Fridge/freezer advice wanted

[86scotty]

I had an Indel B from Truckfridge and the door hinge broke. I wasn't ever rough with it and it still broke. The quoted replacement part was going to cost about 1/2 of the fridges original purchase price. I was disappointed in the quality.

I said screw it and "fixed it" with a piece of all thread and some two part epoxy. I ended up picking up an ARB that has been bombproof and lives a fairly hard life in the bed of my truck.

I gave the Indel B to my buddy as a gift but doubt I'd ever give my ARB away.

ARB has been great for me but I'm sure other brands are just fine. I liked the height/width/lid opening direction/capacity etc....for my particular application.

I'd consider exactly where you want to mount it before choosing a particular brand. Even the location of the controls can end up being a pain if the mounting location is hard to access.

I'm curious which Truckfridge? Was it one of those plastic curvy ones? My bomb proof one that I've kept the longest, about 5 or 6 years of constant abuse, is one of the steel models they don't sell any more. It's an IndelB TB74. It's giant (74 liter) and really heavy but it will hold a family's worth of food for days.

http://www.indelb.com/products/automotive/travel_box/tb74_steel

Here's a great deal on a TF I just came across:

https://www.truckfridge.com/product/tb51-portable-refrigerator-freezer-ac-dc/

 

[BPD53]

I'm curious which Truckfridge? Was it one of those plastic curvy ones? My bomb proof one that I've kept the longest, about 5 or 6 years of constant abuse, is one of the steel models they don't sell any more. It's an IndelB TB74. It's giant (74 liter) and really heavy but it will hold a family's worth of food for days.

http://www.indelb.com/products/automotive/travel_box/tb74_steel

Here's a great deal on a TF I just came across:

https://www.truckfridge.com/product/tb51-portable-refrigerator-freezer-ac-dc/

Mine was this type. It broke right at the lid hinge. Definitely not steel.

TB41A - AC/DC Portable Refrigerator or Freezer

If you need more space for food and drinks than our smaller portable truck fridges provide, the TB41A is for you. It is the second largest portable model in our store. This is an AC/DC fridge, and with a temperature operating range of 50°F – 0°F, it can also be used as a portable freezer for...

www.truckfridge.com

 

[86scotty]

That's the first one I had, all plastic just like the Dometic linked above. In fact, probably made in the same factory.

The steel ones are tough but heavy.

 

[Grenadiers]

We have a Dometic CFX-65 and wouldn’t get anything smaller. Has fridge and freezer capabilities. Section it off with a divider for dual usage. Or one or the other. Our Waeco 90L fridge indoors holds a lot of food, but not beer-fridge duties according to the wife. We bought the insulated ‘jacket ‘ because it’s stored on our back outdoor rack. Has held up quite nicely to the washboard roads, Baja back country, etc.

 

[CFMGarage]

We have a CFX-50 and it's perfect for us. It has always been used as a fridge most often in the back of our Honda minivan for day/weekend trips. I think the 50 is the tipping point size wise on easily moving it around. When loaded I use my gorilla cart to move it around from house to van.

I only wanted to interface with the vehicle using available 12v and 120v outlets so I recently got a GZ Yeti 1000 and have been doing some testing with the fridge. So far the Yeti 1000 would run the fridge for close to 3 full days in 90 degree temps without charging. You can double up the charging with 12v and 120v with the GZ for 160+ watts charging. That is triple the max I've seen the fridge draw so on a road trip I'll never run out of power. With 3 kids there's nothing like a fridge and wifi on every trip.

 

[67cj5]

I always wanted an Engel but the Rep over here would never answer his phone so in the End I bought the ARB 50Qt, I am so glad I did because it has all the features needed of a modern family Trek and It will run up to 7 days depending of the Temp and setting just off of one single 115Ah Battery, I was so impressed that 2 months ago I went and bought the 82Qt ARB as well So now I have all bases covered.

There is some testing I did and posted on someone's thread a short while ago in this Link Truly impressive results.

hope that helps.

Actual Fridge Power Draws

I'm attempting to guesstimate my total power needs for our family when we move FT into our FWC and I can't figure out what a fridge will draw. Dometic states "Energy Consumption 12VDC (Ambient@90F, Internal@41F) 0.85 Ah/h" which I believed to be, on average we can expect under those conditions...

expeditionportal.com

 

[mangymarmot]

I've got the Snomaster 40 Qt fridge/freezer. Has the danfoss compressor, low amp draw, well insulated, fridge or freezer and metal casing for durability.

CLASSIC SERIES (CL60 Stainless Steel) AC/DC Fridge/Freezer | Snomaster USA

www.snomasterusa.com

Buyers Guide: Portable Fridge-Freezers - Expedition Portal

A guide to the best 12 volt fridge-freezers on the market.

expeditionportal.com

 

[Mighty Dodge Ram]

First trip next week with my new Dometic CFX 75DZ..fridge AND freezer. So far so good in garage testing. Uses about the same amount of battery power as my ARB 50 liter.

 

[jrfromafar]

I’m probably the nkotb (new kid on the block) when it comes to fridges - I’ve had my Engel 34quart for less than a week. Loving it! I rigged up a separate under the chassis group 24 deep cycle battery that gets charged from the vehicle system (F-250) with a toggle switch on the dashboard (a slight inconvenience - I wanted it rigged up with my ignition key but the Ford tech guys said a toggle is better). I installed a Torklift hidden power bracket for the battery.
The fridge runs at .07 to 2.7 amps per hour, or 1.38 aph average. With an 80 amp battery, that’s 58 hours without a charge.

 

[67cj5]

I’m probably the nkotb (new kid on the block) when it comes to fridges - I’ve had my Engel 34quart for less than a week. Loving it! I rigged up a separate under the chassis group 24 deep cycle battery that gets charged from the vehicle system (F-250) with a toggle switch on the dashboard (a slight inconvenience - I wanted it rigged up with my ignition key but the Ford tech guys said a toggle is better). I installed a Torklift hidden power bracket for the battery.
The fridge runs at .07 to 2.7 amps per hour, or 1.38 aph average. With an 80 amp battery, that’s 58 hours without a charge.

But really you have an 80AH battery which you should divide by 2 and that is the Amps you have to work with, For normal week long trips don't set the Temp colder than -12c when using it as a freezer even -10c will work fine if you pack it with pre frozen food and cool it right down before you load it up and If you are using it as a fridge then try to keep it around 3 or 4c and that will prolong your battery life a lot too, When we all buy these things we tend to Set the freezer setting to the Max and the fridge down to 1c or even 0*c but in reality unless you have heaps of Battery power then it is a better idea to be more realistic with the settings,

Good luck and enjoy your new Fridge,

 

[jrfromafar]

Yes that’s true about the 1/2 of the 80 amph. I crank my fridge down a bit when traveling but when running off the charged battery, I set it at 4c - perfect temp!

 

[CyberRube2]

Engel has their new MT45 platinum on sale right now for 799 and with a code for 5%off available online it’s 750. I jumped on that deal.

 

[Rsharries]

I have been looking at the Engel MT45, and am curious if this (or any) combo fridge/freezer works well for making/keeping ice while also acting as a fridge (and not freezing beers). In reviewing the product literature for this machine, it seems there is only a single compartment with a single thermostat, so I doubt dual temperature zones are maintainable (?)

 

[john61ct]

Custom built-in boxes very commonly feature a divider for "overflow", thermostat is in the freezer but fridge section works fine.

Portable OTS units with a single compartment can be used either as a fridge or freezer, not both at once.

Best IMO is two identical such units, maximum flexibility as things change during use.

 

[67cj5]

I have been looking at the Engel MT45, and am curious if this (or any) combo fridge/freezer works well for making/keeping ice while also acting as a fridge (and not freezing beers). In reviewing the product literature for this machine, it seems there is only a single compartment with a single thermostat, so I doubt dual temperature zones are maintainable (?)

To do what you want you need a Twin Lid/Compartment Model or buy 2 fridge freezers and use one as a fridge and one as a freezer, That's what I did so now I have a 50Qt and a 82Qt so either one can do either task.