Overland fridge/freezer or just fridge?

[grogie]

Check out the SnoMaster line of fridge/freezers - I saw them at Overland Expo East and was very impressed with them. One of my friends bought one.
The dual compartment BD/C-60D has two compartments of 32L & 24L - either or both compartments can be independently set to be either a freezer or fridge.
They come with the transit bag and are much less than the National Luna. I'm seriously thinking of replacing my Engel with one of these.

www.snomasterusa.com

I stopped by their booth at Expo East. I think the dual unit is really smart, especially if you carry meat. I just found this video on YouTube taken at the Expo showing the dual unit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPczSd1Lph0

 

[DaveInDenver]

Thanks for the replies all. Lots of good points and ideas (especially the pre-mixed margaritas). I hadn't looked at SnoMaster yet, but have seen the name come up often in threads from either Africa or Australia.

However, I found a really great deal on a Jeepkitchen and bought it yesterday. This matters because neither of the NL units will fit in the cabinet. One is too long, one is too tall. So, now I think I'm stuck with either the ARB 47 or an Engel45, neither of which have a freezer compartment. I'll need to do some obsessing and find out if there is a quality fridge/freezer that will fit in a 28″D x 15.5″W x 21″H space. If you happen to know of one I'd check it out.

You could set the ARB or Engel to freeze and carry a cooler. Rotate water bottles from the freezer to the cooler to keep it cold.

 

[67cj5]

I must admit I do like them Snomasters It's a shame they are not available over here., I just bought one of them little heat transfer coolers new for about $35.00 or £26.00, Although the cooling is not that great at the flick of a switch it heats stuff up Up to about 61*c OR 141*f. which is a good Idea if you are driving long distance and you want a hot meal without the messing around.
J

 

[unseenone]

Hi 67cj5-- I'm sure you can get you one over there from Germany.

Dimensions updated.

The 60D is Size: Size: 28.1496 x 17.7165 x 20.6693" 715 W x 450 D x 525 H mm


El Diablo snomaster will be in PA in February if you want to put your hands on one. https://www.greatamericanoutdoorshow.org/

 

[67cj5]

Hi 67cj5-- I'm sure you can get you one over there from Germany.

The 60D is Size: 29.14 x 19.50 x 20.80" Capacity: 56 Liter (32/24 Split)


El Diablo snomaster will be in PA in February if you want to put your hands on one. https://www.greatamericanoutdoorshow.org/

Thank you Sir,

I just like everything about them, I have a new 50Qt ARB which is great but I want a Snowmaster to use as a Freezer, The Quality and finish appears to be Very high.

J.

 

[Nomad1]

I put my pre frozen items on the bottom then I have a foam that I put in about 1/2 inch then I put my non frozen foods on top I have had frozen items still frozen solid after 5 days no idea how much longer as that's the longest I have tested with my 40 Engle fridge/freezer so far.. I try and keep the temp under 2c but above 0c

 

[TwinStick]

Not sure why you are (the OP) so torn up between 1 or the other ? My ARB's do both, freeze or a fridge. Your choice. Why would you limit yourself to 1 or the other, when 1 will do both. Yes, I have used my 50qt ARB as a dedicated freezer. Works great. Kept -1*F @ 97*F outside air temp. I just rotate the water freezies. Works great if you have a cooler just for drinks, so the kids don't keep opening & closing your ARB---thus minimizing the chances of someone breaking the latch.

 

[jacobconroy]

Not sure why you are (the OP) so torn up between 1 or the other ? My ARB's do both, freeze or a fridge. Your choice. Why would you limit yourself to 1 or the other, when 1 will do both. Yes, I have used my 50qt ARB as a dedicated freezer. Works great. Kept -1*F @ 97*F outside air temp. I just rotate the water freezies. Works great if you have a cooler just for drinks, so the kids don't keep opening & closing your ARB---thus minimizing the chances of someone breaking the latch.

Well, as the post said...I don't have room for "ARB's". I have room for one unit. Balancing frozen and refrigerated items in one compartment sounds a bit like complicated, voodoo-related work to me, something akin to chasing ice cubes around at grocery stores and dodging puddles of water. That being said, I haven't found a dual compartment fridge/freezer that will fit in my cabinets yet. Probably just going to go with an ARB 50. Nomad1's foam idea might work for saving that margarita ice at the bottom though. Great advice everyone. Thanks!

 

[67cj5]

Hi,
Yet another discussion about fridges (I've read them all). Want to discuss it some more Yall?

I'm torn between the National Luna 40 with 60 mm of insulation and the 52 Weekender with the 10 liter freezer and 40mm of insulation. Does anyone really need the freezer? If you have it, do you use it? Would you buy one again? I plan to put a group 31 deep cycle battery in the rig, so the insulation might not matter too much for my trips.

I usually go out for two days, and spend a week out once each year. To date I've never had any frozen stuff on a trip. The only thing I can think of is ice for mixed drinks. But, I'm worried that I'll either shell out +$1500.00 and regret having a freezer, or wish I had bought one. If you have a really good reason to have the freezer...convince me!

Also considering the ARB 47. Thanks.

Jacob, I have the ARB 47L / 50Qt If I want to keep things frozen and still have some things soft Then I can set it at about minus -9 -10*c and what is in the main compartment stays frozen and everything in the fridge area at the top stays above +1*c and if that is not warm enough you can always add a sheet of 1" polystyrene above the frozen stuff to keep the cold temp down in the lower part of the compartment and set the freezer to -15*c ish and that should help a lot ..

 

[unseenone]

What if you can use a dual bin as a fridge OR a freezer in either bin. That way it's there when you need it, and more fridge space when you don't. As someone said earlier, for a few day trip, if you put frozen stuff in a fridge it will keep frozen for quite a while-- several days without a problem. Additionally, the frozen stuff helps keep the temp down, so the fridge does not have to work as hard.

 

[TwinStick]

The "shelf" in the ARB's kinda works great for that very purpose. It's not very big though & I have not tried it when the fridge was set to max cold-freeze (-01*F) either. But I have noticed that there is maybe a 10*F (just guessing here) difference between the shelf & the bottom of it.

 

[jacobconroy]

I ended up buying an NL Weekender 50 twin. Though I haven't taken it anywhere, it's been sitting in my kitchen keeping the beer cold. It's a darned-nice unit and the stuff in the freezer has stayed frozen for several weeks. But, I didn't expect the plastic handles, and it seems to cycle between 1 and 5 degrees Celsius when set for 1. Part of the advertising for NL was something such as, "The WHO requires that it maintain 1 degree within 100 degrees of ambient temperature" (I'm paraphrasing). Well...maybe it can, but it doesn't. I also assumed that I could sweet-talk it into displaying Fahrenheit on the display. It won't.

As it happens I am getting an ARB 50 in a deal for an Adventure Trailer. I'll use them both this summer and let you all know how they compare. Thanks for the advice all.

 

[jacobconroy]

Equipt1.com

Oh, and I forgot to give "props" to Paul May and Equipt Expedition Outfitters. He sold me the NL and was one of the two most professional, accommodating, and pleasant salespeople that I have ever dealt with (the other being Rin at OK4WD). I'm a bit anal and controlling, but he answered all my silly questions patiently and quickly. Equipt offers free shipping, so I assumed that I would get it two to three weeks later. That fridge showed up three business days after my order. Very impressed. People throw the term "First Class" around...but Paul deserves the title. Thanks Paul!

 

[jacobconroy]

An update. I sold the ARB47 without really trying it while Overlanding. The NL Weekender has been a great unit. As it happens, you can fit an NL 50 Weekender in a JeepKitchen if you are comfortable with modifying the drawer slides with a die grinder & combining it with the NL locking plate.

The NL has been running 24/7, either in my kitchen or my Jeep for ~ 6 months and hasn't skipped a beat. To be fair, I have carried frozen goods around in the 10L freezer, but have yet to use them at camp. But, if I choose, I can "Freeze shXt Yo!".

 

[Corey]

Jacob, that is great to know.
I had bought my National Luna Weekender 50 Twin from Paul too.

I do keep a conversion chart on the side of the unit, and I picked up two digital temp monitors I keep in both sections.
http://forum.expeditionportal.com/t...erland-amp-daily-driver?p=2290953#post2290953

A month back I treated a coworker to a nice frozen ice cream bar, she enjoyed it, and was impressed with the NL.

PS, I contacted NL in South Africa about the Fahrenheit or lack of reading, and they said they would try to add it into their updated models later.
It is kind of sad such an expensive fridge cannot do it.