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 Topic: Suggestions for fridge/ coolbox
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08/6/2021 at 4:10am
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We have a Waeco CF25 compressor fridge which we got back in 2008, superb small portable fridge, we have run it in the car for months, no fear of it draining the car battery as the fridge has has built in battery protection.
The Waeco will run of my 120Ah SLA battery for five days straight, before the battery reaches 50% capacity, my battery is in a portable battery box, that has Anderson powerpole panel mounted output, so I simply plug the fridge into the battery box using a Anderson to cigarette type socket adapter.
We got lucky with the Waeco, it was brand new in the box and cost £150 plus £20 shipping from Portsmouth to Manchester.
I know that they are expensive to buy new now, Waeco are a brand of the Dometic group who also have the Mobicool brand, so the Mobicool MCF-40 is also a very good compressor fridge.
As ever decent kit costs, and portable compressor fridges are right up there, I can only speak from experience and would have no other type of fridge for camping.
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08/6/2021 at 11:08am
Location: London
Outfit: Lunar Cosmos 524
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People tend to think of fridges and coolboxes as pretty much the same thing, but they are not really. A fridge should be able to maintain a temp of 0-4C to keep perishable foods safe, a coolbox with ice (including the electric variety) will just be cooler than the ambient temp, and may not be at a safe temp for perishable food storage!
The electric coolboxes will only cool (unaided by additional ice/ice packs) to something like 18C below ambient (ie. 28C ambient = 10-15C in box) at best, they are very slow to cool, very inefficient and power hungry, you can't run them off a battery alone (not all have a battery discharge protection cut out to stop battery damage and they'll all kill a car/leisure battery in a few hours), they need a 240v mains adaptor or running engine in a vehicle. Best think of them as a way of extending the life of ice packs for a few more hours if running from sustainable power source.
A 12v camping compressor fridge will run for days off a car/leisure battery, most if not all have battery protection cut outs.
3-way (Absorption type) fridges are power hungry on electric, so again on 12v will kill a (off charge) battery in hours. They are fine on 240v mains and 12v with car engine running, and great on gas (either Calor type cylinder or a model available that takes disposable cartridges). They are slower to chill down than compressor fridges. You also need to use in a ventilated space (tent porch OK, not main enclosed space!) if running on gas as potentially lethal Carbon Monoxide from gas exhaust.
The high end passive coolboxes will keep ice/ice packs frozen for couple of days if you only put pre-chilled items in box and don't open too often. They work pretty well if you can keep them supplied with ice/ice packs as needed.
I've got/used all types and perhaps ought to mention that if you want to use them as 'beer fridges' with frequent opening and replenishing with 'warm' stock, then you compromise their safe food storage capabilities considerably. The compressor fridges are the most capable in that scenario as they have quickest cooling capability.
I've used a huge Igloo as a beer fridge (in France), we freeze a load of 1l/2l ice cream tubs of water at home (in England), and the box lid has a hatch so you don't let all the cold out every time you open lid, that copes for a couple of days with a LOT of opening and warm beer going in!  
IMHO, for 2 - 3 day stint's, a high end passive coolbox with lots of ice and pre-chilled items should suffice, otherwise if budget will stretch then a compressor fridge or 3-way fridge on gas. Forget the 'electric coolbox'.
The 12v capable fridges usually have a lead with a 'cigarette lighter' plug on, you need a flying lead with 'cigarette lighter' socket on one end and crocodile clips on other. Like this https://www.caravanaccessoryshop.co.uk/product/crocodile-clips-to-cigar-lighter-ad........
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via mobile 07/6/2021 at 10:08pm
