CSI Fridge/Freezer Mega Thread

Random thought: has anyone measured the voltage coming out of the cigarette power adapter? Long shot but Wondering if you’re getting some power loss thru the cigarette adapter.

i was going to suggest cutting off the end and hard wiring to the battery (i used Anderson power pole adapters in the bed of the truck fused on the battery side) but measuring voltage before cutting is probably smarter.

 

Yea I did. At the end of the CSI connector, it was measuring around 11.5 unplugged.
So it's definitely inside the fridge.

I thought about cutting it up, but don't want to incase I need to return this or something..

 

This. My voltage was consistent with the digital readout.

 

Csi is working on the low voltage cut problems and should have a solution soon. Otherwise I am going to be off-grid for a week while I tackle the OBDR route 5 with my family so if I don't respond right away you know why. Thanks for all the support Mike

 

Have a fantastic trip, Mike!

 

We shoulda tested it last weekend with my truck. I've got 10g ran, doubt it woulda made a difference since others are having the problems also and it seems to be in the fridges.

 

Review time! My family and I just spent the last month on the road with this fridge and we had super favorable experiences. Here are the two quirks we noticed and then some nagging points:

• F3 error: We had this two times and both instances the fridge was baking in the sun but maintained sufficient distance between the fans and surrounding objects. The first time we unplugged the fridge from the cigarette socket installed in the bed for about half an hour, continued on our trip, and plugged it back in with no problems. The second time we were at a friends house and pulled the fridge in the garage, tossed it on wall power, and crisis averted.
• Power draw was a little weird. When the compressor starts up, it reads the battery as super low, like 9.0v, and as it comes up to efficiency, the battery will build back up. The battery icon on both the fridge display and through the app show it at 0 and then slowly back up to 100%. Not sure what this really indicates.
• The cover is great but the zipper teeth on one side started to snag and proved to be a total pain in the ass. We would have to pull the fabric taut but one tooth is still not catching properly. I'm wondering if moving to bigger teeth or maybe even plastic would be better, especially as we ran through heaps of dusty areas. At the very least, we ran some wax over the zipper teeth to help keep them traveling smoothly where they could.
• The zipper pull tab started to unravel and get caught up in the teeth. I just cut it off; I'll replace it with something else but not sure what.
• The bottom part of the cover has started to tear on the interior but this is likely a symptom of pulling the fridge in and out of the truck frequently. If our beds were smooth, I doubt this would be an issue but the ridges were rub points. This is superficial and I'm not crying over it.

We took out the freezer partition and made the whole thing a fridge. For a family of three traveling for 30 days, we couldn't afford precious space on freezer items. Plus, we were never super far from civilization where we couldn't dip into town for more meats for breakfasts/suppers.

The app is killer!! Being able to check settings from the truck or change from eco to max on the fly was brilliant. Not sure what the difference is but when on shore power or while driving, I would set it on max. When the truck was off, I would set it to eco and let the second battery take all of it.

Three people plus a dog meant the fridge was in the bed the whole time. I see some folks running their fridges in the cab but holy shit, that kid-less life left me a LONG time ago. Heaps of thunderstorms (including one I thought was going to rip the 23Zero RTT off the truck with us inside), torrential floods, and dust. Toss in some hail and sleet in Wyoming and the fridge didn't skip a beat. Candidly: the fridge was under the RTT so the only rain that could've gotten to it was either windblown or dripping.

In Colorado I picked up a Renogy solar setup. What a game changer that sucker was. I'm running a National Luna intelligence solenoid and the second battery never really seemed to charge over 12.8v. This is probably something to do with smart alternator charging second battery yada yada yada... Whatever. It's something I'll get smart on and deal with but having the solar kit allowed the second battery to get into the 13v+ range. I feel like this is more acceptable but I'm not super battery smart. I threw this shit together in haste before we left.

Speaking of being in a rush, Mike was super helpful in changing the mailing destination of this fridge twice. We finally picked it up in Ohio on our second day of travel. I felt a bit trashy unbundling this big ass fridge in a FedEx parking lot while winds howled and threw our debris everywhere which only led to the debacle. Thanks, Mike, for tolerating my phone calls and getting us set up!

Now, a question for you all: how do you store your fridge? Do you leave it plugged in year round because you're concerned about the compressor needing oil to keep working? Or do you say fuck it and toss it in storage? Basement beer fridge? This is my dilemma: what do I do with this fridge now that my adventure is over and I wait for the next one?

Ask your questions on my experience and I'll fire back.

Edit 1: Before I get asked: I'm running 1AWG from primary to secondary battery and then 10AWG from the secondary to the bed outlet.

 

Unplugged in my bed or plugged into a wall outlet in my office.

 

Yeah, mine goes into battery protection within an hour or two of being parked. I also noticed that it draws more power than I can charge the battery (I thought I saw it on the weekend at Maner's, too).

My alternator is boosted and puts out 14.2-14.4v and I have solar (100W panel) as well. My battery is a Northstar AGM 24F. On a half hour drive, by battery went from 13.8 to 13.5 and when the compressor kicks on it drops two volts until it turns off, then it jumps back up to 13.5 (using the app to monitor).

On a setting of Low/Economy, the fridge stops working if it senses less than 11v, when actual voltage is still higher.

 

Went camping friday, saturday and today with the fridge and it worked pretty good. I had it on the lowest protection setting (9v) to avoid the issues above and ended up having the opposite problem. The fridge drained the battery today and I wasn't able to start the truck. I had been idling the truck in the morning and evening for about 20min to charge the battery but I waited a little too long today (10-12 hours) before trying to start the truck and it gave a weak try then just clicked. I was using both sides as a fridge set at 37F on ECO and noticed about a 1 volt lower reading on the fridge while the compressor was running vs an installed voltmeter at the outlet. When the compressor was off the readings were equal. The fridge is currently running with both sides still at 37F on ECO set at medium protection and I'm trying to see how long before I get the F1 code. I have noticed that voltage has dropped below 11.5v without the fridge shutting off when the compressor is running, seeing 10.8v right now.

 

They way it was explained to me eco mode it’s exactly eco. It drops them temp lower and let’s it run up higher sucking up more juice on the big temp swing. Max keeps it regulated tighter and sips off the battery. I’m set in max and have had the W-55 running for a month straight now. Truck always starts in the morning and it’s sat the longest not being used for two days and started. I keep it full of bottled waters for work. I think have it full of something cold helps it keep a constant temp. I run it at 33* when I top off my water bottles I do it before I head out to work so the fridge isn’t trying to cool them down without the truck running. I’m also running a Nortstar 27F with a voltage dip switch to keep it topped off.

 

FYI keeping water in the fridge is a great way to help thermoregulate. Water has a great heat capacity so it's honestly not a terrible idea to just toss a case of water in the fridge for "storage" when you're not using it but still have it plugged in.

 

So with the newer version of this fridge does the ARB Fridge Monitor work work it? I bought it for my CSI 52 but it's not applicable with it.

 

These have the app so still doubt that arb will work with it.

 

I'm currently on page 19 of this thread. In case I missed it, who makes the compressor for this unit?

 

Any fix for the fridge power issues?

You said there was a fix in the works @Mike's Custom Toys , just wondering where you guys are at on this.

 

CSI has new control boards in the works to fix the low voltage issue. I have not received a solid timeline yet but rest assured we will take care of everyone.

 

Thanks, Mike

 

Received my W55 today with slider! Initially, great quality minus the ding in the corner, which I guess I can get over. Once everything was mounted in the bed, I applied 110 power to it to get it cool before switching it over to my battery. However, it never cooled. The fan came on and the compressor made a terrible noise which sounds like a knocking compressor. The first 2 hours I had it set to 37 degrees eco mode, then I switched it to max mode for 2 hours with it not cooling a single degree. After 5 hours of being on AC power, the unit is not cooling at all. So overall, not initially happy.. tomorrow I will reach out to Mike and see what can be done. I will leave it on AC power throughout the night, but I’m not hopeful.

 

Eco mode seems to allow a bigger swing in temps. Max mode keeps it tighter to the desired temp. I set mine at 33* nothing freezes on the fridge side and I had to get down to 11* on the freezer side to get water bottles to freeze solid. I think them temp on the screen isn’t anywhere near exact. I haven’t done anything crazy like actually put a thermometer in it and check. Maybe set it to Max and 33* till morning. It makes a little noise but nothing more than a little hum.