

Sorry but I don't know what that brown stuff is. Have you called Edgestar yet to see if they can help you? They sent me new parts although I bought mine from them new.

Well the story gets better and it appears I got burned, literally. Watched the disassembly video on Edgestar's website and took the cover off this morning only to find a thin coat of oil on everything (assuming refrigerant) and numerous melted wires that look like a fire waiting to happen. It also sounds like the transformer may be the problem with my DC power issue but with what I have found I don't really trust the unit and I am very disappointed with it. The cost of replacement parts makes it not worth fixing either.

edit: I probably need to seriously look into fixing this thing as I am in no position to eat the price I paid. Can someone confirm the light brown oily substance is refrigerant? If so I think what I can do is repair all of the damaged wiring, get it recharged and leak tested, and then go from there. Hopefully it's not a transformer as it's almost $200 from Edgestar.

 

[kbahus]

I found a local appliance repair shop that said they would take a look at it so I dropped it off yesterday. Got a call today and the guy seems to think that the compressor has been replaced once before and the melted wires were caused by a heat gun or torch when swapping the compressors. It currently has two leaks and he said that he could try to repair the leaks and recharge it but couldn't guarantee the compressor would last. Do you guys think it's worth $150 to have him fix the leaks and recharge it? Looks like I will have to do some wiring but that is easy for me. I basically eat $300 or try and fix it............and I still am not 100% sure the transformer is working right since it didn't cool very well on DC.

 

[LexusAllTerrain]

Well I would cut my loss and move on, these fridges come out under the dent program fairly often, and purchase an extended warranty all for less then 300.00 dollars!

Or you can pay for the repairs and keep on your garage as a spare fridge!

 

[kbahus]

I am going to cut my losses and not proceed with any repairs after talking with the shop. If anyone in Colorado is looking for an Edgestar for parts let me know. In the meantime it will be keeping my beer cold in the garage till it quits entirely.