Better than Dometic? The truth about SetPower coolers

[@DutchK75]

You can make do with a cheap fridge/freezer. I have a friend with a Alpicool 45 quart LG compressor model. It's being ran as a freezer. He just bought it three months ago. He didn't want to spend a lot either. Most big rigs have a refrigerator already. But not enough freezer space. I have a Dometic CFX3 55IM. I've had two Dometics. I sold one to a friend, another truck driver. It's a old 43 quart. It's 8+ years old and still going. Danfoss/Seacop compressor. And it's whole life has been as a freezer. My 55IM is ran as a freezer exclusively. As a freezer the CFX3 draws about 30% less than my old Dometic. And it's bigger. When you buy a premium brand you are buying a better compressor, coils, electronics and insulation. The Alpicool my friend just bought has a cold spot on the one side and the bottom. It's cheaper. I've delved way deep into the weeds on these fridge/freezers. I talked to a very knowledgeable sells rep for Dometic at Camping World in Fresno Ca. Dude had worked for ARB before. And he told me that Dometic is built in house. They used to use Danfoss/Seacop compressors. But decided to design their own for the new CFX3 line. But then cutout Secop altogether. He said it's a swing arm type with a varible speed and a different seal setup. He wasn't allowed to tell me that it is a updated Sawafuji design. He said most of these cheap 12v compressors are just copies of a Danfoss/Seacop. That you can buy for as low as $16.00. Your Setpower probably uses a Sikelan or Huwei, which is better. They run upper $50.00 range. There's a few running LG's as well. Danfoss/Seacop Db35 and Db50 is well over $150.00 in most cases. The sells rep told me the Dometic VMOSO3 has more cooling capacity than the Danfoss/Seacop Db50. This is where I think he was being honest. He said if you really want the best...Buy a Engel, because they are proven. He also said Dometic has done a lot of real world testing. And that's where a lot of the price comes into play. He said also if you are on a budget the Iceco's are nice fridges. And he owns a Iceco.🤷‍♂️

[@OJesusX3]

Thank you for your wisdom dear brother. 😌🌎✨

[@larryc1616]

Iceco uses the danfoos/seacop compressor with 5-year warranty and they own setpower but use Chinese haiya compressor found in all US supermarket freezers and fridges with 3-year warranty. The other cheaper brands have only 1-2year warranties. Not sure how good the LG compressors are nor the warranty length.

[@DutchK75]

@@larryc1616 My friends Alpicool lasted roughly 9 months before it took a dump. Alpicool replaced it. Time will tell. My sister has a Iceco VL60 (Not the Pro). She's happy with it. She ran it off of my Oupes 1,100 for a entire week camping with one of my XTAR 100w panels. She has had a Vevor 58qt that died. And has a Setpower TC35 that's still working. She said it struggles in the heat. I helped her with getting the Iceco. And it's way better insulated. In my research I stumbled upon Snomaster and that's where I have landed as a fanboy. 😂 My buddy Tyler has a VL65 Iceco and I have a Expedition 85L from Snomaster in my Peterbilt 579. He has his in a 579 as well. My Snomaster spanks the Iceco's ass. I had bought a Snomaster TR82D. And it was in my old Lance camper I sold. Only used it twice. I wish I would've kept it now. I wanted a true dual zone. And from my research and calling Snomaster they use a proprietary compressor from Coolstar inc. They are a San Jose based company. But manufacture in China...of course. But this Snomaster compressor is rated at 68w. And they can vary the output up to 130w. Depending on the size or wether or not it's a dual zone or not. That's medium sized home refrigerator territory. Mine will pull 88-90w on intial cool down. And seems to hover from 71w to 75w when maintaining. Tyler's VL65 maxes out at 65w on high. I run mine on auto. So it runs only as hard as it needs to. We've done some experiments and my Snomaster cools the freezer down to 0 in 30 minutes. I run the freezer at 0 and the fridge at 35. And the temps are dead nuts on. I have two thermometers in each side. And they coincide. His VL65 is 5 degrees off. Snomasters are true expedition fridges. They will run in 149 degree weather. Mine has 2.75 inches of insulation. And the bag adds another 1/4 inch.

[@deddie4645]

My complaint about iceco,, They want to know if you're refrigerators in warranty. If not, they totally ignore you and will give you no assistance whatsoever..... They said we'll set up a service ticket and somebody will contact you... Did this twice? Nobody contacted me twice... So I figured I've got nothing to lose Im little bit. Hand so I take it apart and look at it?..... Did not find anything at first.... So I thought let's try to find parts for it. Maybe I'll just replace the ECM..... You cannot find any parts for this anywhere..... So ended up finding a bad crimp connection. Tighten it up and it's working good....( By the way, I've heard this is an issue with iceco having loose connections.) And by the way, it was only 6 months old but I bought it second hand so I could not establish any warranty....... Ice co sucks. For customer support..... If you can't establish chain of custody and warranty, you're screwed...... So screw iceco..... A company that good should Should have customer support for as long as our product is working....f ice co

[@yakintrails8212]

great vid, I've been thinking about getting one, tired of dealing with ice.

[@rhino4602]

Hello, I just purchased the AJ50. Setpower is having a Halloween sale right now, so I was able to get mine for $289.52. It’s regularly $339. I’ve been researching these for quite a while and I also couldn’t justify buying a Dometic or ARB fridge for what they’ve selling them for. Mine should be coming soon. I can’t wait to start using it on road trips, camping and grocery shopping.

[@deeterr1227]

Thank you, Im about to purchase this. What made me leave a comment was: Justify buying a "cooler/fridge" for $800 or more. I cannot either. I won't. But... On the other side of that coin, is the Jackery Explorer 1500, we bought last year🤣.. That was a pretty penny well spent. Justification: Has many multi uses. Thanks again, and happy camping

[@limodrivermike]

where did you get these hanging organizers (in the windows) ?

[@FranciscoGarcia-ud9ny]

Thanks for the review. Good info.

[@mountainpride]

There are at least 5 different companies selling this vary same cooler. Made in the same Chinese factory by the same Chinese person. There all going to last the same amount of time. So find the best deal is the best way to go why pay someone for a name. When the same identical cooler is sold with so many different names.

[@runlikeachicken]

What are the five names?

[@brock4843]

Sure looks small! That cooler you got feels like enough for your big family? I don't really want the cooler to be the #1 source of food for us. I'd like to forage and eat fresh. I guess I gotta pare down our fridge anyways! Who needs so many condiments? Thanks for the video! We are about to build our big Transit van into a camper also and I can't remember the last time I was this excited! We had big elaborate plans until we watched your bed design video! Now I'm rethinking our bed. We also have a baby and five more young children to travel with, so we will probably try the floating cots and hammocks ideas. Thanks guys!

[@FORKandFIFTIES]

I just don't get taking so much stuff ..I wish I could afford tons of beef jerky because that's what I'd live in lol

[@MichaelLee-yh7ss]

My aj40 handle bar swifts side to side, anyone else do that? Just the bar not the parts that is attached directly to the frig.

[@fisherkieds6282]

The price is definitely better

[@serenityjewel]

Dometics don't last any longer than the cheap coolers. Ihave a friend who has a Dometic and it died after a year. She's had the replacement 6 months. For the price of 1 Dometic, someone can go to Amazon and buy 2 or 3 low cost refrigerators, with the Amazon 3 year warranty. It's a no brainer for me.

[@gort6445]

How is the noise with this unit?

[@SeekOutTheAdventure]

it's pretty quiet. I rarely hear it, but it is in the way back of a big van and under a bed.

[@FORKandFIFTIES]

If people are gonna spend a few thousand on solar generator and fridges etc. Why not just use the money for a decent hotel close to the boonies. I have a small cooler but I don't go far as you can currently tell by my videos 😆

[@jeffreyulery2182]

How many thousand? Let's say 10. How many times do you think you can sleep in a hotel with 10k? 10k/150$= 67 nights. Now what are you gonna do after the first 3 months?

[@FORKandFIFTIES]

@@jeffreyulery2182 I'm talking about people just camping I guess.. living in a vehicle whole other issue 😕

[@jeffreyulery2182]

@QuirkyQreations yes I agree that alot of ppl buy RVs and set ups and only go out a handful of times wasting tens of thousands of dollars but there are some that actually go and tour around using what they set up

[@rexracer1872]

Set power items are manufactured in CHINA. I don’t knowingly purchase CHINESE manufactured products anymore. None of my friends knowingly buy CHINESE manufactured items either. Sorry, but for a host of different reasons, purchases of CHINESE products is no longer acceptable.

[@larryc1616]

+90% of everything you buy from Amazon, home Depot, Costco, Walmart, target, sam's, ebay, etc are made in China 🤔

[@williambrennan7794]

What kind of phone are you using?