12/120V Portable Refrigerator/ Freezers

[Boblee]

TG's
The fridge you use for freezing needs to be the better fridge and would suggest for reliability? one of the ones with a danfoss compressor with the internal layout that suits your needs, the Engels are ok but they do not snap down quickly and are dear to buy, fortunately we won a 45l one in a raffle.
For our last trip I bought a 60l like this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/52L-PORTABLE ... 1c388efe47 it has a domus compressor which is an Italian copy of the danfoss but very cheap and very quite, we were very happy with it and used it in preference to the Engel first as a fridge and then for freezing.
You can use a normal domestic fridge for your boat fridge with an inverter but be careful with the size of the inverter as moters draw high start currents (we use 2000w pure sine wave), if you use a domestic fridge for milk drinks etc it will not use much power at all, most are more efficient than the toy 12v fridges.
I will use that el cheapo fridge (link above) anytime in preference to the engel especially if we are sleeping near it and especially as it came with a cover ($440 ), I hear they do have thermostat problems but am sure it could be converted to a rheostat control and besides can have three for the price of one of the more expensive name brands.

[Spector]

Anybody have any experience or insight on this brand?
ARB http://store.arbusa.com/ARB-Fridge-Free ... 21327.aspx

Comments found on another forum
Well, after using the Engel for five years I'm very familiar with it. Having said that, I'm seeing that ARB though its bigger in capacity, it uses less energy Shocked
I'm very surprised by this.

Few other benefits:
1. Digital control, few times on the engel I accidently turned the temp knob and everything was frozen. Engel has 0-5 dial and at 2 everything will freeze.
2. ARB has a low voltage shut off which engel doesn't. You can shut it off at three different settings.
3. ARB has interior light when the lid is open, really helps at night.
4. For cleaning there is a draining hole which Engel doesn't.
5. Noise is slightly less but both of them are pretty quiet.

[RobertB]

This unit looks pretty reasonable, all the same capabilities as the Dometic/Waeco units - but at twice the price. The Dometic CF-50 is hard to beat for capabilities and price.

[Obelix]

Spector,

I got the ARB 50 and it works well, both cooling and freezing. On my unit and on some others, as reported on the web, the temperature is off. The unit is internally 10 F warmer as is shown on the display.
Since the temperature is stabile, this is not really a big deal. I purchased my unit from Amazon and the first one I got was DOA, the replacement unit works really well.

Obelix

[Boblee]

They don't say if it has the Domus or the Danfoss compressor but going by the price I would imagine the Domus and our similar fridge works very well but am filling in the holes in our old 70l Evecool box to make a 90+l ice box, can't imagine doing it with the cheaper cabinets but you do get two for the price of one.
BTW don't believe those figures for amp usage in real world conditions whether it's a Domus or a Danfoss compressor.

[Spector]

Its Danfoss from what I have read. It's about an inch higher than the Engel MT35 so it may not fit as nice in the existing ice box location on an

I like how the lid pops off

[Boblee]

If it's a danfoss it should be excellent esp at that price, I couldn't buy a new compessor for less than $1200 hence why the evakool box is now an ice box and use a 45' engel and a 60l cheapie for our trips.
Note the cheapie gets used much more than the Engel as it's better for me in every way (until it breaks), you may not have the dust problems we have to contend with here but it's very important you keep the condenser dust free they are only tiny and they can get clogged very quickly causing overheat problems.

[DaveB]

Spent last 5 days in Keys with twin 40 watt Solar panels and cloud cover all days.
Keep 63 quart Edgestar at 42 degree temps., running engine put it at 20 degrees, engine will get the frig. much cooler than battery buildup. After shutting down engine put frig. back to 42 degrees.
Having the temps in frig. at below 25 degrees for 5 hrs or more will not freeze food, it prolongs the cycle to turn it back on. That means temps. at 25 degrees can last more than 4 hrs or more in SW Florida before it goes to 40 degrees.
Get it?
This saves batteries .
Dave

[Boblee]

Yes you use your fridge as a storage while you have access to excess power, we will often put water in the fridge if running the motor or genny and definitely any drinks for the day as well as winding the fridge down so it doesn't cut out (just got to remember to put it back).
If possible the best time to use motor or genny is early morning after a night relying on batteries this allows you to get a bulk charge in and the solar to top the batteries up, if you try it the other way around the batteries will be topped up slightly and not accept as much bulk charge.
Having low temps of 42f ambient you would hardly need a fridge though just leave it open at night , we are commonly at 34-40c (104) most of our winter in the north, it was over 40c here yesterday you certainly learn to take every advantage.

[DaveB]

Being Down Under, you have no idea how we SW. Floridian's run our Frig.
We keep it cool up North...even tho you got the heat down under, stay cool my Friend...Temps. here in SW Florida was 82 degrees to day.
Dave

Yes you use your fridge as a storage while you have access to excess power, we will often put water in the fridge if running the motor or genny and definitely any drinks for the day as well as winding the fridge down so it doesn't cut out (just got to remember to put it back).
If possible the best time to use motor or genny is early morning after a night relying on batteries this allows you to get a bulk charge in and the solar to top the batteries up, if you try it the other way around the batteries will be topped up slightly and not accept as much bulk charge.
Having low temps of 42f ambient you would hardly need a fridge though just leave it open at night , we are commonly at 34-40c (104) most of our winter in the north, it was over 40c here yesterday you certainly learn to take every advantage.

[Boblee]

Being Down Under, you have no idea how we SW. Floridian's run our Frig.
We keep it cool up North...even tho you got the heat down under, stay cool my Friend...Temps. here in SW Florida was 82 degrees to day.
Dave

Yeah pretty cool in the house here today 74f but trying to do some fibreglassing (old Evakool box) and was too hot yesterday and too wet today but 82f would be just nice actually just checked outside and 75f outside a bit cool with cloud so can't dry the box out.
See on the news it will be 49c (120f) in a couple of places today and heading our way although we are getting some cool off a west coast cyclone here.
The variation in temps is what makes a mockery of the quoted running times for these toy fridges, when in the boat on a hot day they can be running all day if freezing meat etc but get a day like today and probably only 20mins an hour.

[mastreb]

For purposes of food safety, you should keep a thermometer in your fridge and be sure that its keeping food below 40F at all times. If your power cycling strategy doesn't keep food cold enough, then it's not doing much for you in terms of food safety.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou ... 253954.htm

40F keeps food good for 3 days, 34F keeps it good for 30 days. Big differences in how fast bacteria can multiply at these temps. It's not a linear progression.

If you're only keeping beverages cold, this doesn't matter at all, its mostly important for leftovers and opened meats.

[seahouse]

You can manage your fridge/freezer temperatures as Dave suggests to get the most out of the alternator while running the engine and then use less power while under batteries.

There are also devices on the market that will allow you to keep the thermosat fixed, but manually control your compressor speed, allowing it to draw more current when on engine or shore power, and less while under battery power. (Search “Fridgoboat” or...http://great-water.com/store/the-merlin ... -3868.html)

There are also controllers that do this automatically, running the compressor faster (but less efficiently) when it senses shore power or that the engine alternator is not near it maximum output and then utilizing the residual, and then slowing the compressor to run more efficiently when on the batteries only. Such as... http://www.indelwebastomarineusa.com/Pr ... 10523.html

While the actual efficiency gains on the planet that we all live on are somewhat lower than on the planet inhabited by the marketers of the product , they are still not insignificant to the frequent cruiser who relies heavily on battery power for refrigeration.

- B.

[DaveB]

Also on 5 day or more trips, Freeze water bottles and put in frig. takes more than 5 days to unfreeze them but take one out and you got nice half frozen water that stays that way for long time. Spike it with your favorite whiskey.
Helps longer recycle of frig. Frozen 1 ga. jug do much better. (turn off frig. during night for more battery save)
Keep frig. at 42 degrees, nothing spoils on a 10 day trip. Use much less battery.

Dave

You can manage your fridge/freezer temperatures as Dave suggests to get the most out of the alternator while running the engine and then use less power while under batteries.

There are also devices on the market that will allow you to keep the thermosat fixed, but manually control your compressor speed, allowing it to draw more current when on engine or shore power, and less while under battery power. (Search “Fridgoboat” or...http://great-water.com/store/the-merlin ... -3868.html)

There are also controllers that do this automatically, running the compressor faster (but less efficiently) when it senses shore power or that the engine alternator is not near it maximum output and then utilizing the residual, and then slowing the compressor to run more efficiently when on the batteries only. Such as... http://www.indelwebastomarineusa.com/Pr ... 10523.html

While the actual efficiency gains on the planet that we all live on are somewhat lower than on the planet inhabited by the marketers of the product , they are still not insignificant to the frequent cruiser who relies heavily on battery power for refrigeration.

- B.

[seahouse]

Also on 5 day or more trips, Freeze water bottles and put in frig. takes more than 5 days to unfreeze them but take one out and you got nice half frozen water that stays that way for long time.

Yeah Dave – that's another good hint– and if you put the bottles in a deep freezer (as opposed to a kitchen refrigerator freezer), you will be starting out at an even lower temperature – for even more time away.

And of course, a fridge that has something in it (as opposed to being empty) will use less power and run more efficiently too. I use cans of pop, and water, and ice cube trays as a filler when the fridge (Waeco 35) gets too empty - they can just be removed if I need more space for other stuff.