How Noisy are 12V Camp Fridges?

If you’re wondering which portable camping fridge is the quietest, then watch on as we put a range of models to the test.
In this video, our gear expert Ben compares the sound output of a range of portable camping fridges, to see which one makes the least noise. Each fridge has around a 60L capacity, and covers a range of brands including Brass Monkey, Engel, myCOOLMAN, Evakool, Companion, Dometic, and Bushman. Using Sound Meter by ABC apps, Ben then proceeds to measure the noise from the compressor inside a closed room.
He then talks you through the results of the test, to see which one came out on top - so check it out above for all the details.
Fridge/Freezers used for testing:
Brass Monkey 60L DZ Fridge - www.snowys.com.au/60l-dual-zo...
Engel MTV60F Fridge - www.snowys.com.au/mt-v60f-60-...
myCOOLMAN CCP60 60L Fridge - www.snowys.com.au/ccp60-porta...
Evakool Travelmate TMDZ60 Fridge - www.snowys.com.au/tmdz-60-tra...
Companion 60L Lithium Fridge - www.snowys.com.au/lithium-60l...
Dometic CFX 55L Fridge - www.snowys.com.au/cfx3-55-fri...
Companion 60L Chest Freezer - www.snowys.com.au/60l-single-...
Bushman 32-52L Fridge - www.snowys.com.au/35-52l-port...
Evakool Down Under 75L Fridge - www.snowys.com.au/down-under-...
0:00 - Intro
0:28 - Testing method & parameters
1:23 - Brass Monkey 60L Fridge
1:44 - Engel MTV60F Fridge
2:02- myCOOLMAN 60L fridge
2:32 - Evakool Travelmate TMDZ60
2:54 - Companion 60L Lithium Fridge
3:12 - Dometic CFX 55L Fridge
3:40 - Companion Chest Freezer
3:57 - Bushman 35L Fridge
4:15 - Evakool Down Under 75L Fridge
4:38 - Results of the test

[@robert-roy-britt]

Thank you for doing this. Very helpful, and I wasn't able to find such comparisons elsewhere.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I'm glad you found it useful, we weren't quite sure how it would turn out. ~ Ben

[@bigwangmark]

Sound is subjective as well like you said when talking about how your engel makes a humming sound that does not bother you. But what I think would be good to know is how long each unit stays in the safe zone for food storage when there is no power to the units. This might be handy info to have for people living in there vans long term as they can switch off the fridge at night when sleeping for sound reasons as well as conserving battery life at night.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I like your thinking here, Tamiya, I reckon in the cooler months you'd be pretty safe, if the temperature stayed low enough the compressor wouldn't need to cycle anyway. We aren't equipped to be able to test this though, but anyone can test their own fridge if they have a small thermometer. ~ Ben

[@viewsONTRENDING]

Another good video, I'm pretty happy with my 50litre cfx3, bought due to low amp usage

[@SnowysOutdoors]

And low noise output according to our results. ~ Ben

[@rishi-m]

Thanks for making the video!

[@SnowysOutdoors]

No worries! ~ Lauren

[@xyreyes]

Great test 😀

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Cheers. ~ Ben

[@That_Girl_7_11]

We got our replacement fridge after our newly delivered one was broken on arrival last week Ben, a big thank you to Mark and Sam in the warranty/claims department for sorting it quickly as I was having a meltdown on the phone,.... I can say that our Dometic 55lt is way quieter than our 80lt Engel, we could hardly hear it when we turned it on, ooh, and it got down to -14 degrees within 40ish minutes which was amazing.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I'm glad things turned out well for you, ThatGirl711. Thanks for your comment. ~ Ben

[@danwinder7544]

Very helpful video. Thankyou

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I'm glad it has useful, Dan. ~ Ben

[@Slash2768]

Pleeeeeaaaaaaaasssssee do a review / overview video on the Bushman! Love your videos.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Yeah, I've wanted to review the Bushman fridge for a while now, hopefully I can find time in the near future. ~ Ben

[@treasurethetime2463]

I have an older Engel. That dometic sounds impressive.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Engel are a reliable fridge, but Dometic is a great alternative, quiet too. ~ Ben

[@alexbarquin9]

Just what I'm looking for. Very usefull video.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I'm glad it was useful, alexbarquin9. ~ Ben

[@alexbarquin9]

@@SnowysOutdoors Does the fan have a variable speed in the evakool down under series? Meaning that fan kicks in at high speed during first time turning it on or high drawing power mode, then fan slows down when on idle mode. Or is the fan just constant like when it's powered up? Thank you

[@SnowysOutdoors]

@@alexbarquin9 I don't think it's variable alexbarquin9, when the compressor is on, the fan is on. We are trying to find the time to do a more detailed video on the Down Under fridges soon. ~ Ben

[@mmmbass6068]

Would be good to see Choice Magazine do an in-depth on portable camping fridges.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Would be interesting, for sure. ~ Ben

[@dianeibsen5994]

Thank you so much for this video!!👍 I am in the US are these can't fridges in u.s.?

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I'm pretty sure Dometic is available in the US, I'm not sure about the other brands sorry. ~ Ben

[@4bnewb969]

Great info 👍 Your test matched my ‘ear’ when comparing before I purchased my Dometic CFX 40 Not sure if what we hear in the vlog was accurate, but just a few Decibels in number is significant in loudness. Cheers....

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Thanks, 4BnewB. The sound in the video isn't an accurate reproduction my any means, the mic was pointed directly at the compressor so it actually sounds louder in the video. The Engel for example sounds like a truck, but in reality it's more of a low pitched hum. It's the best we could do short of hiring out a testing facility... hope it was still useful. ~ Ben

[@pattiedemann9927]

Thanks man, I agree that the dometic and engel are easier to listen to. How about the Vevor or Snomaster?

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I don't have any experience with the Vevor or Snomaster sorry, Pat. ~ Ben

[@michaelhermans4753]

National Luna are the quietest fridge but also the most expensive I own a bushman that I bought 15 years ago and it is very quiet Just bought the 25l brass monkey It is seriously quiet Ben a good test would be amp draw on all these fridges along with cycle time and power consumption over say a 12 hr period

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I'm not sure why we don't stock the National Luna fridges, Michael, I'll mention this to our purchasing team. We'd love to be able to do a test like you mention, but we aren't equipped to do this... at least we aren't at the moment anyway. Who knows what the future holds. ~ Ben

[@Snook_]

@@SnowysOutdoors Any Luck?

[@SnowysOutdoors]

@@Snook_ unfortunately not. ~ Lauren

[@hamish1162]

Wish you guys would stock snomaster fridges I’ve owned 4 fridges it’s by far my favourite and trumps my Engel in efficiency and how quiet it is, I tell anyone who asks my advice on fridges to buy one but the struggle to find a retailer.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I don't have any experience with Snomaster fridges, Hamish, I'll make mention of this to our purchasing team in case it is something on their radar. ~ Ben

[@Snook_]

@@SnowysOutdoors Any Luck?

[@MH-ls1xi]

What's the best fridge to live on the back of the ute out in the sun and rain full time

[@SnowysOutdoors]

None of them are made to be permanently mounted in the weather, they are an electrical item and excess weather will shorten their life. That being said, if you don't have a choice, then Engel is the brand I've most commonly seen mounted on the back of utes. ~ Ben

[@michaeldomotor1755]

We do an annual two week trip and have access to power. I’ve been looking at putting a fridge into the mix. How do these chest fridges compare to an upright “bar” fridge? Is one better than the other or just a personal preference?

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Its mostly personal preference & space. These chest style fridges have the bonus of being portable if needed, and they're a simple plug a play connection. They're the most common option as they're versatile & suit a whole range of different camping needs and styles. The upright fridges are fixed position, and some require being hardwired in. Mostly ideal for caravans or campers, or dual cab utes/4WD where you'd be needing a drop down fridge slide because top access is too high. The downsize is freezer space is small/limited, but that depends on how much frozen food is in your camping rotation. ~ Lauren

[@michaeldomotor1755]

@@SnowysOutdoors Do any of these offer 12v as well as 240v so you can either plug into mains or battery pack depending on your location/needs?

[@SnowysOutdoors]

@Michael Domotor Overwhelming majority of the chest style fridge/freezers are 12/24/240v Th upright fridges are mostly hardwired so only 12/24v, but the Engel is the only one does have a 240v option. ~ Lauren

[@magicmanspaz]

Bought a cfx3 25l based on the low noise claim and low power consumption. It has the most annoying high pitch pwm frequency noise when its running the motor. Annoying enough i wont be able to sleep with it under my bed in my van. I have the upright fridge which is supposed to be the same variable speed motor and it does not make this high pitch tone?

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Not sure why that would be sorry, maybe something to do with the geometry of the fridge itself. ~ Ben

[@WildSBlk]

Is the ARB fridge louder?

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Not sure sorry, Wild SB, we don't sell the ARB brand. ~ Ben

[@yawnbox]

why isn't there, like, a graph displayed at the end with the names and results?

[@SnowysOutdoors]

It's not something time permitted sorry, Christopher. ~ Ben

[@RBFR01]

anyone sell a really small fridge that I can put under a desk at work? The mini or center console fridges are just too big.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Theres some unbranded mini fridges or "desk fridges" through eBay or Kogan, etc @Shotz and they work on 240v which is better for office situations. I'm not aware of any of the known fridge brands doing something suitable though. ~ Lauren

[@cubul32]

Are ALL the Engel fridges that loud???

[@SnowysOutdoors]

They are known to be one of the louder of the fridge brands ~ Lauren

[@cubul32]

@SnowysOutdoors thank you. What about snomaster? I'm looking at their plastic 35L

[@yondaimehokage2281]

or put fridge outside vehicle and lock it at night

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Good idea, yondaime, some fridges now come with a lockable latch. ~ Ben

[@cuneytgunay5729]

Selam almanya da engel nerede bulabilirim

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Üzgünüm - Ne sorduğunuzdan %100 emin değilim. Çevirmen, Almanya'da 'engelli' bulma konusunu sorduğunuzu söyledi. ~ Lauren

[@vulcanraven87]

"Camping"

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Have we misspelt something somewhere, Kishin? ~ Ben

[@MrAntistress]

Questi sono i negozi veri... In Italia siamo veramente dei barboni. Nn hanno ne prodotti in esposizione ne cataloghi... nn sanno niente di niente.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Grazie per il tuo feedback. Ho sempre pensato che aveste buoni negozi all'aperto in Europa, un po' più tecnicamente focalizzati sull'escursionismo, l'arrampicata, lo sci ecc., ma comunque ottimi negozi. ~ Ben

[@MrAntistress]

@@SnowysOutdoors Sullo sci e l'escursionismo posso darti ragione, ma sulla nautica o campeggio purtroppo anche quelli più grossi in Toscana o Lombardia hanno s' e no un prodotto in esposizione, spesso senza accessori, forse ordinabili a catalogo, ma con tempistiche nn sempre convenienti... Sto cercando un frigorifero per il mio van e non riesco a trovare un negozio fisico, solo online e per di più in Italia riesco a trovare solo la distribuzione della Dometic, tutti gli altri pare che non ci siano... Forse non ho cercato abbastanza "bene" ma per ora sono questi i fatti... Grazie per la recensione sui Db, è davvero molto utile!

[@SnowysOutdoors]

@@MrAntistress Siamo spiacenti di apprendere che le tue opzioni sono limitate, ma è bello sapere che il nostro video è stato utile anche se non possiamo spedire nel tuo paese. Buona fortuna con la tua ricerca. ~ Ben