That little cover you showed is for the optional lithium battery pack not for storing the mains power supply the inbuilt solar charge controller needs the lithium battery pack to be installed. It also has Bluetooth and an app that is available for both Apple and android app for monitoring and changing settings on the fridge. I have the 35 liter model and get almost 26 hours out of the 15ah lithium battery pack when set in eco mode. The dc compressor is able to be run at different rpm in max mode it runs at higher rpm and in eco mode it runs at a lower rpm. Oh and all refrigeration systems have a hysteresis curve so that the compressor is not cycling on and off excessively and over heating and burning out the compressor so there will always be a temperature variation between your set temp and the temp at which the compressor turns on and off again.
@@TKCL you can get a small solar blanket that is made for them that plugged straight into the solar plug you can also get an adapter that goes from the solar input plug on the fridge to an Anderson connector so you can use other types of solar panels and blankets I will find out the maximum size and Voltage panel that you can connect to it and get back to you.
@@TKCL max volts and amps for the solar input plug is 50v DC and 10amps and Given that the solar blanket that is made for them by the manufacturer is 21.6 volts and 5.2 amps most standard portable solar blankets and portable solar panel sets that you can get for camping would work just fine. Just need to remember that if using another brand of portable solar blanket with it don’t use the solar charge controller that comes with the blanket as the fridge has its own built in connected to the solar input plug so you would just connect the panel by itself straight to the fridges solar input.
Glad to find your utube chnl. Yer my kinda people! Really like yer explanation of construction fer da layman. I really like the powered cooler! But, you never mentioned taking it out on yer boat. I know you will. The good news is... You won't have to lug 80 lbs of ice with you. The bad news... you won't need the homemade ice maker you just spent a lot of time & money building, testing & improving for maximum efficiency! The best news IS... You got tons of views & likes on yer youtube channel!
Hey Andrew great review. Couple of points on power usage, whilst knowing the watts used is good for solar , Amps usage is good for ‘stored’ power, battery etc, you can easily work out what running time you’d get from say a 120ah battery. Example: you had 53w 12v on the initial start, giving you 4.417amp draw. Turning the unit upside down will release compressor Oil into the pipe work, resulting in a blocked capillary to the evaporator. (If turned on)That’s why we say always leave to stand so the oil can drain back into the sump.
Changing the mode from ECO to regular just tells the controller to drive the compressor a bit faster. It pulls more amps to do that, which is why it pulls more battery. But if you're filling up the unit at home, on shore power, fire it up on regular for loading and cooling overnight, then when you head out it's already at your set temp and you can change over to ECO and get maximum duration on your battery.
I didn't realize these had variable control compressors, that's new to me but a nice idea. I agree before a trip to load the cooler, preferably with already cold food and drinks. Much easier on the unit to maintain a cool product, than trying to cool down warm product.
@@TKCL they are linear inverter compressors the configuration of the control board determines the compressor speed they are designed to run between 1200 RPM and 4500RPM when the controller is set to high most likely with would be running the compressor at the max rpm and therefore using max its max power draw, in eco mode depending on what they fridge manufacture decided low will run at the lower end of the compressors rpm range resulting in lower power draw and longer battery life the average that I have found amongst other fridges with variable compressors is around the 2000rpm range for their low setting so this one may be similar.
RV fridges work when they are moving just like Car/truck AC systems work when they are moving. The cooler would also be good when you go shopping to be able to keep frozen foods frozen in the Florida heat.
Real World tests are Awsome! Personally, I am a poor and cheap *bleep* so will probably never pick this up brand new. But that don't mean I'll never git one! Anybody who has ever been to a garage sale or re-sell shop will tell yuh that you'd be surprised what's fer sell.
That’ll work out fine in your storm shelter seeing as a tropical depression/hurricane is on the way to the State of Florida this coming week. Take care, Kelley’s!
I see a lot of people curious about these, a majority of the market is probably overlanding/camping. More time out and about since you don't need coolers w/ ice. expensive though obviously.
I like to freeze bottles the day before then put them in the fridge and after a day they are half melted so you still got ice while you drink it but you don't gotta wait 15-30 minutes for it to melt.
That’s awesome. I’ve wondered for a long time how boat manufacturers try to sell you a $45,000 boat and don’t already have these built-in and still have basically alive well that if you’re lucky might have an air or water pump or a little Styrofoam insulation around it. If I was a boat manufacture I would have something like that and I do have an option to dump the ice automatically into a live well. That’s pretty awesome and someone like you who goes out on your boat and fishing and all of that will get a ton of use out of it. Awesome! 😀
@@TKCL yeah it’s pretty awesome I would love to have one. I don’t think you could freeze salt water in it and I wouldn’t be throwing fish in it anyway but to use on the boat would be awesome just keep your drinks and ice and everything else cool you can put some ice in the well and as the day goes on you can throw more on top of those fish and keep them fresh for a lot longer but just to have a cooler on there to keep things frozen and cool to drink and eat would be awesome. It’s a very cool little cooler and especially for people that get out in nature and all that during the day that are on boats and then tractors and ATVs and stuff or they have a power source and camping and all of that it’s pretty awesome and well worth the money. It’s pretty awesome that you got one I think you’ll get a ton of use out of it. :)
Those 12V coolers are a great idea. It seems kind of strange to me that a cooler designed to cool itself outdoors would be black. My best friend is a traveling manufacturer’s rep. He has had a kidney transplant and has to take several medications multiple times a day. These meds can’t be exposed to heat. He keeps them in a 12V cooler in his vehicle while he’s in a client’s office. He’s been through several different brands. Unfortunately, none of them seem to last all that long. Keep us posted! Love your channel!
Thanks for the power usage info. I'm looking at putting an AC powered mini fridge, freezer in a camper van and running it off of solar charged batteries. The energy usage specs on the one I'm looking at are only slightly higher than what the sticker on your cooler shows. This tells ne I should have no problem. Thanks again.
FYI I've been testing more over the last few days in eco mode. Freezer and fridge, plus fridge only. In eco mode I'm consistently seeing 33 watts of pull on the killawatt meter. In eco mode and fridge only, I hardly ever hear the compressor running, it's very efficient that way.
Heck yea man!!! You did it bro. Hope you keep up the amount of views you are getting. Good info and everybody like you that gives out accurate info deserves to be on top👍. I want to go fishing where you are in Florida. I will soon bud!!
The best thing is to fill it up and keep it plug on 110 till goes down on the required temperature then when you go on the trip will use less power from the battery, i use a 46 litres waeco freezer refrigerator and also use refrigerators in the trucks i use , also over 45 Celsius won’t start or under -15 Celsius what i like at this one is that you can add solar
I just found your channel and I liked and subscribed. By the way that storage compartment is for a battery and just incase you wanted to know that fridge is either a copy of or made by Alpicool and it's called the Alpicool TWW . I have done a lot of research on these and need to get me one of these fridges, I live in my 1967 GM TDH-4519 city transit bus in the high desert of New Mexico and really need one of these and was going to buy one when I get my stimulus check but now I'm going to have to spend it on repairs. Oh I just remembered that you forgot to talk about the Bluetooth app. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and time with us you did a good job so keep up the good work and stay safe
It looks like neither Australian eBay nor Australian Amazon sell those 12 / 14V inverter fridge / freezer stuff. It's quite nice ngl to have a freezer / fridge combo that run on 12 / 24V supply, but have the AWESOME efficiency of a refrigerant - based fridge / freezer ( unlike those peltier {Thermoelectric cooler } fridge stuff that wastes SO MUCH POWER just to cool a 6L cooler box { yes, I did drill a hole on my cooler box just to have an active cooling. I'm waiting for your ultimate high capacity ice maker build here so :-/ } ). Oh well...
The reason for not running upside down is the compressor lubrication oil not the refringent. I worked in a repair shop that dealt with refrigerators. With the lube oil, which is separate from the refringent, at the top the compressor can burn out.
That refrigerator fan is a great idea. In home refrigerators that’s how they work, there are a little fans and ducks in there moving air around and circulating it. And I think people will be surprised if they ever took a temperature probe and started probing different parts of the refrigerator because most people cram stuff in front of those vents and block off that circulation. In the freezer that’s critical. People live in my house never pay attention and cram shelves completely fullAnd quite often there are parts of my freezer were things are softer. Usually it’s not a huge difference and things still appear frozen but it’s much less efficient and can affect the quality of what you’re freezing. Especially meat if you have meat that’s constantly freezing and thawing and freezing and thawing it breaks it down mechanically and it can also dry it out and make it pretty horrible and tough. Making sure your shelves aren’t overstocked and creating pockets that retain heat is important to the overall efficiency. The fan is a great idea, and of course things like keeping it in the well ventilated area and shaded I’m sure makes a difference as well, especially on energy usage. I’m sure overall this isn’t going to be a replacement of standard refrigeration units or freezers but like you’re saying for a job site or out on a boat it’s much better. I don’t think it’s really intended to replace standard refrigerators but it’s a much more efficient and more powerful cooler for sure. Another thing that would help would be to throw a blanket or some type of insulation on it, but just make sure you keep the vent on the compressor open. That also helps on smokers and wood pellet grills. If you’re doing a long slow smoke if you get an insulator blanket you’re going to use a lot less pellets and you can burn your fires in an offset or direct heat grill A lot longer by shutting down the amount of oxygen that gets to them makes them burn faster. I’m sure if you threw a blanket on the outside of that it would make some difference, you might try that in the future test just to see. 🤔 I think you need to also take it out in the boat and tested on the water while fishing which is an important test criteria and do so several times in the near future to give it an accurate stress test. This is kind of your job now so don’t be a slacker and let us down.😜😂😂.
Would love to know how long it can keep a drink cold when unplugged. Say put some water in the freezer and fridge get it cold then unplug it and see how long each will stay relatively cold. Thanks for the great content!
So I unplugged the cooler due to the tropical storm that just hit. It was 14 hours ago with drinks in the refrigerator side only. Cooler was set to 38, drinks this morning are 68 degrees after sitting yesterday afternoon and all night. No doubt a cooler with ice would be better, but I know you wanted some info.
Nice piece of equipment. Pretty pricey though. I've had coolers in the past like this, but they didn't get as cold or have so many options. I like the split idea a lot. Not for a freezer, just to keep food items you only use for meals undisturbed and the other side for things people will often want access to. Finding a perfect sized group of plastic ware to fit inside my coolers back in the day to house all the different meats was an art form mixed with a bit of treasure finding because sealed plastic ware was hard to find in small sizes. A vacuum sealer helped a lot! All in, including the inverter, the total cost was likely still a fair bit cheaper. Also, the inverter and vacuum sealer could be used for other things. I also wonder how well that screen will hold up to the abuse. The extension handle is a nice add, but I am 6'3" and I wonder if it's long enough. The biggest issue I had on my big coolers were the wheels always sinking in the ground. Some camp grounds had sand bases, the coolers would just dig itself in. We ended up putting bigger tires on one and dualies on another!
Of course they’ve used refrigerator freezers in RV’s for years so going over bumps and such shouldn’t hurt it at all. Also the refrigerators in RV’s can run off of propane as a energy source which I think would make this unit way more desirable!! The reason you let refrigerators have time to settle before you plug them in after moving around is to let the oil in the compressor and the refrigerant lines settle before powering the unit up!
I don't know about this specific cooler. But most likely the ECO mode is a lot looser on the temperature, it will go colder than the set temperature, but also a lot higher. That means the compressor cycles a lot less, but runs longer when it's on. Depending on how smart the controller is, it might also change the cycles based on outside and condenser temperature. As with all compressors, the lower the delta temperature (min-max temperature of cooling system) the better efficiency, so keep the compressor and condenser as cool as possible.
You can get a battery on amazon it is a Alpicool FSAK-002 but currently out of stock this was the best price at 100.00 they are at 150.00 every other place
what is up with that big wooden fan, lol. 16:11, that cracks me up! This looks like an awesome cooler!! I am thinking about getting one now after seeing your in depth review. Pair this with a Jackery to see how long it will last before the Jackery dies.
I wish I had a jackery to test. I do have a ecoflow river pro and a bluetti eb70 I can test it with. I bet it will run a long time in eco mode and with already cool product inside. I've been testing it in refrigerator mode only the last few days and it's extremely efficient. I hardly ever hear the compressor running.
They make refrigerators for boats so, I think they have figured out how to take on the rocking factor. I’ve had refrigerators delivered to jobs and the guys always waited at least a half hour to start them,maybe it’s a residential thing?
The compressors are a hermetically sealed unit and are mounted inside the fridge chassis on rubber shock absorbers, inside the sealed tank the actual compressor and DC motor are mounted on suspension springs as well.
So the main reason you don’t want to tip or flip compressors upside down as it can force liquid from the condenser side of the refrigeration cycle to the vapor side and upon startup it can slug the compressor with liquid and cause damage. Also tipping it can force the compressors oil to displace too much and again cause issues upon startup. You should have any issues with it being tossed around too much as long as the compressor stays in the upright position.
Always a need for ice for me. I catch large saltwater fish and need a big fish box packed down with ice. This is better for those day boating trips on the river, camping, cookouts ect.
I’m glad you called it a battery powered generator also. Technically it’s not a solar powered generator at all it’s battery powered generator they can be charge for multiple sources and one of those sources is solar panels. I think the fact that they market them as solar powered generators is a little gimmicky. It’s not a big deal. Usually I think refrigerators are about 37 to 40 and freezers are usually sit about zero. It. Water will freeze below 32° but in your house freezer things will still be a little soft but 10° but for camping and just keep stuff frozen for a while while you’re out on the boat that should work fine it’ll be interesting to know how well it works if you do set it down to zero like if you were going to use it for several days. That reversible lid is awesome. For the economy mode I’m not sure but generally you’re right and the compressor is going to be an on or off function but there is a thermostat involved which flips the switch to turn it on and off and maybe the control board on that changes the thermostat triggerpoints instead of just leaving it on the whole time to get down to a certain temperature maybe it cycles it or maybe to protect from overheating it will run for a certain amount of time then stop and rest and then start again it may be the economy mode just controls the length of those rest and run times to optimize or minimize the energy usage as opposed to the efficiency of the cooling. My guess is it would probably be best to leave it on normal mode until your desired temperatures are reached then run it in economy mode and if it goes up a few degrees it needs to be cooled the process might take five minutes instead of two minutes but save you a lot of energy and still keep you in the ballpark or if you have a Power source that isn’t quite as powerful taught that hard for that long maybe letting it cool down over a longer period of time would be an advantage but I would guess and I would probably use it by putting on full power until you’re cool enough and then putting it in economy mode. Like maybe when your boat sitting in your garage charge it off the AC and have a nice and cold and everything frozen in already at optimum temperatures before you leave then plug it in to the battery operated system and put it on economy where it will drain those batteries slower. But they forgot to put an icemaker in there. So I guess now you’re gonna have to find a way to put your own mini icemaker in there and you can start a whole new series of videos on micro compact portable DIY ice machines. 😜 lol
@@TKCL 😂😂😂 i’m extravagant and you know I love to make stupid things and come up with stupid ideas but I think that would be a bit frivolous and silly though it might be fun and sometimes it’s just good enough I guess if you’ve got the parts in the time to do it 😂
So it says not to flip it upside down but will it run if it’s sitting upright like a refrigerator? So the wheels are on the bottom and the extended handle is on top sort of position. It’s too bad about the colour. It would be nice if it was lighter so it didn’t absorb the sunlight. White may keep it colder longer.
Yes it does, I did another review with the solar panel and battery for it. As soon as we get past all the rainy days I am having, I am going to do a several day outdoor solar test of it.
At that 54 watts you mentioned on the Bluetti, pair it with a 100 watt solar panel and you might be able to run it indefinitely. You should get enough juice in good sunlight to charget up the battery enough to get through the night especially since itw ould run better at night. I have a 53 qt theremoelectric cooler that I am seriously considering replacing with one of these, though I don't use them enough to justify the price. I guess I need to get my ass out of the house more :) That's my request. Get yourself a 100-200w portable solar panel and test this off grid to see.
Takes several hours. It's just like a new refrigerator you bring home. It's best to fill with already cool products so it can maintain and not have to bring down.
The Danfoss/Secop compressors are supposed to be the best. I don't know how the LG compressor will do. These 12v fridge freezers come a long way. I use to get those 12v Igloo and Coleman coolers that sucked. I'm a truck driver. I've had a small Engel. And now have a Dometic CFX 3 55. I use them as a freezer exclusively. My truck already has a Dometic refrigerator. I am seeing more and more companies using a Danfoss/Seacop compressor in them. And the prices seem to be coming down.
I've used this for a couple of months now with no issues. Sometimes running 24/7 for weeks at a time. Just took a vacation to the Keys and used this to carry refrigerated and frozen goods there and back.
@@TKCL I'm glad. Yours is less expensive than mine. And I hope they keep coming down in price. I leave my Dometic on in my big rig. It has a TriPac. So I can leave it on. Set it at 18 degrees. I physically checked it this morning. The app is nice as well. It's a investment. I have three USDA Prime New York strips in there. Along with two Prime Ribeye's! 🤐
So now with this new cooler you should be able to go split wood and have it behind your ranger and not have to worry that it's too hot or you're too tired there should be no more excuses now that you can keep water cold and you can throw some otter pops in the freezer side 🤔🤔🤔😏😏😁😁
You can get a meter that is DC you would probably have to solder on your own connectors but the killawatt actually only measure watts not just VA so it's probably not as far off as you might think
@@james10739 wrong. Typical converter efficiency is around 85%. That does not include standby consumption which will drop the total average efficiency.
@@TKCL FYI - If you have a Harbor Freight in your area, they've been offering a 100 watt, 4 panel starter set for under $200.00 and it could be used with your camper or boat too. Have fun!
OK I just ran out and sat on it. Absolutely no issues at all, no flex, noises anything. Feels very robust, far more so than my Coleman coolers. Thanks for the suggestion
Looks like Amazon doesn't carry it anymore. Here is a bigger one with excellent reviews smile.amazon.com/Beech-Lane-Multiple-Increase-Construction/dp/B094SDPGF3/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=Refrigerator+fan&qid=1625624585&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExTThLNzRHTlhDNFYxJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzY3MTgwMURYRFhVT1RPT1pMWCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODc2MjE1MzhVODg2TVRIRzhYUSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
That cooler is awesome but, definitely a wallet killer at a price point of $649.99. I know you pay for convenience but dang. Congrats to you man as your channel is doing well, keep up them DIY projects.
That price is actually a bit lower than I thought it would be. That puts this thing right in the same price range as a YETI cooler. But you don't need to feed ice to this one. I agree, it's a chunk of $$ if you compare it to a $45.oo Wally Whirled standard plastic cooler. For plenty of folks, that may be all the cooler they need. I'm in that group. I rarely need a cooler more than 3 or 4 times a year. And I'm only using one for 12 - 18 hours at a time. Clearly, Andrew is in an entirely different echelon. Frequent use, and extended use. In this user group, I believe it is a justifiable price, especially if the unit has a decent service lifespan. (I would expect at least 4 or 5 years for that price.) Uh oh, I just got a notification. Seems that Andrew is fixing to rip something out of somewhere. I gotta go check it out.
