Let there be cold!

[waldenbound]

Ok, so after spending all summer experimenting with my Yeti Tundra 65, I got an Engel 32qt reefer.
Yes, I went over to the dark side. Or the cold side, I guess you could say. No more worrying over being in 100 degrees temps, with no ice and miles from a town.

So, I got a really nice refrigerator but it's oh so small inside. Which means efficient packing. What is the best way to pack this thing? I'm assuming cutting up vegetables to be smaller? Keeping things stacked so there's not a cubic inch of movement? Leave veggies in bags from the store or in stackable containers?

Tips for going to a 32qt fridge?

Oh, this is electrical, but I have it plugged into my Goal Zero lithium 1400. Yes, I'm over to the darker side now. Right now, just out of the box and getting cold, it's drawing 1.7 amps. I'm going to monitor it and see how it's cycling on and off and how many amps it's drawing.

Trust the Force, waldenbound.

 

[Almost There]

First off, always buy the smallest size condiments that you possibly can. A little more expensive but take up way less space.

Learn to use only one flavor of salad dressing at a time - so you learn to pick your absolute favorite, or as I do, make my own - raspberry vinaigrette is so stupidly simple I can't believe I ever bought the stuff.

I use a plastic shoebox to try to contain all my fresh veggies...heavy hard stuff on the bottom, more crushable stuff like mushrooms on the top.

I pack all my different cheeses in a gallon ziploc to keep them together...makes them easier to locate in the fridge.

Take extra packaging off of stuff...the cardboard package the bacon comes in never hits the fridge!

Pack it tight.

If something is half empty, find another smaller container to put it in.

Never refrigerate something that doesn't really need to be in there.

Always shop with the size of the fridge in mind... ..easier said than done.

I have a 65 qt and some days right after a shopping trip, it's so tightly packed in there, I'm squishing stuff. I couldn't manage with a smaller unit but then I eat a lot of fresh food. YMMV.

 

[waldenbound]

Great tips AlmostThere. I'm also thinking efficient, simple, nearly monastic style cooking. Cook for one person, carefully portioned, so the meal can be eaten right there, with no leftovers to go back to the tiny fridge.

Careful grocery shopping and careful cooking.

 

[texas0322]

Good post. All things I was wondering too just entering van life for the first time this month. Going from a full size apartment fridge to the 50qt one I went with is going to be...interesting at first for sure!

 

[Rainier70]

Also remember that most condiments like ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, etc. don't really need to be refrigerated at all.  Waxed cheese rounds like the mini bell styles also can do without refrigeration.   Small sizes work best.

If space is really tight, most fresh vegies, eggs, and cheese with survive fine out of the fridge wrapped in a damp towel for several days. I hung mine in a mesh hammock or bag. How well that works for you maybe temperature and humidity dependent.  I have kept things like celery, carrots, green onions, bell peppers, and lettuce for two weeks this way.  Your mileage may vary. 

It helps in their longevity if you rub the eggs with oil or shortening to reduce air exchange.

Ziplocks are your friends.  I use them for leftovers or small portions.  Several of them together can be placed inside of a more ridged container for stacking. 

The fridge's size is small, but with fresh ice, the available food space in a cooler is sometimes even smaller!  

Good luck.  You will enjoy your fridge.

 

[Annie W]

I have a 65 qt and some days right after a shopping trip, it's so tightly packed in there, I'm squishing stuff. I couldn't manage with a smaller unit but then I eat a lot of fresh food. YMMV.

Ditto, we too eat like 40 - 80% fresh, preferably organic, food; & fill the fridge like you.

However is your 65 qt this https://www.amazon.com/Whynter-FM-65G-65-Quart-Portable-Refrigerator/dp/B002W8DM5I for $557 ?? Can it be bought for less ?

 

[John61CT]

Yes lots of items "all" Americans refrigerate, don't actually need it.

Get a good cooler, swap out frozen water bottles or freezer packs or "polar tubes" for the stuff that you're going to eat in the next few days, minimize opening that lid.

 

[Almost There]

However is your 65 qt this https://www.amazon.com/Whynter-FM-65G-65-Quart-Portable-Refrigerator/dp/B002W8DM5I for $557 ?? Can it be bought for less ?

Yes, that's what I'm using...one set up as a fridge and one set up as a deep freezer.

Both are full to the max and thank goodness I have a Phd in Packing.... otherwise I'd never get all my stuff in there!

I don't know if they can be bought for less..I didn't even try. I finished up my electrical install and ordered the two units. I was so glad to be finished with using coolers and not being able to freeze food!

The two of them are still cheaper than the price of most RV 2 or 3 way fridges and I have way more freezer space than all but the most luxurious of the RV fridges. Each unit has paid for itself many times over - the fridge from not having to buy ice and the freezer from being able to buy meat on sale and in family size packages. You do need an electrical bank sized to handle both though - the freezer uses probably 4 times the power that the fridge does.

I originally tried to bring them in through Home Depot but ran in to logistical problems with them...so I went with just ordering them off Amazon.

The only shortcoming I've found with them in over 2 years of full-time operation is the 12V plug. One fried within a couple of months and the other within a few months after that. I cut the plug ends off and hard-wired them direct. If I want to remove one of them from the van totally I can unplug it at the unit end rather than the plug end.

 

[John61CT]

Anderson plugs are a great connector if needed.

Forget standard ciggie-style, inherently flawed design, dangerously so. Marine twist-lock not as bad, and backward-compatible for guests, but I still wouldn't go over 6-7A.

 

[highdesertranger]

haha Almost There, on the ranch if you had a Phd you had a Post Hole Digger. very common joke on the ranch. highdesertranger

 

[Trebor English]

The food in the fridge is Piled Higher and Deeper.

 

[Annie W]

haha Almost There,  on the ranch if you had a Phd you had a Post Hole Digger.  very common joke on the ranch.  highdesertranger

HA-HA, Good one, lol

When I was learning English (my 4th language), I asked: WHAT are those funny :huh: letters after prof's names?, & WHY are they soo proud of them?, and a friend explained "BS stands for b...s..., & MS stands for More s..., & PHD stands for Piled Higher & Deeper..."
& I asked Since when is that anything to be proud of ? , and he said "the PHD's get paid the most money" - & I said "what NONsense !!! "

LOL

 

[accrete]

...I'm also thinking efficient, simple, nearly monastic style cooking. Cook for one person, carefully portioned, so the meal can be eaten right there, with no leftovers...

Greetings, i'd not come across the "monastic style cooking" term before your post but i think my wife and i are accidentally on that path ; ) i'm going to do some research this morning just for fun to see how we might tweak our meals anyway.

Like you, our meals are prepped so that there are no leftovers. If there is another "serving" ...i eat it rather than be tempted to snack on something else.

We are plant based organic whole foods peeps and primarily use our 20qt pelican-elite ice-cooler for pre-cut lettuce and soy-sour-cream.
In our rig we designed a large 20" cube area with produce baskets that keep all the fresh produce just fine for their typical few-days-to-week shelf life.
We mod our eating/meals to reflect what will parish first-to-last. It is a fun rhythm for us.


Pretty simple lifestyle if one chooses.

 

[waldenbound]

I thought up the term "monastic style cooking" to reflect the idea of simple, fresh, in season. My vision is to hit the farmer's market on Saturday. Making Saturday my go to town day, and get food, water, ect. Maybe have a Mexican dinner in a nice sit down restaurant sometimes.
Anyways, hit the farmer's market, then go to the grocery store and get more supplies, and some fresh meat. Make my meals very simple, I'm not going to be making French sauces out there. Backpackers have a term, "first night out" meals, where the first night meal is the fresh steak and bread they humped out. After that, the meals get more simple and frugal until the next resupply.

Really trying to avoid the fast food stuff all the time, or the Campbells' soup diet. That's no way to eat. Some street tacos with beef, diced onion, tomato, and cilantro or a stir fry with rice is more like it.
I think in the end I'm really going to be glad I went to the dark side and got the fridge. Sorry Yeti.

 

[John61CT]

More cost and complexity, electricity infrastructure required is all

 

[waldenbound]

I guess I was so bound and determined to make the Yeti cooler work, a fridge feels like the dark side. No, it's the cold side! I had to get real honest with myself when I finally figured out I was going from low 50s to mid 90s in a week or two. The desert is no game. The thought of having no ice and town is two hours away, or getting food poisoning because some food went bad. Yeah, this isn't a game.
Again, sorry Yeti, but I do still have my gallon, double-walled, 1 inch of insulation on the cap, tumbler.

I got the fridge, a Yeti 1400 lithium power station, and a 100 watt solar suitcase. Don't know if 100 watts will be enough, but the most important thing is keep that refrigerator going. Gizmos can be charged while driving I guess. We'll see. I like the plug and play with Goal Zero, and I don't want to be beholden or a burden to anyone in my first months out there.

 

[John61CT]

The 100W may be enough in optimum conditions, if that's all it's doing and you don't set that thermostat too low.

Really I'd plan on adding another suitcase.