12v coolers
Hello everyone, our last camping trip into the Eastern Sierras where the temp stayed near 92 for a week and a half has caused my to look into buying a 12v freezer/fridge cooler. Such as: Dometic CFX75...
Forum Discussion
Most all of these use the Danfoss brand compressor, or a china copy of it. All the Danfoss ones, no matter the brand, should perform very similarly.
The Dometic I have heard very good things about.
I have two units so know some.
I first got an ARB which was one compartment, and I got where I could freeze stuff on the bottom, where the coils are, lay a towel over that and refrigerate things on top of the towel.
You say 2 weeks at a time, so being able to freeze things makes food way easier.
Then I upgraded to an Iceco with two compartments. I chose Iceco because I would independently control each compartment, shutting one off even, individually. Turning off the freezer when not needed will draw a lot less power.
You will do good with two GC batteries. The solar will be needed. How many watts? 200 is a good number and with sun you can power it indefinitely with a little power to spare. Be careful to use other DC items early in the day so there is time for batts to get to a high state of charge before the sun is gone.
Cover the fridge, and wrap it in exterior insulation to save even more energy.
I dont ever see myself going back to a propane fridge for a vehicle.
Coolers and ice are a nightmare, even for a day trip, as I have had it with soggy bread and gross tasting veggies, but it is cheap.
The Dometic I have heard very good things about.
I have two units so know some.
I first got an ARB which was one compartment, and I got where I could freeze stuff on the bottom, where the coils are, lay a towel over that and refrigerate things on top of the towel.
You say 2 weeks at a time, so being able to freeze things makes food way easier.
Then I upgraded to an Iceco with two compartments. I chose Iceco because I would independently control each compartment, shutting one off even, individually. Turning off the freezer when not needed will draw a lot less power.
You will do good with two GC batteries. The solar will be needed. How many watts? 200 is a good number and with sun you can power it indefinitely with a little power to spare. Be careful to use other DC items early in the day so there is time for batts to get to a high state of charge before the sun is gone.
Cover the fridge, and wrap it in exterior insulation to save even more energy.
I dont ever see myself going back to a propane fridge for a vehicle.
Coolers and ice are a nightmare, even for a day trip, as I have had it with soggy bread and gross tasting veggies, but it is cheap.
