So, I was having some issues with my Dometic CFX3 35 which I posted about earlier in this thread and just wanted to update things. The fridge would run fine when the temps were cooler in the spring, but as summer heat started I noticed the fridge would not turn on unless the the vehicle, a 2016 Jeep JKU, was running or had been running for sometime topping up the battery. What I would notice is that the compressor would start, but then quickly stop, I had it on Medium battery protection, but I wouldn’t get any notification about low battery. I tried it on the Low setting and that seemed to help but only for short while. Anyway, after talking to Dometic tech support they suggested it was the battery, as it was just the stock battery. So, I put in a Yellow Top Optima and that seemed to help, but on a camping trip over a weekend in scorching heat, the fridge was only lasting a day, ( I’d had success with a few days in the spring with no problems). When I got back home I did some troubleshooting and what I found was the amount of line loss getting to my rear 12v plug in the Jeep was loosing around 1 volt. I’ve now installed a direct line from the battery and everything seems good. I used an ARB fridge plug kit as I couldn’t find any Dometic in stock. But now there is basically zero line loss and the fridge has been running for the past 3 days without issue. The temps here aren’t as hot as they have been, so once we get another heat wave that will be the real test.
Anyway, the short story if anyone is reading this and debating a fridge, power can and probably will be an issue for you. When looking at the costs to get one running, factor in at minimum a battery connection kit (or make your own) then look at the cost of some kind of deep cycle battery if you won’t be running your vehicle everyday on your trips.
Now that I’ve done this, I have faith in my CFX3-35 and love it.