Why spend so much on an ARB fridge or Engel Fridge instead of electric cooler?

[4x4junkie]

Probably just another repeat of the same, but I'll share mine as well:

Had one of those old "Koolatron" coolers give to me many years ago. Just testing it here at home I knew it wouldn't work in the hot environment of a vehicle. It was able to freeze some half-liter bottles of water (though not solidly), but only if the bottles were already chilled, the unit left on overnight and the room was 70° or below (interestingly this does put it as cooling at least 40° below ambient). Non-stop the thing drew about 5 amps (10 hours of that and most batteries will be toast).

I continued using my ice chest up until a couple years ago I finally decided the hassles with ice were getting old and bought the Edgestar FP-430 fridge. No regrets at all, very well worth the cost (even if the unit was $200 more than I paid it still would've been worth it). It'll be 95° during the days and days later I'll still have ice-cold drinks, no slimy lunchmeats and of course no ice to deal with. While the compressor runs it draws just under 4 amps, but about 50-60% of the time it's off (so averaging, it's about 1.9 amps).

 

[HINO SG]

I One trip my copilot accidently plugged the cord in backwards and we opened the fridge (oven) a few hours later to 120 degree drinks. Days later, it still hadn't recovered (despite draining the batteries each night) and we drank warm stuff the whole trip.

been there, done that. only it was several days worth of groceries. not pretty.

 

[Jevy]

I've been seeing these referenced but just don't know if I can bring myself to spend $1k on one. Do they really replace the need for a large cooler?

 

[Corey]

Yes they do.

 

[BIGGUY]

Yep they do.

 

[C-Fish]

I've been seeing these referenced but just don't know if I can bring myself to spend $1k on one. Do they really replace the need for a large cooler?

Yes, yes they do. Remember, you don't loose any space inside due to ice volume. A 50qt fridge is akin to a cooler 1/3-1/2 larger due to necessary ice volume.

I've lived (three people) out of mine comfortably for four days (without restocking food). Beer/water added as needed to keep enough cold for the day/night...

 

[Jevy]

what sizes do you guys think would be adequate for a family of 3 to camp out of for a 3-4 day weekend trip? It would be me and my two sons so mostly soft drinks, sandwich materials, etc. Also would you guys be willing to show how you have them installed? I've noticed that they make slider assemblies to mount them so it can be slid out when needed to get into it. Just curious if those are worth the 2-$300 additional cost?

 

[ColoDisco]

I am saving up for one right now.

I have already installed a separate fused 12v outlet right where it is getting parked.

 

[xpdishn]

what sizes do you guys think would be adequate for a family of 3 to camp out of for a 3-4 day weekend trip? It would be me and my two sons so mostly soft drinks, sandwich materials, etc. Also would you guys be willing to show how you have them installed? I've noticed that they make slider assemblies to mount them so it can be slid out when needed to get into it. Just curious if those are worth the 2-$300 additional cost?

We have a Waeco 40L. My much better half and I were out for a full week and had enough room. We were in an area where there were no towns or any services so we had to make do. The drinks, as said before, can be added when the cold stuff is used. Drinks only take a couple of hours to cool down, same as a fridge at home.

I don't have any pics for some reason.

I built my own slider system cause I'm not into spending money when I can do it myself. I think most here would say the store bought sliders are worth it though. An insulated cover is also worth it.

You do NOT have to spend 1K for a fridge. The Waeco is a Dometic product and the compressor is the industry standard. In fact, the Waeco I bought had the compressor that ARB and the others went to. Not sure about the sourcing of it though. I bought ours a few years ago so maybe the prices have risen that much, I wouldn't be surprised.

ColoDisco, These fridges run on 12v and 110. I can have both power sources plugged in at the same time - it defaults to the 110. When I unplug the 110 the 12v takes over automatically.

 

[4x4junkie]

what sizes do you guys think would be adequate for a family of 3 to camp out of for a 3-4 day weekend trip? It would be me and my two sons so mostly soft drinks, sandwich materials, etc. Also would you guys be willing to show how you have them installed? I've noticed that they make slider assemblies to mount them so it can be slid out when needed to get into it. Just curious if those are worth the 2-$300 additional cost?

Yep, something between 40-50 qt would be way more than plenty. I've done 10 day outings (2 people +) in the Sierras above Fresno Ca. with my 43 qt. Like was said, no ice leaves it's entire volume for food/drinks.
Three 18-packs of eggs, 4lbs of bacon, 2lbs boneless chicken, 3lbs hamburger, 1½lbs of various sandwich lunchmeats, three half-gallons of milk, various condiments like mayo, ketchup, mustard, butter, cheese, pre-shredded lettuce, and (just to start) a half-dozen cans of beer & soda will all fit in there (with another 40 or so cans set aside to put in later as room grows). Even with all that I still had room for my giant dark-chocolate Hershey bar.
One drawback when it's packed that full though is getting to stuff that's not right up on top, this can be a PITA.

I built a fridge slide when I built my storage drawer unit for the truck (fridge cinches down onto it with turnbuckles, replacing the bungee in the pic). A slide isn't required (I built the slide almost 2 years after getting the fridge), however you still would want to secure it somehow in case of a vehicle turnover or other accident.

More pics of the slide can be found here

The Edgestar I have shows on sale $449 w/free shipping ATM here:
http://www.compactappliance.com/FP4...le-Refrigerator-Freezer/FP430,default,pd.html

 

[toymaster]

what sizes do you guys think would be adequate for a family of 3 to camp out of for a 3-4 day weekend trip? It would be me and my two sons so mostly soft drinks, sandwich materials, etc. Also would you guys be willing to show how you have them installed? I've noticed that they make slider assemblies to mount them so it can be slid out when needed to get into it. Just curious if those are worth the 2-$300 additional cost?

I would say 50 qt. is a great size. Plenty room as everyone has stated and not too big. If you need a slider or not is up to the mounting location. As the pic above shows in a SUV having a slider is awesome for accessibility. I have mine in the front part of the tub on a off road trailer and have no need for a slide.

I say look at where you want to mount it and then get one to fit that space. You can always rotate out the drinks or as in my case I have a large one and just store everything inside of it. I figure the supplies take up the same amount of room whether they are inside of the fridge or outside of it . I got an 80qt but that was only because in the brand I bought the smaller ones were taller and I had height limitations. When not traveling it plays double duty as the adult beverage holder in my shop :costumed-smiley-007 .

It also feels good to have a backup for the house fridge, 'ya never know. Lastly, if you live in a hot climate having the fridge is great for getting groceries back to your house when it's hot outside. I remember when I live in Norte' Mexico, otherwise known as Tejas, it was always a race home in the summer time before the frozen stuff melted.


I don't have a pic of the fridge but it is parked just behind the stove in the pic.....

 

[Corey]

Engel Slide Lock for the old school ARB 45 qt like I have:

Plenty of room for gear with fridge off to the side

One day I may look into the newer style ARB fridge, but this one I bought back around 2007 is doing the job just fine.
Had to finally replace the battery last year for the LED readout for the temp.
Other than that, it has been worry free.

I plug it into a 12v outlet that Wayne and I installed several years ago for it, and the Airlanders tent light plugs into the 2nd receptacle.

 

[Jevy]

I am planning on having an optima battery in my trailer but at this point I don't have plans to make it charge while being towed. Just curious if anyone could enlighten me on how long would I be able to run the fridge off of the battery without have to re-charge the battery? I'm only planning on having the battery do a couple of simple low use things like some led dome lights in the trailer and maybe a water pump but they will only see seldom use. Just curious if you guys could give me an idea of how long they would run on a deep cycle optima battery.

 

[Corey]

Three to four days maximum before it gets to low.
I ran mine for almost five days without starting up the rig.

 

[4x4junkie]

I am planning on having an optima battery in my trailer but at this point I don't have plans to make it charge while being towed. Just curious if anyone could enlighten me on how long would I be able to run the fridge off of the battery without have to re-charge the battery? I'm only planning on having the battery do a couple of simple low use things like some led dome lights in the trailer and maybe a water pump but they will only see seldom use. Just curious if you guys could give me an idea of how long they would run on a deep cycle optima battery.

There's a lot of variables for that... Worst case it's 100° during the day and no less than 75° at night, you might get a day out of it.
If the days are 65-70° and the nights 40° or less, then 3-5 days should be possible on a single batt rated ~65AH or so. Both scenarios assume the fridge has free airflow around it, is out of direct sunlight, and you try to limit how many times you open it.

A small/medium solar panel (60-80 watts or so) w/controller can extend that to several days to even indefinitely.