The Dometic CFX3 Mega Thread

Jackery 500...
12"x7.75"x9.75" approx. But, not bigger than that.

 

Noted.

 

My comment was directed towards the PLB40, I can’t recall how mine stacked up to the jackery. $500 for 720 watt hours isn’t too shabby though.

https://us.ecoflow.com/products/river-max-plus-portable-power-station

 

I like my PLB40. It does what I need it to do and what it says it will do. One thing to note is that if you plan to solar charge if, it isn’t for you. Read posts a few pages ago that talk about how if it looses its solar signal it needs to be reset so you can’t leave it charge for multiple days at a time.
From the comments of others here it sounds like there are better options out there. Knowing what I know now I’d exhaust all those leads before going with the PLB40 again.

 

I thought so, I went and looked at them.

 

Thanks!

 

FYI when considering Dometic, they will only help with warranty issues if you have you original proof of purchase.

So... if you buy used, make sure to get a copy of that.

Otherwise, you're SOL.

 

I recently bought a PLB40 for my

$828 Dometic CFX3 35 Portable Refrigerator and Freezer - 36L - Powered by AC/DC or Solar Portable Refrigerator with WiFi/Bluetooth Temperature Control - Ideal Cooler for Car, RV, Camping and Home Use

Dometic CFX3 35 cooler in my camper van. When I parked my van at an RV storage lot a week ago the PLB40 had 100% charge and the refrigerator was plugged in but powered off.

I checked back today and the LED display wouldn't power on until I plugged in a charging cable. Once I plugged in the charge cable I saw the PLB40 was at 5% charge.

I am guessing that the cooler has some kind of phantom power draw that occurs even when it is powered off. Has anybody seen this behavior?

I recharged the PLB40 today and am going to park the van in storage again but this time will leave the cooler unplugged from the PLB40 and then see if the battery holds its charge after another week.


Thanks much for any insight anyone may have!

 

I leave my CFX3 45 plugged into my gx460 all the time but powered off, never noticed any type of draw. I can’t imagine there’s anything to pull power when it’s off, maybe a bad plb40?

 

I'm 99% sure on picking up a 55IM soon but I'm hung up on one specific problem: If I want more ice than the two little ice cube trays is there a good way to preserve more ice while in fridge mode and not freezer mode? Example: Cooler packed full of food, two tiny ice cube trays loaded up. Make two adult size mixed beverages and now I'm out of ice.

My only thought is having to suck it up and drink beer only (gasp), or when I want more ice stop at a gas station and store bag ice in a separate small cooler (inconvenient and defeats why I'd get a fridge but foolproof).

Buying bigger dual zone is a non-option, too big for my needs. Ideas to help me season my liver?

 

Frozen drinks or just ice to keep them cool?

Whiskey stones, several of them. Use a couple in your first drink, keep others in the ice maker. Swap as needed.

 

Well don't I feel like a big old sober idiot right now lol. Good call on the whiskey stones, that fits perfectly for my needs which is...whiskey. Guess I have no excuse now not to buy the 55IM. Cheers!

 

https://www.dometic.com/en-us/outdoor/lp/labordaysale

 

Found a working cfx3 45 at rei today in the 'in store' 'what used to be' garage sale.

 

Nice! How much?



This is near me.

 

Anyone know the cost of replacing a compressor assembly, all the guts, if one failed, and not under warranty?

 

It might not be possible. Dometic’s customer service has been extremely difficult to work with.

 

Did they recently outsource their support? I called them a few years ago and found them very helpful, but when I called last month I got someone who was totally clueless about what I was talking about.

 

Are there authorized repair sites, like Camping World?

 

Hi guys,

I have a PLB40 battery that I'm using to power my

$828 CFX3 35 Portable Refrigerator and Freezer - 36L - Powered by AC/DC or Solar Portable Refrigerator with WiFi/Bluetooth Temperature Control - Ideal Cooler for Car, RV, Camping and Home Use

CFX3 35 cooler. I bought the PLB battery about a month ago and at first it worked great. I was charging it using the 12V DC charge cable connected to my 180amp hour, 12V Lithium battery stack (Inergy APEX).

However, now the 12V charging has become flaky. At first I noticed that the battery charge arrow would go off even though the battery was not at full charge (like 80%, for example). And now, it doesn't charge at all using the 12V cable when plugged into my Inergy APEX battery. I also tried plugging it into the AUX port on my Dodge Promaster Van and my Honda Accord (with engine running and just with AUX power on) and it won't charge in either of those scenarios. At most the charge arrow will come on for a few seconds and then turns off.

I tried the AC wall charger and that seems to work fine.

I'm guessing that either the PLB40 12V charge port went bad or the 12V charge cable went bad. Very disappointing that would happen after 1 month.

Before I throw in the towel and buy something else, I thought I'd see if anyone else has had this problem or has any other ideas?


Thanks much!