Lower budget fridge? Iceco?

[direwolf82]

I've been starting to look for a fridge for the Toyota, unfortunately I don't have a lot of space and finding something that fits is proving difficult.
I have 15 inches of room, plenty of depth at almost 3 feet and height at around 40ish inches but the width is killing me.
I found an iceco jp50 that would fit, has a Danfoss compressor for around 500. Anyone have any experience with that brand? I know the compressor is quality, same compressor we ran in the boat for years on end, but what about the rest of it? I like that it has a "seperate" compartment that apparently doesn't freezer when the main section is set to freeze so I can have some drinks and food stashed and hopefully not be frozen solid, trying to avoid having a fridge and cooler to deal with on fishing trips. It's not a true dual zone but might act like one enough to get me by.
My other option is to just get the compressor and chiller plate and make my own box to fit the space I have but they aren't cheap either and honestly I don't feel like making another fridge/freezer again. Although the idea of having the compressor mounted remote to free up room in the fridge is very attractive it's just not going to happen anytime soon.
Goal is to have a fridge for camping, thanks captain obvious, and a freezer for when it's time to go salmon and trout fishing. Plan to vacuum seal fresh fish and freeze it, maybe a 4 or 5 day fishing trip to restock the house with fish.
So, any suggestions or real world knowledge of iceco?

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[john61ct]

ICECO VL45 Refrigerator/Freezer Review

My review of the ICECO VL45 refrigerator freezer is up on my web site with lots of pictures and initial testing. Hope you like it! http://rvbprecision.com/shooting/iceco-vl45-portable-refrigerator-freezer-review.html

www.expeditionportal.com

 

[direwolf82]

ICECO VL45 Refrigerator/Freezer Review

My review of the ICECO VL45 refrigerator freezer is up on my web site with lots of pictures and initial testing. Hope you like it! http://rvbprecision.com/shooting/iceco-vl45-portable-refrigerator-freezer-review.html

www.expeditionportal.com

Sweet, thank you. They look pretty nice for the price and ease of use. Most importantly the customer service seems to actually be there to help people out with issues and repair parts.

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[Laps]

This is a timely post as I have a ICECO VL45 which I purchased in July and have spent the last 3 weeks dealing with two issues. I have contacted "customer service" on so many occasions that I can firmly state that as long as you don't have a problem with the fridge itself then yes, its an efficient fridge, but don't count on their customer service to be of assistance with any issues that might arise. I, like most people, have dealt with some poor customer service with companies in the past, but I can honestly say that this has been the worst experience I've ever encountered. Their customer "service" is non existent. Fortunately, it seems the vast majority of buyers of ICECO fridges don't have any issues.

 

[direwolf82]

This is a timely post as I have a ICECO VL45 which I purchased in July and have spent the last 3 weeks dealing with two issues. I have contacted "customer service" on so many occasions that I can firmly state that as long as you don't have a problem with the fridge itself then yes, its an efficient fridge, but don't count on their customer service to be of assistance with any issues that might arise. I, like most people, have dealt with some poor customer service with companies in the past, but I can honestly say that this has been the worst experience I've ever encountered. Their customer "service" is non existent. Fortunately, it seems the vast majority of buyers of ICECO fridges don't have any issues.

Uh oh, spoke to soon on customer service huh?
Can I ask what the issues your having with the unit are and what customer service has been doing?

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[Laps]

Uh oh, spoke to soon on customer service huh?
Can I ask what the issues your having with the unit are and what customer service has been doing?

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The first issue was having multiple numbers on the LED readout missing, even though it started out with just one or two, it is now ALL the odd numbered digits ( 1, 3, 5, etc all the way up to 50) and some even numbers also.

The second issue is the temperature variance between the internal temperatures (using both a static refrigerator temperature gauge, and a Raytek infrared reading thermometer), and the set temperature on the LED control. Regardless of the set temperature, the internal temperature is always 7-10 degrees above that. I have run the fridge full of items, and taken temperature in every section of the fridge, on all the items in the fridge, and it is consistently "off" from the set temperature. Plus it will NOT go down to 0 degrees (it remained at 10 degrees on the items in the fridge).

RVBprecision.com's article even stated a reference to this same issue: "(A word on INDICATED DEGREES…….They don’t jive with my remote thermometer. Not sure which one is correct. The remote unit reads about 5-6 degrees higher than the VL45’s readout. I’ll need to figure out which one is lying and report back.)". I couldn't find his followup on this issue in that same article.

Customer service is almost impossible to reach by phone, and they prefer texts and emails. I have dozens of unhelpful replies from them, and its always "we are working on it". I have done videos and taken photos of all of these issues and sent those to them without any further solutions. They even said at one point that the control module board may need to be replaced, and yet never followed up with sending me that part. And yes, I have been completely courteous with them on every communication I've had.

 

[vtsoundman]

I have this fridge. Works great - it has been in continuous use about 60% of the time since it first showed up on Amazon over a year ago. The display is terribly inaccurate - but most fridges are.

It is used as a freezer on MAX mode - so runs more than most. The cover/bag really helps the efficiency - I'd buy it again in a heartbeat and it is the first fridge I recommend to my buddies.

Other experience: I have two Dometics (CFX65DZ and a CF018), a Brand AUSRANVIK random Russian /Chinese 40qt, and tested /sent back and ARB 35. Oh, and a TF130 Truckfridge/Indel. With the exception of the ARB, they all work really really well - the CFX65 is the most efficient with the CF018 being the least.



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[direwolf82]

The first issue was having multiple numbers on the LCD readout missing, even though it started out with just one or two, it is now ALL the odd numbered digits ( 1, 3, 5, etc all the way up to 50) and some even numbers also.

The second issue is the temperature variance between the internal temperatures (using both a static refrigerator temperature gauge, and a Raytek infrared reading thermometer), and the set temperature on the LCD control. Regardless of the set temperature, the internal temperature is always 7-10 degrees above that. I have run the fridge full of items, and taken temperature in every section of the fridge, on all the items in the fridge, and it is consistently "off" from the set temperature. Plus it will NOT go down to 0 degrees (it remained at 10 degrees on the items in the fridge).

RVBprecision.com's article even stated a reference to this same issue: "(A word on INDICATED DEGREES…….They don’t jive with my remote thermometer. Not sure which one is correct. The remote unit reads about 5-6 degrees higher than the VL45’s readout. I’ll need to figure out which one is lying and report back.)". I couldn't find his followup on this issue in that same article.

Customer service is almost impossible to reach by phone, and they prefer texts and emails. I have dozens of unhelpful replies from them, and its always "we are working on it". I have done videos and taken photos of all of these issues and sent those to them without any further solutions. They even said at one point that the control module board may need to be replaced, and yet never followed up with sending me that part. And yes, I have been completely courteous with them on every communication I've had.

That's a bummer. Maybe I'll be going back to the make my own fridge idea.
The temp being displayed different wouldn't be a deal breaker for me as long as it was consistent, it would aggravate me until I got used to it though, but the board failing is a definite major issue, especially as that sounds like a recurring issue now. The other review also mentions some oddness with temp setting display and control settings missing some numbers.
Hhmmm. Now I'm less sure about things.


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[direwolf82]

I have this fridge. Works great - it has been in continuous use about 60% of the time since it first showed up on Amazon over a year ago. The display is terribly inaccurate - but most fridges are.

It is used as a freezer on MAX mode - so runs more than most. The cover/bag really helps the efficiency - I'd buy it again in a heartbeat and it is the first fridge I recommend to my buddies.

Other experience: I have two Dometics (CFX65DZ and a CF018), a Brand AUSRANVIK random Russian /Chinese 40qt, and tested /sent back and ARB 35. Oh, and a TF130 Truckfridge/Indel. With the exception of the ARB, they all work really really well - the CFX65 is the most efficient with the CF018 being the least.



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Sweet, some confidence restored. After digging around some more it seems like most people are very happy with theirs. The customer service also sounds pretty hit or miss, more hits on minor issues though.
Since it's the only one I've found that can fit I'll probably get one and hope for the best.
I do hope some more people that have them weigh in with their experiences.

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[jadmt]

my ARB 50 is ~15" wide. Has been stellar and has run 24/7 for several years and has been bounced all over moab and trails like dusy ershim. Thing keeps on ticking so while maybe not budget to begin with is budget 6 or 7 years later.

 

[direwolf82]

my ARB 50 is ~15" wide. Has been stellar and has run 24/7 for several years and has been bounced all over moab and trails like dusy ershim. Thing keeps on ticking so while maybe not budget to begin with is budget 6 or 7 years later.

My setup would kill any airflow from the sides till about 14" up or so on both sides and pretty much every fridge I've seen has vents right where it would be pressed against carpet or plastic depending on the size. The iceco is supposed to be a little under 14 so it would get some air in there for it to breath, not much but a half inch gap is better than no gap. ARB does look nice and people love them but I think it would probably cook in the space I have, it's a hard 15" exactly with vertical walls. I think it would be scraping the sides when I pull it out as well from measurements I saw somewhere. I'm all for buy once cry once but this time it just doesn't work that I've been able to find. ARB, Dometic, Engle all seem to be just an inch or two to big.


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[skyfree]

An Indel B TB31A, TB41A or TB51A is 13 3/4 inches wide. My TB31A sucks air in the left side vent and blows it out the right. My propane tank is right up against the right vent and I haven't had any problems with it. It's been reliable for probably 10 years but a ground wire did vibrate loose internally at one point.

 

[MiamiC70]

I've been starting to look for a fridge for the Toyota, unfortunately I don't have a lot of space and finding something that fits is proving difficult.
I have 15 inches of room, plenty of depth at almost 3 feet and height at around 40ish inches but the width is killing me.
I found an iceco jp50 that would fit, has a Danfoss compressor for around 500. Anyone have any experience with that brand? I know the compressor is quality, same compressor we ran in the boat for years on end, but what about the rest of it? I like that it has a "seperate" compartment that apparently doesn't freezer when the main section is set to freeze so I can have some drinks and food stashed and hopefully not be frozen solid, trying to avoid having a fridge and cooler to deal with on fishing trips. It's not a true dual zone but might act like one enough to get me by.
My other option is to just get the compressor and chiller plate and make my own box to fit the space I have but they aren't cheap either and honestly I don't feel like making another fridge/freezer again. Although the idea of having the compressor mounted remote to free up room in the fridge is very attractive it's just not going to happen anytime soon.
Goal is to have a fridge for camping, thanks captain obvious, and a freezer for when it's time to go salmon and trout fishing. Plan to vacuum seal fresh fish and freeze it, maybe a 4 or 5 day fishing trip to restock the house with fish.
So, any suggestions or real world knowledge of iceco?

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I picked up a VL45Pro S and it has been great in every way. Added an Bluetooth thermometer and now I even have phone based alerts.

Supposedly, "VANORDIE" is good for 20% off certain models.

 

[roving1]

So far mine has been good sitting in the bed of my truck running through the summer sitting in an unshaded asphalt driveway. We have had a horrible hot wet summer here in SE MI. More like the South honestly. I really was worried the heat and humidity and the rain would nuke the electronics since it is living in a semi-unprotected environment. As I said though, so far so good.

My thermostat is fairly accurate. Ice shows up on the cooler sides at 34. A container of water skims over with ice at 32. Same container will freeze solid at 29-30 degrees. Close enough for me.

Whether the device itself or 3rd party monitor I would ignore both more or less until you do a simple "when does water freeze" test.

 

[direwolf82]

So far mine has been good sitting in the bed of my truck running through the summer sitting in an unshaded asphalt driveway. We have had a horrible hot wet summer here in SE MI. More like the South honestly. I really was worried the heat and humidity and the rain would nuke the electronics since it is living in a semi-unprotected environment. As I said though, so far so good.

My thermostat is fairly accurate. Ice shows up on the cooler sides at 34. A container of water skims over with ice at 32. Same container will freeze solid at 29-30 degrees. Close enough for me.

Whether the device itself or 3rd party monitor I would ignore both more or less until you do a simple "when does water freeze" test.

That is a good sign. Anything that can survive some exposure to the elements and keep going can't be too cheap and crappy. Do you keep stuff in it or is it empty while sitting? Dumb question maybe?
True and good point, forming ice can't really lie about the temp.
What model fridge do you have?
Seems like the vl(?, green ones with the big nice metal latches I think) series is more popular and if I had the room I'd be looking at them for both size and style points but not in the cards for me. Either way it seems like they all use Danfoss. I would love to see one in person before I got it but it doesn't seem like iceco is available in any stores.
I talked to my dad yesterday and he might be giving me his fridge compressor and stuff from the boat that doesn't work anymore. It's throwing an over heat error code as soon as you turn it in, bad temp probe in the compressor I'm thinking. If I can get that working I'll be making my own built in fridge, sigh, did not want to have to deal with foam, fiberglass and epoxy or polyester for this one, but it gives me an excuse to get a tig torch and make an aluminum or stainless shell for the thing if I end up going that route. Or just mate the thing to a cooler I already have?

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