6-Month Review - F40C4TMP 30-Quart Portable Refrigerator

#F40C4TMP #Camping #Fridge
In this video we give our honest feedback and experience using the F40C4TMP 30-quart refrigerator after six months of van camping use. This is a good fridge but there are some important things you need to know before making this purchase.
Amazon link to fridge:
www.amazon.com/F40C4TMP-Refri...
------Contents in Video--------------------
00:00 - Intro
01:52 - Other fridge options
02:37 - Where to buy
03:00 - Dimensions
03:25 - Our experience with the fridge
08:20 - Pros & Cons
08:54 - Would we recommend

[@pppjourneyonabike5992]

I bought 20 qt & 30 qt cooler (fridge). Used the thermal blanket wrap. Powerwise, the 30 qt uses 2x watts than the 20qt. 30 qt cooler used 70-85 watts for 6 hours in 90° temps while cooling warm case of water bottles.. then used another 600 watts over next 24 hours to just maintain the contents at 30°F without opening the lid. The F40C4 220 wh battery only outputs 178 rated watts. You'd need 6 batteries (1100-1200 watts) just in 24 hours. And that's switched to ECO-MEDIUM mode. 20 qt cooler did better. On ECO-MEDIUM mode once 18 water bottles (max storage space) were chilled to 30°F, it used 220 watts over 24 hours conservatively without opening the lid more than a quick 2 or 3 times. But needed to change to a 2nd battery. For 20 qt cooler, 1 battery could last for 14-21 hours once contents are chilled depending on outside temperature. 30 qt cooler has awesome storage space. Being taller it fits two 1 gallon jugs plus 1 liter bottle plus a few 1/2 liter bottles. Just wish the 30 qt cooler was more like the 20 qt cooler on energy consumption. I'd accept 30% more power but about 2x the power hunger is not good.

[@FOMC6780]

Yes, I would like to see more product reviews on boondocking or dispersed camping.

[@billwiley7216]

Fluctuating on the set temp is pretty common on this type of unit on most all of the lesser cost brands anyway as it uses the variance swing in temperature so as not to run the compressor as often but yet still keep the food within an acceptable temperature range . Once you find that happy mid temp it really should not be a problem. If it did not do that and constantly turned on the compressor and instead ran the battery down in a few hours then people would be complaining it consumed too much juice to be a good option. Got to choose between efficiency and accuracy, after all it is a sub $300 unit! Great they replaced the lcd panel, hopefully your new one last longer. One thought about the plug on the unit you could cut the cord and make it a pigtail where that plug would remain plugged in all the time and add in 2 pin quick disconnect fittings to the pigtail and both the 12 volt and 110 adapter that would eliminate needing to unplug the harness from the unit to switch from 12 volt to 110v. Like you said at its price point most people seem to be pretty happy with them .

[@marklennox2151]

I've had this fridge for 9 months and love it. I agree that the power connection is flimsy and I'm very careful there. Mine has no problem keeping the temperature I set it at. I power it off my Jackery 500 and have found that 3 cloudy days in a row requires that I get a small bag of ice so I can keep the battery charging.

[@stanleybest8833]

The very similar Joy Tutus 23 quart is very peppy for deep cold on little power. Always break in your compressor on ECO, and better yet, keep it on ECO for longer appliance life. Fluctuations, inside were minimal. The plastic interior conducts cold well and cleans up easily. Slip a ribbon under the door if the cold vacuum is too tight. Tie a string loop to the grill so the power cord won't kink. Extremely satisfactory and good for hot cars and hotter desert heat. Don't block either grill.

[@NIGHTCASTERS]

Okay I have one of these and sure it's great! But one thing you cannot put it in the front or the sub trunk, it will overheat and not cool off. You got to put it on the floor in the back seat or somebody else where it can get a little ventilation and then it works great!

[@MatthewFordVictoria]

Instead of getting a light inside, there's a USB Socket on the top. So we plug in a flexible USB Powered Light (like what students plug into laptops to light up their books). When the door is open, we shine the light down into the fridge. Then when we Close the lid, we put a cutting board on top and shine the light down onto that, so we can see what we're doing.

[@michelelovesfreedom]

That's a great tip! Thanks!

[@Stephan5150]

That looks exactly like the BougeRV fridge and in Canada at least, the one your are reviewing is more than twice the price, shop around folks!

[@Viajero69]

Just figured this out. I'm in Canada as well and will definitely be buying this off US Amazon site.

[@Nemo-yn1sp]

Thanks! I'm considering this fridge so it's great to have your reviews.

[@demofilm]

thanks for the honest pro's and cons.

[@rickhiggins6521]

Excellent delivery of the review. Very helpful.

[@ChambersFamilyOverland]

It’s interesting our Dometic fluctuates too… I just figured it was because of a smaller compressor. Man the outtakes…. Love it

[@VegaVenturing]

Ours has a very hard time keeping the indicated temperature but you're probably right that the small compressor is most likely to blame. And I almost didn't include the outtakes. Haha.

[@DutchK75]

All refrigerators run above and below setpoint. If they didn't the compressor would run constantly. You don't see it on your home refrigerator because there's no diplay. Most DC compressors are a facsimile of a BD35F and BD50F Danfoss. Rated cooling capacity for a BD35F is 170 liters. So compressor size shouldn't matter. And Dometics VMOSO2 and VMOSO3 compressors have a higher rated capacity than the bigger DB50F Danfoss. So there's that.

[@plantbasedbarb5708]

Thanks for a great solid fridge review, I’d definitely like to see more overland gear type reviews in the future. Keep those bloopers in :)

[@VegaVenturing]

Thanks! We'll try to post more review videos in the coming months. Thanks for always watching!!!

[@CBSuper]

Love the out-takes. I don’t want a fridge, but just want a vide full of out-takes. Lol.

[@Viajero69]

Great review and loved the outtakes! I'm considering this fridge for my van build. How easy do you think it would be to hardwire it to a aux RV battery in the rear of the van? Cheers!

[@carolleimbach6407]

Thanks for this. 👍

[@VegaVenturing]

As an update we just had to replace the control panel a 2nd time. Hoping this time it works indefinitely. But again the manufacturer has been super responsive and helpful getting the new panel to us. Thanks for the comment!

[@johnr5545]

Thanks god bless

[@jaymedina3142]

Great review.

[@VegaVenturing]

Thank you!

[@cic-jakevanddalgeemyers.2739]

Kool

[@jeepn392]

Nice review and perspective. Fridge vs cooler is one of my current internal struggles… Right up there with 35 vs 37 inch tires, ground tent vs Deepsleep, aluminum vs steel skids, and list goes on and on and on. Also feel your pain with the voice over bloopers. 😂

[@VegaVenturing]

Yeah we used a cooler for the first year we were overlanding and it worked fine. But the fridge is just way more convenient and we don't have to keep buying ice at every customer. If I had a Wrangler I would totally use a Deepsleep when solo camping. I really like being inside the vehicle when possible. Thanks for watching!

[@patrickwelch620]

It is not a freezer. Just a really poorly insulated refrigerator.

[@mannygee005]

Hey good info. I wouldn't wiggle that power cord port though. I've heard that if you use Eco mode the temp will fluctuate more... so that is why you would use the non-Eco mode. Regarding the handles, there are many other models with proper handles. I believe the handles on this one is intended for low profile. The model I ordered has similar recessed handles and I chose it because it's intended to fit in a small space. I had to keep measuring and also had to "guess" in the end that the dimensions given were accurate. Lucky that it does fit.

[@mannygee005]

I ended up with two 12v DC fridges. The 1st one I got a while ago and seems to work like it should, it's 47qt with a pull handle plus hinge handles, and wheels. I needed one to fit in a smaller space so I went ahead and bought a 25qt dual zone with very similar dimensions as yours. It must have thicker insulation because it's 5qt less. It was $170.

[@MatthewFordVictoria]

I have the BougeRV 30quart fridge, and there's nothing to tie it down. So I bought some D-Rings that get stuck on Inflatable Boats, and glued them onto the front and back facing each corner. I'm sure you can think of many other items that could use something like this to tie them down. How's that for an idea?

[@muhammad8970]

What was the ambient temperature when you used this device?

[@bigdog7914]

You are a dork, subbed

[@VegaVenturing]

Haha! Happy to have you join along!

[@cochoslp]

Hello guys. Great video! On your trips, have you left the fridge connected to the 12 volt outlet in the car over night? Did you have trouble to start your car the next day? Thanks!!

[@VegaVenturing]

We only plug it in our car 12 volt outlet when we're driving. Once we're at camp we power it with our Jackery 1000 battery.

[@cochoslp]

@@VegaVenturing Thank you!

[@LiquidTurbo]

Why not plug into DC output of Jackery?

[@arshedalmunshid687]

How can order this Icd control panel please do you have any idea please

[@VegaVenturing]

Hi. We contacted the manufacturer directly with our problem and they sent us a new control panel. However our new control panel is starting to have issues as well.

[@unpaved7040]

On an 18 day trip we spent $75 on ice. It will not be long to reach the cost of a RV fridge.

[@VegaVenturing]

That's a lot of money on ice. If you were doing that on the regular a fridge would definitely be the way to go. Also, ice can just be a pain to deal with, having to dig through it constantly to grab what you want.

[@unpaved7040]

@@VegaVenturing I just pulled the trigger a a Vevor fridge. Thx for the vids!

[@bullymaguire9677]

I miss the part where that's my problem

[@patrickwelch620]

How long does it take to freeze a block of ice? This is a sales video. NO Testing At All! No details!

[@lbcarl]

The one I have is junk! Temperature does not hold, and food spoils.

[@VegaVenturing]

That sucks. 😞 Our experience has been mixed so far. Mostly positive, but we are again having issues with the new panel screen .

[@IFlyMileHigh]

I have the 64QT what a POS. DO NOT BUY. this product will tell you the incorrect temperature and when you unplug and plug it back in I will have one temp in the negatives and another in the 70s. Both sides set to 40. It will not go to the set temperature. It will either stay way above or way below. It seems like whatever is supposed to cool both sides only does on one side. Buyer beware, I've had to throw out a lot of food because it spoiled.

[@arthurwilliams.crippledmaster]

Cheap, $299.00 is cheap? 😆

[@sashanealand8315]

get to the point please, nobody wants to hear about ice and coolers

[@jclo9803]

This guys is not good for review

[@katsheetz]

he's talking about their needs and experiences...that and the comments add to my info file..when I want more detailed tech info my go to source would be Hobo Tech....more common man type guy maybe CheapRVling and more scolastic WillPrower....None of these have answered my question Q: The whole concept is to keep things cold...BUT the frig freezers are venting out hot air into the vehicle raising the temperature inside the car/RV is there a way to exhaust the heat outside? like the mini portable compressor AC units (not those bait click personalized swamp coolers)