Alpicool or dometic ???

[H0neybug]

Making our final purchases for our first 10 day outing and deciding on a cooler/fridge.  Our short trips we’ve always used ice in a cooler, but everything gets wet as the ice melts and in hot temperatures we go through several bags of ice.

We were going to get the 35QT Dometic CFX for $665, but we watched a video of a 20QT Alpicool for $279 that seems to be comparible for what we want it to do.

Since there are two of us we don’t plan on having many left overs...mostly use for cold water/drinks and condiments.

I know the Dometic can cool and freeze separately...I don’t plan on keeping ice cream around...is there any other reason I would need it?  Make ice cubes?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Moxadox]

I love having a freezer because I can keep a couple of ice packs for those inevitable times I bash my head on something or have some other boo-boo. You can always keep some of those instant ice packs around, but imo there's no substitute for something really frozen, whether it's actual ice or a frozen cold pack.

I've had some spectacular falls, too, and have been very grateful for the frozen things. Some people get along fine without a freezer (heck, without a fridge!), so I guess I'm spoiled ;-D

The Dire Wolfess

 

[Beeps and eats]

Best advice I can give is, kick the tires and go with what your budget will allow.
You can always save up for the higher end model, But for now you can go ahead and enjoy your time out.

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

 

[sephson]

I just bought an Alpicool C15, which is the 15 quart model. So far, it's been working great, no complaints, but I've had it less than two weeks, so I'll see how it does in the long term.

I opted for the Alpicool because I simply could not afford the $600 plus pricetag of the Dometic, Engel, etc.

 

[H0neybug]

I opted for the Alpicool because I simply could not afford the $600 plus pricetag of the Dometic, Engel, etc.

Right...we just put new tires on which were a better investment than can I live without butter, eggs, and mayonnaise ?

Until today I didn’t even know that another viable option beside $600+ models were available.  The guy in the video said that on the Canadian Amazon website the same cooler was over $600...

Keep me posted on how you like it...ours comes Wednesday ?

 

[Almost There]

Before you decide on size of fridge unit to get, it's wise to take some cardboard and do a mock up of the INSIDE of the unit.

Then take stuff from your home fridge and pack it in there!

I live full-time on the road and have 2 units, both 65 quart size, one set up as a fridge and one as a deep freezer. After a shopping trip I have the fridge unit packed extremely full. The freezer unit stays packed full almost all the time because I buy regular size packs of meat and freeze single portions as well as left-overs etc. Some shopping trips I have to turn down a good bargain simply because there is no room in the freezer..sigh!

I can't imagine a 15 quart unit being good for anything more than a trip to the beach!

If you decide to keep on using a cooler until you can afford a larger unit, simply place the block of ice in a plastic container so that the melting ice is kept contained. Drain is once a day or so - you'll soon learn how long to go! Food stays separated from the melting ice so no more soggy food.

 

[captndiet]

I have the 20L Alpicool and like it.

Tall enough for a 1/2 or full gallon jug of milk.

We keep butter, condiments, etc. in it.

Very quiet and low power consumption.

I would suggest buying a digital fridge thermometer as the fridge readout is really just a number for reference. ($7.00 on Amazon)

I used the thermometer to figure out the temp. at bottom, middle and top and to set thermostat. I ended up with the temp at 34F at the bottom.

It comes with a rather vague basic manual. I requested more info on set-up parameters from them and they e-mailed them to me with-in a day.

I have not taken the time to play with those settings yet. 

Attached is the set-up info I received from Alpicool

Jeff

 

[H0neybug]

Thank you so much Jeff! I’m sure the set up instructions will be handy.

Meat is optional in our diet so no need for so much storage as we mostly eat vegetarian (me always, him 3-4 days a week ?) he’s also lactose intolerant so no milk needed.

So I basically spent $300 to keep my jam and his mayonnaise fresh ???

 

[captndiet]

I would gladly spend $300.00 rather than go through the bad mayo ordeal again.


When you get it and are playing with the temp settings, fill it up with the stuff you would normally use.

Trying to get the temp. set when empty is a waste of time.

Jeff

 

[Dingfelder]

Fresh veggies take a ton of room. You can just about never have too much fridge space if you really like your veggies.

And heaven help those, like me, who love their sauces and condiments and like to keep their pickles fresh. They are so much of what makes food fun to eat, but they take up a lot of room.

 

[yugogypsy1963]

My trailer has a Dometic, standard size for that size trailer. It does have a small freezer and believe or not works better at keeping things COLD than my apartment sized Moffat in the house. Which was a blessing during a recent hot spell when I was drinking lots.

I need a lot of protein in my diet so having the freezer is great. I'll be able to buy small amounts of meat and keep them. If I go boondocking I'll be eating Tuna, salmon and other canned meats and only occasionally buying a piece of fresh meat or fish to eat immediately and use a cooler as it takes a lot of propane to run that fridge. I don't remember at this moment if its 110 and propane or a 3 way fridge. I'll check in the morning. It has enough room to hold everything I need. We set the temperature with it about half full and then gradually adjusted it to where it is now and its working fine. One thing I DON'T like is that it is installed right above the radiant furnace, hence my plan NOT to use the furnace unless it gets really cold--it needs a repair anyhow and I may not be able to get the part so if I can't, I won't miss it. I'll just pile on more blankets and my feather duvets

Cheers, Lois

 

[DLTooley]

I have the similarly sized dometic cc model from Dyers rv at 335 when I bought it. I use it as a freezer and kept the cooler with 1/2 gallon juice jugs for ice. I rotate these through the freezer.

Fwiw eggs are okay without refrigeration. Cabbage is a good veggie that can go without refrigeration.

 

[RogerD]

Here is a great real life review of the alpicool c20

 

[MikesGonenoMAD]

Making our final purchases for our first 10 day outing and deciding on a cooler/fridge.  Our short trips we’ve always used ice in a cooler, but everything gets wet as the ice melts and in hot temperatures we go through several bags of ice.

We were going to get the 35QT Dometic CFX for $665, but we watched a video of a 20QT Alpicool for $279 that seems to be comparible for what we want it to do.

Since there are two of us we don’t plan on having many left overs...mostly use for cold water/drinks and condiments.

I know the Dometic can cool and freeze separately...I don’t plan on keeping ice cream around...is there any other reason I would need it?  Make ice cubes?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

If you have the $600 buy 2 Apicools use one for Freezer 1 for fridge they don't draw much and you have the best of both world's with $50.00 left over to buy food  I Have a 65Qt Della I use as Freezer/ Fridge (Fridge is a very small area) I use my Alpicool as daily Fridge when I use the big Della it has a hard time keeping up when it's being opened and closed alot the smaller Alpicool is small so its easier for it to keep up. I usually put my Ice in a Ziplock Bag and put in "Fridge" and it will keep all day I find the trick is to only open the Freezer 1-2 times a day and it will draw very little power. I wish I saw the Alpicool first I would have bought 2 and saved a lot of space. Wish you well on your journey. Peace & Blessings!

I Choose to Die Living, Not Living to Die!

 

[Kia girl]

I had the alpicool c20. Great little fridge for the price. I don’t use it right now because it was just to small for me. I purchased a bigger fridge. The only issue I had was the condensation that ran down the side to the bottom and would smell some. For the price I just removed the food every so often and cleaned it out. It is great with how little energy it used. I am going to get more batteries and use mine as a freezer soon enough. If money is a factor then I would recommend this fridge.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[yugogypsy1963]

I'm sticking with my Dometic. I do have 4 12 volt coolers left here by a hoarder I evicted, NONE of them work currently but I have 2 guys in my home tribe that can probably fix them and 2 out of the 4 do hot as well as cold so if I'm going to a gathering, I can take hot food

Instead of using ice, I have 2 large ice packs I can freeze in the Dometic to put in the cooler and I won't have a mess with water.

Time to defrost the Dometic soon as I've been running it since June and the freezer is a bit iced up.

During the hot spell we had, that Dometic was a blessing as it really does keep things colder than my house fridge.

 

[Jack]

Forgive my new guy ignorance, but what's the difference between these high end cooler refrigerators and a regular tiny fridge that can be purchased for less than $100? I realize the freezer would be much smaller, but apart from that, I don't understand.

 

[highdesertranger]

most of the 12v refrigerators are design for mobile use. the tiny fridges are not. most of the 12v models are very energy efficient. the tiny fridges are not. with a 12v you don't need an inverter which in itself is not 100% efficient. I thought I would save money and went with one of those 100 buck fridges. for me it was a waste of money. highdesertranger

 

[Jack]

most of the 12v refrigerators are design for mobile use.  the tiny fridges are not.  most of the 12v models are very energy efficient.  the tiny fridges are not.  with a 12v you don't need an inverter which in itself is not 100% efficient.  I thought I would save money and went with one of those 100 buck fridges.  for me it was a waste of money.   highdesertranger

Thanks for the education.  I'm all about not wasting money.  I'd rather pay more upfront and not have any problems, or replacements, later.  

Learning about power and how it works for van life is something I know nothing about and will be learning from scratch.  Thanks for your patience with my dumb questions!

 

[highdesertranger]

keep at the studying Jack, you will get it. remember most if not all of us started from scratch. highdesertranger