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jwh92020

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[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif] As this build is winding down, I'm planning out my spring build. It will be a 7 x 12 "tiny trailer" (looks like a tiny house but tows like a travel trailer). I have most things figured out, but I'm debating on which 12v fridge to use. The 49 qt Dometic runs $800-$900. It uses very little power, but it's a big chunk of $. I've been looking at the ACOPOWER 12v fridge. I'm posting a link so y'all can read the info and form your own opinions. I would mount a dedicated solar panel on the roof just for the fridge, keeping it separate from the rest of the solar set up. Please take a look and give me your thoughts. Thanks[/font]
[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]https://www.acopower.com/product/portable-freezer-refrigerator[/font]
 
which one are you thinking about. some come with their own battery. but the battery will not run it for even a day. is that correct? they are not what I would call cheap. some other brands come in cheaper. what happens if you run into 3 or 4 or more cloudy days? highdesertranger
 
There are lots of 12 volt fridge comparisons out to research and I've not seen these before. I don't think they have a compressor either which is not good. The prices seem high for a non compressor fridge.
 
I have a 50 quart Waeco...the Waeco brand became the Dometic brand. It runs great, chills very quickly, good temperature control too. It only works on 12v. Inside and outside is in very good condition.

Downside, to run it on 110v it might need a new fuse on the 110 volt transformer or it could be one of the two fuses on the circuit board that needs replacing to get it to do the auto switching over to run on the 110 power plug. Or maybe it needs a new 110v transformer, I don't know for sure, I don't do electronics repairs, but I did research the issue to find out the probable cause and how to repair it. It was used on a boat previously so it has relatively few hours on it. You could run it on 110v if you have a 120v power supply that provides 7-10 amps or so of 13.5 volts of power. I used one of those units to run it off 110v indoors at the workshop space.

Local pickup in Seattle only, price is firm at $300.00. As is, no warranty of course. It will give you the size and brand name unit you want for a reasonable price.

I want a smaller, shorter in height, lighter in weight, fridge to fit into my build plan. I can use this one but I would really rather have a smaller one as it works better for my personal needs.
 
highdesertranger said:
which one are you thinking about.  some come with their own battery.  but the battery will not run it for even a day.  is that correct?  they are not what I would call cheap.  some other brands come in cheaper.  what happens if you run into 3 or 4 or more cloudy days?  highdesertranger

I'm looking at the ACOPOWER unit. It comes with a built in LI battery that will run the frig at 32 degrees for 18 hrs on a charge. If I run into cloudy days, I'll use the generator to charge it. It's not cheap - the frig and the panel (frig has built in charge controller will run about $700. A dometic of the same size runs about $900.
 
maki2 said:
I have a 50 quart Waeco...the Waeco brand became the Dometic brand. It runs great, chills very quickly, good temperature control too.  It  only works on 12v.  Inside and outside is in very good condition.

Downside, to run it on 110v it might need a new fuse on the 110 volt transformer or it could be one of the two fuses on the circuit board that needs replacing to get it to do the auto switching over to run on the 110 power plug. Or maybe it needs a new 110v transformer, I don't know for sure, I don't do electronics repairs, but I did research the issue to find out the probable cause and how to repair it. It was used on a boat previously so it has relatively few hours on it. You could run it on 110v if you have a 120v power supply that provides 7-10 amps or so of 13.5 volts of power. I used one of those units to run it off 110v indoors at the workshop space.  

Local pickup in Seattle only, price is firm at $300.00.   As is, no warranty of course. It will give you the size and  brand name unit you want for a reasonable price.

I want a smaller, shorter in height, lighter in weight, fridge to fit into my build plan. I can use this one but I would really rather have a smaller one as it works better for my personal needs.

Appreciate the offer, but pick up would be an issue - Seattle is a long drive from Oklahoma. I'm really taking a serious look at the ACOPWER unit I linked to in my post. I've been using their panels of my previous builds and thy work great, and the customer service is excellent.
 
jwh92020 said:
I'm looking at the ACOPOWER unit. It comes with a built in LI battery that will run the frig at 32 degrees for 18 hrs on a charge . . .

The link you gave has 6 different refrigerator/freezers, 4 portable (with wheels and handle and battery) from 16 to 52 quarts capacity and two chest style (without wheels, handle, or battery) no capacity that I could find.

Looks like they have a reciprocating LG compressor.  Don't know anything about them, although reciprocating compressors are generally noisier than rotary compressors.

I couldn't find any detailed specifications on the units.
 
Spaceman Spiff said:
The link you gave has 6 different refrigerator/freezers, 4 portable (with wheels and handle and battery) from 16 to 52 quarts capacity and two chest style (without wheels, handle, or battery) no capacity that I could find.

Looks like they have a reciprocating LG compressor.  Don't know anything about them, although reciprocating compressors are generally noisier than rotary compressors.

I couldn't find any detailed specifications on the units.

I don't know anything about the LG compressors either. The only anectdotal info I have is that a friend of mine has a 40 qt AP & a 40 qt Dometic. He said they cool equally well, no mention of noise about either. Said he prfers the flexability the AP gives him (18 hrs of cooling with no power attached) vs the Dometic. The units without wheels in the link both have the battery but are designed to be more of a permanent install. They do have wheel kits available for them.
 
RogerD said:
This what I have.

TruckFridge (IndelB) model TB51. They all use Secop (formerly DanFoos) compressors, which is what the more expensive Dometic, ARB, etc... use. Best bang for the buck IMO.

https://www.truckfridge.com/product/tb51-portable-refrigerator-freezer-ac-dc/
That looks like a nice fridge. The idea of being able to take the fridge "off grid" off grid for 18 hours has kind of sparked my interest. I need to do some info searching to get real life feedback on the AP units before I commit.
 
are you going to power anything else off o 12v? in other words are you going to have another battery and solar system to have lights, charge cell phone, run a computer? if you are it would kinda seem like a waste to have a battery in the fridge. highdesertranger
 
highdesertranger said:
are you going to power anything else off o 12v?  in other words are you going to have another battery and solar system to have lights,  charge cell phone,  run a computer?  if you are it would kinda seem like a waste to have a battery in the fridge.  highdesertranger
The plan would be for the fidge to have a dedicated solar panel and then another set up for lights, water pump, etc. With the fridge having it's own battery & charge controller, the only things needed to make it an independent system are a panel & wiring. The built in battery gives me the option to take the fridge when we go out withhout having to worry about power. That is an intriguing thought.
 
jwh92020 said:
That looks like a nice fridge. The idea of being able to take the fridge "off grid" off grid for 18 hours has kind of sparked my interest. I need to do some info searching to get real life feedback on the AP units before I commit.

I noticed they are not showing the actual weight of their battery fridge units. You might want to know that on that large of a fridge to see if it is feasible for you to move it around with comfort. I know I myself find the Waeco 50 fridge without any battery to be pretty heavy. So heavy that I would not want to be hauling in and out of a car.
 
That's a good point. I'm not sure how well using a cooler with wheels would work in a fixed situation.
 
A loading ramp to wheel it into a van?  But then you have to haul the ramp along too. Oh well, life often involves compromises and creative thinking.  A handicap van with a lift gate!

If something is so heavy it might hurt sales then don't list how much it weighs. Instead just take advantage of impulse buying. They won't want to pay the shipping freight to return it and of course that is not a defect. :)
 
jwh92020 said:
 . . . The only anectdotal info I have is that a friend of mine has a 40 qt AP & a 40 qt Dometic . . .

If you know someone that has a unit that will be your best source of information.  You will be able to look at a unit and actually hear it run, talk about its performance.  The site you linked to had a lot of marketing hype with little in the way of actual specifications.
 
"The site you linked to had a lot of marketing hype with little in the way of actual specifications."

exactly which makes me a little leery right off the bat.

highdesertranger
 
Spaceman Spiff said:
If you know someone that has a unit that will be your best source of information.  You will be able to look at a unit and actually hear it run, talk about its performance.  The site you linked to had a lot of marketing hype with little in the way of actual specifications.

Unfortunately, my friend lives in California & I'm in Oklahoma, so hands on research isn't an option right now. I trust his opinion on performance & he's going to take it to his shop tomorrow and put it on a scale. He uses it in a cargo trailer conversion that he did. It has barn doors, no ramp. He built a 2 step bench to get in & out and says it is really easy to move the fridge up & down the steps, even when it's loaded. Like walking a dolly up & down steps.
 
highdesertranger said:
"The site you linked to had a lot of marketing hype with little in the way of actual specifications."

exactly which makes me a little leery right off the bat.

highdesertranger

I feel the same about sites with little hard info. I've used their solar panels and they are quality products, and my friend has one their 40 qt fridges, so I have confidence in their products. I'm trying to decide how important the portability issue really is to me.
 
I know a guy who uses a 3 wheel mobility scooter.  It is portable.  His wife can put it in the trunk of the car.  First she puts the battery pack in the trunk.  The whole thing never gets picked up.  She can't.  Yet it remains portable.

Having the battery attached to the fridge means moving just one piece.  Two lighter pieces might be better for portability.
 
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