Budget freezer boxes anyone? Experiences?

[Franziska]

Hi,

had a thread recently, asking for experience with specific (Vevor & Alpicool) budget freezer boxes recently. Unfortunately no results.

So here is a rephrased one :-)

We'd love to have a a prebuild freezer box onboard.
First choice would have been an Engel or Dometic/Mobicool/Waeco, but they are all hugely expensive (800-1000€ for a 50L model).

Has any of you have good results with a lower priced model which lasted well?
Or are they all designed to break after few months?

We are after a 45-50L model and it needs to be a freezer not a fridge.
The technology is around sinze many years, so I do not see why they should cost close to or more than 1000€.

Ideally we would want to purchase in the EU.

[ohdrinkboy]

These are used quite a bit in "overlanding" here in the usa. Overlanding is essentially car camping. Try a google search on overlanding freezers. You might find more information.

[JBP]

I have an Aplicool C22 that I got last fall, so far at home it has worked great in both fridge and freezer mode, but my boat is not in the water yet, so actual power consumption is still unknown.

[ForeverDes]

I've got an Alpicool 36 qt fridge freezer combo that I've used for about 2.5 years. It's held up well imo. It pulls about 2.5-3 amps, when the compressor is running, on my 24v system, and in the winter I move it to my camping van , where it pulls about 6-7 amps at 12v. between the boat and van, it runs 9+ months a years.
I've never used it as a freezer only, but the divider is removable and the duel temperature zones can both be set to 0c or less. I think there's also a method to switch over to just one thermostat.
I keep my freezer at -22F, which is the lowest setting, and I keep the fridge section set at 36F, but usually it is slightly under freezing due to keeping the freezer so cold.
I'm very happy with it. I paid ~$250 for it, and it was well, well worth it.
During the summer it runs about 50% of the time during the day and slightly less at night. My 380 watts of solar keeps up fine unless there are several overcast days in a row.

[davil]

Had these two from Amazon
like them a lot
not replacing the built-in, prefer to use the space as a dry pantry.

F40C4TMP Portable Refrigerator 20 Quart 12 Volt Freezer (-7.6℉~50℉) 18L Car Fridge With Compressor 110-240V AC For Camping, Truck, RV, Travel, Boat and Home Use
Visit the F40C4TMP Store
4.6 out of 5 stars 1,435 ratings | 264 answered questions
Amazon's
Choice
in Automotive Interior Coolers & Refrigerators by F40C4TMP
-10% $224.99
Price: $249.99
-------------------
this is unavailable but like it and may be another models from same maker?
Was under 200

AUSRANVIK 48-Quart Portable car Refrigerator car Fridge Freezer - 12V/24V DC and 110V AC
Visit the AUSRANVIK Store
4.0 out of 5 stars 110 ratings | 87 answered questions
Currently unavailable.

[Franziska]

Thanks everyone, we may add a computer fan inside the box if we remove the divider in the Alpicool.
That should allow for an even distribution of temperature.
Maybe I'll even stitch up another added layer of insulation out of that silver stuff they use on car windshields in winter.

Will see who else chimes in.

[davil]

I just cover the top of the foodstuff with one of these bags before closing the lid.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Grocery-C...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by davil

I just cover the top of the foodstuff with one of these bags before closing the lid.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Grocery-C...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

That seems clever as well.

[Captain Puget]

I’ve tried the portable freezers. The quality vs price appears like most things - you get what you pay for …. You may get lucky with an individual cheap unit, but odds are not good. If you get through 90 days continuous use, the odds go up if you look at failure curves,

[bensolomon]

I bought a battery operated rv fridge fan from Amazon. One d cell for a while year. Also, I have lin d the inside of my box with some insulation that came with our frozen fish order from alaska. I have that stuff on the wall with the icebox that is on the whole side. Also, I cut two pieces of that phone and place it on top of the food before I close the lid just like the previous poster.

Just those two things have dramatically reduced my power consumption.

Also, I put two Frozen 32 oz bottles of water in the fridge to take up space and be a cold sink.

[Drek4]

Keep in mind that the warranty is 1 year on most of these refrigerator/freezers and is a replacement OR repair of unit.
They only replace IF they receive the unit, so if you use a postal service, it might get lost, if you use a courier, then you must pay not only the freight to and from, but also the import tax on the value of the product.
Most require return to CHINA!

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by Drek4

Keep in mind that the warranty is 1 year on most of these refrigerator/freezers and is a replacement OR repair of unit.
They only replace IF they receive the unit, so if you use a postal service, it might get lost, if you use a courier, then you must pay not only the freight to and from, but also the import tax on the value of the product.
Most require return to CHINA!

Good point.

Looks like it is a better plan to see if we can find a reduced one from a factory sale of Dometic or Engel.

I don't care about the looks, if the casing or packaging has scratches.
Won't aim for a presentation unit though.

Heard that both of these companies are OK to deal with warranties.

Is there another maker in the medium to upper market which I have not in sight?

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Good point.

Looks like it is a better plan to see if we can find a reduced one from a factory sale of Dometic or Engel.

I don't care about the looks, if the casing or packaging has scratches.
Won't aim for a presentation unit though.

Heard that both of these companies are OK to deal with warranties.

Is there another maker in the medium to upper market which I have not in sight?

Well you might want to look into some models that they now sell for boats, of course the original conception was for RVs, but the warranty would be better than cheap portable units and the price more reasonable than true boat refrigerators, here's a link to a thread and a dealer in the UK.


https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...go-186882.html


https://penguinfrigo.co.uk/product-c...refrigeration/

[davenrino]

Alpicool C15 running constantly for almost 3 years now at 0 F. Not much insulation so it runs about 3/4 of the time in Hawaii If it dies today, it would have made and stored 16 quarts of cocktail ice for $63/year.

That said, I have an Engle used as a refrigerator.

[Drek4]

Originally Posted by davenrino

Alpicool C15 running constantly for almost 3 years now at 0 F. Not much insulation so it runs about 3/4 of the time in Hawaii If it dies today, it would have made and stored 16 quarts of cocktail ice for $63/year.

That said, I have an Engle used as a refrigerator.

Don't get me wrong, I would love a cheap portable freezer in the forward v-berth cabin to store my non perishable items, nice and cool, such as, water, cranberry juice, soft drinks, clamato, etc. I just can't trust it with my perishables.