Looking to buy a fridge/freezer

Hi guys, I am looking to buy an affordable fridge/freezer of good quality ,

. something that can run on the car battery if I keep driving at least 5-7 hours a day.
. My guess is that I will need to keep meat frozen for a period of 4 to 5 days, cool drinks, deli, etc..
. Not too big, not too small.
. I don't mind to buy a used one if it's in good working condition and of quality.

What do you suggest, what models, where to buy, please post links,
do you know anyone selling one?

I will need it by July this year.

Thanx in advance!

Filipe

 

$200 Alpicool C20 Portable Car Freezer,12 Volt Refrigerator, 21 Quart (20 Liter) Fast Cooling 12V Car Fridge -4℉~68℉, Car Cooler, 12/24V DC and 100-240V AC for Outdoor, Camping, RV, Truck, Boat

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B075R1LH8D?ie=UTF8&th=1

Hear is a link to the one I got in 2021, I paid 299 for this fridge and its been going strong. I'ts pretty small. For example, put a box of frozen hamburgers, package of sausages and 4 cans of beers its full. Mine has a flat lid so link not exact.

 

I have my eye on the iceco VL35Pro .. it's $569 but look at the compressor and is built for off-road https://icecofreezer.com/products/vl35pros-iceco-freezer

 

I was thinking about a budget of 350 max.
Farook fridge looks like at 500$ now
I already have 2 compressors.


There is this one on Amazon for less than 300
4.5 stars.
What do you think?

There's plenty of options under 300$, but not sure what to look for.

$400 BODEGACOOLER 12 Volt Car Refrigerator, 42Quart (40L) Car Fridge, 12V Portable Freezer WIFI APP Control, -4℉-68℉ Car Cooler 12/24V DC 100-240V AC for Outdoor Camping Travel Vehicles Home Use

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BP7997CQ?ie=UTF8&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9kZXRhaWwp13NParams

 

I meant the compressor in the fridge it's a super good one and has a nice warranty but I agree its out of your 300-350 price range

 

Ah got it.

I am starting to learn something, and maybe considering a dual zone, this one allows you to change the zones from freezer to fridge. I didn't even know that was possible..

BougeRV 12 Volt Car Refrigerator Dual Zone, Portable Freezer Fridge APP Control, 37 Quart (35L) Compressor Freezer Fridge 12V/24V DC 110~240V AC

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B091TCBP6G?smid=AWA4NAV5T95KM

 

This one looks interesting, 5 year compressor warranty, dual zone, it runs stable at 30 degrees inclination, etc....

$290 BODEGACOOLER 12 Volt Car Refrigerator, 34Quart (32L) Car Fridge Dual Zone, 12V Portable Freezer APP Control, RV Car Cooler -4℉-68℉ 12/24V DC 100-240V AC for Outdoor Camping Travel Vehicles Home Use

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CFF7Y55H?smid=A1H9NXUVFQNAQC

 

Something to think about....

I have a fridge and will carry the ice cooler as well if I am supporting several people for drinks. if this is just a me trip, all fridge. wife, kids, or friends on said trip I carry the regular cooler with ice and drinks. so the fridge doesn't have to work harder to keep everything cold if it's opened every 5-10 minuets, because someone keep going into it.

 

I was thinking about something similar, if I have the space.

I already have a electric cooler that use with with ice packs inside. I could move the drinks I know I will be drinking in the next hours so I keep the other ones on the main freezer /cooler.

I also found a dual fridge/cooler with separate lids, so that will allow to keep the freezer shut at all times except for cooking time.

 

I just bought a cheaper one from Explorer Bear. I liked the metal construction and found a discount code for like 20% off from a random Instagram account.

I had one of the rough country coolers for a bit and honestly even the cheaper fridges do pretty well you just may have a bit more deviation on temps. I hauled that thing across the country, pulled it in and out of the truck and had zero issues with it.

 

Wife and I really really wanted the dual zone for having a fridge and freezer. After having our big Dometic CFX75DZW for nearly 6 years, and loving it, we've used it's freezer function maybe twice. Majority of the time, we use the large side for fridge, and the small side for dry storage with that side turned off. On long trips we use the entire thing as a fridge. If we bring frozen steak, veggies, etc, we just place them on the bottom of the small side and they slowly thaw over the week and we use them as needed.

If you're someone who brings lots of ice cream, sure, but for us it has never been necessary. But we do love the fact we can use either side with the other turned off based on how long a trip or how much food we need.

 

I got this when it was $329

https://www.princessauto.com/en/50-litre-portable-refrigerator-freezer/product/PA0008984098

It's not perfect and definitely has flaws but it does what I need it to do. Only one zone but can go to -5.

 

This one looks like a good size for the back too

$300 BODEGACOOLER 12 Volt Car Refrigerator, Car Fridge Protable Freezer Dual Zone WIFI APP Control, 50Quart (48L）RV Electric Cooler -4℉-68℉ 12/24V DC 100-240V AC for Outdoor, Vehicles, Camping, Travel

https://www.amazon.com/BODEGACOOLER...d27-44ec-8f29-05985e5e1f74&pd_rd_i=B0CNCY7MV3

 

I like this one, but can't find it in Canada

 

That's a good point.

For weekends I even use a cheap 80$ dry electric cooler, packed with ice packs.
Its been working ok for me for 3 years.

Now I am looking at doing 2 week trips, maybe 5 days of food at a time,
And , to spend 300$+, i rather try to get all the features if possible.
Separate lids, separate compartments, freezer to keep meet frozen for 5 days, ice cubes to make caipirinhas, on 7 day trips, and the fridge side for drinks and other items.


Maybe something like this.
I didn't even know this existed

$290 BODEGACOOLER 12 Volt Car Refrigerator, 34Quart (32L) Car Fridge Dual Zone, 12V Portable Freezer APP Control, RV Car Cooler -4℉-68℉ 12/24V DC 100-240V AC for Outdoor Camping Travel Vehicles Home Use

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFF7Y55H

 

Given at least 6 hours of reading Amazon reviews yesterday I settled on the same one (

$290 BODEGACOOLER 12 Volt Car Refrigerator, 34Quart (32L) Car Fridge Dual Zone, 12V Portable Freezer APP Control, RV Car Cooler -4℉-68℉ 12/24V DC 100-240V AC for Outdoor Camping Travel Vehicles Home Use

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CFF7Y55H?th=1 ). For cheaper at $199 this dual-zone exists, (

$195 VEVOR Car Refrigerator, 12 Volt Car Refrigerator Fridge, 37 QT/35 L Dual Zone Portable Freezer, -4℉-50℉ Adjustable Range, 12/24V DC and 100-240V AC Compressor Cooler for Outdoor, Camping, Travel, RV

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CB15JCR8?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1 ) but seems less likely to last given its reviews.

 

I think the vevor ends up being the same price in canada.
Its 199$ but in usd. The other one 290$ cad.

The separate lid might be worth the extra cost too. Most of the waste in energy is when you open the lid.
If you leave the freezer door always closed, the compressor may not need to turn on for a few hours on that side.
It will turn on for the fridge side, but less due to the higher set temp

 

Agreed about dual lid being likely worth the cost. I wonder how much actual energy savings is yielded by only refrigerating the small side and leaving the larger side with a room temperature setpoint. Presumably this would help reduce battery consumption a bit for suitably small loads. This is another reason I'm thinking to opt for the dual zone configuration.

 

That's a good point.
It makes sense it would allow for savings.

This is important in my case because I do not intend to buy a second battery or a power station.

I will try to only use the main battery, and buy a 1500 inverter for less than 150$ to power some tools or appliances I may decide to use in the future while the engine is running.
I don't have any heating needs , I do camping at - 40c in comfort without any heating, so not much of a need for a continuous draw.

 

Opening the Lid isn't as drastic of a loss of efficiency as a normal fridge door, as the cold air in the fridge is heavier than the warm air outside and stays in the fridge trapped for the most part. This is why chest freezers are better than upright freezers where when you open the door, the cold air just dumps out the bottom to be replaced by warm our. Obviously you'll lose some energy, and leaving it open isn't the best, lol. Just stating it's much more efficient to open this ever few minutes than an upright RV Fridge.

Keeping the fridge/freezer FULL is pretty important, too. It's way harder to keep the air space cold than it is foodstuffs. Even placing water bottles or whatever in it to keep it full as you remove stuff helps.

And finally, I swear keeping the freezer frozen sucks exponentially more power than just running the fridge, so I'd say it's doubly important to keep that side as full as possible. I keep my Fridge at 32-34F degrees, and when using freezer keep it at 0F.