A lot depends on how cold you want it to be. 400WHr sounds somewhat high to me. I keep mine a few degrees below freezing and, in the summer, I doubt that it goes above a 30% duty cycle. Rest of the time it's more like 10%. ..Willy.
akrvbob said:ARB is a new entry to the market. They are placing themselves as a premium, very expensive very high quality model like an Engle. They really haven't been around long enough to know if that's true, unlike Engle which has extremely well proven it's highest quality, highest price claim.
To me the ARB looks like a re-branded Dometic, but I can't believe that's true.
Bob
steveh2112 said:if i might summarize what i think are the options available from low to high
2) ice chest: cheap, if not on the road much or limited need for cold stuff, but if using a lot, need to be able to buy ice regularly which will likely become a pain and quite expensive after a while.
highdesertranger said:off grid you must be pretty close to town. where do you get block ice for 1-2 bucks? never ever drink the water from your ice chest, ask me how I know. the only way I have ever got a week out of ice is when I seal up the ice chest and buried it. highdesertranger
Seeker said:I am loving my 50qt ARB. Only time will tell if holds up and ARB is overpriced for sure but I like its features. Still learning how to keep food like dairy and other items placed in the best locations. Today a couple Corona beers that had fallen over on the bottom and ignored too long had partialy frozen with big chunks of ice. They were still great!
The pleasure of driving to get ice and draining the old cooler is not missed.
When it cycles I think it pulls around 2.5-3amps but even when van is at 90 degrees it does not cycle often.
My power needs are fairly low. Mostly the fridge, fans, charging laptop through an inverter because I don't have a DC charge source yet. Lighting is usually with my LED lanterns or 1 or more of my LED flashlights but I will take the light fixtures I am carrying around in a box and install them some day and that will add a slight power usage more.
I only have 136 amp hour of battery so far with a 285 watt panel but even on total overcast days my KID controller says I am 100% charge by end of day.
Would love to have the Renogy 100 watt suitcase so on sunny days I could park in the shade when possible and deploy the suitcase.
Think any 12v fridge is worth the cost to make life easier unless your time is spent close to town.
A SEEKER
1977dodge said:i really appreciate the help here i settled on this and will see how it works out
[font=Arial, sans-serif]Whynter FM-45G 45-Quart Portable Refrigerator/Freezer, Platinum[/font]
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